They are called the originators of magic and are regarded by all magicians as the closest race to the gods.
Because of that, they are often armed with an arrogance beyond measure, viewing all other races as insignificant beings.
Perhaps worried about this nature, the prime gods who created this world sealed the Dragons away, confining them to their own sanctuary called the Heavenly Palace.
A contract was imposed so that they could not appear in the mortal realm unless a world-ending crisis occurred.
For this reason, although the Dragons exist in this world, they are famous for never showing themselves unless the Demon Army pushes humanity to the brink of extinction.
But now, it’s not just one or two Dragons—no less than five have appeared.
And the fact that they appeared at all is outrageous enough, but they are currently ravaging the forest within the Elf Kingdom’s territory.
“You know you’re hiding him! I can feel the mana here! Bring him out immediately!”
The old elf maintaining the barrier shouted in response to the Dragon’s fiery roar as it set the forest ablaze.
“There is no such Dragon here! Please, calm your wrath and withdraw the flames!”
Wow, they’re even speaking politely.
Judging by their size, the Dragons hovering above are not Ancient Dragons.
At a glance, they were nothing more than young Dragons under 500 years old.
“Shut up! How dare an inferior race talk back—do you want to die?”
But why on earth are these creatures shouting such nonsense at an Elder who’s lived safely for over a thousand years?
The absurdity of the conversation made me slap my forehead.
Those Dragon bastards had no intention of having a proper conversation from the start.
I couldn’t just stand by and watch the forest burn, so I stomped the ground and surged up to the Dragon shouting insults about inferiority.
“Hmm? What’s this, a little runt…”
“You insolent brat! How dare you open your mouth to anyone!”
With a clang!
I struck the Dragon’s forehead with the flat edge of the Holy Sword, sending the massive lizard plummeting through the air.
The five-layered barrier protecting the vast center of the Elf territory couldn’t withstand the shock and shattered completely, but the World Tree would repair it on its own, so I let it be.
“A human?”
“You inferior wretch!”
A Dragon quickly lunged at me mid-fall, opening its jaws to swallow me whole.
At the same time, it breathed a scorching flame down its throat to incinerate me, but I pierced through the heat with the Holy Sword and kicked the Dragon’s neck from inside its esophagus.
The scream—what sounded like a shriek—from the Dragon echoed in my ears, and at the same time, a fierce gust of wind from its esophagus pushed me away.
“Kuhack! Koohoh, kehack!”
Eventually, the Dragon coughed me up, and as I landed, two other Dragons on either side swung their tails together, aiming to crush me.
“These bastards still haven’t come to their senses?”
I immediately re-summoned the Holy Sword and grabbed both tails with my hands, striking the coughing Dragon’s head.
Ka-bang!
Four Dragons in total crashed to the ground at once.
“Hmm?”
I lifted my head, sensing the immense mana concentration above.
The last remaining Dragon was preparing an ultimate spell.
Judging by the accumulating mana, it seemed to be attempting a level 9 spell—the highest tier of magic.
“Are you an idiot?”
The act was so ridiculous I snorted.
Without even trying to stop it, I just stood there as the Dragon finishing its spell sneered mockingly and shouted,
“Disappear!”
And the spell exploded with a bang.
The magical circle, which had filled the sky with thunder and was about to engulf the entire Elf village, dissipated into thin air.
“…Huh?”
The elves trembling behind me looked bewildered, and even the once arrogant Dragon was thrown off.
But only for a moment.
“Kueeeek!”
The Dragon that had tried to cast the spell screamed as blood spewed from between its scales.
Curling up as if in unbearable pain, it crashed down to the ground and rolled to join its fallen companions.
Landing on the ground, I clicked my tongue at the writhing Dragon in agony.
“A brat trying to use magic beyond his means can’t handle the backlash. He could’ve died if he wasn’t careful. Didn’t Dragons get proper education from their parents?”
