Pandemonium

III

Bahamut

16 hours before Great Red’s imprisonment

0 hours before the Academy’s lockdown

“All of these Evil Dragons should be dead.”

Tiamat was right. Except for Crom Cruach, most of the Legendary Evil Dragons that they were seeing through the magical device were killed. And even so, there shouldn’t be so many low-tier Evil Dragons. He knew a handful of them were hiding but not this many.

“To think he is going all out,” Bahamut didn’t express his thoughts verbally.

“You know something about this?”

Bahamut ignored Tiamat’s accusatory tone and faced all the Dragon Kings, “Humor me on this, oh~ Great ones~ what is the name of our universe?”

Yu-long and Fafnir had a confused look when they heard the question. Midgardsormr looked like he wanted to sleep, which was his default facial expression. Tiamat looked confused, but only for a moment. Now, she looked angry. Honestly, that was the most prominent emotion that Tiamat had shown so far.

Vritra immediately intervened, “DxD which stands for Draconic Deity.”

Bahamut smiled, “And when was the last time a dragon reached the fucking Top Ten?”

Now everyone had a stunned look.

And, as expected, Vritra was the first to recover, “400 years ago,” Then he zoomed in on Bahamut, “But how true is the ranking? Surely, with what you have shown us, you should be stronger than Sirzechs Lucifer and Ajuka Beelzebub.”

“Let’s not dillydally on the smaller details when the Festival of the Dragon Kings is upon us,” The grin on his face widened when he noticed how close Tiamat was to losing her cool, “This is the stage made for us to show the world, human and supernatural, that the dragons have returned; that we are not weak and broken anymore.”

“You,” Tiamat took a step forward, her dragon aura started to become visible, “Are tiptoeing around our questions!”

Bahamut was sure that he had to properly subdue Tiamat. Fortunately, it did not escalate as a look of realization appeared on Vritra’s face, “Stage made for us… someone is helping us,” Then he frowned, “No, helping you.”

The accusatory look on Vritra made him chuckle.

Just a few hours with them were enough for Bahamut to understand their personalities. Yu-long and Fafnir were the carefree types. And Bahamut had a hunch that Fafnir was quite the pervert. On the other hand, Midgardsormr was outright lazy. Until now, he had only spoken a few words and was not interested at all in their conversation.

Speaking of conversation, he was lucky that at least one of the Dragon Kings was mature enough for him to talk to. In Bahamut’s honest opinion, Vritra was probably more mature than him.

As for Tiamat, the de facto leader of the dragons, she was good only when it came to battles; she was also quite good at initiating one.

“Before any of you start throwing accusations, let me clear out the air,” Bahamut gave Tiamat and Vritra a pointed look, “Mutual benefits,” He dropped his smile. Since he had a basic understanding of their behavior and motivation, it was time to focus on the subject at hand, “The reason why the stage is so flashy and out in the open is that the sponsor of the event wants to divert the attention of the supernatural world. Why? Because he wants to fuck up the Greeks.”

Then he addressed all the Dragon Kings, “Since none of you are in bed with them, this shouldn’t be a concern.”

Tiamat let out a mocking smile, “And why should we listen to someone who is obeying the words of another entity?”

“Did anyone here question you when you went and hugged the thigh of another powerful entity, Naruto Ōtsutsuki?”

Vritra immediately stood in between them. He gave Tiamat a warning look before focusing on him, “She had her reasons. It was…”

“And I already have mentioned mine,” Bahamut interrupted Vritra, “Let me give a refresher, I want a world for the dragons, ruled by the dragons; untouched by any other outside individuals or factions regardless of their intentions. And just so we are clear, in case anyone here didn’t get the memo, I don’t want to take over this human world. I want a realm of our own.”

“Ruled by you,” Tiamat spat out the words.

