The fifteen relics are said to have been left behind by the ancient Prophet.
Of those, Kain had used three in his previous life.
And those three were relics that even the Dragon Lord didn’t know about.
That meant most of the relics were unfamiliar even to Kain.
Even so, he knew how to use them.
The moment he touched one, the knowledge was engraved directly into his mind.
The relic Camiloas had possessed was no different.
‘Absolute Commands over dragons. What an incredible ability.’
The Prophet’s Eye, which allowed him to see five seconds into the future, was impressive enough, but the Absolute Command was just as extraordinary.
It allowed him to command that arrogant and powerful race at will.
‘Of course, the commands only work on dragons…….’
For Kain, who intended to drive dragons to extinction, there could hardly be a better ability.
‘It’s not without drawbacks.’
The commands only worked freely on dragons up to a certain level.
Against adult dragons that had lived for thousands of years or beyond, they were almost ineffective.
At best, Kain could force them to lower their heads or close their eyes.
It was impossible to make one commit suicide or force two dragons to fight each other through the command alone.
‘But that doesn’t mean there’s no way.’
To force through a difficult command, he needed to push the target’s own will in that direction first.
If he wanted a dragon to kill itself, he needed to make it want to die.
If he wanted two dragons to fight, he needed to plant anger toward the other dragon.
Just like Camiloas, who had left his lair moments ago.
‘His anger toward Bellacors increased the Absolute Command’s chance of success.’
Bellacors, the Black Dragon of the Bellion Kingdom.
Kain had known about him even before his regression.
‘He’s extremely greedy when it comes to treasure.’
And knowing Bellacors’s hatred of taking losses, Kain had also known that he would go to Camiloas and extort his treasure.
‘Camiloas lost treasures he’d spent thousands of years collecting.’
Enough to openly say that he wanted to kill Bellacors.
Thanks to that, breaking Camiloas’s will was easy.
‘And I gave the command directly into his ear.’
It was the closest place to the brain, so the Absolute Command must have taken hold even more effectively.
“I should get going. I can’t miss the spectacle of two dragons fighting.”
Kain started moving.
In the direction Camiloas had flown.
***
Bellacors’s wings beat lightly as he returned to his lair.
[To think I would obtain this much treasure.]
From the beginning, he had slapped Camiloas around and intimidated him because he wanted to steal his treasure.
But Camiloas had actually surrendered everything he owned.
[I thought getting even half would be a success. I never expected him to hand over all of it.]
It was an unexpected windfall.
More than enough to make up for the losses caused by the destruction of Duke Antonio’s territory.
There was an enormous amount of treasure, and much of it was extremely valuable as well.
[Hehehe.]
Just as his grin nearly stretched to his ears—
[Hmm?]
Bellacors narrowed his eyes.
He could smell one of his own kind.
Sure enough, a Red Dragon was flying toward him from behind.
It was Camiloas.
‘Why is that bastard here?’
Had he regretted surrendering his entire fortune and come to ask for it back?
Frowning, Bellacors turned in the air.
[What is it? Don’t tell me you want me to give back what you—]
WHAM—!
A tail struck him out of nowhere, sending his body reeling.
His anger came before the shock.
[YOU CRAZY BASTARD—!!]
That was when the brawl began in the sky.
WHAM! CRUNCH! SLASH!
Tails swung.
Teeth sank into necks.
Claws dug into backs as they climbed atop one another and tore away flesh.
The black dragon and the red dragon rolled over each other through the sky.
Judging by size alone, Camiloas was at a disadvantage.
But because he was smaller, he was more agile, and wounds steadily accumulated across both their bodies.
The two dragons tangled together in the air and crashed to the ground.
THUD—! THUD—!
Bodies thirty and fifty meters long slammed into the earth, shaking the ground and sending animals fleeing in terror.
[You bastard! You attack me out of nowhere?! Do you want to die?!]
Bellacors poured his swelling rage into his tail.
WHAM—!
Camiloas’s head snapped violently to the side.
But his will still hadn’t broken.
Flames began swirling inside his mouth.
ROAR—!
He was preparing to unleash his Breath.
[Have you actually lost your fucking mind?!]
Even Bellacors’s shout didn’t stop him.
Bellacors used Dragon Speech.
It was the only way to stop the Breath.
[Stop at once, Camiloas.]
It was a Word of Power that interfered with the target’s will, much like the Prophet’s Absolute Command.
It clearly worked.
Camiloas closed his mouth.
The moment he did, Bellacors’s tail smashed into his face.
[Crazy bastard! Were you planning to burn this whole area down?! Die! Dieee!!]
Bellacors beat him mercilessly.
But this much wasn’t enough to kill a dragon.
It might knock one unconscious, though.
[Huff…… Huff…….]
After venting his rage for quite some time, Bellacors finally regained his senses.
Camiloas wasn’t moving.
But Bellacors could still hear him breathing.
Apparently, he wasn’t dead.
[What a complete fucking lunatic. Attacking me out of nowhere.]
Bellacors had lost his temper as well.
But what Ancient Dragon could remain calm after being attacked first by a dragon thousands of years younger?
[All because I took a little treasure……. Is that really a reason to swing your tail at an elder?]
He called it “a little treasure,” but he could understand why Camiloas had lost his mind.
If Bellacors had seen his own treasure vault completely emptied, he would have lost his reason too.
[Still, you can’t come chasing after me and cause a scene like this! Insolent brat.]
It was obvious who had truly caused the scene, but Bellacors remained shamelessly self-righteous.
