Chapter 1: How to Kill a Dragon

The sound of wails and agony reverberated as metal clanked against each other. Smoke swirled up into the night sky, obscuring the twin crimson moons above. The smell of burnt flesh and spilled blood filled the air. In less than a day, half of the Kingdom of Altair had been burned down to the ground.

“Archers! Fire!”

The voice of the commander resonated, and moments after, volleys of arrows rained towards the gargantuan creature in the middle of the Capital. Its reptilian head turned towards the direction of the archers, it opened its mouth wide, then breathed out a gargantuan sphere of fire.

In a matter of moments, the elite team of archers were burned into crisp and dust, their attacks did nothing but further aggravate the beast.

The beast flapped its wings once, and a gust of wind blew. It roared, sending a bone-chilling shockwave throughout the entire city. Its scales glimmered amidst the flames of the burning city.

“C-Commander!” said one of the soldiers. His teeth had been clattering nonstop for quite some time now. “Th-The archers have been wiped out! Y-Your orders, please!”

“I-Isn’t this impossible?” breathed another soldier. “We can never win against a dragon! There’s no way mere humans could win against that!”

Despair loomed over everyone. The commander, a man with graying hair and thick moustache, gnashed his teeth then clenched his fists. He knew that now was not the time to falter.

“Magicians! How much longer would it take to complete the magic?!” he said, voice almost desperate.

“We need around three more minutes, Commander Morgan!”

Commander Morgan nodded then turned his attention towards the crimson dragon that had been rampaging until now.

“It’ll be harder to fight that thing if it decides to leave the ground,” said Morgan. He took out his sword from the scabbard, creating a loud unsheathing sound. “All soldiers! We shall fight till the last man! This shall be our grave! We shall buy time until the magicians complete the Grand Scale Magic!”

The soldiers, though shaking to their very core, firmed their stances. They all have their families in the Kingdom. If this creature was not stopped, they all knew the nightmare that would unfold afterwards. They all knew that the Kingdom of Altair, with its hundreds of years of glory, would be nothing but history.

“All soldiers!” roared Morgan. “Charge!”

Metals clanked as hundreds of soldiers charged towards the dragon. The beast, upon seeing this, struck the ground with its claws. The ground shook as a shockwave flew towards the soldiers. Some flew up into the air, while some were able to hold their ground. Those that managed to come close to the dragon struck its scales using their iron swords.

Each of their strikes were filled with vehement ferocity, but it did nothing but create a hardly naked scratch to the scale of the beast. The dragon flailed its tail and struck the soldiers one after another. Their bodies were torn and ripped into shreds, while some were split in half. Blood rained down the skies, but the surviving soldiers still continued with their barrage of attacks.

They kept charging ahead towards absolute death, their single goal was to buy enough time for the magicians to complete their magic.

Commander Morgan’s heart pounded out of his chest as he repeatedly struck the body of the dragon. He was a famous martial arts user, and his sword was imbued with piercing magic, but even he was unable to penetrate the dragon’s scale.

A tail flew towards him, and he blocked using his sword. The impact sent him flying, until he struck a stone house a good distance away from the battle. Some of his bones were shattered by that impact, his flesh torn.

Yet despite the excruciating pain, he stood up. He roared then once again charged towards the beast. The dragon once again breathed a ball of fire, and it instantly killed dozens of his men.

Commander Morgan’s heart was struck with grief upon seeing this, but his steel resolve made him rush into his death regardless. He leaped up into the air, and using the entire force of his body, struck the dragon right at the neck.

This time, his strike created a noticeable dent on the scale of the beast. The dragon must have felt it, as it growled furiously. It opened its mouth wide as it attempted to bite off Commander Morgan before the man landed on the ground.

Using his martial arts, Commander Morgan twirled thrice on the air, successfully evading the dragon’s opened jaws. He landed on the ground then shouted to his soldiers, “Do not falter! Keep charging! Attack!”

From the rear, at the place where Morgan left the magicians, a bright light flashed through the night sky. The soldiers turned towards the source, and their morale skyrocketed. Finally, after numerous sacrifices, the Grand Scale Magic had been finally completed.

It was a magic that consumed the mana of over a hundred magicians. A magic that made use of an exquisite scroll and complex magical engravements. A magic said to be capable of toppling an entire army alone. The trump card of the Kingdom of Altair.

“Commander!” said one of the soldiers.

Morgan’s lips curled into a smirk. He shouted, “Fall back! All soldiers, retreat!”

The soldiers immediately ran away in all directions upon that order. They all knew that the Grand Scale Magic would obliterate a large portion of land, and those that would be caught inside it had no way of surviving.

