After entering the portal, they entered the Demon Forest.
Harper, Michael, and Alex were now inside the depths of it. Monsters were flooding their path in an almost impossible way to see something.
Alex smartly deployed small drones to monitor the space around them.
They finally had some view of the place. That forest was almost a jungle, extremely dense.
They had never been too deep in the forest before, and now they could see an aerial view of that place.
The trees were alive, as they could use their branches to attack targets, even in the air. The soil wasn’t even close to being called something, as tons of monsters swarmed the triphibic vehicle. Weren’t the depleted uranium-chromium alloy enhanced by magnetic fields and electronic defense there, they would be already dead.
That experience reminded Alex that he wasn’t even close to being powerful. He had a lot of work to do, and being able to teleport freely wasn’t even good enough to survive there. Good thing they entered there with caution.
After 20 minutes of running on the land, Alex started to fly. The vehicle proved extremely fast at flight but ended up suffering light damage from the monster trees and reptilian birds attacking them.
While flying, Harper and Michael followed Alex. They were mapping the Demon Forest using thermal and magnetic viewing and even magical sensors—something that Alex developed with Comoron. That magical sensor could highlight the magical particle's concentration, and with that, it could track any powerful individual out there.
Alex saw something on the sensors that made him worry.
“Guys, I think that I’ve found a big fish in the sea.”
Alex said.
“Should we engage in combat?”
Harper asked.
“I don’t think it is a good idea. That magical signature is far stronger than anything we have seen before. It has at least the double of your magical signature, Harper.”
“Of fuck… What do we do with it?”
“Let’s end for today. I don’t think we can go against it.”
“I agree with Alex.”
Michael said.
“Well, it can’t be helped; I will follow you guys then.”
Harper complied.
As they were leaving, that entity saw them, and it started to fly in their direction.
“We are being followed. Disperse”
Alex shouted. He was quick to act.
Both Harper and Michael couldn’t sense danger after all, but they accepted Alex’s orders, and both of them went in different directions.
The entity had to choose one of them, and unfortunately for Alex, he was the one being followed.
“Oh fuck… Guys, we will have to enter combat. Prepare yourselves. Do not regroup yet; this guy here is following just me for now; let’s utilize this opportunity to launch a surprise attack on him.”
As Alex increased the speed of his vehicle, he was far enough to turn and see the entity.
In front of him, there was a dragon. It had metallic scales, and the rest of its body was made of some really weird materials.
The dragon instantly launched significant magical attacks at Alex. That was powerful enough to cause heavy damage to the triphibic vehicle Alex was using. He quickly evaded the attack and launched missiles at the dragon. The magical defense was obliterated, but the dragon was still there, unscratched.
It would be a tough battle, Alex thought. The Dragon was determined to kill Alex, and he couldn’t activate his portal now because he would bring the Dragon with him. There’s no return; he will have to end this here and now.
“Harper, Michael, call Comoron. I will engage in combat against this dragon. Ask him where’s the weak spot of this entity, and then I will attack it there.”
Alex shouted.
“Alright.”
Harper and Michael replied.
“Let’s see the potential of this dragon.”
Alex ignited the engines at their full potential, and a fierce battle began.
The dragon had two horns and quad wings, two of them being major wings while the other two were accessories. Its scales were white and metallic; they covered the entire body except for the face. A bluish glow emanated from it, looking almost astral. Its eyes were purple, looking almost like obsidian. Despite being beautiful, it was Alex’s enemy.
Using missiles wasn’t working; he had to do something bolder.
“I have an idea.”
Alex carved a hole in the chassis of the triphibic vehicle. It wasn’t his best idea, but it had to work, or he would die.
Through this very hole, Alex launched magical attacks. The Dragon knew a far greater variety of spells, including powerful ones, but even though Alex had almost infinite magic power. In an attrition magical battle, Alex has the upper hand. Things get worse when they enter the physical realm. Unlike Alex's magical powers, which could last long, his vehicle had already taken heavy damage and couldn’t take it any longer.
If Alex launches a magical attack, it could be defended by the magical barrier; if he launches a missile, it could break the magical barrier and leave the dragon’s body intact. The magical barrier was immune to magical damage, while its body could take heavy physical damage and still be intact.
What about both? If Alex launches a missile barrage at the dragon, its magical barrier wouldn’t take long to be destroyed, and if he launches magic at his body, it could have a different effect. It was worth a try.