If Camiloas hadn’t attacked his territory first, none of this would have happened.
[When you wake up, come find me and apologize. Otherwise, I’ll tell your mother what happened.]
Leaving the unconscious Camiloas behind, Bellacors took flight.
By the time he had disappeared completely beyond the mountain range, Kain revealed himself.
“Dragon fights really are something else.”
As Kain admired the spectacular sight, something he had never even witnessed before his regression, Bernatus spoke from beside him.
[He…… got beaten pretty badly, didn’t he?]
Concern tinged his voice, making Kain glance sideways at him.
“Why? Worried he might die?”
[Well, yes……. He’s my elder, and he’s one of my own kind…….]
“Ridiculous. An arrogant dragon feeling sympathy?”
[There’s been all this talk about the destruction of our race lately…… Wouldn’t it be better if we all survived instead of just me?]
“Then you’re going to be surprised by what I’m about to do.”
[What? What are you going to……?]
Instead of answering, Kain stepped forward.
He drew his sword and approached the back of Camiloas’s neck.
[Prophet? What exactly are you planning to……?]
Kain still didn’t answer.
He was concentrating.
‘I need to fuse 5-Star Aura with Fifth-Circle power. That’s the only way to tear through those scales.’
Kain hadn’t reached the Fifth Circle yet.
But he could produce power comparable to it.
Thanks to the Mana Amplification Necklace he had taken from Aolios’s lair.
VMMMM—!
Aura and mana intertwined over the blade.
As Kain forcibly fused the two opposing energies together, the sword rang out like a scream.
GRRRRNN—!
Blue and red light twisted together across the blade.
The unstable power looked ready to explode at any moment.
A technique only a Magic Swordsman with two hearts could use.
SQUELCH—!
The power manifested along the sword pierced through the scales.
The scales of an adult dragon, which supposedly only a Sword Master could penetrate, were pierced with astonishing ease.
Camiloas’s eyes snapped open.
[KHRAAAGH……!]
“Shut your mouth.”
At the Absolute Command, Camiloas’s jaws clamped shut.
He couldn’t put up any meaningful resistance.
The sword that had pierced his scales had already reached his brain.
SPURT—!
The Red Dragon’s crimson blood soaked the red earth of Red Flame Mountain.
His enormous body went limp.
He no longer moved.
Watching from nearby, Bernatus couldn’t help being shocked by Kain’s sudden action.
[W-why…… Why did you kill Lord Camiloas……?]
“He knew I was the Prophet, yet he still treated me disrespectfully. You saw what he did.”
[…….]
He killed Camiloas for something that trivial?
Bernatus fell silent.
Perhaps noticing his reaction, Kain added,
“Don’t worry. This is part of the plan too. Do you really think I’d kill him over such a petty reason?”
[O-oh. I see.]
If it was part of the plan to prevent the destruction of dragonkind, then Bernatus could finally relax.
He had no choice but to be reassured.
He didn’t notice Kain’s gaze turning ice-cold at that moment.
‘Every dragon has to die.’
SLASH—!
Kain drew his sword free and began dissecting the corpse.
After cutting through the scales and hide covering the chest, a glowing red mass was revealed.
The Dragon Heart.
The first thing one had to claim after killing a dragon.
It was still warm, trembling faintly.
Kain grabbed it with both hands and brought it to his mouth.
CRUNCH!
[P-Prophet?!]
Bernatus’s eyes widened.
Kain ignored him.
The revolting taste filled his mouth, but he kept chewing.
Because this was the fastest way to become stronger.
Every swallow sent a scorching force down his throat.
His heart began pounding rapidly.
The dragon’s mana spread throughout his entire body.
Kain directed the flow toward his Aura heart.
“Ghk…….”
It felt as though his body were being torn apart.
But he had already experienced pain like this before.
He gritted his teeth and endured.
A short while later—
“Whew…….”
A smile appeared on Kain’s lips as he exhaled roughly.
‘My Aura reached 6-Star.’
In one leap, he had reached the level of an Advanced Sword Expert.
[You’re…… eating another one?]
Bernatus asked in a trembling voice.
It was his second time witnessing it, but he still couldn’t get used to the sight.
[I was told humans cannot digest Dragon Hearts…….]
“It works because I’m the Prophet.”
Kain offered no further explanation.
In truth, even Kain himself didn’t know why.
He only knew that he could.
After roughly shaking the blood from his hands, Kain raised his head.
“We should leave before she gets here.”
[Who do you mean?]
“The dead bastard’s mother.”
***
Dragons were divided into growth stages according to age.
Up to one hundred years old, they were Hatchlings.
Up to five hundred, Juveniles.
Up to two thousand, Young Dragons.
Beyond that, they were considered Adults.
And once they surpassed six thousand years, they were called Ancient Dragons.
Ignition was a 6,021-year-old Ancient Red Dragon.
She was supported by the Valerian Family and was roughly the same age as Bellacors.
And she had a son she wouldn’t trade for anything in the world.
Camiloas.
A three-thousand-year-old Adult Dragon.
Because dragons were fiercely independent, mother and son saw each other only once every hundred years.
But a mother’s love didn’t disappear simply because she was a dragon.
There was also a link that connected only parent and child.
And just now—
[Ca…… Camiloas?]
That link had been severed.
It meant something had happened to her son.
[Camil…… My baby!]
So shocked that she even forgot about Teleportation, Ignition burst out of the cave where she had secluded herself for years and took to the sky.
To see her son for the first time in a hundred years.