"Why, why is there a dragon here!"
Holy King Hoppen's face turned pale with shock at the dragon's sudden appearance.
"This is ridiculous! First the witch leaves, and now a dragon?"
Saintess Olga gritted her teeth, looking up at the sky with unmistakable irritation.
"..."
Raon observed the massive dragon blocking the sky while gripping his Heavenly Drive.
'Golden scales.'
A filthy Gold Dragon, is it? The dragon was covered from head to toe in golden scales similar to his own hair color. Somehow, every member of the Gold clan he encountered seemed equally disagreeable.
'Judging by the lack of air movement, it must have used spatial teleportation.'
The dragon appeared suddenly without any warning signs. But considering how the mana flow had twisted in the high skies just moments ago, it had definitely used spatial teleportation.
-That's correct.
Wrath nodded while looking up at the Gold Dragon's belly.
-This king also felt the slight distortion in mana.
'I felt it too. But this doesn't seem like ordinary spatial teleportation.'
For such a massive body to move through space with only the faintest trace of mana movement, it must be a dragon with exceptional magical abilities. Furthermore, Suphren Holy Kingdom blocked teleportation magic with holy power, so breaking through that defense proved this was no ordinary dragon.
'Not just its magic, but its essence is unusual too.'
In terms of size, it hadn't reached Ancient Dragon status, but its mana reserves exceeded that of Ancient Dragons. Having met and fought many dragons, he could now estimate their approximate age and strength just by looking at their body and wing size. That dragon was massive enough to blot out the sky, but it hadn't yet reached the rank of Ancient Dragon.
Strangely though, that Gold Dragon possessed mana exceeding that of an Ancient Dragon despite not being one. Its pure yet vast mana, which felt like nature itself in motion, made him uncomfortable.
-Just as you say.
Wrath narrowed his eyes, seemingly agreeing with his assessment.
-That lizard has accumulated quite a lot of mana for its age. Quite...
He smacked his lips while staring at the dragon.
-It looks delicious! Not too old, so the meat should be nice and tender!
Wrath raised both arms and danced, suggesting they quickly behead the dragon and roast it.
"Raon."
"Lord Raon!"
Evelyn and Dorian, sensing the dragon's presence, rushed behind him.
"W-we were just about to leave, why would a dragon..."
Dorian clutched his head, lamenting that nothing was easy these days.
"The demonic energy from my fight with Lust probably spread to the surrounding area."
Raon slightly furrowed his brow as he recalled his battle with Lust.
"Even the holy power barrier couldn't have contained all that energy."
Hoppen, Olga, and the Holy Knights and Priests had held out as long as they could, but the holy power barrier eventually shattered. Even before that, the barrier had cracked, so it wasn't strange for dragons to sense Lust's authority and demonic energy. What was truly odd was that the dragons appeared now, rather than during his fight with Lust.
"That dragon seems a bit unusual, doesn't it?"
Evelyn swept back her hair as she examined the dragon, seemingly sensing the same thing he had.
"U-unusual or not! We need to deal with it quickly! It could breathe fire at any moment!"
Dorian drew his sword with trembling hands, urging them to eliminate the dragon before the Holy Kingdom suffered more damage.
-The coward speaks correctly for once!
Wrath exclaimed in surprise at Dorian.
-Good! Cut off that lizard's head and present it to this king!
"We should deal with it quickly."
Olga also raised her fist imbued with holy power, determined to kill the dragon as quickly as possible.
"Wait."
Raon raised his arm, stopping both Dorian and Olga simultaneously.
"That dragon..."
He shook his head as he observed the dragon's eyes gazing down at the ground.
"It doesn't seem to want to fight right now, does it?"
If that dragon had intended to attack them, using its breath attack immediately after teleporting would have been the best strategy. But unlike the Dragon Lord or other Ancient Dragons, this one merely hovered in the sky, observing them.
-So you'll just let it go?
Wrath rolled his blue eyes.
-That's absolutely unacceptable! Catch it and roast it no matter what!
He vehemently shook his head, claiming this was a rare opportunity for dragon barbecue.
'I don't intend to roast it right away.'
With Lord and the Ancient Dragons having abandoned their lairs and gone into hiding, he naturally had no intention of letting this voluntarily appearing dragon go.
