At one end, there was a pool and at the other there were three closed rooms. Three guards with a blue halo floating over their heads stood in front of each door.

Renaissance ??

His Status-key told him their cultivation base. Luckily, all three were also hibernating.

"So, which door?" Dylas asked.

"I don't know. The central one maybe... No, the one on the right..."

Dylas shook his head. "It's the one on the left."

"How did you know?"

"I still feel my runes in there. Probably, those tunnels are connected to it."

Edard nodded in agreement. Even if Dylas wasn't useful in battle, his healing runes and experience meant a lot.

They opened the door on the left. Their first step into the room was accompanied with a flash of light that blinded them.

Curse broken by a superior dragon magic.

That was the only notification. No pain or numbness.

The room was small with a single candle at its centre. The candle looked like it was just started. Its light shone on the face of a young man with a short yellow hair and bright yellow brows. This young man was bound in what looked like a hundred rounds of iron chains.

Nestone chains tinged with dragon magic.

Quality: unknown

Longevity suppression: 100%

Life energy suppression: 100%

Stamina suppression: 100%

And yet, the young man was conscious and looking at them.

Edard appraised him.

Ikenga, Dragonelf, male.

Stamina: 1.8%

Another Dragonelf!

Edard was dumbfounded. He wanted to say something but another notification stopped him.

Congratulations, you have retrieved the Longevity Seed.

The Seed wasn't a seed. It was a living Dragonelf.

"Welcome home, kindred." The chained up Dragonelf said.

"Kindred? Who the hell are you?" Edard asked.

"I'm Ikenga."

"You are the Longevity Seed?"

"Those wicked outcasts turn me into a Longevity Seed over a little disagreement. I will really appreciate it if you... set me free."

"How did you come here? You were originally an independent being, how did you become the Longevity Seed?" Dylas asked.

"Er... the story is a bit long but I ended up stealing the longevity reserve of the Dragon Order. Er... I was caught. The dragons couldn't get back all their longevity since I have already leveled up. They turned me into a Longevity Seed and imprisoned me in this dungeon for several decades. I'm almost dead. Free me please."

"And why would I do that?" Edard said, shrugging.

The captive gasped. "Don't be merciless like them, shouldn't you be a bit more kind after seeing your kindred? We aren't many, you know."

"Them?" Edard asked.

"Yeah, the dragons."

"You will tell me everything about my family if I set you free?"

Ikenga nodded. "I always keep my word."

"It's not enough. You are the Longevity Seed so by definition, Dylas and I own you now."

"I find it hard to believe that a single person can steal from the Dragon Order." Dylas said.

"You are asking irrelevant questions. Survival is the only important topic. Set me free and I will tell you about our family. I promise I'll tell you..."

"How would knowing about his... your family improve our survival?" Dylas cut in.

"My friend is right. We may not be close but we belong to the same race. I share your pain. But you gotta understand, we won you with sweat and tears, if you wanna be free you have to buy your freedom. Telling me about my family isn't gonna cut it. You are a kindred, so I'll leave it at 10%. Pay the remaining 90% and I will set you free. You have my word, kindred." Edard said with an expressionless face.

Dylas grinned and pointed at Edard. "He always keeps his word."

Ikenga gritted his teeth. It was obvious the two were trying to coax him. "I have nothing important. But I can pay you back later."

"What about that longevity reserve? It is hard to believe you have spent it all. As it happens, my brother and I are in a desperate need of longevity." Edard said.

"Shit. I can't give that to you. I don't have it."

"Then you can enjoy your stay." Edard headed toward the door.

"W...wait, you can't leave me here, please. Okay, okay. I will give you one year."

Edard stopped and turned around with a meaningful look.

"Okay. Two years, but that's all."

"Enough to take me from level 1 Sage to level 1 Deva, plus a warranty that you will not harm me or my friend or try to take your longevity back once we set you free. Otherwise no deal."

