‘This works pretty well.’
The moment the Prophet’s Ring imprinted itself onto his finger, Kain instinctively understood how to use it.
Including its ability.
‘Absolute commands over dragons. With this, there won’t be much left to fear.’
Even now, Kain wasn’t afraid of dragons.
But with only 4-Star Aura, there were limits to what he could hunt.
‘Now that I have the ring, I can accelerate my growth even more.’
Dragon hunting would become considerably easier with this ring.
For example, he could order them to kill themselves.
‘Of course, an order to surrender one’s life won’t work that easily. The more strongly the target resists, the more mana the command requires.’
Relatively light commands like kneeling or closing one’s eyes worked.
But forcing through an order to commit suicide would require an enormous amount of mana.
‘And it also depends on the level of the dragon being targeted…….’
In reality, this was about the limit of what Kain could force Camiloas to do right now.
But Camiloas didn’t know that.
Naturally, he couldn’t help but panic when his own body refused to obey him.
‘He might even be afraid that I could kill him if I wanted.’
Kain’s prediction was correct.
“Open your eyes.”
Camiloas slowly opened them according to the command.
Fear was visible in his gaze.
“Do you believe me now? The relic’s power.”
[I-I believe you……. You truly are the Prophet…….]
Camiloas still had his chin pressed flat against the ground.
The posture itself was humiliating for a dragon to assume before a human, but he had decided to accept it.
The being before him wasn’t a human.
He was the Prophet who would save dragonkind.
“Raise your head.”
Only after receiving permission did Camiloas regain control of his head.
“I have something to ask you.”
[Speak……. Prophet.]
“Where are the other relics?”
The most important thing right now was the location of the relics.
Kain only knew of three.
If he wanted to steal all of them before the Lord awakened, he needed to learn where the rest were.
However—
[I have heard nothing about the other relics.]
Apparently, Camiloas didn’t possess information of that level.
‘Makes sense. Even if the Lord told anyone, he probably only told ancient dragons.’
Then Kain would have to extract other information instead.
“You were the dragon contracted with the Ragnar Family, correct?”
[That is true. Though it was comparatively recent…….]
“Then which family were you connected to before that?”
[The Valerian Family.]
“A family of the Kingdom of Asel.”
Kain had already known that the Valerian Family was a traitorous family.
What he wanted to know was its connection to the dragons.
“Is your mother the one handling that family now?”
[H-how did you……?]
As expected.
Ignition was the dragon contracted with the Valerian Family.
“Name every family that worships dragons. Tell me which dragon each one has contracted with as well.”
[The Antonio Family is contracted with a Black Dragon named Bellacors. The Helios Family is contracted with Aurelion…….]
Even without Kain using the Absolute Command, Camiloas readily divulged the information.
He knew he wasn’t supposed to reveal information about their followers to another human.
But the person before him wasn’t an ordinary human.
He was the Prophet.
If everything the Prophet did was for the sake of dragonkind, then Camiloas had no reason not to cooperate.
After extracting every bit of information from Camiloas, Kain wore a satisfied expression.
‘He had some fairly useful information after all.’
It had definitely been worth squeezing Camiloas for everything he knew.
Thanks to him, Kain now understood several facts far more clearly than he had a thousand years ago.
“Tell me about Ignition as well.”
[My mother? Why……?]
“If I am to save dragonkind, then I need to know more about dragons. I also want to confirm whether the information I already possess is accurate. Tell me everything. Whether she possesses a relic, where her lair is, her personality, her weaknesses. Everything.”
As he spoke, Kain lightly invoked the Absolute Command.
There was always a chance Camiloas might resist when it concerned his own mother.
But Camiloas surrendered the information with surprising ease.
To think he would even readily betray information about his own mother just because of the word salvation.
After obtaining everything he needed, Kain realized there was nothing more to gain from Camiloas.
‘No. More precisely, there’s still one heart left.’
Kain wanted to kill him now and consume his heart.
But it wasn’t time yet.
If he was going to kill Camiloas, he should first use him for everything he was worth.
‘A good plan just came to mind.’
Kain smiled and praised him.
“Your information was very helpful. You looked arrogant at first, but it turns out you’re quite a useful dragon.”
[Th-thank you, Prophet.]
Still apparently uncomfortable with Kain’s human appearance, Camiloas gave an awkward nod.
“Before I leave, I’ll give you one final command.”
Kain continued smiling.
“Burn Duke Antonio’s territory to the ground.”
***
The Antonio Family held tremendous influence within the Bellion Kingdom.
A long history.
Immense wealth.
Connections to the royal family.
There was a reason the crown had entrusted them with such a strategically important duchy.
But beneath the surface, the family was anything but clean.
They exploited their subjects to fill their treasure vaults and offered servants who performed poorly as sacrifices to dragons.
‘The fact that they’re a dragon-worshipping family is already reason enough for them to die.’
Even so, the people of the territory were innocent.
So Kain ordered them to evacuate the duchy.
Of course, the order was issued in Lorenzo Antonio’s name.
‘He’s basically my puppet right now.’
Mind Domination was a spell only possible at the Ninth Circle.
It wasn’t permanent, but it would last for a while.
‘It’s only a matter of time before Camiloas reduces Duke Antonio’s territory to ashes.’
Kain had ordered Camiloas not to attack until the people had evacuated, so there was still some time.
Then something suddenly occurred to him.
‘Around this time, Mother’s symptoms should start appearing.’
Kain hurried back toward the palace.
He left Lorenzo Antonio behind in the duchy.
Walter as well.
Kain still intended to keep using him as bait, so there was no reason to kill him yet.
‘I planted Bernatus’s mana in him, so I can track his location whenever I want.’
Walter knew plenty of secrets, but Kain didn’t care even if he went around telling everyone.