Alex launched a massive barrage attack, and even the dragon was pushed behind. Its magical defense is now broken, and with the new opening in his hands, Alex launches dozens of explosion spells at the dragon. The explosions weren’t as strong as the missiles, but they emerged in magical power and seemed to cause damage to the dragon.
It was worth it. The dragon finally suffered some damage, even though it wasn’t a big deal.
Alex’s coat of arms started to receive a signal.
“Alex, I finally contacted Comoron. He said that you are fighting a dragon entity. There are a lot of those in the forest, but they aren’t strong enough to destroy our defenses. Only the Dragon King can, but the chance of you getting in contact with it is extremely improbable. Whatever you got there, its weakness is usually the eyes. Set fire there, and everything will end well.”
Harper said.
“Finally. I know how to weaken its magical defenses, so if I shot piercing bullets at the eyes of it...”
Comoron stepped in and said:
“Wait, magical defenses? What are you talking about? Dragons don’t have strong magic.”
“I don’t know. Whatever, let me finish this; later we discuss what to do with it.”
Alex said. Comoron would ask more, but he thought it would be better to let Alex finish his work before calling him.
Alex launched another massive barrage of missiles. He was running low on firepower, but it would be his last attack if everything went well.
…
..
The dragon sensed that something was wrong. That flying beast shot another swarm of those fire arrows.
He couldn’t sense any life from the metallic beast; when he focused his eyes, the magical energy behind the beast was enormous. It could defeat even the Demon Lord. He had to end this threat before it reached the Demon Lord, or the entire Demon Forest would be in danger.
He launched another magical barrier, now with all his might. To his surprise, it was destroyed by the explosive arrows. And then, unlike the last attack, it aimed directly into his eyes. Unlike a normal dragon, he survived the attack, but also, unlike any normal arrow, that attack surpassed his defenses, and the dragon finally fell.
It was tragic; the dragon couldn’t protect his home after all. His lair was close. He would escape that beast and utilize its location advantage to resist.
…
..
“I think that it worked; the dragon is now trying to escape. I probably hadn’t aimed correctly, and the bullets got close to his eyes instead of inside. It penetrated anyway, the bullet I’ve used is special, and it can turn into an arachnobot. I will mess it up from the inside.”
As Alex followed the beast, it entered a cave nearby. Alex descended the vehicle, and then he found it! Tons of gold coins, rare gems, swords, shields, everything. The dragon was weak, but it was protecting something.
Alex looked closer; it was an egg. He thought that destroying it would be the best choice.
“Comoron, what’s the best way to destroy an egg?”
Alex asked.
“Well, if you’re looking at a weird egg, just inject massive magical power. It is the best way to destroy swarm eggs. As for the drago, “
“Thanks”
Alex cut Comoron in the middle of his speech. He couldn’t understand anything after injecting magical power, but it was enough.
Alex left his vehicle and activated the arachnoid robot inside of the dragon’s eyes. The dragon felt the worst pain in his life.
After seeing it was a human coming from the metallic beast, the dragon finally realized. A mere ape defeated him.
Stolen novel; please report.
“Impossible… Defeated by a human, the inferior species... I won’t…”
The dragon said something. Alex couldn’t understand, so he launched the translation spell and finally said:
“Why did you attack me? Initially, I thought of you as an intelligence-less species, but now I know you can talk.”
“A mere human... AN INFERIOR SPECIES! I WON’T DI-AAAAAAAAAHHH”
The dragon felt an immensurable pain.
"Oh, it looks like I found your pain receptors. I’m sending electrical waves through them, and you will hear me quietly.”
“I WON’T TAKE IT ANYMORE- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH”
“I am the one speaking, mister Dragon. Before calling my species ‘Inferior’, have you ever heard of HFY? I guess not. Well, it is basically a way to express that we are better than you, lizard.”
“I won’t lose to a human. I AM THE PEAK OF THE FOOD CHAIN!”
“Oh? The peak of the food chain? Let’s explore this then.”
Alex took his knife from his spatial storage and tried to cut off one of the dragon’s legs. The leg was extremely hard, so he couldn’t cut it. After some seconds, Alex realized it was the scales' fault, so he took them off and finally cut the dragon’s leg.