"What the hell! That's super ultra extortion!!"

Tyrant

Tyrant was deathly silent for a whole minute. The red-haired bastard had tamed Dragonkiller, he had withstood the D-rank rebuff and he had found the Longevity Seed. The three-step plan had failed.

"Fuck!"

Dragonshell was the most powerful floor excluding the master floor where Tyrant lived. He was now left with no option but to use it. Use the last floor and himself as the boss to take down the red-haired.

Of course, he could throw Edard out but he was Tyrant, a tyrant didn't cower away from enemies. That was what he told himself but in reality he just wanted his longevity and ether and dragon back.

Do you want to use the master floor? Y/N?

He hesitated. If he lost, he wouldn't be losing ether or longevity, he would lose his life. But if he won, all his problems would cease to exist. It was a difficult decision. More difficult than choosing his name or building a monster.

He took several minutes, hesitating.

After a long debate, he gave the mental command. Time to take a leap of faith.

Just before the command was processed, another notification came up.

Ayata Déniz is requesting an audience. She has come to trade longevity and ether.

Grant access? Y/N?

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

There was a little hesitation before Tyrant pressed yes. And the voice came in.

"Greetings, elder Hybrid, I'm Ayata Déniz here to represent his highness emperor Déniz."

Tyrant maintained his silence. After a while Ayata continued.

"Some people would soon contact you to ask for one of your adventurers with the name Edard. I'm here to.. "

"E...Edard? The red-haired bastard? Why?" Tyrant lost his calm.

"The 'why' doesn't matter. I just want you to refuse these people that will come asking for him. In return, I will give you all the longevity and ether you have lost since you came into existence."

"ALL MY LONGEVITY AND MY ETHER? You will give them back? In exchange, you just ask not to throw this Edard out?"

"I will give them back right now, if you agree. When the war is over you will receive twice that amount."

Tyrant hesitated. It was too good to be true.

"Don't even think about tricking me, where will you get that much ether and longevity?"

"I have a direct access to our longevity reserve, if you agree to the terms I will transfer it to you right away."

His major problem with Edard stemmed from loosing his longevity and ether, and of course Taming his dragon. If he could somehow get all of these back in one shot then it was worth trying.

"You give me five times the amount I have lost and you have yourself a deal."

"Done."

"Done? Why didn't I ask for ten? Is nine still on the line?"

Ayata didn't respond and after a few seconds, Tyrant received all he'd lost and more. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. All his hatred for Edard was repaid back with years and ether.

"Do we have a deal?" Ayata asked.

"I will keep your boy in here until the war is over. But I can't promise his safety if he steals anything again."

"Thank you. One last thing, emperor Déniz doesn't want his promise broken. He gives serious punishments."

Ayata cut off the connection and disappeared.

Everything had happened too fast. Tyrant didn't believe it. He couldn't believe it.

And yet, he still wanted to get his ether and longevity and dragon from Edard.

[I can help you with that.]

A voice spoke to him telepathically.

Tyrant shivered. He didn't give access to anyone else, why was someone talking to him, telepathically? It was impossible. Normally, all dungeons were protected by the immortal dais against all intrusions. Including entering them without an invitation or talking to them without an access. No matter how weak a dungeon was it had this protection.

"Who are you? How did you connect without the access?"

[The protection you share comes from the immortal dais, no?]

"If it comes from the immortal dais then what? No one has control over the dais."

[No one but us. I'm admiral K'yandir Urúrú. You have a mission from the immortal dais.]

Clone A

Meanwhile, clone A was observing everything outside the dungeon. He didn't stay one kilometer away; he stayed five kilometers away. Using Spiritual Sense and Interracial Communication to monitor.

First, it was the five thousand elite soldiers from Déniz. Being the first to arrive, they stood closer to the entrance.

A few minutes later, five thousand soldiers each from Djinn, Fáyra and Báyir empires arrived. Each was accompanied by five vice admirals and each vice admiral was accompanied by two captains.