‘A man who isn’t even a Sword Master killed a dragon and forced another one to kneel? Anyone would think he was boasting.’
Still, the Antonio Family would certainly feel the pain.
Their entire house was about to be destroyed overnight.
“Kain, you’re finally back?”
When Kain arrived at the palace, Jake looked at him worriedly.
“Why? Did something happen?”
“Yeah, it’s just…… your mother…….”
As expected, her symptoms had appeared.
Kain immediately quickened his pace.
“Mother!”
“Kain…… You’re back?”
Serena sat up from the bed.
Her complexion looked paler than when he had last seen her.
It wasn’t his imagination.
Kain remembered his mother’s face perfectly from before he left.
“How are you feeling? Are you all right?”
“What are you talking about? I’m perfectly fine.”
“But your hands are trembling, and you don’t look well.”
“You’re worrying over nothing. I’m fine.”
That was what she said, but there was a shadow over Serena’s expression that hadn’t been there before.
‘Mother’s illness is getting worse.’
Before his regression, Kain hadn’t properly cared for his mother during this period.
He had become intoxicated by the extravagant life of the royal palace and wasted his time meaninglessly.
He had spent his days indulging himself without even realizing that the condition of his most precious family member was worsening.
He had no intention of repeating the same mistake after regressing.
‘I need to slow the progression of the disease.’
Kain didn’t know the name of his mother’s illness.
All he knew was that her hands and feet gradually stiffened.
At present, it was considered incurable.
Fortunately, however, Kain knew how to treat it.
He had spent years wandering in search of a cure.
‘Though I can’t cure it right now.’
He did know how to slow its progression.
Kain immediately went to find Jake.
“How did you know Mother was sick?”
“I was watching her nearby, and her hands kept trembling. She tried to hide it, but it was obvious.”
“Then do exactly as I tell you. Here.”
The parchment Kain handed him contained a list of ingredients and instructions for using them.
“Simmer Mana Herb leaves over low heat for half a day. Filter the water three times, then grind the remaining leaves and squeeze out the juice. Have her drink that. The effect should appear immediately.”
“Where did you even learn something like this?”
“You think I only went outside to fool around?”
Kain smoothly brushed aside his friend’s suspicions.
He couldn’t exactly tell Jake that he had learned it by threatening Dark Mages before his regression.
‘The Dark Mages of the Karden Kingdom knew about it. Their test subjects used to develop symptoms like these.’
They abducted innocent civilians and used them for human experimentation.
They alone had known this method.
‘If taken when the symptoms first begin appearing in earnest, it can slow the progression.’
It wasn’t a cure.
But it would buy them enough time.
Jake followed Kain’s instructions and prepared the medicine from the Mana Herb.
After simmering it thoroughly for half a day, he extracted the juice exactly as Kain had instructed and approached Serena.
“Please drink this.”
“What is it?”
“I’m not entirely sure either. But it’s medicine made according to Kain’s instructions. He said it would ease Your Highness’s symptoms.”
Serena seemed somewhat doubtful.
But when she heard that Kain had prepared it for her, she drank it without much hesitation.
Her labored breathing soon stabilized.
The trembling in her hands also subsided.
Around the same time, some color returned to her face.
“Th-this really does work. Please tell Kain I’m grateful.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Delighted, Jake immediately ran to Kain to share the news.
“Kain! The medicine you told me about really seems to work. She’s getting better!”
“That’s a relief.”
Kain felt relieved, but he couldn’t simply rejoice.
‘It only eased the symptoms temporarily. It hasn’t cured the disease.’
To cure it, he would ultimately have to obtain that.
The Lich King’s Heart.
The Life Vessel.
The problem was that obtaining it meant setting foot on the Continent of Death.
‘But that’s a problem for later.’
Kain looked out the window.
It was about time for Camiloas to start moving.
***
Dragons were an inherently proud race.
They could sense mana from the moment they were born and wield Ninth-Circle magic before even reaching a hundred years of age.
That was why they were called the pinnacle of magic.
On top of that, they could use Dragon Speech, the unique Words of Power of dragonkind.
Who could possibly deny that they were the strongest race?
With no race stronger than themselves, it was only natural that they became arrogant and held their heads high.
But that had only been true before the prophecy of the God of Heaven.
After the prophecy foretold the end of their race, dragons began trembling with anxiety.
Because they had no idea when their near-eternal lives might end.
That was why the Lord’s command to treat the Prophet with special care had spread throughout dragonkind.
Not that it made the humiliation any easier to swallow.
‘Why did he order me to burn Duke Antonio’s territory?’
Camiloas thought about nothing else as he flew through the sky.
The Antonio Family served the Black Dragon Bellacors, who lived in the Bellion Kingdom.
They concealed that fact from the outside world, but in any case, they weren’t enemies of Camiloas.
Even so, he couldn’t refuse the Prophet’s order to burn their territory.
‘Is it because of that damned ring’s power……?’
He had already experienced it when he was forced to bow before a human.
He had learned firsthand that sheer willpower could never overcome it.
Even when he didn’t want to obey, his chin had remained pressed against the ground and refused to move.
‘That was the first time I’d ever experienced anything like it.’
A ring capable of issuing Absolute Commands to dragons.
Part of him thought it was dangerous.
But another part of him also believed he should obey the Prophet.
Whatever his outward appearance, wasn’t he the being who had manifested on this land to save dragonkind?
‘He must have his reasons…….’
Thinking any further would only make his head hurt.
Camiloas simply beat his wings and moved his massive body as ordered.
A gigantic shadow fell over Duke Antonio’s territory.
The streets were empty.
The people had already evacuated.
Camiloas opened his jaws wide.
ROOOOOAR—!
Flame Breath.
A secret art befitting a Red Dragon.
It poured down over the entire duchy.