Bahamut saw how uncomfortable Vritra looked. Even the other three on the side looked slightly panicked. But he did not rise up to the bait. Bahamut stepped aside and pointed at the magical screen, “Then, by all means, go ahead and defeat all the Evil Dragons. Show your might to our world, our universe, and receive the blessing of DxD,” He swiped his hand, and immediately the magical screen was replaced by multiple portals, “Claim the title of ‘Heavenly Dragon’.”

“You…”

“Festival of the Dragon Kings is a stage for the dragons to see who is the mightiest one among us and who has the right to earn the title of ‘Heavenly Dragon’,” Bahamut stepped away from the portals, “When the fuck did I say it was only for me? I mean, why do you think Crom Cruach had finally decided to show his ugly face?”

Then his smile widened, “It’s a fucking battle royale.”

For a moment, no one spoke up. Then Tiamat took flight and dived straight into the portal at the center.

Yu-long and Fafnir looked at each other before following Tiamat, all the while avoiding his gaze.

Midgardsormr had a different plan, “Do I need to join this festival?”

Bahamut smiled, a real one this time, “I never said that you had to.”

The giant serpent let out a throaty chuckle, “I am starting to like you more.”

In response, Bahamut tilted his head in acknowledgment before focusing on the last Dragon King, “Vritra?”

The Enveloper took some time before he finally addressed Bahamut, “What is your true goal, Bahamut?”

This made him chuckle, “Until now, I have not lied once.”

“But you have not given all the truths.”

Bahamut shook his head, “Other than revealing the identity of the sponsor, I have answered all of your questions truthfully.”

Vritra gave him a knowing smile, “So if we have missed any important questions…”

“Not my fucking problem,” Bahamut’s response was immediate.

The silence reigned once again. And a full minute later, Vritra finally moved, “Whom will you go after?”

Bahamut pointed at the portals, “Aži Dahāka and Apophis. I am pretty sure you can guess why. I will take care of them before meeting Crom Cruach.”

“Crom may kill Tiamat and the other two,” It was more of a question than a statement.

He understood what Vritra was pointing at, so he shook his head, “Crom will not kill them. He will use excessive force to subdue them but he will not kill.”

Vritra opened his mouth. Bahamut knew what he would be asking – Why or how he knew. But to his surprise, Vritra went in a different direction, “I will go around and keep the damage some of the Evil Dragons are causing to a minimum. Since I have a feeling that instead of joining the festival, some may abuse the chaos and cause a ruckus,” Then he looked at Midgardsormr, “And I need help.”

The painful face Midgardsormr made when he heard this caused Bahamut to snort loudly.

“Do you really…”

“Yes!”

The way Midgardsormr started to drag his enormous body and follow Vritra was quite hilarious.

Just before Vritra stepped into the portal, he paused for a second, “I hope you will keep your promise and show us that world you desire for us dragons.”

With his piece said, Vritra left with Midgardsormr.

A few seconds later, Bahamut moved as well. With a wave of his hand, he closed all the portals except one and stepped inside that remaining one.

When he came out from it, he was in his human form. And Titania was waiting for him.

Seeing him, she pouted, “That was not very nice.”

He chuckled as he gave her a bear hug, “I just wanted to show all of them that you are mine.”

Titania shook her head defeatedly before tapping lightly on his chest. He got the message and let her go.

A bird made of pure blue energy landed on his hand. And immediately, he started receiving live feedback on the Evil Dragons’ activities.

The Evil Dragons were divided into three groups. The biggest one was heading toward the Vatican. Grendal, Yamata no Orochi, Ladon, and Niðhöggr were in this group.

Grendal, the Crime Force Dragon, was a Western-type Dragon with black scales, bright silver eyes, horns, wings, and thick limbs. And like Bahamut, he was also a bipedal Dragon.

Yamata no Orochi, the Venom Blood Dragon, had the appearance of an eight-headed Eastern-type Dragon. And he was enormous. He was half as long as Midgardsormr, making him the largest Evil Dragon.

Ladon had the most unique appearance out of them all. He looked more like a forest God than a dragon.