The dragon was infuriated upon seeing the pesky humans running away. It breathed numerous balls of fire, and numerous soldiers fleeing were burned down into crisp and dust. It flapped its wings, and slowly, it started to lift off the ground.

“It’s going to fly to the skies!” said Morgan. He shouted to the magicians, “Fire the Grand Scale Magic! Now!”

The magical engravement on the ground glowed, and a blinding flash of light pierced through the sky. The heavens roared and rumbled, and a swirling vortex started forming above the clouds. Moments passed by, and a pillar of energy fell down the heavens and struck the body of the dragon. The beast roared as pain cruised through its entire body. Shockwave and dust flew from the center of impact.

A large portion of the city had been turned into nothing but sands and stones after that single impact. The clouds of dust eventually receded, revealing a seemingly bottomless crater wherein sand continued to drip down.

There were no signs of the dragon anywhere. And that was to be expected. After all, it was impossible for any creature to survive a magic like that.

Or so they thought.

Commander Morgan was about to announce their victory when suddenly, the ground shook and rumbled. From inside the seemingly bottomless and gargantuan crater, the sound of wings flapping was heard. Slowly, a familiar silhouette emerged. The enraged crimson eyes of the beast glared straight at the soldiers.

“Y-You’re kidding, right?” croaked Morgan.

The Grand Scale Magic was their Kingdom’s trump card. The magic that had been passed down from generations of Kings and Monarchs. If that magic was incapable of killing that dragon, then there was no hope for humankind.

The dragon flew up into the air. Its previously perfect wings had holes in it, and some of its scales were cracked and broken. Blood dripped down its snout.

The bloodlust emitted by the enraged beast made everyone’s knees wobble. This dragon was injured, but it was still far too strong and dangerous.

It opened its mouth wide, and unlike before, a massive amount of mana was being gathered. Eventually, a massive sphere of fire shot through the surviving soldiers, killing hundreds of them in an instant. Houses were turned into dust, the ground turning into molten lava.

That single attack destroyed more than half the Kingdom’s Capital.

Morgan fell down his knees. He had resigned himself to death. He knew that there was no way for them to win against this monster.

“Hey, who’s the commander of this place?” said a man’s voice.

Commander Morgan simply knelt there for a few seconds, before he craned his neck towards the side to look at the source of the voice. Moments passed, and his eyes widened upon seeing the crest on the man’s shoulders. It was the insignia of Morvius, the organization of magicians said to have the might of several Empires.

But what surprised Commander Morgan the most was not the insignia itself, but its color. Right now, this man wearing a mask have a silver insignia. The symbol of the Graya.

In the entire organization of Morvius, there were only four magicians belonging to the Graya. Each of those magicians were said to contain the might of an entire Kingdom. They were magicians that ranked among the strongest in the entire continent.

What was this man doing here? As far as Commander Morgan knew, the organization of Morvius does not involve themselves in the matters of other sovereigns. Asking them for help was out of the question, since they would not send reinforcements for the sake of a single Kingdom alone.

“Who’s the commander of this place?” the man repeated.

Commander Morgan broke out of his stupor. With wobbly legs, he stood up then made a staunch salute.

“I am the commander of this city!” said Morgan. “What brings the presence of one of the Grayas in this place?”

His speech was probably out of context considering the situation, but Commander Morgan did not care. If this magician was indeed a reinforcement as he was hoping him to be, then this would be nothing but godsend.

Those that heard what Commander Morgan had said were flustered.

“Graya?”

“That magician over there is one of the Grayas? The one from Morvius?!”

“It’s true! Look at the insignia on his shoulders!”

Buzzes filled the air as everyone’s attention focused on the masked outsider. The dragon, on the other hand, still continued to fly through the sky, destroying what remained of the city.

The masked magician seemed apathetic of it. He took out a pocket watch inside his red cloak.

“I’m supposed to go back to Palamesh an hour from now,” he mumbled. He turned to Morgan. “I’m here to retrieve an item called the Blood Shard of the Obelisk. Lead the way.”

Morgan could not believe his ears. This man, who could probably fight against the injured dragon, said that he was merely here to retrieve an item. Judging by the tone of his voice and his apathetic attitude, this magician had no intention of fighting against the dragon.

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“I-I can’t leave this place,” said Morgan. “My soldiers need me. This city needs me. And besides, the item you’re looking for is probably in the Underground Chambers of the Royal Treasury.”

Commander Morgan pointed at a burned down ground filled with nothing but stones and sand. “It’s been destroyed by the dragon.”