The dragon groaned in pain but didn’t take his eyes away from Alex for one second.
Alex ignited fire using a spell and a grill. He grilled the dragon’s leg in front of him, and then he ate it.
The dragon, previously known as the peak of the food chain, is nothing more than a mere prey now.
The dragon looked at Alex, terrified; that man was eating his leg. The dragon, now legless, was starting to die. His time had come, and he would serve as nothing more than prey to Alex.
“Oh, are you dying, Mr. Dragon? Let me do something before you go.”
Alex picked up the dragon’s egg in his hands. He placed it in the dragon’s sight and took some distance. When he was far enough, Alex concentrated an absurd amount of magical power in his hands. Until it became almost impossible to control, he continued attaching magical power. When the magical tension limit came, he launched it all in the egg.
It wasn’t attached to any elemental magic, just raw magic power.
The dragon cried in silence. He just lost his child.
“I think you’ve had enough. Now, answer me! WHY YOU KILLED THOSE CHILDREN, DRAGON? YOU LIKED TO SEE THE WEAK DYING, UH? KILL THEM IN FRONT OF THEIR PARENTS, HOW DO YOU FEEL WHEN I DO THE SAME TO YOU? KILL YOUR CHILDREN IN FRONT OF YOU, ITS PARENT? ANSWER ME!”
“Human… I KILLED THEM BECAUSE IT WAS FUNNY! HAHA, I LOVED TO SEE THEIR EXPRESSION TWIST IN FRONT OF MY VERY EYES. You ask me how I felt while killing them. I FELT AMAZING HAHAHAHAHA! You, human. YOU WILL PAY FOR KILLING MY CHILD! I WON’T FORGIVE YOU; I WILL LOOK FOR YOU EVEN FROM THE HELL.”
“Hell? Well, if you are going there, ask the Devil to fuck himself. As for your children, I have to agree with you. Killing a dragon baby inside its egg is indeed something FAR BETTER THAN KILLING THOSE WEAKLINGS HAHAHAHA. Unfortunately, I can’t make an omelet with it now.”
“What are you looking for? Justice? You can’t seek justice against nature. I AM A NATURAL DISASTER; YOU CAN’T BLAME ME!”
“Oh, I swear that I can. YOU BETTER KNOW THAT I CAN, AND I WILL!”
“A mere human seeking revenge against me is the same as blaming a tornado for killing. It is funny of you, but it won’t take you anywhere else. I shall live as my spirit and be reborn. Then I will kill every member of your family. No one will remain.”
“Spirit, you say? I’ve studied it before; it is a unique magical presence in every individual. Some of them have it stronger, while others have it weaker. As long as I know, I defeated you. You just reminded me, there’s a fate worse than death... Let me utilize it.”
“Do you think of yourself as God? NO ONE CAN DO SOMETHING WORSE THAN DEATH HAHAHAHA! Human, you will perish, and I will enjoy every second while I watch your failure.”
The dragon said. As he said it, Alex brought a steel box from his spatial storage.
He placed three scales of the dragon there and mixed them with his own magical power.
“Watch my failure? You will be forever stuck in my personal storage and will never ever meet the sun again. Even if you manage to escape, I will put you somewhere you won’t even recognize. Nothing will remain for you. There’s an expression some immigrants say in my country: Adios Muchacho!”
As Alex said it, he picked up the dragon’s spirit with his own magic power and forcefully placed it into the three scales. He sealed them into the steel box and enchanted it with a spell, making it almost impossible to escape.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-”
The dragon understood what was happening. It was over. There’s no reborn; his very soul was in the hands of this man. The dragon was infuriated; a mere human defeated him. His grudge turned the white scales into a purpura black. A thick air was coming from it, but Alex didn’t give a shit about it; he just melted 5 more scales into the box, covering the entire box with the metal made from the dragon’s scales. He mixed it with his own magical power and created an almost perfect prison for the dragon to spend the rest of his life there.
The only thing that remained was the dragon’s body, depleted of life. Alex quickly took it and stored it in his spatial storage. Now he was in the cave. Half of it was destroyed, but some spoils remained untouched.
Alex stored everything, and what was destroyed, he stored it to fix it later.
After checking the place, everything was already taken. Nothing remained, except the still-glowing Dragon Egg.