'I need to capture it first...'
Just as Raon was about to draw his Heavenly Drive to slice the Gold Dragon's wings, four magic circles appeared around the Gold Dragon with a humming sound. From within them emerged different races: an Elf, a Dwarf, an Orc, and a Goblin, each with different coloration.
"Those creatures..."
Evelyn frowned as she looked at the four races that had appeared around the Gold Dragon.
"They're all dragons."
She spread her fingers, explaining that the dragons had transformed into an Elf, Dwarf, Orc, and Goblin respectively.
"Yes. They all seem to be of similar age."
The four newly appeared dragons also seemed to be mature dragons not far from becoming Ancient Dragons like the Gold Dragon, and each possessed considerable mana.
"F-five..."
Dorian's jaw trembled in shock as he realized the dragons now numbered five.
"They're all dragons?"
Hoppen swallowed hard in astonishment.
"W-we should evacuate right..."
"This time, it's fine to leave it be."
Olga blocked Hoppen's path.
"Look at that man's expression. He's composed. He could probably handle five Ancient Dragons if needed."
She curled her lips gently as she read Raon's calm gaze.
-Five! Five lizards!
Wrath smacked his lips at the increased number of potential prey.
-Since there are five of them, roast at least one!
He swung his hand, suggesting they sear one dragon with the flames of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation.
'Well, that's not a bad idea.'
Raon nodded with a cold smile.
'Since there are five of them.'
When there was only one dragon, he had planned to capture it alive to extract information, but with five of them, killing three and capturing two to extract information seemed reasonable.
"Evelyn. Make sure the dragons can't escape."
Raon waved his hand at Evelyn, giving her instructions.
"Got it! Just give me a moment!"
[Those lizards...]
Just as Evelyn nodded and was about to cast her spell, Lust's voice was heard from within a pink current of air.
[They seem to be lizards drawn by my scent. I'll handle them.]
Lust spoke in a chillingly cold voice, asking Raon to leave it to her. The demon kings seemed to truly view dragons as mere lizards or moving food sources.
[No, no. I'll do it.]
Just as Raon was about to move himself to behead the Gold Dragon.
[Are you Raon Zieghart?]
A telepathic message came from the Gold Dragon. It was cold and sharp, but unlike the dragons he'd met before, it didn't contain hatred toward humans.
[Follow me. You wouldn't want to cause harm to other humans, would you?]
After slightly lifting his chin as if beckoning Raon to follow, he flew toward the northern mountains supporting the Suphren Holy Kingdom.
-How impudent!
Wrath swung his fist vigorously.
-A mere lizard daring to command us to follow! Just behead it!
He shook his head, urging Raon to start by cutting off the dragon's tail.
[Are you going to let it go? It's quite arrogant.]
Lust also lowered her voice, clearly displeased with the dragon's behavior.
'Those two seem to get along well.'
Looking at it this way, Wrath and Lust seemed to think alike. They might get along better than expected.
"Let's follow it for now."
Raon nodded briefly and returned his half-drawn Heavenly Drive to its scabbard.
"Y-you're going to follow it?"
Dorian's jaw dropped in disbelief.
"It could be a trap."
Olga furrowed her brow as if questioning his thinking.
"I can solve any trap."
Evelyn shook her head while concentrating mana in both hands.
"Do as you like."
She smiled as if to say she'd support whatever he decided.
"Those dragons..."
Raon narrowed his eyes at the dragons who didn't even look back, as if they assumed he would definitely follow.
"They don't seem like they're planning to fight right away."
"H-how do you know that?"
Dorian blinked blankly.
"Just a feeling."
Mana message. The communication ability called telepathy revealed, albeit slightly, a person's emotions. That dragon conveyed cold and calculating feelings, but no malicious intent to kill him unconditionally.
"I'll contact you later."
Raon waved to Olga and Hoppen before following the dragons toward the northern mountains.
"I-I'm coming with you!"
Though muttering that he was scared, Dorian ran with all his might to keep up with Raon.
"See you later."
Evelyn waved lightly before vanishing into light.
"Lord Raon has protected Suphren once again..."