As if the situation wasn't bad enough, emperor Déniz, prince Kyru and surprisingly Sereyenkov teleported to the battlefield.

The five thousand Déniz soldiers shouted an excited battle cry. Their exalted emperor had arrived. They would be safe no matter what.

They took minutes to realize something was wrong. The emperor was supposed to come with an army, not alone.

At about the same time, emperor Djinn arrived with his son Bizare Djinn. Then emperor Báyir arrived with the Báyir crown prince, prince Nazára.

The three people who had attacked clone A an hour ago flew into air and joined emperor Djinn and emperor Báyir.

As the emperors arrived, the fifteen thousand soldiers divided into three and formed a curve around the five thousand Déniz soldiers. Each emperor floated above his army.

There seemed to be an unspoken agreement between the empires they wouldn't bring more than five thousand soldiers. Or maybe the real troops were busy somewhere.

As if the situation wasn't tense enough, another figure appeared. This figure was different: he was a child clad in a black robe embroidered with yellow clouds. His skin was fairer than most and although he was alone, he gave more feeling of crisis than the entire armies put together. All of these wouldn't have made him stood out if not for his pitch black sclera and iris. His eyes looked like a pair of black holes, burning with rage and anger.

He looked at the entrance.

As if obeying his unspoken command, the three displays went dark. When they came back, all three showed Edard.

Tyrant created a new display in each of the major cities. Each display showed Edard.

Clone B was almost done with his mission when he suddenly stopped to look at the display of his original. Hundreds of people all over the world were watching it.

The child pointed Edard and the entire world looked at him.

"Who are you?" The child asked Edard. He sounded as if Edard was there in front of him.

Edard

"WHO ARE YOU?" Edard heard the voice in his head like a slap. When he turned around he saw the child.

How?

He was still inside the dungeon so how exactly was he seeing the child?

"WHO ARE YOU?" The child asked again and the voice hit him like a thunder. It steered a desire in him. A desire to fight. A desire to kill. A desire to avenge.

"Tyrant, bring him out." The child commanded.

Edard immediately realized what was about to happen. He needed to do something before it happened. His deal with Ikenga wasn't over.

"Bring. Him. Out." The child thundered.

Tyrant didn't hesitate. Space warped and shifted. When it became clear again, Edard was standing in-between emperor Djinn, emperor Fáyra, emperor Báyir and the child.

Edard tried to calm himself down but he couldn't. A part of him was burning like hell, another part was freezing like Antarctica, another part was being sliced into a pulp by millions of molecular wind blades. There was another part which was just... numb, like it was no longer him. He knew it was an illusion but it was more real than his reality.

He was alone and surrounded by seasoned enemies. And he still had to deal with the family of Dé.

"Who are you?" The child asked again. He probably wouldn't stop asking until he got an answer.

"I'm Mark Edard, who the hell are you and what do you want with me?"

"Liar. Who are you? What's your real name?"

Edard grimaced. Just who the hell was this child anyway?

"If you want to know that then you have to name yourself first, black-eyed kid" Edard said.

The child narrowed his eyes and the entire world dimmed. A sphere of darkness hovered over his head like a halo. It remained there for a while before it disappeared.

In response to this, emperor Déniz and Serenyenkov moved forward and stood in front of their army.

"It's fine. The end of every sweet is sand. I'm admiral Kyandir and I'm here to adjudicate." The child pointed at Edard and explained to the whole world. "This man has the surname Wilberforce, his real name is Wilberforce Dé Ed; he is a Dé and a Dragonelf. The family of Dé has betrayed the Eternal Empire. Their hunt for Outsiders is nothing but a sham. It was all meant to find him. Over the years, they'd summoned and killed hundreds of innocents all to hide their real purpose. In the name of the Eternal Empire, I, Kyandir Urúrú, has sentence you and the missing princess to die."