“Ugh, you inferior—”
Still not coming to its senses, I stomped on its face.
Whether it was in pain or not was none of my concern.
After all, it was a Dragon, so it wouldn’t die from magical backlash.
That’s why Dragons are called the originators of magic.
While I was standing on one Dragon, the other four nearby stirred and tried to get up.
Just in case, I gripped the Holy Sword and glared at the four, asking,
“Hey, lizards. Can you transform into humanoid form? Yes or no?”
“Ha, you dare command us? You inferior—”
I swung the Holy Sword and knocked the talking Dragon’s head down again.
Seeing its comrade crash into the ground with a spiderweb of cracks around it, the nearby Dragon shouted,
“Useless!”
“Short-tempered.”
Another Dragon identical in appearance joined the conversation.
“Cannot use it!”
“Increasing your words doesn’t change that.”
More Dragons of the same kind spoke up.
Finally, the last Dragon’s pupils trembled like an earthquake.
“Cannot use it!”
This one was properly polite and clicked its tongue quietly.
“Why can’t you use it?”
“We weren’t taught because we’re not old enough to practice yet!”
“How could you play around? Isn’t it contractually impossible for you to leave the Heavenly Palace?”
“Th-that part, well…”
“…Hah.”
Judging by their reaction, they genuinely didn’t know.
But that didn’t ease my bafflement.
‘Aren’t Dragons supposed to be sealed inside the Heavenly Palace unless the world is on the verge of destruction?’
What I thought I knew was being turned upside down.
If Dragons have been secretly slipping out of the Heavenly Palace and operating without anyone noticing, how am I supposed to accept that?
Does it mean they broke the contract with the prime gods who created this world?
Or is this just some personal rebellion among the Dragons?
And if it’s neither…
‘Could the Dragons be hiding another motive?’
Either way, I had accidentally gained some absurd information.
To truly understand why the Dragons are coming out and what’s causing it, I would need to invade the Heavenly Palace and confront the Lord.
But that’s for later.
For now, there was something I needed to do first.
I asked the only polite Dragon.
“Why on earth did the Dragons of the Heavenly Palace invade the Elf village?”
The young Dragon that had its head bashed against the ground shouted.
“W-we came chasing a traitor!”
I pressed the Holy Sword into its head again.
“W-why…?”
“I didn’t ask you. And don’t try to lift your head until I say you can. Shut up. I’m afraid I might accidentally strike your neck with the Holy Sword if you suddenly breathe fire at me again.”
The Dragon silently twitched, lowering its head back to the ground.
Seeing that continuing the conversation would only get it beaten more, the other Dragons nearby slowly raised their heads but then wisely buried them again.
I stepped toward the polite Dragon.
“By the way, a traitor? Is there such a thing among you Dragons?”
“Yes.”
The well-mannered young Dragon nodded confidently.
“Because a traitorous Dragon cannot use magic.”
“What does that mean?”
No, wait—Dragons become traitors just because they can’t use magic?
I’d never heard of such a case.
But I wasn’t quick to jump to conclusions.
There wasn’t much known about Dragons, so it wouldn’t be strange if there were things I didn’t know.
“The Lord executes any Dragon unable to use magic as soon as they are found, according to his vision. But the traitor somehow escaped outside the Heavenly Palace. Since the elders cannot go beyond the Palace due to the contract, we were sent out to find him ourselves.”
The contract they referred to was the Sacred Contract of Genesis.
It was the pact forged to prevent the Dragons—too powerful for this world—from leaving the Heavenly Palace except in specific circumstances.
Ryuk had spoken with the Lord about this, so there was no doubt about it.
‘But what exactly do they mean by “traitor”?’
That was still the part I couldn’t grasp.
There was no reason for the word betrayal to appear among the Dragons.
Why would those sealed within the Heavenly Palace betray their own kind for any gain?
“And you say the traitor’s trace was found where the elves live?”
“Yes.”
