{Mid-day, Lucifer's Office}
"By the way," I heard Sirzechs say as the two of us got ready to teleport. "Thank your queen for the cookies, they were lovely."
It had been two days since the thing with Serafall, and before she left, Ingvild had packed a lot of biscuits and cookies. From that, I knew she must have shared some.
"She's great at baking," I said. Cooking too—but I didn't need guests showing up at my place every day.
Sirzechs sneakily picked a cookie from the table before anyone could notice. Not that there was anyone besides Grayfia, but I guess even a Satan could get in trouble for praising another woman's cooking.
"Ready?" he asked as the circle of Lucifer appeared beneath us.
"I am."
We were off to the mountain Tannin ruled, which happened to fall under the outskirts of Gremory lands.
Lucifer's sigil glowed bright red, far brighter than mine. Maybe it was because of rank, maybe power—either way, I wanted mine to shine just as bright someday.
From the corner, I saw Grayfia give a slight bow as Sirzechs and I began to dissipate.
I was used to this sort of teleportation now, but I still didn't like it.
We were pulled out of his office, stranded in an empty void for a split second, and then dropped into a place I'd never been before.
The terrain was rough and rocky, the kind that looked brutal to cross.
"We are at Tannin's mountain," Sirzechs said. "He should have sensed our presence immediately, so let's wai—"
"SSIIRRZZZEEEECCCHHHSSSSS!"
The roar shook the earth, louder than anything I had ever heard. The whole mountain trembled under it.
The sun here already looked weak behind heavy clouds and fog, but then two massive wings stretched open, casting a shadow so deep it looked like night had fallen.
Looking forward, I couldn't help but stare in awe.
[Race: Dragon Devil Hybrid]
Humongous didn't even begin to describe the beast in front of me.
[Rank: Ultimate Class]
It was taller than the mountain itself, big enough to topple it with a single step.
Yes—step.
It stood on two legs, its body mostly humanoid, not the four-legged dragon I'd always pictured.
Its scales looked maroon with gray along the chest and thighs, golden horns curved downward, and claws sharp enough to rip buildings apart.
And funnily enough, it wore a black shoulder plate like armor, plus a metallic belt holding up a dirty gray loincloth.
At first glance it was terrifying, an immense presence that made my skin crawl. But the shoulder pad and loincloth? Honestly, they made it look kind of funny.
"HOW DARE YOU APPEAR AT THIS HOUR!"
The voice nearly burst my eardrums. Devil senses were already sharp enough to make small noises sound loud—this was torture.
"I TOLD YOU EITHER MORNING OR EVENING!" he bellowed. "THIS IS MY NAPPING HOUR!"
My lips twitched upward. Even a Dragon King had nap time.
Sirzechs rubbed the back of his head. "You know it isn't easy to make time even for promised trips, Tannin. As a Satan I barely even see my family."
Tannin roared, shaking the entire place before taking a step forward.
Couldn't he make his body smaller? I swear I remember him being able to do that.
"EXCUSES!" he roared again. "ALWAYS EXCUSES!"
Finally, when he came close, he noticed me.
With his long snout, he took a deep whiff.
"THAT SMELL…" His slit pupils narrowed even more. "IT'S THAT NASTY BARBATOS!"
I immediately remembered Sirzechs once saying my father had slain a few dragons. And now I was wondering if coming here had been such a good idea.
Seeing my concern, Sirzechs placed a hand on my shoulder.
"He's the one we talked about, Tannin. And he isn't an heir anymore, but a Lord. You'll need to show respect."
That wasn't a good idea, right? Making the dragon even more annoyed?
This couldn't be good.
"YOU DARE!"
Yep, not good. The mountain next to him crumbled as he slammed his fist into it.
"NEVER WILL I CALL A DEVIL, LORD!"
Something told me he didn't even call Mephisto his master, "lord."
The dragon lowered his head toward me, staring directly at me.
"YOU SMELL STRONG," he said. "NOT AS STRONG AS THAT ONCE-STRONG BARBATOS, BUT STILL STRONG!"
"He's his son," Sirzechs added. I couldn't tell if he was enjoying winding up the dragon or if he had a plan. "And the son of Isolde Valefar."
Looking up, I saw the dragon suddenly go quiet.
Ridiculous, considering he had been roaring just a second ago.