That baby’s death surely was dramatic. Alex watched it until the end; he was almost feeling sorry for the small one; it wasn’t his fault for what his dad made. The egg was emanating an extremely bright white light when Alex attacked it. but slowly, that light was decreasing its intensity.
After half an hour, Alex could finally see the egg, and to his surprise, it was unscratched.
He watched the egg violently expel a violet light ray, and after that, everything remaining was a pure white egg.
Alex hadn’t killed the dragon child inside of it; it looked like he replaced his father instead.
He had to call Comoron.
Alex instantly cast the communication spell.
“Comoron, I tried to inject magical power into the dragon’s egg, as you said, but it didn’t break; instead, it became stronger.”
“Oh fuck! What have you made? I SAID THAT TO DESTROY A DRAGON EGG, YOU SHOULD COOK IT WITH FIRE MAGIC AND NOT INJECT MORE MAGICAL POWER. YOU ONLY ACCELERATED ITS GROWTH.”
“What? What do I do now?”
“If it isn’t too late, destroy the egg using fire magic. Whatever is born after this egg crack will recognize the entity that gave more magical power to it as the parent. And you killed its parent!”
“Well, about that, I think that I messed with something... The egg felt like it was expelling its father's magic.”
“No, impossi-”
“The egg’s cracking, oh fuck.”
“HOW MUCH MAGICAL POWER YOU’VE GIVEN TO THAT DRAGON?”
“THE MAXIMUM I COULD!”
“IF YOU PLACED THAT AMOUNT OF MAGIC INTO A SPELL, WHAT COULD YOU DO?”
“Probably kill the dragon 10 times.”
“Oh fuck…”
As Comoron was swearing, the egg finally broke, and from it, a small blue, red, and white dragon emerged.
The dragon jumped straight into Alex’s chest; it was so sudden that Alex was left defenseless, but instead of killing him, the dragon seemed to sleep in Alex’s arms, almost like it was affectionate towards him.
“Comoron, I think that something really weird happened.”
“What now?”
Comoron was sweating rivers; his blood pressure was so high that it could be measured in kilometers of mercury (1 million mmHg); he was extremely pale and probably suffering from burnout.
“The dragon emerged from the egg; it probably sees me as its parent.”
“What the fuck?”
Comoron answered.
“I don’t know, but it looks like this little one here won’t leave me, and it isn’t attacking me even.”
“Just how much magical power did you deploy there?”
“I don’t know, the maximum I could.”
With Alex’s answer, Comoron thought for a while. Alex had enough magical power to destroy that Germanium fleet; even though his use of magic was extremely inefficient, the amount of magic he used to make that explosion was at least 10 times the magic the first king used in his entire life. That guy is surely a monster.
“Well, whatever. Come to Summerville, bring the dragon; it won’t hurt us if you ask it to.”
“Okay.”
Alex entered his triphibic vehicle. The little dragon entered there also. Alex ignited its engine and opened the portal to Summerville.
As Alex entered their military base, everyone gathered outside to see the triphibic vehicle, almost in total loss.
Emily was the only one who seemed happy, as she could fix that vehicle and do it in her own way. What one seems as almost scrap, she sees as a full combat report.
“Oh fuck… That must have been tough... At least you killed that dragon—one less in the world. Now, what will you do with the little one?”
Comoron asked.
“Me? I will probably adopt it.”
“Then, you will have to choose a name for it.”
“I will ask Alicia to help me. If this little one is my son, so it’s hers.”
“Well, I think you misinterpreted something, Alex... That ‘little one’ there isn’t your son, but your daughter.”
“Seriously? I thought they were the same.
“They aren’t. Look at the good side: females are easier to take care of; as I heard, males are responsible for at least 95 percent of all the attacks. This is due to their territorial nature. Females, on the other hand, usually do not attack, unless you attack first.”
“Well, that’s good. But it is still unfortunate that she can’t turn into a human form. I know she’s my daughter, but how am I supposed to take her to the park or to buy clothes?”
"Dragons, in their complex nature, can turn into the form of their parents, as they aren’t stuck in their physical form but the spirit. It is something complex. But rest assured, every intelligent life form does the very same thing, some of them without even knowing.”
“Let’s say that I kind of understand that nature.”
“Oh, that’s something not many know; congratulations!”
“Hehe, thanks”
Alex couldn’t tell Comoron yet what he did with the dragon’s spirit, as he almost died from the shock regarding the egg situation.