Niðhöggr’s appearance had this odd Western and Eastern mix to it. He had a snake-like appearance but he had four limps and two large wings.

And all of them were heading toward the Vatican. This made Bahamut frown. He tried to recall what he knew about their personalities.

Grendal was an aggressive dragon and a battle maniac who was only interested in fighting and destroying. Despite his unhealthy obsession with fighting, he was not psychotic. And according to the records, he was killed by the original Beowulf.

Yamata no Orochi was one of those dragons that acted on his instinct, meaning he was vicious and feral… but not mindless. And he was killed by the Shinto Storm-God Susanoo.

Ladon was a prideful dragon who was killed by the original Heracles.

Niðhöggr had an odd personality. He was a greedy dragon, and if Bahamut remembered right, he was also quite sadistic. It’s quite strange that there was no record of him being slain.

None of them were killed or captured by the Heaven faction. The only possible explanation was that they wanted to take over Europe and the Heaven Faction was in their way.

The problem was, since Biblical God was dead, the Angels and the Exorcists severely lacked the firepower to handle these dragons.

“Not my fucking problem,” With that, Bahamut focused on the second group, where Apophis and Aži Dahāka were.

Apophis, the Eclipse Dragon, had the appearance of a black Easter Dragon. He was the second-longest Evil Dragon. He had gems along his body, all of which released a shimmering, silvery glow. He had three eyes upon his head which released the same silvery glow as his gems.

Aži Dahāka, the Diabolism Thousand Dragon, was a giant Dragon with three heads and six giant wings. He had very dark scales that were a distinct shade of purple.

And these two were heading toward Egypt.

“Is their target Amun-Ra?” A thought for later.

The last one left was Crom Cruach.

The Crescent Circle Dragon resembled a jet-black Western-type Dragon with a black and golden aura surrounding him. And his appearance was just as majestic as Bahamut’s.

And currently, he was being confronted by Tiamat, Yu-long, and Fafnir.

“Hope they can stall him long enough for me.”

Bahamut faced the direction of Apophis and Aži Dahāka.

“My lord.”

He turned to face his lover, Titania, “Yes, love.”

“Are they, the Evil Dragons, the threat you were talking about before?”

He would have laughed at her question if not for the genuine nervousness she was showing.

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Bahamut did a quick simulation in his head and realized that he could spare a few minutes. So, he asked, “Do you know why they are called Evil Dragons?”

Titania looked away for a moment before meeting his gaze and answering, “The Evil Dragons are a group of Dragons who are known for their particular vicious temperament. All of them are dangerous battle maniacs who want to destroy everything including themselves, causing them to be referred to as ‘Broken Dragons’.”

“Then, can you tell me which of the Evil Dragons destroyed everything and themselves?”

Titania looked down for a second before meeting his gaze. But before she could even open her mouth, since he knew the answer, he added an additional clause, “Without the involvement of the Gods.”

Now this stumped her.

Her cute expression made him chuckle, “You should know this by now, love, there is no such thing as ‘Good’ or ‘Evil’ when it comes to dragon. We are simple creatures of ‘Desire’. We desire challenges, we desire battles, and,” He gently stroked her cheek, “We desire love.

She smiled and leaned onto his touch, “Your desires are not all-consuming.”1

“Hence, we are not considered monsters. Unlike devils, we know our limits… most of the time,” Grinning widely, he let go of her and faced the direction of his target, “Why don't you hold onto your questions? Since you can ask them yourself later.”

“What do you mean?”

Bahamut smiled, “I want to bring the Evil Dragons under me to tackle the threat that I mentioned before,” He then turned swiftly and kissed Titania, “Return home and wait for our arrival.”

She gave him that sweet smile of hers before teleporting away.

When the teleportation circle fully disappeared, he shed his human skin and took his draconic form.

Releasing a mighty roar, he released his aura before taking off.

As he sped up to catch his targets, his mind wandered off just for a moment, “Here we go again, 2 minutes of pleasure.”