The masked magician stood rigidly for a moment after that. Commander Morgan was sure that if the man did not wear a mask, his eyes would have been wide from the revelation.

“Damn it,” said the masked magician. “The leader will laugh at me if they find out that I failed such a simple quest.”

Lightning crackled underneath the magician’s feet. Realization dawned unto Commander Morgan. Among the Grayas, there was only one magician that specializes in lightning magic. The Magician of the Black Lightning.

“Y-You!” breathed Morgan. “Y-You’re that infamous Magician of the Black Lightning?!”

The masked magician did not reply. He stood there, his mind in deep thoughts. After some time, he nodded. “There must be another path that leads towards the Underground Chamber. From the Royal Palace, perhaps?”

What he had said was true, but Commander Morgan did not know if he should divulge such information. As he was pondering what to say, a ball of fire flew their way. Commander Morgan shivered as the thought of impending death loomed in. He had a fulfilling life, and his only regret was that he was unable to protect his Kingdom.

But then, he realized that currently, the famous Magician of the Black Lightning was with them.

In a matter of moments, a shield made of lightning manifested itself in front of them, successfully blocking the ball of fire. The dragon stopped midair and stared at their direction. After all, this was the first time an individual had blocked its attack until now.

“So, tell me,” said magician. “There’s another path, no?”

Another ball of fire flew towards them, but a shield of lightning once again manifested itself and blocked the attack. Those that saw how apathetic the magician was to the enraged dragon saw a glimmer of hope amidst the despair.

This magician was strong. Absurdly strong.

A sudden gush of inspiration struck Morgan. He breathed in then said, “You said that you only have an hour left before you need to return to Palamesh, correct?” He could feel the eyes of his subordinates staring directly at him. “I’ll guide you to the path towards the Underground Chamber. But I cannot leave this place, so—”

“—You want me to get rid of this pesky lizard,” completed the magician.

“Yes,” replied Morgan.

There was a pause, which felt like an eternity to Morgan. The outcome of this simple agreement could lead to the salvation or the fall of the Kingdom.

“Keep your promise, old man,” the magician finally replied.

Morgan breathed in a sigh of relief. Lightning crackled under the feet of the masked magician, before he eventually disappeared in blink of an eye.

From above, seven serpentine lightning manifested themselves. They slithered through the sky then shot towards the dragon hovering above. The beast roared as lightning struck its injured body.

The masked magician appeared right above the dragon. Hundreds of orbs of lightning manifested itself around him. He pointed a finger at the enraged beast, and the orbs conceded and struck the dragon’s body.

The gargantuan creature flapped its wings as it tried not to fall towards the ground. It roared, and a shockwave blew. It opened its mouth wide and released numerous balls of fire towards magician, but it hit nothing but an after image.

The magician reappeared right in front of the dragon, his fist holding a lightning spear. With an earth-shattering force, he threw the spear, and it struck the dragon’s snout. The dragon roared in rage as it once again spew balls of fire.

From a spectator’s view, what Morgan was witnessing was something beyond his imagination. There was nothing particularly noteworthy of the spells the magician from Morvius was casting, but the way he evaded each of the dragon’s attacks, and the way he returned with a strike took Morgan’s breath away. It was a fighting method that made perfect use of each spells created by the caster.

Morgan was not sure if this was because of the dragon was injured by their Grand Scale Magic, or if it was simply because of the sheer prowess of the magician. The man’s every move was that of someone that had been to numerous battlefields before. The experience of someone who had been to numerous life-or-death situations.

Numerous vines made of lightning erupted from the ground and shackled the dragon hovering above. The dragon tried to flap its wings, but doing so proved difficult as the vines of lightning coiled itself further on its body. Eventually, the dragon fell down the ground, sending numerous stones flying after impact.

“There’s not much time,” Morgan heard the magician say. “I need to finish this quick. Half of my entire mana pool should be enough for this injured lizard.”

As the magician said that, large amount of mana gushed out of his body. The amount was so colossal that even Morgan was able to see it clearly. That amount was probably enough to supply the Grand Scale Magic they had cast before. And to think that a single individual contained that much magic – Morgan shivered at the thought.

The heavens cried and wailed, and thunder furiously bellowed. Slowly a spinning black vortex manifested itself in the sky. The energy contained within the vortex made Morgan’s hair stand on their edge. Perhaps the Dragon felt the menacing aura too, as it desperately tried to get out of the shackles of the vines of lightning.

“Just die already,” said the magician. “Damn lizard.”

He pointed a finger at the shackled dragon, and the spinning vortex broke into numerous black particles, before turning into a pillar of black lightning. It struck the dragon head-on, and the creature squealed in excruciating pain as its scales broke from impact. It roared as black lightning covered its entire body.

