"I see... So that's how it is" said Orchestra

"Hmm... You seem familiar. You said that you are a royal right? Maybe you're related to June"

"Maybe. However, I don't remember democracy being the system when I was in power"

"...I suppose dreams don't last forever"

"You're wrong!" interjected Ace "After seeing the success in Avangarden, Championnat became democratic! Your friend's dream lives on"

"...Heh, that's nice to hear... Thank you"

"People die, but their dreams live forever," said Dune "Or something like that, I suppose"

"Well, now you see what this labyrinth was, but it seems that it now takes on a new, modern evil"

"That's right, it looks like a human trafficking ring has dominated this place, and I think some royals are involved as well"

"Heheh, same old," said Sacrosanct, while standing back up "Now what are we waiting for? Let's kick some ass!"

The group left the room, now ravaging the labyrinth. At last, they reached the bottommost floor, which even Sacrosanct had never explored before

"It looks like they added some new levels..."

The walls were now jet black, made of obsidian and other volcanic minerals. Sacrosanct suddenly held back the group when he heard roars and the sound of fire. The group witnessed an unbelievable sight of various species of dragons flying around in a large empty area with thousands of holes in the wall, the hallways in which they came in from being one of them.

The sharp sensed dragons quickly caught onto the smell of intruders and attacked, breathing fire at them, but Sacrosanct was able to quickly deflect the flames with a fire of his own.

"Quick, we gotta move!"

The group followed Sacrosanct as he quickly jumped toward the centre of the hollowed space, still shaken by now dozens of dragons. Ace tried shooting the dragons, but it only seemed to annoy them, unable to penetrate their thick leather.

After landing at the lowest point of the pit, the dragons seemed to stay away from them.

"What going on? Why aren't they attacking us?" question Sacrosanct

"L-look!" shouted Orchestra

Dragon Hive Queen vs. Orchestra, Sacrosanct & Poda-Bruss

Behind them was a colossal cave the size of a mountain, with glowing eyes visible, penetrating the darkness. A dragon, large enough to classify with the World Beasts walked out of the cave and roared, temporarily deafening the heroes and the group. The dragons that chased them - whom now looked tiny and insignificant in comparison - flew away like a flock of pigeons. The dragon was visibly agitated. It slowly circled its prey, like a hawk keeping its eyes on a rabbit. It then unhinged it jaws, charging up a blast of flames that would destroy them at once. Sacrosanct quickly readied his bow, aiming to kill before anything happened.

However, an unknown man suddenly penetrated the ceiling, smashing the dragon on its jaws.

"Poda-Bruss?!"

"Orchestra! And the others!"

"Someone you know?" asked Sacrosanct

"Yeah, he's a hero too"

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Poda-Bruss jumped to the bottom where the others were and made sure they were all alright, then introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you, sir, I am Poda-Bruss, the 25th hero"

"Ni-nice to meet you too... I'm Sacrosanct, also a hero"

While the heroes were distracted, the dragon once again charged another blast.

"⌈Starbu-⌋!"

"Wait, let me handle this"

Poda-Bruss braced himself as a magical barrier formed around them.

"⌈Maximum Barrier⌋!

The circular barrier was able to easily defend against the dragon's breath. This was because ever since Poda-Bruss learnt that his barrier was simply not strong enough to protect others in Sonosis, he had been researching barrier spells and slowly improving his own.

Sacrosanct was thoroughly impressed by this. The power to protect others was admirable, and he even felt a bit jealous. However, more than anything, he was glad that he was his ally.

"Alright, let's do this!" shouted Sacrosanct

He ran towards the beast with his bow and arrows ready.

"⌈Starburst⌋!"

The dragon seemed resistant to the flame, but it still took damage from the blasts, which were like that of a solar flare.

"Poda-Bruss! Let's go!"

Orchestra and Poda-Bruss both readied their fists, battling the dragon with their martial arts. Each blow came closer to almost pushing the dragon over, and each impact resulted in a shockwave, reverberating through the caves.

"Ms. Ace! I need your help!" asked Dune

Ace was mesmerized by the heroes' battle against the beast but was quickly awoken by Dune.

"Wh-what?!"

"Well, ⌈Manifest Destiny⌋ is showing a strange new path, but I can't just go alone"

"Haah... fine"

Ace truly wanted nothing more than to watch the heroes continue battling but she also couldn't let Dune explore alone within this dragon-infested cave. As Dune followed the line in one of the thousands of caves, she came across a massive egg almost double the size of her.

"Woah... Is this a dragon egg?"

"Dune... I think we need to get out of here before its mother comes-"

Suddenly the egg began hatching

"Or it starts hatching"

After quite a bit of struggling the egg finally cracked under the pressure, and inside revealed but a wee hatchling. Dragons were magical creatures, different from natural creatures. Unlike natural creatures, which is born of the earth and return to it, magical creatures are made completely of mana, and as with all magical structure, will return to mana at some point, whether the cause be natural or external. However, dragon colonies such as this continue their existence by consistent reproduction, creating an extended chain reaction. The only way to completely destroy a dragon hive is to destroy the entire colony lest they spread.

An advantage of a magical creature is its rapid growth. Unlike natural creatures under the physical restraints of time, magic can be used to bypass this similar to high-level time spells. The potent ingredients within the egg give the new hatchling enough energy to conjure this difficult magic, allowing them to become an adult in no time.

Now the hatchling was an adult, but like chicks of a hen, the newborn dragon registers whoever it sees first as its caretaker - or mother. In this case, the chosen one was Dune. The dragon licked Dune's face like a happy dog and Dune - the demon lord, a high-level magical creature - instantly understood the beast.

"Wah! Isn't that a bit dangerous?"

"It's fine. I think this one likes me"

"O-okay then, but I think we should still get out of here quick"

Dune checked the red string to see where she should head next and surprisingly, their business within the caverns was over already. While leaving, Dune noticed that the dragon was following her.

"You want to come with me?"

The beast barked in agreement.

"Alright then!"

Dune approached the dragon and mounted it. Without a leash, it'd usually be impossible to lead any magical beasts, but with a precise flow of mana into the creature, they could communicate without words.

"Come ride too, Ace!"

"Are you sure that's safe?"

"...Yeah!"

Reluctantly, Ace followed suit and jumped atop the dragon. Now they were ready to leave. The small speck of light that was the entrance of the tunnel now flashed bright as the group reentered the bright area of the hive.

"Poda-Bruss! Orchestra! Mr. Sacrosanct! Here!"

The trio temporarily paused the brawl and turned around to Dune's voice, surprised to see that she had successfully tamed a dragon.

"Let's get out of here already!" shouted Ace

"...I suppose hanging around longer doesn't serve much purpose," said Sacrosanct as he hopped onto the dragon now waiting next to them

"I can fly so I'll be alright, you guys go on," said Orchestra

"Understood" replied Poda-Bruss

The group left the battle not too heavily wounded thanks to Poda-Bruss's efforts. Now in the air, Sacrosanct aimed with his bow to destroy the hive once and for all before it got out of control.

"⌈Nuclear-"

"Wait!" interrupted Dune "We don't have to destroy the hive!"

"What are you talking about? It's a dragon hive"

"Well... But... Look how big the hive is and nothing happened to the city yet. Can't we just leave them alone?"

"I agree" supported Poda-Bruss "We should consult this with the other heroes"

And so, the heroes returned to Siege's abode, now with a new hero and a dozen more conflicts brewing under the surface.