Other than Titania, everyone who knew about him thought he was a dragon of Greed and Lust. A dragon that hoarded treasures and only thought about expanding his harem.

“What a joke.”

He was a true dragon, one that loved to fight and sought challenges. His goal was to stand on the top of the pyramid, ruling the dragons and challenging the Gods.

That was why, in the beginning, he did not like his unique ability ‘Adapt’ because of its restrictions.

This ability allowed him to develop new powers or alter his physique and, in some cases, would even change his identity to counter the threat in front of him.

Truly, it was a one-of-a-kind ability.

Unfortunately, like everything else, it had its downsides. His ability was reactive and temporary. He needed to directly handle the threat for 2 minutes for his ability to activate. Then he had 10 minutes to take care of the threat. After that, he would lose his adaptive form or power and would not be able to use ‘Adapt’ for another 2 minutes.

Bahamut was not ignorant. He knew that there were beings out there who needed less than a minute to crush him. So, what was the point of having an overwhelmingly powerful ability if he couldn’t even use it because of its time restriction?

It was a challenge that he wholeheartedly accepted. Since he could not change the time constraints, he left no stone unturned on that matter, he trained to improve his defensive skills and strategic mindset. He made a goal for himself… it was to survive 2 minutes if he were to face the Top Three of their universe.

The outcome was that he developed a few new abilities and enhanced some of the old ones. The most noticeable ones were his immensely high regeneration ability, his mastery over fire manipulation, and the astute mindset of a fighter. In addition, he collected some old artifacts and ancient weapons as backup in case of emergencies.

But this evolution of his became a headache for him when he later realized how his ability ‘Adapt’ truly behaved.

If he was on his last breath, his ability would help him to survive. If he was being dominated, his ability would provide him with multiple trump cards. And if he was fighting on an equal footing, his ability would finish the fight for him.

And if he tried to deliberately hold himself back from using his technique, it would make him aggressively stronger. As if the ability knew what he was doing and didn’t like his decision.

Now, he did not like his unique ability ‘Adapt’ because of how overpowering it became.

Honestly speaking, he wanted to test his ability against the likes of Trimurti and the GodKing of Youkai. Since they could manipulate Domains in the truest sense, he wondered how his ‘Adapt’ would react to it.

Unfortunately, he could not go against them since…

“Would you look at that?”

Bahamut stopped.

It seemed flaring his power bore fruit. His targets were approaching him.

And, a few seconds later, he was standing before Aži Dahāka and Apophis… two legendary Evil Dragons and two candidates to earn the title ‘Heavenly Dragon’.

“Well~” Aži Dahāka’s three heads uttered the same word in different tones, making them echo. Bahamut almost laughed at the comedic display but held his tongue.

Then the middle head leaned forward and smiled wickedly, “Look who we have here?”

“Are you the one who the King mentioned?” Apophis interrupted.

Now this made him scoff, “Please, tell me what did you find so grandeur about him?”

The Evil Dragons shared a look. While their expression gave nothing away, it was the small details of their postures that made Bahamut raise his guard.

“They are coming.”

And, as usual, he was right.

Apophis was the first to strike.

One moment, there was nothing. Then out of nowhere, a tidal wave, made of pure darkness that was high enough to seemingly touch the sky, slammed into him. And the force behind him was enough to drop Bahamut into the ocean below.

The black water Apophis used was extremely poisonous to the point where it almost dissolved his skin. If he was even at the current Dragon King’s level, this would have been a ‘Game Over’.

Bahamut tried to escape the ocean waters but he felt a strong resistance as if something invisible was pulling him down.

It took him a second to realize what was happening.

Ba-dum~

Apophis was converting the ocean water into his own ‘Primordial Water’ element. And Aži Dahāka was using some sort of space-time magic to hold him inside the water.

They were going all out… right from the start!

Ba-dum~

This was how a battle between dragons should be.

Vicious,

Chaotic,

…Glorius.