The ground trembled as numerous veins of lightning spread out in all directions. Some of the soldiers were hit and they instantly turned to dust, their armors included. Morgan realized the severity of the situation, and he immediately ordered the retreat of his men.

“Everyone! Retreat!” he hollered amidst the violently crackling sound of black lightning. “You’ll die if you get hit by it!”

The soldiers began running for their lives. The structures that were hit were immediately turned into nothing but ashes, like a sandcastle washed away by a gargantuan wave.

This surreal phenomenon continued for a few seconds more, until eventually, to the relief of everyone that witnessed it, it stopped. What was left after the clouds of dust receded was a large clearing devoid of nothing but scorched ashes and ruins.

At the center of it all was the scorched remains of the dragon. Its impenetrable scales had been charred black. Its head down till the neck melted away from non-existence, leaving behind nothing but charcoaled bones.

Morgan and the rest of the soldiers could not believe that it was the same dragon from before. The seemingly invincible monster that took their Grand Scale Magic head-on and still managed to live. The same monster that destroyed more than half of their Kingdom.

“S-So… this is the strength of one of the Four Grayas?” breathed one of the soldiers.

They all knew that this was beyond the scope of what a mere human could do. That spell of pure black lightning held strength capable of toppling an entire Kingdom alone.

The masked magician suddenly appeared right in front of Morgan. And Morgan took three steps back in reflex.

“I’m running out of time,” said the magician. He once again took a pocket watch then nodded once. “Lead the way.”

And Morgan remembered his promise. “I see. Then, I shall lead you to that place.” He said to one of the soldiers, “Make a report about this. Tell the Lord of Toran City to send in Healers. Also, secure the perimeters of the city. There had been sightings of bandits before. They might use this opportunity to attack.”

The soldier made a salute. “Understood, Commander!”

Within his mind, Morgan was screaming: That’s it?! After killing a legendary beast, you’re merely going to ask me to lead the way?! That’s it?!

Somehow, Morgan had a grandiose image of a heroic magician slaying the dragon, but reality gave a completely different picture. The magician before him seemed apathetic even after killing that seemingly invincible beast.

“Damn it,” mumbled the magician. “It’ll take half a month before my mana pool recovers. I’ve used up too much magic just to fight that one. I should ask the Leader for a mana stone later. That should do the trick.”

That should be expected. Otherwise, what kind of monster are you if you aren’t even exhausted after killing that dragon.

Morgan kept his thoughts in his mind. He smiled and bowed. “Thank you for saving us. For saving this city. This Kingdo—”

“—Stop the pleasantries,” interjected the magician. “Take me to that place.”

Morgan stood still for a moment before he was able to utter a reply. “A-Ah… Understood!”

***

Yuan sighed. He had not expected that he would encounter a dragon during his mission. As far as he was concerned, his only task was to retrieve an item from the Royal Treasury of the Kingdom of Altair. Killing a strong creature like that was not part of the agreement.

In some way, he was lucky that the damnable lizard was already injured when he fought with it. Otherwise, there was no telling which of them would have won that fight.

He wordlessly followed the commander of the soldiers as they went towards the Royal Palace. This place was one of the few structures that remained untouched by the dragon, probably owing to the defensive spells cast by numerous magicians to protect the Royals. But unfortunately, the main entrance to the Royal Treasury itself was decimated beyond recognition, and they had no choice but to take an alternate route to get inside.

“C-Commander Morgan!”

They had yet to enter the Royal Palace when a skinny man wearing an exquisite overcoat came running towards their direction. Knights came running after him and one of them shouted, “Your majesty! Please don’t go outside! It’s too dangerous!”

Yuan raised a brow upon hearing that this skinny man was the king. Thankfully, he was wearing a mask.

He noticed that there was a barrier that hindered those from the outside from entering. But it immediately dispersed for a moment to let him and Morgan pass through.

The king grabbed Morgan by the shoulders and shook his body. “How’s the situation in the Capital? How many soldiers do we have left? Should I order everyone to evacuate? Should I flee this place? Answer me, Commander Morgan!”

By the time he was finished bombarding the Commander with questions, the King was heavily panting.

What a stupid King, thought Yuan.

He had never seen such uncharismatic leader before. He looked so baffled, so incompetent, that Yuan was sure that an ordinary soldier would have done a much better job of leading the people.

“Your majesty, the Dragon is dead,” said Morgan. The King, along with his knights, stopped and stared at Morgan surprise.

“W-What… do you mean?” whispered the King, but everyone heard it. “How?!”

