*Ba-dump!* *Ba-dump!* *Ba-dump!*
In this silence, the sounds of violent heartbeats resounded clearly.
It could have been Lizbeth's, or it could have been Riezel's.
Either way, when that massive fire dragon came into view—its wings spread wide, bathed in magma, its body pinned against the rock platform by a rune pillar—both Riezel and Lizbeth felt as though they were struck still, unable to move.
They even felt suffocated.
They even felt fear.
Even for the fearless Riezel, just the thought of this dragon surviving since the age of the ancient magic civilization was enough to stir a primal terror within him.
Dragons were the kings of monsters.
Among all monsters, dragons stood at the very top of the food chain.
Dragons were the kings of destruction.
Among all living beings, dragons were infamous for their violence and savagery, leaving scorched earth wherever they passed.
They had no natural enemies.
They were born powerful.
Once they survived the long childhood and growth stages, upon reaching adulthood, they naturally became some of the strongest beings in existence.
A Sword Saint was known as a powerful existence, yet an adult dragon was far stronger—by a wide margin—and could easily crush a Sword Saint.
A Strategic-Class Magician was also known as a powerful existence, yet the magic of a Strategic-Class Magician, when striking a dragon whose magic resistance and defense were overwhelmingly high, would have at least ninety percent of its power nullified.
Since ancient times, although Sword Saints and Strategic-Class Magicians had always been few in number, some still emerged in every era, and never had there been a time when none existed.
Especially Sword Saints—even in smaller countries, there were always those who overcame countless hardships to step into this realm, not to mention in great countries.
And yet, throughout thousands of years of modern magic civilization, despite the many Sword Saints and Strategic-Class Magicians, those who had successfully slain a dragon could be counted on one hand.
Yes, fewer than five.
In other words, in thousands of years, fewer than five warriors had managed to slay a dragon.
Why?
For one, dragons were rare, so to slay a dragon, one first had to find one.
For another, even if one could defeat a dragon, ensuring it could not escape and truly fall under one's blade was another matter entirely.
Of course, ultimately, the most fundamental reason was simply that their strength fell short.
Dragons were strong, far stronger than Sword Saints or Strategic-Class Magicians—even a newly matured dragon possessed enough power to overwhelm a veteran Sword Saint. As for dragons that had lived for over a thousand years, they could slaughter one with ease.
History told of countless countries destroyed under the flames of dragons, even great countries brought to ruin. And great countries were those protected by multiple Sword Saints and Strategic-Class Magicians, along with massive armies numbering in the thousands.
Yet even they had been destroyed by dragons, which alone proved the overwhelming might of dragons.
Riezel had seen dragons before.
He had seen them in the world of Overlord and in the dungeon of the world of Danmachi, but compared to the dragons of the Akasha Continent, those were like heaven and earth apart.
If the fire dragon before his eyes truly was a monster that had survived since the ancient magic civilization, then how many years had it lived?
At least... eleven thousand years.
If a dragon over a thousand years old could casually destroy a veteran Sword Saint, how terrifying would an ancient dragon that had lived for over ten thousand years be?
As a servant of the King of Calamity, the very one who had brought about the destruction of the ancient magic civilization, just how powerful had this dragon been before it was sealed here?
It was because of these thoughts that Riezel and Lizbeth's heartbeats grew so violent, their bodies instinctively generating fear and panic against their will.
At the very least, as Riezel looked at this dragon, he felt the same sensation as when he had seen the source of that 'Calamity' at the bottom of the Great Pit in Faerie Britain.
In one phrase—it was invincible.
In his current state, he absolutely could not match this dragon.
It was not a guess but a simple truth.
"Ma-Master..."
Lizbeth seemed on the verge of being crushed by that all-pervading dragon's might as she suddenly clung tightly to Riezel, trembling violently.
"It's okay, it's okay..." Riezel, also unconsciously, held Lizbeth tightly, patting her back while whispering softly. "It isn't free. It can't leave that rock platform. Calm down."
As he spoke, he forced himself to calm down first.
He did not continue flying forward, nor did he descend, but fixed his gaze upon the rock platform.
Because the presence of that ancient dragon was so overwhelming, he had nearly overlooked something—there were people gathered on that platform.
When he saw them, Riezel finally regained his composure.
