Bell's terrified expression immediately told William that whatever was lurking on the mountain several kilometers away was a big deal.
Otherwise, this tiny creature—who had been bold enough to threaten him earlier but was now a trembling mess—wouldn't be desperately trying to flee.
William's expression darkened.
His tone turned serious as he asked, "Tell me—what is that thing?"
Bell's teeth chattered as she stammered, "A dragon… a dragon…!"
She gulped and forced the words out.
"The Fire Dragon, Snogg! A creature that can speak from birth, bathes in molten lava, and burns everything with a single sneeze!"
Then, as if realizing something, Bell's face lit up with relief.
"The Magic God above! Snogg isn't here for me—he's after you!"
Suddenly, she laughed—a mix of mockery and schadenfreude.
"You're doomed, wizard! You're doomed!"
"Snogg must have set his eyes on your treasures!
He never leaves his volcano unless he's hunting… or when he's after something truly valuable.
And once he locks onto a target, not a single soul has ever escaped being burned to ashes!"
William's eyes narrowed.
"He's after my treasures?"
The first thing that came to mind was his Space Stone.
The thought of his Sentinel Armor didn't even occur to him—after all, in his eyes, the armor was part of him, not a "treasure" to be stolen.
What he didn't realize was that to a dragon's eyes, anything that shimmered with magic was a precious prize.
Regardless, whether it was his armor or his Space Stone, any creature that sought them was an enemy.
And enemies were meant to be destroyed.
That said, William wasn't about to charge into a fight blindly.
He wanted to gather as much intel as possible.
His gaze hardened as he glared at Bell.
"Tell me everything about Snogg."
Bell's face turned even paler.
"You… you actually plan to fight him?!"
Her voice cracked with disbelief.
Then, as William's glare intensified, she flinched.
She remembered—this human had effortlessly electrocuted a deadly panther, defeated a flock of Thunderbirds, and wielded magic without even using a wand.
"...No one knows where Snogg came from," Bell finally admitted, trembling.
"He was born in the greatest volcano of this world… and upon his birth, he incinerated an entire forest."
William raised an eyebrow.
"An entire forest?"
Gesturing at the endless stretch of Morninglight Forest, he asked,
"As big as this one?"
Bell's eyes widened in horror.
"That's impossible, human!"
Shaking her head violently, she declared,
"If Snogg could burn an entire forest this massive upon birth, he would already be the undisputed ruler of this entire continent!"
Then, realizing she had contradicted herself, she became flustered.
Trying to cover up her slip, she quickly added,
"But even if it wasn't as big as Morninglight Forest, it was still massive!
So you should just—JUST RUN, HUMAN!"
William smirked.
Bell was trying to scare him off.
And that meant one thing—
Snogg wasn't as invincible as the legends claimed.
If the dragon was truly unstoppable, he would have already attacked instead of pacing restlessly on the mountain.
"Good. Very good."
His smirk deepened as he stared down at Bell.
"After I kill that oversized lizard, I'll deal with you, little liar."
Bell's face turned white again.
Before she could beg for mercy, William flicked his hand.
A binding spell wrapped around her tiny body like a rope, and she floated helplessly toward a mountain cave.
With another wave, he sealed her inside.
—
Turning toward King Kong, who was watching from a distance, William motioned for him to come closer.
The great ape hesitated for a moment but eventually trotted over.
Pointing at the bound Thunderbirds, William gave a simple command.
"Watch them."
King Kong tilted his head, grunting in confusion.
Before William could clarify, Bell—still inside the cave—began chirping in her strange language.
Whatever she told King Kong, it made the great ape nod seriously before he began pacing around the captive birds, keeping a watchful eye on them.
William raised an eyebrow.
Bell could communicate with animals?
Interesting.
It made him even more curious about who she truly served.
He decided to loosen her restraints slightly, leaving tiny gaps for her to potentially escape.
He wanted her to flee.
He wanted to see where she would run… and who she would seek help from.
For now, he had a dragon to deal with.
William took off into the sky, deliberately slowing his flight speed, heading straight for Snogg's mountain lair.
—
As he approached, he was met with an unexpected sight.
The massive, terrifying dragon—a winged beast over 30 meters long, covered in scales as sharp as blades—was…
PACING RESTLESSLY.
It didn't even notice William approaching.
Instead, it was… talking to itself?
"We should kill the human and take his treasures!"
"NO! We might not win!"
"Shut up, you coward! No one can defeat the GREAT FLAME DRAGON, SNOGG!"
William blinked in surprise.
…Does this thing have split personalities?
—
"HUMAN?!"
Snogg finally noticed him.
The dragon let out a thunderous roar, shaking the mountain.
"I WILL DEVOUR YOU!"
With a single, massive inhale, its chest swelled, and a torrent of fire erupted from its maw, racing toward William.
Too slow.
Before the flames even got halfway, William vanished in a blur.
The fire blasted harmlessly through the empty sky.
Hovering behind Snogg, William smirked.
"Who were you talking to, you overgrown lizard?"
"SILENCE, HUMAN!"
Furious, Snogg lunged with his massive jaws, aiming to crush William in one bite.
"I WILL EAT YOU! THEN TORTURE YOUR SOUL FOR A THOUSAND YEARS!"
"Idiot."
William didn't even need to dodge properly.
With a lazy flick, he effortlessly sidestepped the dragon's bite.
For the next several minutes, Snogg thrashed wildly—clawing, biting, spewing fire.
Nothing landed.
Not a single attack touched William.
Meanwhile, Snogg's fire magic, rather than harming William, was being absorbed into his Sentinel Armor.
The previously golden surface, which had already begun glowing with blue electricity, now started gaining streaks of fiery red.
At last, Snogg's attacks slowed down.
His breaths were heavy.
His confidence wavered.
For the first time, he felt something he had never felt before—
FEAR.
("I… I might lose…")
His claws tensed.
His wings twitched.
He was starting to consider running.
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