Chapter 111

“…Sis, I think that ogre is the Dragon Lord Rakia mentioned.”

Roo peeked out from under the hat and whispered to Ariel.

“He claimed to be the ruler of the southern region, and most importantly, ogres’ eyes don’t glow golden like that.”

Ariel nodded slightly upon hearing Roo’s words.

Somehow, even to Ariel, he didn’t seem like an ordinary ogre.

In fact, none of the ogres Ariel had met so far spoke so fluently.

They just roared things like “Uuurk!” and charged.

“Now, choose, little elf!”

The ogre, Jakariss, puffed up his body and shouted. His massive muscles bulged as if they were about to burst.

“If you kneel before me now, with that cute face, and sincerely apologize…”

*Thud!*

In that instant, Ariel disappeared from her spot.

And then reappeared in front of Jakariss.

A transcendent movement speed.

“!”

Jakariss couldn’t react. Before he could, Ariel’s fist slammed into his stomach.

*Thwack.*

The thick layer of fat around Jakariss’s muscular belly wobbled.

Jakariss’s eyes bulged as if they were about to pop out, and his body bent like a bow.

The next moment, Jakariss’s massive frame began to fly backward.

He crashed through trees, tore through bushes, and disappeared.

A moment later, a *boom!* echoed from afar, followed by a cloud of dust.

“Si-sis…”

Roo slowly flew out from under Ariel’s hat.

A bewildered expression was plastered on Roo’s face.

“E-even so, he’s the Dragon Lord, sis… The leader of the dragons…?”

Dragons are the strongest beings on the continent.

And among them, the strongest is the Dragon Lord.

An absolute powerhouse who has lived for thousands of years, accumulating wisdom and power.

To send such an opponent flying with a single punch, even for Ariel, this was…

“Sis.”

Roo spoke with a grave expression.

“Let’s just kill him.”

If they messed with the Dragon Lord, who knows how the other dragons would react.

Since they had touched their leader, the dragons likely wouldn’t let it slide.

Dragons are a very prideful race, after all.

Then Ariel would have to face all the dragons on the continent.

‘Though I doubt sis would lose…’

Even if that happened, Roo thought Ariel wouldn’t even blink.

Just like how she split the evil god Nakshis in two, she might send every dragon that comes at her to the afterlife.

But if that happened, there would be no dragons left on the continent, and the biggest problem was that Rakia was also a dragon, which could complicate things.

So the best course of action right now was…

“Let’s kill him, sis.”

Eliminate the evidence.

*

Ariel walked in the direction Jakariss had flown.

Her face was as calm as if she were out for a stroll.

Jakariss seemed to have flown farther than expected, but there was no worry of losing track.

The trees and bushes were bent and broken in one direction.

“First, let’s rip his head off. No, wait. Maybe pierce his heart with Ragnarok…”

Roo kept insisting on killing the Dragon Lord.

“If we kill him and hide the body with a magical item, no one will know. What happened here will be a secret between you and me. No, what even happened here? We just crossed the Caldera Desert, passed through the jungle, and went to the ruins of the Giant Race…”

But Ariel had no intention of killing Jakariss.

If Jakariss had attacked Roo or even touched Sparki, she might have considered it, but earlier, Jakariss had only demanded an apology.

Even though he talked big, he hadn’t done anything particularly threatening. He just puffed up his body and tried to intimidate.

Still, the reason Ariel attacked was…

Probably because of Rakia.

Because of Jakariss, Rakia couldn’t go on the adventure.

The moment she found out Jakariss was the Dragon Lord, Rakia’s sad expression when she said, “If it’s the southern region, I can’t go with you,” flashed in Ariel’s mind, and without thinking, she attacked.

Still, she had controlled her strength as much as possible. Was there still room for conversation?

Ariel walked while thinking about this and that, and soon arrived where Jakariss was.

Jakariss was sprawled out at the base of a massive rock.

Judging by the deep marks on the rock, he must have crashed into it and fallen.

“Si-sis.”

Roo whispered quietly.

“That guy… his eyes are open.”

“…!”

Ariel was startled.

Jakariss’s limbs were bent in unnatural directions.

Yet his eyes were wide open.

“…It seems he passed out with his eyes open.”

At Roo’s words, Ariel felt relieved.

She had been worried he might have died.

“Now’s our chance, sis. Let’s cut his throat.”

Roo urged Ariel.