Bahamut roared as his Blue Flame leaked out from his skin, vaporizing the water around him and burning the magic that was caging him. He faced above and roared once more, “Terra Flare!”

An enormous beam made of fire and dragon aura was released. It had the force and energy to reach all the way to the moon.

But Bahamut used it as a distraction.

When the beam was fired, he created a copy of his draconic form made purely of fire while he changed into his human form. He used the path created by his attack to get out of the ocean.

His opponents realized his trick a second too late.

Bahamut was near Aži Dahāka when he burst into his draconic form. He put extra power into his ‘Exploding Transformation’ hoping to take a chunk out of his opponent.

And he succeeded.

He had taken out one of the heads of Aži Dahāka.

Bahamut looked down and grinned. The head that was taken out, burned and decaying, was still biting into his leg. The strength behind that bite was no joke since it reached all the way to his bone and broke it.

As the severed head vaporized, Bahamut looked at Aži Dahāka who used teleportation magic at the last second to move away from the blast.

And both of them were surprised at what they saw.

Aži Dahāka’s wounds were mostly healed, even his head was regenerating. Bahamut was the same. The wound on his leg went from crippling to stable condition within a few seconds.

Then, both grinned at each other… a show of respect.

From his peripheral vision, Bahamut noticed that Apophis was subtly injecting his magic into the water below. It seemed he was adamant about dragging the entire ocean under his domain.

Honestly, if he were to pull it off, it would be dangerous for Bahamut.

He spread his wings and so did his opponents.

Bahamut fired hundreds of fireballs. In response, Aži Dahāka fired just as many skulls made of purple flame while Apophis created a few enormous bolts of darkness.

In an instant, the fireballs Bahamut released exploded. Now, there were thousands of them.

Apophis immediately created a barrier whereas Aži Dahāka tried to match his firepower.

Bahamut’s actual goal here was to send a few receiver orbs that he had created using his magic into the mesosphere, while his opponents were distracted. He needed these orbs to fire down devastating attacks using solar energy.

But it seemed his opponents were shaper than he thought.

The black bolts Apophis had created prior shrunk in size and gained a boost in speed which took out his orbs.

Seeing that his plan failed, Bahamut went for his next move.

He released a huge amount of flames through his wings and spun the flames around him to create a cyclone of fire. A defensive mechanism to give him an extra few seconds to prepare for his next move.

His opponents also understood his motive as both of them started to bombard the cyclone using various attacks.

When he was ready, the cyclone around him expanded and then exploded giving him enough time to reposition himself.

Apophis and Aži Dahāka were coming after him but paused immediately when they noticed the two enormous fire orbs he was holding. Each of them was a dense version of his full power ‘Terra Flare’. Suffice it to say, his opponents immediately knew that these attacks could seriously hurt them.

The moment he threw the fire orbs, Aži Dahāka teleported out and Apophis dissolved into darkness.

But Bahamut knew this was going to happen. So he maneuvered the orbs and dropped them into the ocean below. The explosion caused by this immediately purified the water.

Then his instincts forced him to look up.

The clouds were pitch black.

Apophis was using the ocean as a distraction all this time.

And before Bahamut could counter it, multiple cyclones made of jet-black lightning charged at him. He immediately created multiple hands made of fire to hold black the cyclones.

As he started preparing another ‘Terra Flare’ and aimed it above, his instincts flared again. He was forced to drop the attack and move away… but he was a second too late.

The cyclones got a hold on him. It was then he realized that the cyclones had curses imbued in them as well which was why his fire didn’t stand a chance.

Before he could come up with another plan, the clouds above him released all the ‘Primordial Water’ that Apophis was creating.

Bahamut could not dodge this attack.

As he was engulfed by the black water and dropped into the ocean below once again, he knew that the time was up, “It was fun while it lasted.”

“Adapt.”

Bahamut thought that he would be getting the same counter-ability since he was fighting against multiple dragons again.

The skin and flesh made of Dragon-Slaying-Metal.

But once again his own ability surprised him.

