I glared at Deis as he sat on Lilith’s lap for some reason.

I was still in tremendous pain but I couldn’t get my revenge until after he paid me so I remained silent as he asked Lilith all kinds of questions.

“Do you think that maybe the Jester may have been responsible for your creation?” He asked as Lilith twirled his balding hair.

“I have considered it although this always leads me to ask why any other gods didn’t intervene or at least respond to his actions. He seems to be the only one who directly interferes with the mortal plane.”

“Mmm.” Deis sounded in agreement all while his secretary, a woman named Seongsilhan was on her phone.

“It’s just so tragic that the Great War began because of a misunderstanding.” Deis sighed as Lilith gently rubbed his back.

“Yeah. I tried with all that I had to convince those winged lizards that we never meant any harm but…”

Lilith looked at me.

“The angry are often hard of hearing.”

My eyes narrowed a little.

“So, you and Mr. Empty Wallet are doing what exactly? Why do you need your legendary axe to be made whole again?”

I explained what we setting up to do and this made Deis frown a little.

“Mmm… I’ve always wanted to be a part of history. Not to simply die off as the son of a Marchant who achieved nothing on his own and left no meaningful legacy.” He said although it seemed as though he was speaking to himself.

“Alright! I will aid you in what will undoubtedly be a legendary quest like those of old!” Deis grinned before hopping off of Lilith.

“I will give you the handle in exchange for the horn but expect my continued support even after this little transaction.”

“Thank you, Deis.”

The chubby man nodded before snapping his fingers, prompting his secretary to stand up.

“Oh- before I go, I think we should both look into those crazy Cultists have been running around. Some clues could lie with them as well.” Deis said as he picked his Lilith’s horn from the table.

“Will do,” I said while standing up alongside Lilith.

We accompanied Deis and his secretary to the front door and saw them off.

“He’s a wonderful little guy, isn’t he.”

“Yeah, I guess. I haven’t seen him that happy since we started doing business.” I chuckled while returning to the living room with Lilith in tow.

We returned to our couches and I pulled out my phone while taking in a begrudging breath.

“Now, as for the axe head, I’ll need to call in a favour from a certain asshole.”

[Hey, handsome. I hope you and Lilith are getting along.] Alexter cackled.

“I want to kill you, old man,” I said unthinkingly.

[I look forward to that but what exactly do you need from me, mmm?]

“Would it be possible for us to get Lilith’s axe head from the museum?”

[I’m guessing the villain of legend wants to reunite with her iconic weapon?]

“Yes.”

[Well, it’s not at the museum, I’ll tell you that. That one is a replica and the real one is with an old friend of yours, actually. Isern – the God of the Forge.]

“Ah- fuck.”

[You are free to ask him for it although I dread to imagine what he’ll ask for in return.] Alexter giggled before ending the call.

“What?” Lilith raised her brow.

“Well… getting the head is gonna be a little trickier than I initially thought.”

“How come? Is the Great Mage refusing to help?”

“No… no, the head is with Isern.”

Lilith’s eyes widened.

“The God of the Forge?”

“Yep.” I deflated with a sigh. Isern was often seen as and depicted as a god when in truth he was just a really powerful dragon.

“Mmm… I know that he’s strong but why wouldn’t he want to give us the head? Well, apart from the fact that I am his sworn enemy.”

“That’s a good question.” I chuckled while nervously scratching the back of my head.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

“You see I may have kinda stolen a prized artefact of his under the guise that I was merely borrowing it to showcase the glory of his workmanship-“

“And then you sold it.” Lilith shook her head.

“What- you- you’re right but you didn’t wait to ask what it was!” I cried but Lilith simply crossed her arms while giving me a disappointed look.

“Does it matter? You broke his trust and deserve whatever's coming to you.”

“Ugh! It was a shield! I actually sold it to Deis, funnily enough. It’s sitting in his backyard.”

Lilith shook her head again.

“So what are we going to do?”

“Well, Dragons don’t have phones so we’re gonna have to go there ourselves but I need to call Deis first and ask if we can get the shield back," I said while pulling out my phone and calling the Crimson penguin.

[Mr. Chuma!] He yelled and I regretted putting my phone sucrose to my ear.

“Hey, I need you to do me another favour,” I said through the ringing in my ear.

[Talk to me.]

“I…. Need you to send the shield back to the mountains.”

Silence followed for a minute or or.

[Does this have anything to do with the Axe?]

“Yep.”

[Mmm… alright. Give me the Dragon God’s address and I’ll ship it there but only if I can tag along.]

“You do know he might cook me alive when I get there, right?”

[I know but I am also partly to blame since I willingly purchased a draconic treasure so come on.]

“Alright-“

[Meet you at the Mountain’s Foot in an hour or so!] Deis yelled before ending the call.

I sighed before standing up.

“Get ready. We are going to the Drakensburg Mountains.”

“Are you sure I should tag along? I’m pretty sure the Dragons still hate me and, unlike with you humans, most of the ones I fought are still alive.” Lilith asked with a concerned expression.

