VOLUME 10: CHAPTER 20

VOLUME 10: CHAPTER 20

After delegating his tasks to Secretary Irene and the former King Alvis, Lark decided to finally leave for the United Grakas Alliance.

“Want to ride on my back, King Lark?” said Agnus.

Lark’s group had just finished with their preparations when Agnus made this offer. Dragons were prideful creatures, and Lark didn’t expect Agnus to make the offer himself. Indeed, if they rode the back of this Dragon, they would be able to reach the United Grakas Alliance faster.

“Now, that’s unexpected,” said Lark.

Agnus stretched his arms upward, and without bothering to cover his mouth, he yawned. He gazed at Lark, then at the two disciples standing to his left and right.

“Don’t misunderstand,” said Agnus. “Although we are in an alliance, I wouldn’t stoop so low as allow just anyone to ride my back. Only you are permitted. As for your disciples, they can walk or run all the way there. I don’t care.”

Lark didn’t take offense at this. Just like humans, Dragons had things they would never compromise with. Even Chryselle and Anandra were unperturbed by the Dragon’s statement, as they knew that their Master wouldn’t just leave without them.

Lark let out a small laugh and said, “We’ll be stopping by the Forbidden Region anyway. The remaining mana inside Morpheus should still be enough for us to fly all the way there.”

“Forbidden Region, Master?” said Chryselle.

“This thing needs to eat,” The bracer Lark equipped on his arm quickly morphed into a translucent sword. “And we’ll be stopping by the Forbidden Region’s labyrinth to replenish its mana.”

Chryselle and Anandra had heard of this story from Lark before. According to him, the labyrinth at the center of the Forbidden Region near Daxton City was where he met the seven-headed monster. Moreover, it was also the place where he obtained the Sword of Morpheus. It was a treasure trove where a Dragon Vein’s pathway – the source of all mana in this world – was located.

“Father never told me about this,” said Agnus, clearly impressed by the sword Lark held. “A shapeshifting sword of pure mana. And not only that,” his gaze moved to the gemstones embedded on the hilt, “it was crafted using the core of different Elementals.”

Elementals were extremely powerful creatures that lorded over the spirits in this world. They were the very essence of nature itself. Some religions considered them the origin of the spirits, while some even considered them the Seven Gods’ fingers.

Like the Dragons, the Elementals were elusive creatures, and not much were known among them. Even in the records of various historians and scholars, not much information about them had been written over the millennia.

“When I was young, father frequently bragged about his battle with the Earth Elemental living in the Dwarven Mountains,” said Agnus. “Half a million dwarves, was it? Father told me that the entire Dwarven Capital was destroyed during their fight, and countless dwarves died as a result.”

No matter how much time had passed, Lark still found it distasteful that Agnus and the other Dragons treated the dwarves as nothing but insignificant insects. Even now, while he recalled his father’s story, Lark couldn’t feel any regret or remorse in Agnus’ voice. On the contrary, he seemed amused.

“It happened three hundred years ago.” Agnus continued his story. “I wasn’t born yet back then. As a result of their battle, my father’s two older brothers died. Even father barely survived. The battle between three Dragons and an Elemental lasted half a month, and created a gigantic rift in the Dwarven Mountains, forming what was now known as the Bottomless Gorge.”

Agnus picked his ears. “Elementals sure are powerful. Luckily, they never moved in groups. Otherwise, our tribe would have been driven out of the Dwarven Mountains by now.”

After hearing Agnus’ story, Lark willed the Sword of Morpheus to revert into a bracer.

“That’s quite an interesting story,” said Lark.

“Really?” Agnus blew on the finger he used to pick his ears. “I heard that story so many times that I could even recite father’s exact words by now. When I was young, he kept bragging about killing an Elemental. Elemental this, elemental that, blah blah blah.”

Lark chuckled. He could imagine the young Agnus’ face as he was forced to listen to his father’s story every day.

“Judging by your story, the Elemental your father fought must have been a full-grown adult,” said Lark. “What happened to its core?”