"OH?" he said, surprisingly with a softer voice. "HE IS THE SON OF HIM AND… HER?"
Just… who exactly was my mother, that everyone reacted this way to her name? I'd heard from Serafall, but what about him?
"THAT DOESN'T LOWER THE HATRED I HAVE FOR HIS FATHER…" He hesitated. "BUT IT DOES MAKE HIM A LITTLE MORE TOLERABLE."
"Your mother saved his life once," Sirzechs whispered in my ear. "So he respects her a lot."
If I'd realized anything so far, it was that my father loved picking fights and my mother loved caring for others. An almost cartoonish couple.
"Tannin," Sirzechs shook his head with a smile. "Enough with the act. You've given him the shock. Now be civil."
Wait…
The dragon looked at me, then at Sirzechs and—
"GAHAHAHA!" He burst out laughing. "I WAS HAVING FUN WATCHING HIS EXPRESSIONS, SIRZECHS!"
"You had your fun, now reduce that size. It's hard to talk with you in that form," Sirzechs complained. "It's distracting."
You mean… all of that had just been an act?
The dragon laughed again as he stepped closer. As he did, his body began to shrink.
He still kept the same humanoid-dragon form, but now he was much smaller.
Instead of being the height of a mountain, he was about ten feet tall. He flew toward us and landed just a meter and a half away.
"So, this is the boy, Faiser, huh?" He inspected me, his voice much lower now. "Definitely has the presence of both Valefar and that accursed Barbatos."
"I did tell you he's their son," Sirzechs said with a smile in my direction. "And he's strong."
Tannin snorted at the mention of strong, but he didn't deny it. Even he could sense that I was an Ultimate-Class. Maybe not on the same tier of Ultimate-Class as him, but still not a level that could be considered weak in any way.
Now that I realized Tannin wasn't as unapproachable as he'd been acting, I decided to do the introductions.
"I've heard a lot about you, Tannin of the Blaze Meteor," I said, extending a hand forward. "The former Dragon King, one of the previous Five Kings, and a legendary dragon. It's an honor to meet you. I am Faiser Valefar-Barbatos, Lord of both the Valefar and Barbatos pillars."
Tannin stared at my outstretched hand while I noticed Sirzechs shaking his head at me.
"Boy," Tannin grinned, making me realize I might've just screwed up. "That's not how you greet a dragon—especially not if you want to stand on equal footing with them."
"What do—"
I didn't even get to finish asking before a scaly fist shot at me. I barely crossed my arms in time, taking the hit there instead of in my gut. The punch was strong enough to throw me back a couple of meters.
My arms felt like they'd just been smashed with hammers, trembling from the impact. A little slower on my part, and I might've been puking from a blow to the stomach.
"That's how you greet a dragon as an equal!" he laughed. "By not dying or falling to your knees!"
"He isn't versed in dragon culture, Tannin," Sirzechs reminded him. "His father was, but Faiser isn't Faustus. And Faustus passed away before he could teach him much."
"Shame," Tannin said. "That Barbatos was an annoying bastard, but he was a tough and cultured bastard. At least he left behind a boy with strength."
"I apologize for not being familiar with dragon culture, but I promise you I mean no disrespect," I said. "I'm here to—"
"To ask my son to join your peerage?" he laughed. "I know, boy, but that isn't my issue."
That threw me off.
"What do you mean?"
The dragon grinned, and from the corner of my eye I saw Sirzechs smiling too.
"What my son does isn't my issue," the dragon said. And right then, I heard a sudden shout.
"WHERE!"
It was loud.
"IS!"
"What Bova does is Bova's business, not mine," Tannin said. "So ask him yourself. I won't interfere."
"HE!"
And in that instant, a meteor came crashing down from the sky, landing just a few meters away and kicking up a shockwave strong enough to nearly knock us back.
"WHERE IS HE!" I heard the shout—boyish, loud, and way too excited. "WHERE IS THE DEVIL THAT WANTS TO FIGHT ME!"
Yeah, I knew exactly who it was.
[Quest Alert]
[Quest: The Dragon Tamer!
Objective: Win against the dragon opponent without taking a single hit.]
[Reward: Vial of Dragon Flame]
Bova, the son of Tannin.
The Destroyer.
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{A/N: Got a pat reon named RedLamp01 with 30+ chapters. }