"You are lying, the Dé are..."

"The Dé are your enemies?" The child said with a sigh. "Believe what you want to believe. Queen Dé is your sister, but she can't help you now. Even as we speak, fleet admiral Sauro, admiral Red Rider and admiral Armiyau are leading an army of one hundred thousand soldiers to the ancient castle. It's a pity how she has spent her entire life protecting you."

"It can't be possible. I remember nothing of this."

"That's because you are too weak to remember."

"I have nothing against you, young man," emperor Báyir cut in with a loud voice, "but I want the woman in your storage. That wicked man over there bond you with her hoping the family of Dé will help him. He miscalculated."

"Well, you may not remember but my problem with you is personal, little Wilberforce. Your sister killed my sons and hundreds of my people just for your enjoyment." Said emperor Fáyra, taking a step forward.

"I pity you, young man. But when the immortal dais and the Eternal Empire calls, you have to answer."

The three emperors and the child admiral surrounded Edard.

So Dylas was both right and wrong. He was sent to Earth to evade the Salvation Army but the family of Dé weren't enemies; they were family.

He still didn't have any proof...

He'd an idea.

Are you sure you want to use Mind Read on yourself? Y/N?

North of the Black Sea

Dragon Intelligence Agency (DIA)

Keasy, Dragon empire.

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of miles away, the intelligence corps of the dragon empire had finally made a breakthrough on the whereabouts of their stolen dungeon.

Everything started two decades ago during the Golden Jubilee of king Didier Dragon IX. A well coordinated stealth operation on the empire's most sacred dungeons led to the disappearance of Dragonshell. The theft caused a huge commotion throughout North but at the end no culprit was found. The DIA formed a special unit tasked with finding this dungeon. Their orders were specific; find the Dragonshell and retrieve the Longevity Seed!

Ever since that day, this special unit had been working tirelessly, trying to find the missing dungeon but to no avail. That was until today.

"Silver, Look at this." A dragon with crimson scales and two black wings called out to the dragon next to him, showing him a blinking red dot on the screen in front. "It just popped up. Could it be..."

Silver turned sluggishly but as soon as he saw the red dot he moved extremely fast to bridge the gap between them. He observed the dot for a while before he called the attention of another dragon at the opposite side of the hall. "Elder... I think we may have found the Dragonshell."

The Elder dragon looked ageless and strong. His wings were larger and had a mixture of different colors. He took a fraction of a second to reach there and after he observed the screen he left the hall without a word.

The Elder dragon was the leader of the intelligence unit. The others had no right to question him so they just kept silent as they waited for him to return.

He reached the great ancient palace and convened a meeting with the dragon council and the Order. Nobody was allowed into the meeting. What happened in there was still a mystery. But king Didier Dragon IX agreed to send two of his most powerful commanders to retrieve the Longevity Seed hidden in Dragonshell.

"Look there.. why is commander Iren Jareed and commander Iren Méndil in their battle suits?"

"I heard they are going South by the orders of the king himself."

"They are the most ruthless commanders throughout the empire, why are they sending them there? A war?"

"It takes up to eight years to cross the Black Sea but the commanders can cross it in hours. Whatever it's, it must be an emergency for the council to send them."

The palace guards discussed in a very low tone as they saw the two commanders leaving the palace.

Both the two commanders had been alive for over five-hundred years. Rarely would you see them on any mission because of their status, so it was only natural for the guards to be shocked.

Iren Jareed was a giant, twenty-meters tall. His reptilian form was covered with crimson scales that were made black by the flames burning on them. He'd a crocodile-like head and a single horn at the vertex of his head. He'd a pair of wings which retained their crimson colors.

Iren Mendil had a more frightening appearance with a body covered in short protruding horns. Each horn was a meter long and pointed upward toward his head. His tail was actually longer than his body and it was covered with a blue flame.

Their mission was specific: to get the Longevity Seed back at all cost.