An Elemental’s core was a material even more precious than a pinnacle-grade mana stone. Not only was it durable and capable of storing vast amounts of mana, it also had an incredibly high affinity to a specific element. This was the reason why Lark decided to use Elemental cores for the Sword of Morpheus back then.

Mana stones would break if used as a medium, but an Elemental’s core was an entirely different matter. It was nearly as sturdy as adamantite and had higher mana conductivity than mithril.

“It’s now the medium for the Lair’s barrier,” said Agnus.

“The Lair’s barrier?” said Lark. “You mean that barrier enclosing the Dwarven Kingdom?”

“That’s right,” Agnus nodded.

It was a surprising discovery. At first, Lark thought that one of the Fire Dragons was using its body as a medium for Heaven’s Dominion, the pinnacle-grade barrier protecting the Dwarven Kingdom.

But hearing Agnus’ story, it seemed that the speculations of both dwarves and humans were wrong all along. The tribe of Fire Dragons living in the Dwarven Mountain Range never used their bodies as a medium.

Thinking of it now, everything made sense. It explained how Vulcan and the other members of his tribe could freely come and go from the Dwarven Kingdom as they pleased. It also explained how they’d managed to expand that barrier to such a massive scale. The barrier covered not only the Dwarven Kingdom but also a large portion of the mountains.

“The one father killed was an Earth Elemental,” said Agnus. “And as Fire Dragons, we have no other use for it. If it were a Fire Elemental, we would have ingested the core slowly over the years and used it to strengthen our bodies.”

“But enough of my boring story,” said Agnus. “When are we departing, King Lark?”

Lark looked at Chryselle and Anandra to check if they were ready. After confirming that the two were ready to go, he said, “Right now.”

Lark started to cast several ninth-tier spells. Soon, four translucent butterfly-like creatures made of pure mana appeared before them. Each of them had three pairs of wings spanning seven meters in length.

“We’re stopping by the Forbidden Region first,” said Lark. “Get on.”

Lark, Chryselle, and Anandra immediately got on their respective mounts. Chryselle was mesmerized by the translucent butterflies, and she even started stroking their crystal-like wings affectionately. Agnus, on the other hand, looked at the translucent creatures disapprovingly.

“I’m faster, and my back is more comfortable to ride than these things,” Agnus said in displeasure.

After mumbling incomprehensible words to himself, Agnus eventually hopped on.

“Well, this is a good experience too,” said Agnus.

Lark smiled. Unlike Vulcan, Agnus felt like a naïve, clueless child. He was more honest with his views, and after confirming that Lark wasn’t as stringent as he thought, he even started interacting comfortably with Lark.

“Let’s go,” said Lark.

The translucent creatures flew up and slowly gained altitude. After reaching a certain height, they flapped their wings faster, and shot toward the direction of the Forbidden Region.

***

The journey to the Forbidden Region was unremarkable. After reaching Daxton city, Lark ordered the translucent butterflies to head straight to the labyrinth. They flew over the massive desert, bypassing the hordes of monsters on the ground.

“It’s avoiding us,” mumbled Chryselle.

Chryselle was already prepared to fight upon seeing a swarm of gigantic beetles in the sky. But to her surprise, the swarm turned around and avoided their group.

“Of course, they’ll avoid us,” said Lark. “Although he’s young, Agnus is still a Dragon.”

Chryselle finally understood the swarm’s reaction. She realized that Agnus had been exuding some of his Dragon Fear the moment they entered the Forbidden Region. It was weak enough not to affect Lark’s disciples, but strong enough for the monsters to feel the Dragon’s presence. Even the giant scorpions below went into hiding the moment Lark’s group flew over them.

“King Lark,” said Agnus. “This Forbidden Region is man-made.”

Lark was impressed that Agnus realized it this easily. Indeed, this region had been artificially created by the God of Poison and the Dragon Devourer to safely store Evander Alaester’s treasures.

“And although those monsters below us are weaker than those from the Forbidden Region of the Dwarven Mountains, they should be capable of annihilating any massive armies trying to enter this territory,” added the young Dragon.

Everything Agnus had said was correct. Although the monsters in this Forbidden Region were relatively weak, the environment artificially created by Quervanu, the God of Poison, greatly enhanced their ability to hunt and kill their prey.