The young Dragon’s eyes gleamed fiercely.
“So we are not at fault. If you try to protect the inferior ones hiding the traitor, even greater disaster will follow.”
“Hah.”
I sighed deeply, frustrated.
To clear my complicated thoughts, I asked a question that could buy me some time.
“What is the traitor’s name?”
“Thrall.”
“…What?”
I doubted my own ears.
Did I hear that right?
“You said Thrall? It must have been Thrall, right?”
“Yes? Ah, yes. You heard correctly.”
“…Hah.”
I slapped my forehead and exhaled heavily.
‘Thrall can’t use magic? That Thrall?’
The mighty Dragon King who sided with the Demon Army, the one who destroyed the Heavenly Palace and wiped out his own kin.
The unique Dragon who inflicted greater damage and despair on the resistance than the Desolators or the Commander of the Army of Scorn.
And yet, he was actually a Dragon who couldn’t use magic and was branded a traitor by his own kind, sentenced to execution?
‘…This is complicated.’
The Dragon I was trying to recruit into the Special Task Force was connected to this matter.
Unlike Murfin or Beatrice, who had known histories as humans siding with the Demon Army, the Dragon King case required more time to uncover.
Above all, he was a Dragon.
Even the Great Sage Ryuk had to negotiate directly with the Dragons of the Heavenly Palace to understand him.
The dealings with Dragons were information only valid between the parties involved, so I had no way of knowing about Thrall.
If I wanted to get information, I would have to visit the Heavenly Palace and negotiate with the Lord myself.
‘I never expected things to turn out this way.’
At least now I understood why these young Dragons came all the way to the Elf Kingdom and caused chaos.
If the Thrall I know really betrayed his kind, the price the Elf forest would pay would be far beyond just burning.
It could be considered a rational choice, at least from the Dragons’ point of view.
Of course, that was only according to their standards.
“All right. I understand now. I get what you’re worried about, and I’m willing to accept what you want a hundred times over.”
“Then you’re saying it’s fine to burn down the entire forest to find the traitor…?”
“Who told you to open your mouth? I haven’t finished talking yet.”
Turning my gaze away from the Dragon who suddenly buried its face in the ground again after showing signs of resolving things through dialogue, I addressed the polite Dragon.
“But that doesn’t mean you haven’t done anything wrong.”
The polite Dragon frowned and asked,
“Why is that?”
“Do you know why Dragons obey the contract?”
“To prevent the world from perishing.”
“Wrong.”
My confident tone surprised the polite Dragon.
“No?”
“Yes. If it were simply to prevent the world from perishing, Dragons would only appear after all of us were dead and gone. Because if the race that prevents the world’s destruction remained until the end, Dragons wouldn’t intervene.”
But history showed otherwise.
Whenever the lives of the world’s beings were on the line, Dragons emerged from the Heavenly Palace to repel the Demon Army with their power.
In fact, ancient history discovered by Ryuk showed that it wasn’t just the Demon King who invaded this world.
Every time a threat arose to bring the world to ruin and annihilate humanity, the Dragons directly resolved it.
Dragons have never once allowed the living beings of this world to perish in vain.
“The reason Dragons obey the contract is precisely to protect all life in this world—not only humans but other races too. Dragons exist as guardians to defend the entire world.”
They are arrogant and condescending toward other races.
You can see that clearly from the attitudes of these young Dragons.
But you can’t deny that they are a race bearing both great power and great responsibility.
“But to burn down an Elf village and use breath attacks and ultimate spells just to catch one traitor? If I hadn’t arrived in time, how many lives would have been lost? You’re directly contradicting the very foundation of the contract your elders protect. From my perspective, you’re no different from the Demon Army. If the Ancient Dragons of the Heavenly Palace hear about this, you won’t have to worry about the traitor—your heads will roll.”
“…!”
The Dragon’s expression turned ghostly pale as it absorbed my words.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.