Hoppen clasped his hands as he looked around the garden now bathed in sunlight.
"He truly is a mysterious person."
He let out a dry laugh, noting that Raon hadn't changed at all since they first met.
"Don't you agree?"
"..."
Olga didn't answer Hoppen's question, instead gazing steadily in the direction Raon had left.
"Saintess?"
"I'm going too!"
She bit her lip resolutely and ran toward the northern mountains.
"What? Why!"
"He might get hurt!"
Olga ran without looking back, claiming she was going to help heal Raon if he got injured.
"Uh..."
Hoppen shook his head, remembering how Raon had reduced the northern district to ruins.
"No matter how I look at it, those dragons are the ones who'll be in trouble..."
***
With a thud, Raon stood at the peak of an unnamed mountain, gazing at the opposite summit. With a resonating hum, the Gold Dragon observed him intently from the high heavens before descending slowly, wrapped in brilliant light.
-Now's the time! Just cut it down!
'I'll feed you later. Just be quiet for now.'
Raon pushed aside the salivating Wrath and stared directly at the vivid golden radiance. With a flash, the dragon that had been larger than the mountain emerged from the magnificent light as a golden-haired, blue-eyed young man. Outwardly, he didn't look much different from a human. The ground crackled beneath him.
Behind him descended the Elf, Dwarf, Orc, and Goblin who had been floating in the sky. While they maintained the physical characteristics of their respective races, they emanated the aura of fierce predators from within.
"Why did you call me here?"
Raon rested his hand on the Heavenly Drive as he faced the Gold Dragon. Since he didn't sense any goodwill from him, he was prepared to cut him down immediately if he chose his words poorly.
-Why ask! Of course it's looking for trouble!
Wrath wrinkled his nose, claiming all lizards were the same.
"Two days ago, was the opponent you fought truly a demon king?"
As expected, the dragon seemed to know about his battle with Lust.
"Before asking such things, shouldn't you first identify yourself?"
"Hmm..."
The Gold Dragon furrowed his brow as if angered by the human's correction.
"What? Does it upset you when a lesser being speaks?"
Raon narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip. Based on the behavior of dragons he'd encountered so far, the creature would surely rage about his insolence now. It seemed the time for dragon barbecue, as Wrath suggested, was approaching.
"I apologize."
However, the Gold Dragon placed a hand on his chest and blinked slowly, as if acknowledging his mistake.
"I am Bartius, a mature dragon of the Gold clan."
He slightly lowered his chin as he introduced himself.
-Huh? W-why is he...
Wrath's jaw dropped, clearly not having expected such a response.
"And those behind me are mature dragons from the Red, Black, Blue, and White clans respectively."
Bartius introduced not only himself but also the dragons behind him.
"I'd like to fight that human."
"Hello!"
"So that's Raon Zieghart..."
"One of only six humans with the highest danger rating."
The dragons looked at him with varying reactions according to their individual personalities.
"I'll ask again. Was it a demon king you fought?"
Bartius repeated his question about the demon king.
"What if it was?"
Since the way he asked implied he already knew the answer, Raon responded truthfully.
[Stupid lizard. I'm not the only demon king here!]
Lust sneered at the dragons for failing to recognize Raon's true nature.
-They're quite arrogant, aren't they?
[I'll just wipe them all out!]
[No, please just stay quiet!]
Raon restrained both Wrath and Lust as he looked back at the dragon.
"So you drove away the demon king."
Bartius exhaled heavily and twisted his lips. Though it was a sneer, it didn't seem directed at Raon.
"It's a truly messed-up era. What needs to be done isn't done, and what shouldn't happen comes to pass."
He slowly raised his gaze while expressing contempt, though it was impossible to say to who this contempt was directed.
"What are you trying to say?"
Raon frowned as he looked at Bartius.
"I came here to assess you. To understand what kind of human Raon Zieghart is."
Bartius raised his hand with painstaking slowness.
"Can you show us hope?"
Fighting spirit emanated from him, craving battle. Unlike other dragons, there was no killing intent, but his will was heated enough to melt aura.
"Fine...But if I win, you'll tell me everything."
Raon aimed his Heavenly Drive at Bartius with an arrogant nod.
"It won't take long."