The flesh-eating gas oozing out of the ground, coupled with the poisonous monsters roaming the desert, made this territory a natural deterrent against the advancement of the United Grakas Alliance.

“That’s right,” said Lark. “This place was created by my former disciples over a millennium ago.”

“King Lark’s disciples?” said Agnus.

“Quervanu and Kubarkava,” said Lark.

Agnus’ ears twitched from excitement. “K-Kubarkava?!”

Although Agnus had heard from his father that the Dragon Devourer was related to King Lark, he never expected to encounter a past relic of that legendary Dragon hunter this soon.

The Dragon Race revered the strong. And for them, the Dragon Devourer who’d killed over a hundred Dragons during the Age of Magic was a human worthy of their admiration. They did not bear a grudge against him, as the Dragon Devourer always moved alone whenever he fought against the Dragons. Although he was merciless, he never resorted to dirty tricks and tactics. Moreover, he never backed down from fights and challenges. According to Vulcan, there were even stories that the Dragon Devourer once fought against fifteen Dragons at once on his own and won.

Agnus wasn’t expecting much when they first came here, but now, he couldn’t wait to see the labyrinth the Dragon Devourer helped create.

“We’re here,” said Lark.

Below them, they could see a massive structure that resembled a temple. Its walls were plated with bronze, and two large statues were erected at the entrance.

The translucent butterflies flew down. Lark dispelled his magic, and they vanished entirely. Softly, Lark’s group landed on the ground.

Lark frowned. “What happened here?”

“What’s wrong, master?” said Chryselle, noticing Lark’s cold gaze.

“The statues weren’t in this state the last time I came here,” said Lark.

Both of the heads of the statues at the entrance had been cut. And the heads that had fallen on the ground were destroyed until they turned into nothing but small pieces of rocks. It felt as though the person who did this destroyed those heads to vent his anger.

“They’re the statues of my two disciples,” said Lark.

Agnus started trembling in anger upon hearing this. He growled, “The statue of the Dragon Devourer was destroyed by someone?”

“Calm down, Agnus,” said Lark. “Your Dragon Fear is making Chryselle uncomfortable.”

Agnus had unconsciously exuded large amounts of Dragon Fear due to his anger. Looking at Chryselle, the young Dragon realized that his Dragon Fear was putting tremendous pressure on her. Although she remained standing, beads of sweat had formed on her forehead. Surprisingly, Lark’s other disciple – Anandra – was unaffected.

Agnus immediately retracted his Dragon Fear, “I apologize, King Lark.”

Agnus looked at the pieces of rock lying next to the headless statue. “But who did this?”

The monsters in the ruins never approached this place. Although the Earth Scylla had left this labyrinth, its scent lingered. The labyrinth’s entrance was practically a haven.

Lark bent down and touched the scorch mark on the ground. “Lightning magic.”

Someone well-versed with lightning magic had destroyed the heads of the two statues. According to Alecto, the ‘Lord of Thunder’ Nikolai had been combing Daxton City for Lark’s whereabouts before. It was an event that happened right after Lark took away the Golden Statue from the Forbidden Region.

Although there were not enough evidences to pinpoint the culprit, Lark believed that there was a high chance that Nikolai did this.

“King Lark, please tell me,” said Agnus, “that there’s another statue of the Dragon Devourer inside this labyrinth.”

“There is none,” said Lark.

“W-What?” Agnus ruffled his head in anger. He roared, “Whoever destroyed their heads! I’ll make you suffer a fate worse than death the moment I catch you!”

Lark fell silent for several seconds as he gazed at the destroyed statues of his disciples. Honestly speaking, he found this disheartening. Memory magic wasn’t perfect. Now that they’d been destroyed, it wouldn’t be easy to recreate their faces just from his memory alone.

“Let’s head inside,” said Lark.

Their group entered the labyrinths uppermost floor, and to their dismay, even the murals on the ceiling and the walls had been destroyed. Innumerable scorch marks were seen here and there, as though the perpetrator had gone on a rampage inside this place.

The murals, which depicted the history personally seen by Quervanu and Kubarkava before their deaths, had also been destroyed by someone.