“Harper, come here, please.”
“Alright.”
Alex asked Harper to follow him.
Alex and Harper walked towards the tree path. The walk had a strange silence; a few minutes looked like an entire hour.
As they finally entered a silent spot, Alex finally broke the silence.
“Remember the accident in the Germanium fleet? Where I’ve killed the entire crew in a rage attack?”
“Yes, I do.”
“It happened again... I almost killed that dragon’s child because of an anger that wasn’t mine.”
“It happened twice already. Anything particular you noticed?”
“I felt rage towards the dragon, but somehow, its child was the main target. I felt like I wanted to show the dragon the feeling of losing its own kid.”
“You never acted like this. It wasn’t you.”
“Indeed, it wasn’t. But if it wasn’t me, who was it?”
“That’s a good question.”
……
….
While Harper and Alex were talking, Michael noticed Comoron. He was feeling a little saddened.
“What’s up, buddy?”
Surprised, Comoron looked back only to see Michael.
“Yay, I’m good.”
Comoron said with a blank expression.
“No, you aren’t. I can see it in your face.”
“Is it too obvious?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Well… It is about the dragon stuff. It really messed with me.”
“Feeling like talking about it?”
“Not now… Maybe later?”
“Alright. I’m here at any moment; just call me.”
“Thanks, buddy.”
….
..
“My Lord, it is with great regret that I must inform you of a most troubling development. The Dragon King has disappeared. His once impenetrable lair lies empty, stripped bare of all it held. His treasures, his hoard—everything has vanished without a trace.”
The subordinate kneeled before the Demon Lord's very feet. Inside the dark royal chamber stands a humanoid figure. Many can’t tell its appearance; only a dark fog surrounds him.
“Verris, thy did well in warning this one. Dragon King could not be defeated, at least not by normal folk, even this one doubt about the fate of such a figure.”
“My Lord, the exact manner of his vanishment remains shrouded in mystery. When my scouts arrived at the lair to investigate the sudden magical peak, they found nothing. His once-full treasure cave, empty—yet no signs of battle adorned the land surrounding his cavern. No army left its mark upon the ground, nor did any wielder of known magic carve sigils upon the stones.”
“So, thy bring this one riddles, Verris? Do thy expect this one to be satisfied with tales of vagueness and half-truths? This one cares not for the whispers of the wind or the illusions of the weak. I desire motives and the certainty of truth.”
“Of course, my Lord. I would not dare speak of shadows where light may be found. Though the scene of his vanishment was bereft of clues, I believe that Lord Dragon King has not merely vanished; there’s a third power behind it. His power—ancient and boundless as it was—could not be undone by any simple creature or force. His flesh was marked by energies far beyond the grasp of mortal hands. I suspect... the disappearance of the King of the Forest is under the same motive as the Dragon King’s vanishment.”
“A third power? Same reason for the King of the Forest's disappearance? Thy speak of things that dance upon the edge of credulity, Verris. Thy tread dangerous ground, insinuating such possibilities without proof to support thou claims. Do thy think to entertain this one with fables?”
“Never, my Lord. Though I lack the full evidence to confirm my suspicions, there is a trail—albeit faint—that leads to this conclusion. Upon inspecting the lair’s interior, I found traces of unknown weapons, unfamiliar to our magisters. The mechanics that lingers there are unlike any we have seen in this realm, not borne of the elements or of our darker arts. It bears the mark of another plane, something far more... volatile and foreign.”
“May this one see the ‘unknown weapons’ thy are talking about?”
The Demon Lord asked Verris to show him the foreign weapon.
As the Demon Lord asked, Verris asked his servants to bring the destroyed missiles. What remained wasn’t anything but mere traces of what one day that missile was. The only evidence concluding it was a weapon, and not some metal or animal waste, was the extremely detailed square attached to one of those parts.
“My lord, my scouts drew the runes scribbled on the surface; look at those geometric patterns. They are so small, yet extremely detailed.”
The demon lord took the drawing containing the runes. They were so eerie and foreign. The demons had yet to know the circuit organization.
“This one… Recognizes the threat our kingdom is facing. Unknown forces already vanished two of our comrades... Caution shall be sought.”
The demon kingdom went in turmoil with the news of the Dragon King’s disappearance, yet only a few knew what happened, even though it was inadequate information.