Ed Edward shook his head. Although the adventurers were strong, the strongest amongst humanity and demons, it seemed like, today, they were doomed to fail. They weren’t prepared, and in the world of adventuring, one’s readiness was key. It was the difference between fighting a skeleton with a hammer and fighting a skeleton with a spear or between digging a hole with a shovel and digging a hole with a sword—or in this case, trying to suppress a fire-based skill without water-based techniques. Everything in the world had a weakness. If the adventurers knew all the spells Vur could cast and had appropriate countermeasures for them prepared in advance, it wouldn’t be impossible for them to defeat him.
Unfortunately, the adventurers were scrambling to deal with the seemingly endless number of techniques Vur brought out. Right now, the adventurers were fighting passively, defending the white mages as they healed the fallen. For some reason, Vur was letting the healers do as they pleased while he tossed around the tanks, figuratively and literally. The scene was like a cat toying with a group of mice. Ed didn’t claim to know what his king was thinking, but to him, it looked like Vur was extending the fight to discover the weaknesses of his techniques. Judging from Vur’s display of strength, Ed believed there weren’t many things that could last more than one or two moves against the dragon. These adventurers could though, and why wouldn’t Vur use them as a whetstone to practice?
Vur lifted a man and tossed him into the air. The man gritted his teeth and braced himself, but contrary to his expectations, he didn’t hit the ground. He landed once more in the dragon’s paw, and less than a second after he got his bearings, he was thrown into the air again but sideways this time. A scream attracted his attention, and he turned his head. Another person had been thrown into the air right behind him. He didn’t have time to identify who it was before he was caught and thrown parabolically upwards. A dark expression appeared on his face as he realized what was happening: the dragon was juggling him and his fellow tanks like they were balls.
The top half of a fairy sprouted from Vur’s snout. She watched the four people go round and round in the air, their bodies making smacking sounds as they collided into Vur’s paws. Even though they weren’t making sounds that expressed it, Stella could tell the adventurers were in pain. She turned around and patted Vur’s scales, and a bubble of invisible wind appeared around Vur’s head—courtesy of Zilphy. One of the adventurers screamed out a curse as he hit the ground, having been dropped by Vur thanks to the fairy’s distracting action. Vur furrowed his brow, and a leg sprouted out of the side of his body and picked the man up, tossing him back into the juggling rotation. “What is it?” Vur asked and retracted his extra leg. Thanks to the bubble of wind, only Stella could hear what he said.
“Why are you juggling these people?” Stella asked. “Can’t you see the white mages are healing their allies? If you want to juggle someone, shouldn’t you juggle the white mages first?”
Vur shook his head. “They aren’t as sturdy,” he said. “If I juggle them, they might die.”
Stella tilted her head. “And that’s a problem because…?”
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“They’re my people,” Vur said and blinked. “I’m their king. Why would I kill my people?”
“Didn’t they attack you?”
Vur shrugged and quickly corrected his leg, catching someone who had nearly fallen. “Only a bad king kills his people,” Vur said. “Punishment has to be appropriate and fair; otherwise, people will rebel.”
Stella blinked twice. “Who taught you this?”
Vur tilted his head. “Does it have to be taught?” he asked. “Isn’t it just obvious?”
Stella scratched her head. “You know what,” she said. “It looks like you know what you’re doing, so I’ll stop bothering you and let you continue.” She sank back into Vur’s snout, and a moment later, Vur burst into flames. The four adventurers he was juggling hit the ground as a massive cone of ice flew through the space Vur had just occupied and sank several meters into the earth.
Vur reappeared a few meters away and turned his head to the side. A demon with two silver horns was staring at him with a frown on her face. Vur narrowed his eyes. “I remember you,” Vur said, his voice clearly rumbling through the surroundings. “You’re the one who hurt my auntie.”
Tina frowned and surveyed the surroundings. The adventurers were in a lot worse of a shape than she thought they’d be in, especially since Delphina had chosen to interfere. If it wasn’t for her party member’s busybody actions, Tina would’ve stayed in the bar with Chad. After confirming Delphina’s safety, she met Vur’s gaze. “Who are you?” she asked. “You must be mistaken if you think I hurt your aunt. My party doesn’t hunt dragons.”
“No, I’m not mistaken,” Vur said and shook his head. “You cut her arm off.”
Tina’s brow furrowed. “I’ve really never cut off a dragon’s leg before,” she said and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “It’s fine if you want to rampage at a rich noble’s auction, but don’t blame me for things I didn’t do.”
“Auntie’s not a dragon,” Vur said.
Tina’s brow furrowed even further. A moment later, her eyes widened, and she took a step back. “You,” she said and pointed at Vur. “Are you the boy from that time? The self-proclaimed king of what is now referred to as Konigreich the Second?”
“I’m not self-proclaimed,” Vur said and shook his head. “I won the crown fair and square. Everyone saw it.”
Tina exhaled and glanced at the adventurers, who were eyeing the two of them with wary expressions. Her face darkened. “Do any of you know who you’ve been fighting?” she asked. “This is Vur Besteck, the king of Konigreich, husband of Tafel Besteck, who all of you know is one of Swirling Winds’ party members.”
The adventurers exchanged glances with each other. They had heard about the shift in power, but as people who spent most of their time in Fuselage, they never really cared about or acknowledged the nobles from Zuer. Christian cleared his throat and asked the questions that were on everyone’s mind, “If he and Tafel have a child, is it going to be a dragon or a demon? Will she give birth to an egg? Can they even—”
The nearest Shadow Specter member slapped the back of Christian’s head. Evidently, those were not the questions that were on everyone’s mind. “Is he really our king?” the Shadow Specter member asked. “Why didn’t he say anything while we were fighting him?”
“Your egos are too big,” Vur said and shifted his gaze onto the green-robed woman. “I had to squish them a little, or you wouldn’t have acknowledged me as king.” Vur’s body shrank, and his scales sank back into his skin as he took on his human form. He placed his hands on his hips and swept his gaze over the adventurers. “Hello. I’m Vur, your king.” His eyes narrowed when none of the adventurers reacted. He snorted, and a black rune appeared on his forehead. “Kneel!”
The weight of the world pressed down on every adventurer’s shoulders, and they dropped to their elbows and knees, unable to support themselves while standing. Vur nodded upon seeing the sight. “That’s better.”