Silver flame… he noticed it dancing on the tip of his fingers before engulfing his entire body. He felt his inside burning… it shouldn’t be possible. He was a dragon. And then the pain became so intense that he screamed, but instead of sound only fire came out.

The same silver flame.

The pain was temporary. When it subsided fully, it took him a few seconds to realize what he had received from his ‘Adapt’.

The sacred flame of a Star. The strongest form of fire that was above all elements, even ‘Holy’ and ‘Dark’. In certain records, it wasn’t even considered an element but rather a cosmic energy.

And he became a living embodiment of it.

“This should be fun.”

The fire he was emitting alone dissolved the dark energy in the water and destroyed the resistance from above.

He slowly rose up and faced his opponents, who were wary of him now.

“Well then,” Bahamut stretched his shoulder, an action that made the other two dragons raise their guards, “Do forgive me if I go overboard.”

This time, he took the initiative.

He charged toward Aži Dahāka who immediately fired multiple skull-shaped purple fireballs. But at the last moment, Bahamut increased his speed a fewfold and changed his direction. He appeared just beside Apophis and punched him… hard.

With a roar, the Eclipse Dragon fell backward. But he immediately raised a barrier to protect him from the second punch.

Unfortunately, it didn’t help. The force of the punch shattered the barrier and delivered another strong blow to his opponent.

With that, Apophis fell from the sky.

Aži Dahāka wasn’t playing around. He had created multiple unique cyclones using forbidden magic and hurled those toward him.

And Bahamut took his barrage of attacks head-on. As expected, their damage was quite insignificant.

Funnily, the moment Bahamut turned his attention toward Aži Dahāka, he created more distance between them by teleporting away.

But it was futile since Bahamut got a tremendous boost in speed. So, it took less than a second for him to catch up to Aži Dahāka. And when he appeared in front of him, one of the heads bit him, the same one that had been destroyed before.

He was not sure if it was a grudge from before but that was a bad move. Because his entire body was made of the sacred flame of the Star.

The head released him immediately and roared in agony.

Aži Dahāka teleported away but this time Bahamut was ready. The moment he reappeared, Bahamut was right in his face.

One punch and the Diabolism Dragon fell from the sky to the island below.

“Fuck that hurts,” Aži Dahāka laughed as he stood up on his feet, “You got to do more than just punching if you want to win.”

In response, Bahamut’s pair of flame wings transformed into four pairs of long arms made of fire.

There was a pregnant pause.

“Fuck my big mouth.”

Bahamut snorted before raining down punch after punch.

Aži Dahāka showed why he was known as the Diabolism Thousand Dragon. He demonstrated his knowledge and control over magic as he cast spell after spell of various origins to fight back.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. After just a minute of their bout, Aži Dahāka fell on the ground, out of fuel and full of injuries.

But his senses told him that the battle wasn’t over. Changing the arms back to wings, Bahamut turned around.

From the horizon, the sky and the sea were being engulfed by the primordial darkness as it was creeping toward him.

And Bahamut just stood there while condensing his fire and saving his strength.

The moment the Black Sea devoured him, he punched releasing as much energy as he could.

As if a switch was turned on, the darkness vanished and only the light remained.

But he wasn’t done. Bahamut dashed toward a location, broke the invisible barrier before dragging a tired Apophis out, gave him a few quick jabs, and then finally dropped him beside Aži Dahāka.

Bahamut stood in front of the two legendary Evil Dragons… and two ex-candidates of the Dragon Festival.

The thought made him smile.

“Anyone up for a round two?”

One of Aži Dahāka’s heads, the same one that had a grudge against him, blew a raspberry at Bahamut.

This made him chuckle.

“Adapt,” Apophis groaned as he tried to stand up but failed, “What a terrifying ability.”

“It is, but,” Bahamut undid his new form and returned to his original draconic one, “It makes many fights bland and quick.”

Apophis gave him a deadpan look.

“Aren’t you going to…”

“…Finish…”

“…Us?”