For a mere fairy to call the Dragon Lord “this guy” and urge his death…

If other dragons found out, they’d be furious.

Of course, if it were just Roo, she wouldn’t dare act so boldly toward a dragon.

But with Ariel as a reliable presence and having befriended Rakia, dragons weren’t that scary anymore.

Unless it was just the two of them, of course.

“I won’t kill him.”

Ariel walked up to Jakariss.

“I want to talk to him first.”

Then she began healing Jakariss with Sacred Magic.

As holy light emanated from Ariel’s hands, Roo asked,

“What if the conversation doesn’t go well?”

Ariel didn’t answer that question.

For just a fleeting moment, her eyes glinted coldly.

*

Dragon Lord Jakariss.

He was a dragon who had lived for a very long time.

Dragons are powerful beings with no natural predators, and their lifespans are so long that they can easily live for thousands of years.

Among them, Jakariss was the oldest.

Jakariss had witnessed the birth of every dragon currently on the continent.

He had seen Elysion, who now resides in the Crin Frost Mountain Range, since she was a hatchling, and he had even raised Elysion himself.

The once squealing, running-around Elysion had now become a mother of two and an ancient dragon.

Every time he saw that, Jakariss felt the passage of time and sometimes became sentimental, but a part of him also felt empty.

Jakariss had witnessed the changes of the continent over thousands of years and the rise and fall of many races.

Where there is a beginning, there is an end. Where there is birth, there is death.

Kingdoms rise, prosper, and fall.

But what about dragons?

Dragons seemed to exist outside that cycle.

A lifespan with no end in sight.

A blessing or a curse?

An eternal life grants infinite knowledge and power, but it also brings the realization that everything is fleeting.

The father of all dragons, their spiritual pillar.

Among dragons, Jakariss was revered as the Lord, but in truth, his heart was filled with deep doubt.

There was no goal he had to achieve, no enemy he had to fiercely fight.

It felt like he was just living day by day meaninglessly.

No, it wasn’t even living.

Just wasting time, having lost the essence of life.

In the endless flow of time, Jakariss’s soul had dulled to the point of becoming cold ash.

Jakariss longed for something to breathe new meaning into his life, but he didn’t know where to find it.

To escape the eternal sense of powerlessness, Jakariss decided to leave his lair and travel the continent.

One day, while passing by a human village, the humans screamed upon seeing Jakariss.

“Gasp! An ogre!”

At the time, Jakariss had polymorphed into an ogre.

There was no particular reason.

Other dragons often took the form of beautiful elves or humans, but Jakariss liked being an ogre.

At least he looked intimidating with his large build and muscles.

Ogres were the most powerful predators in the forest.

He had heard that Elysion’s son Lionel took the form of a dwarf, but that guy had always been eccentric, so it made sense.

Anyway, the humans were terrified of Jakariss.

They quickly closed the palisade, armed themselves, and desperately tried to protect the village.

In their eyes, Jakariss saw a desire to survive, love for one another, and attachment to life.

Jakariss couldn’t help but laugh.

Humans, who can’t even live a hundred years, cling to life so desperately?

Pathetic. So utterly pathetic.

But at that moment, something stirred within Jakariss.

It was an instinct he had long forgotten.

Even Jakariss hadn’t lived without crises.

When he was a hatchling, he had once almost died after picking a fight with an ogre.

Back then, Jakariss had struggled to survive the ogre, and in the process, he had experienced the preciousness and essence of life.

But over the long years, as he accumulated power and knowledge, that sense of crisis gradually faded, and even life itself became monotonous.

With a roar of “Uuurk!”, Jakariss happily charged toward the human village.

“He’s coming!!”

The humans struggled to protect their lives, and that vitality was transmitted to Jakariss.

Of course, Jakariss did nothing to the human village.

He just jumped over the palisade, roared, and ran around the village a few times.

Even when the humans shot arrows and threw stones, he ignored them. After all, they couldn’t hurt him.

Jakariss just wanted to feel.

The desperation of another being clinging to life.

That intense emotion made Jakariss feel alive, if only for a moment.

Perhaps it was from that day.

That Jakariss began seeking out various races, stimulating their fear and survival instincts…

*Poke. Poke. Poke.*

Jakariss slowly opened his eyes.

Something was poking his cheek.

Who would dare poke the Dragon Lord’s cheek without fear? Probably trying to scare him into feeling the crisis of life…

“Huh?”

What appeared before Jakariss was a doll.

A fat, ugly dragon doll.