"So you're over there..." Riezel muttered under his breath. "Pretty bold of you..."
On that rock platform, those who had arrived before Riezel and Lizbeth finally came into view.
Several magic dolls silently floated around the rune pillar, carefully scraping off layers of golden powder with claw-shaped weapons imbued with cold, mysterious energy.
Sigmund and the cold woman were also present, watching from afar—Sigmund was sweating profusely for the first time, his face full of tension, while the woman's expression remained unchanged.
Riezel's mind couldn't help but stir.
After glancing once more at the still-drowsing dragon, Riezel cast chantless teleportation magic.
*Swish!*
In the next moment, Riezel vanished with Lizbeth in his arms.
"Hm?"
At that very moment, the cold woman, who had been watching the magic dolls at work, suddenly seemed to sense something.
In an instant, she snapped her head toward where Riezel had been, but saw nothing.
"W-What is it?"
Sigmund, drenched in sweat, reacted sharply, asking in a panic, but the woman did not answer immediately.
Instead, she turned her ice-blue eyes, scanning the surroundings while frowning.
"Hey, what's wrong?!" Sigmund could not suppress his impatience, his tone edged with anger and irritation. "Say something!"
Hearing this, the woman cast him a sidelong glance before finally speaking.
"Did you hear anything strange?"
"Hear anything strange?" Sigmund frowned, then snorted coldly. "In a place like this, what strange sound could there be?"
"...Is that so?" The woman muttered quietly. "Was it just my imagination?"
Clearly, no one could answer her question.
Sigmund's mind was not on that matter either, but seeing her so distracted, he voiced his strong displeasure.
"Hey, can you focus a little? Do you even understand what kind of situation we're in?"
At this, the woman's face showed a flicker of irritation.
She could not help it—Sigmund had already said the same thing who knew how many times.
"We're standing before the most terrifying dragon in history, trying to take a part of the structure from the Nibelung Pillar that seals it. One wrong move could undo that seal." Sigmund clenched his fists, speaking in a low voice. "Do you know how horrifying that would be?"
"And what could happen?" The cold woman replied, her face openly annoyed. "Wouldn't it just mean the Fire Dragon Lord breaks free from here?"
"Just mean? Hah!"
Sigmund couldn't help but laugh in rage.
"Can you see—this is a dragon left behind from the age of the ancient magic civilization! A dragon that's lived for over ten damn thousand years!"
"Have you ever even seen such an ancient dragon?"
"You probably haven't even seen an adult dragon or a great dragon, so how could you have seen an ancient dragon lord?"
"If this dragon escapes, do you think only my Sinielle and the nearby Jinas and Reiburg will suffer?
"No, the whole Akasha Continent could be thrown into chaos!"
Why had Sigmund declared this ancient ruin forbidden?
Why had Jinas and Reiburg also treated this ruin as taboo?
All because of this dragon's existence!
"Even dragons that have lived for just a thousand years can easily crush a Sword Saint and possibly destroy a great country. And what stands before us now is an unprecedented ancient dragon lord!"
"Can you imagine how we felt when I and the envoys from those two countries saw this dragon for the first time?"
"In our hearts, there was only fear! Only panic!"
Sigmund's reaction was understandable, since his city, Sinielle, was right beside this ancient ruin, while Jinas and Reiburg were also nearby.
If this ancient dragon were to break free and return to the surface, the first to face annihilation would not be anyone else but Sinielle and those two nearby countries.
For this reason, Sigmund had declared this ancient ruin forbidden, forbidding anyone from approaching it, sentencing violators to prison or even execution.
Jinas and Reiburg had also supported his decision, cooperating with him entirely out of fear—fear that some fool might accidentally release the ancient dragon slumbering here and bring disaster upon their two great countries.
Had it not been for the conditions the cold woman proposed this time—conditions that appealed to his hatred and desire for revenge against Riezel—Sigmund would never have agreed to bring her here.
Even so, he had made it clear beforehand: she could do as she pleased only as long as it did not affect the dragon's seal or disturb the dragon.
Otherwise, he would turn against her in an instant.
At the time, the woman had agreed, but judging from her attitude now, she clearly had not taken it seriously.
Such a realization cast a shadow across Sigmund's eyes, and dark thoughts began to stir within his heart.
===
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