Hearing the three heads of Aži Dahāka finishing a single sentence fluidly was quite entertaining until Bahamut realized what he said.

“And why do I need to do that?”

His counter-question surprised the two Legendary Evil Dragons.

“We are the Evil Dragons.” Apophis said in a tone as if this statement should have answered Bahamut’s question.

Aži Dahāka on the other hand,

“Dum!”

“Dum!”

“Duuuum~”

Bahamut gave Aži Dahāka a dry look before focusing on Apophis, “Purely my opinion but I do not believe in ‘Good’ or ‘Evil’ when it comes to dragons,” Then he gave a toothy grin, “We are just hungry… for battles, for challenges, for excitement, and for some love.”

Aži Dahāka turned to Apophis, all three heads of his, “I am siding with him.”

“He is fun.”

“I am hungry.”

The two heads looked at the third one.

“Glad someone understands me, but let’s put aside the recruitment topic,” Bahamut turned away from them, “After all, the Festival isn’t over yet.”

As if a switch had been flipped, the entire area was doused with a new draconic energy.

And within a few seconds, the master of that unknown energy was in front of them.

The black dragon before them was nothing short of majestic. Its ebony scales gleamed with an otherworldly darkness and a golden energy enveloped his regal form. His size wasn’t massive but his aura was so formidable that it felt as if he covered the entire sky.

This was Crom Cruach.

A wave of his hand and a crack was formed in the sky. From there, the battered and unconscious bodies of Tiamat, Fafnir, and Yu-long were dropped.

Bahamut groaned, “I was hoping for them to hold you back a bit longer than this.”

In response, Crom smiled and waved his other hand.

From the shadows, all around them, multiple creatures came out. A single eye covered by a dark energy layer and with a pair of wings. A common dark attribute ‘Summoned Creature’ for scouting.

Bahamut gave Crom a dry look, “You finished your battle way earlier.”

“Your ability is reactive type,” Crom flared his power, “You need to fight a certain amount of time before you can activate it. Along with the fact that you had two big fights in the span of one hour, do you think you can win against me?”

This time, Bahamut imitated Crom. He created a crack in space by waving his hand. Through the crack, hundreds of weapons and artifacts of various origins started pouring out.

He picked up a large water storage tank labeled as ‘Hi-Potion’ and smiled, “I think I will manage to survive.”

“You will do,” Crom’s majestic draconic form started to dissolve, and within a few seconds, his human form stood before him. A mixture of black and blonde long hair, heterochromatic eyes, and pointed ears… he looked more like a half-elf than a human.

Changing to a human form, for dragons, was a decisive stance to show that he didn’t wish to fight.

“What is the meaning of this?” Bahamut growled.

“One, I would like to fight when both of us are at our best,” This calmed down Bahamut but Crom wasn’t done, “Two, I believe a bigger audience and,” He waved his hand and pointed his surroundings, “A better battlefield is required. And lastly, it is best if we are not fighting in the open.”

The last point surprised Bahamut, “Meaning?”

“Regardless of who wins in our fight, both of us will be quite battered. While you do not believe in ‘Good’ or ‘Evil’ in regards to dragon, most do not share the same sentiment.”

“Attacking us…”

“…While we are weakened…”

“…During our most sacred event.”

The three heads of Aži Dahāka grinned widely and said the next part together, “They are courting death!”

Bahamut, Crom, and Apophis looked at him before Apophis focused on the last remaining contestants of the Festival, “I agree with Crom. Let us have the last battle of the Festival in a more prepared location.”

“If it is acceptable,” Crom addressed all of them, “We should head out and calm the rest of the Evil Dragons. While some are quite troublesome, we may need the number.”

It seemed like Crom was sharper than Bahamut thought.

He was going to agree but then Titania’s voice rang through his mind.

“My lord, we have located one of the wielders of ‘Heavenly Dragon’.”

This made him grin.

“You guys go ahead, I will catch up with you all soon.”