Using observation magic, the King and his ministers had been observing the battle inside the Capital. The spell lasted only for a few minutes, just right after the Dragon survived the Kingdom’s trump card – the Grand Scale Magic.

Everyone thought that they were destined for annihilation at the hands of the legendary monster. And this was the same reason for the King’s surprise upon seeing Morgan at the Royal Palace.

Morgan took a peek at the masked magician beside him. He said to the King, “This man beside me is a magician from Morvius. The Magician of the Black Lightning.”

“The Black Lightning?!”

“One of the four Grayas of Morvius?!”

The knights were in uproar upon hearing this. The King, on the other hand, simply stared at the masked magician in astonishment. His jaw quickly parted as realization dawned to him.

“T-Then this man killed the Dragon?” squealed the King.

Yuan frowned, and he had the urge to cover his ears. Definitely, this incompetent King was annoying.

Morgan nodded. “That’s right, your majesty. This magician killed that monster.”

Absolute silence befell them. But soon enough, it turned into deafening cheers from the King and his knights. Tears flowed down their cheeks as the thought of salvation crossed their minds. Who would have thought that they would get to see another day? Just that single thought alone sent them into a myriad of emotions.

The King was quivering as he approached Yuan. “T-Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” he repeated like mantra. “For saving this country. This Kingdom. Thank you—”

“—I’m running out of time,” spat Yuan. Despite his face being concealed by the mask, everyone around him knew that he was frowning in annoyance. “I’m here to retrieve that fragment. Lead the way.”

Normally, the knights would have reprimanded him for speaking rudely to the King, but his current achievement made them hesitant to act.

The King processed Yuan’s words for a few seconds. Eventually, he remembered. “Ah! I did receive that one! Five days ago, a letter from Morvius came stating that they’ll send a magician to retrieve the fragment. That’s you?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” he incessantly remarked. “Where is it? You told us in the message that you stored it in the treasury.”

The King nodded. He fixed his overcoat then mustered a majestic voice, “Then, as promised, I shall give Morvius the fragment. Come. I shall lead the way.”

The King led the way towards the Royal Palace. Inside, numerous maids greeted their entry, and most could not help but stare at the masked magician.

After passing through numerous hallways and stairs, they finally arrived at a small, unassuming room at the bottommost floor of the Palace. The four guards guarding it pulled open a steel hatch, revealing a long flight of stairs leading further down.

“This way,” said the King.

Yuan noticed that the King was having a hard time breathing after travelling such distance. His pale, sunken face was more pallid, as though he was going to croak at any moment.

As they climbed down the stairs, they arrived at a cramped pathway devoid of light. Morgan chanted his magic, and a small orb of light guided their path. They walked for a few minutes more until eventually they arrived at the Treasury Room.

“Thank the Gods it wasn’t destroyed,” said the King.

Before them were numerous piles of gold and weapons made by famous blacksmiths. There were some noticeable National Treasures like the Medusa’s Bow of the High Elves, and the Sword of Garapesk.

Yuan knew that those two items alone were worth an entire castle, but they still did not pique his interest. After all, he was a magician that has no need for any weapon aside from his magic. What he was interested in was the small piece of shard at the corner of the room. Aside from its red glow, the stone looked nothing but a simple gemstone.

For the past few years, Morvius had been sending out teams to search for the Blood Shards. There was even an incident before wherein they annihilated a large syndicate just to get their hands on a single fragment.

“This one’s a bit bigger than the ones I’ve seen before,” mumbled Yuan as he took the shard. “Probably three times larger, I think?”

The King and Morgan looked at each other.

“One of our archaeologists found that thing inside the tomb of a former tribal chief in our Kingdom’s outskirts,” said the King. “When Morvius found out that we have that item, they suddenly bombarded us with messages demanding that we give them that item.”

The King coughed then frowned. “I don’t know what that item is for, but for an organization to pay ten thousand gold coins for it… it must be something really important.”

A normal soldier earns around two gold coins a month in exchange of his service. Going by that logic, ten thousand gold coins was a massive amount of money.

Yuan thought that it was a good thing that the Kingdom conceded to his organization’s request. He was pretty sure that had the Kingdom refused, Morvius would have dispatched several magicians to forcefully take the item away.

“Then, I’ll be taking this,” said Yuan as he tucked the item inside his cloak. He looked at his pocket watch. “I have a promise to keep. I’m running out of time. Farewell, King of Altair.” The last part was said monotonously, devoid of any emotions.

Lightning crackled through Yuan’s body. A moment after, he disappeared from sight, leaving behind the King and Morgan.