“It’ll be fine!” I grinned.

.

..

I struggled to swallow as I stood at the feet of the Drakensburg Mountain range.

Lilith and I had just disembarked from a train which took us from the capital to far north and waiting for us were Deis and Seong.

We all wore winter clothes to fend off the harsh northern winds and all of our gazes were locked on the grand stone staircase that led up into the home of the ancient Dragons.

“Umm… just how angry do you think they’ll be?” Deis asked with a nervous chuckle.

“Let’s find out,” I said before taking the first step forward.

We ascended the grand stone stairs beyond the station and climbed the mountain which itself was a marvel.

Embedded into the upper layers of rock were the bones of long-dead dragons who had died when Lilith arrived within a meteor.

They averaged a hundred meters long and while most dragons could breathe fire, the most powerful could infuse their breath with magic.

We eventually reached the top of the stairs and arrived at the entrance of the Valley of Lamentation.

Cutting along the bottom of the valley was a stone paved path and located at various points of the valley were Palaces which also served as nests for the last remaining dragons of which there were ten.

I glanced at Lilith and saw that she had that expression again.

One of regret.

Of remorse.

How Despicable.

It would have been less insulting if she owned up to her evil nature and yet-

I took a deep breath and looked ahead to the nest which sat at the highest point of the valley.

It, unlike the others which were made of ornate, intricately carved pale stone, was dark and jagged.

It looked like it had been burned several times over and the land around it was without the tall trees which grew in abundance everywhere else.

We walked countless other tourists for several minutes before ascending a relatively untouched stone stairway which led up to the dark nest.

Dragon’s Nests were generally open to the public but this one was guarded by several armed men who patrolled the perimeter.

One of them walked up to us but before he could raise his hand to stop us, a deep, thunderous voice shook the valley.

[Let them in.]

The soldier’s eyes widened and all I could do was smile awkwardly while walking past him.

We entered the Palace and were greeted by smoke, tons of dust and ash which we kicked up with each step.

Hidden beneath all the ash were statues and murals that depicted the dragons in all their grandeur but our focus was the staircase at the centre of the empty Palace which led up to Isern’s forge.

Behind the stairs was a mountain of discarded Swords and various other weapons.

We climbed the stairs and although Deis was starting to her tired from all the stairs, not even he spoke as we arrived at the entrance of the Forge wherein a five-meter-tall humanoid creature stood behind a massive anvil which it repeatedly struck with a hammer that was equally huge, sending the sparks of something flying all over the space.

The creature itself had four muscular, humanoid arms, two folded wings, a long tail and a head which resembled that of a lizard.

It was covered in dark, leathery scales and had teeth that were like swords.

Its yellow reptilian eyes unblinkingly stared at its anvil as it struck away at its work.

This was Isern – God of the Forge.

My entire body tensed up as his eyes flashed orange and I joined everyone in cowering as he breathed fire onto his anvil only it wasn’t fire.

It was concentrated light.

According to the legends, he had gotten mirrors surgically implanted along the inside of his throat and they reflected the light and energy from the fire in his second, draconic stomach which sat above his normal stomach.

Although no one knows if this was true.

Isern grabbed what he revealed to be a red sword.

He quenched the weapon in a barrel of oil and we all cowered at the resulting ball of flame as the sword cooled.

Isern then inspected the sword but scoffed before unceremoniously tossing it out of the window.

[Mmm…] He growled before turning to us.

His gaze fell onto Lilith for a bit before finally turning to me.

[Chuma.] He breathed, bathing me in heat.

[What do you want?]

“I came here to offer my deepest apologies for not returning that which I borrowed!” I bowed while trying my best not to focus on my racing heart.

[Oh? And what makes you think I want your apologies?] Isern growled.

“I have arranged that the shield be returned to you-“

[I don’t want the shield although I do want to hear more about how sincere you are.]

I looked up to see that Isern was smirking.

He was far smaller than other dragons but it was he who defeated many of Lilith’s generals so I knew better than to test him.

Well, I tried not to test him often.

“Forgive me, Great one but is there anything I could possibly do to earn your forgiveness?”

[Oh, come now, Chuma. Drop the act. Unless you came here hoping that I would fry you and your party of misfits and villains.]

I bit my teeth.

“The Demon Queen was released not too long ago by the Great Mages who think that she has earned her freedom.”

[I know. Eins explained everything to me himself. He hopes that, instead of evil, she can use her powers for good but I don’t think I need to explain my… apprehension.] Isern said while putting his hammer down.

“Of course. I share at least some of your feelings but that old fart- Great Mage Alexter thought it would be best if she was placed in my care.” I said before explaining our circumstances and my plan.

[Mmm… I see. So what do you want from me?]

“Lilith’s Axe head.”

Isern’s eyes narrowed.

They then turned to Lilith for a moment before returning to me.

[Alright. I will give you the head.]

Yes! I celebrated internally.

[But under one condition.]

Heh?

Isern walked up to us, shaking the ground with each step, and lowered his head to where Lilith stood.

[I want us to have a friendly match.]