The succulent roasted whole lamb was quickly devoured, and the leftover bones were tossed into the bonfire, sparking bursts of savory, meaty flames.
Under the clear moonlight, the bonfire cast a warm, romantic glow. Villagers gathered in the open space around it, dressed in vibrant, intricate traditional garments, inviting their dance partners and swaying to the rhythm.
On a rock by the fire, a brooding bard cradled his guitar. His eyes half-closed, he strummed the wooden instrument with long, nimble fingers, singing softly. Beside him, a beautiful girl adorned with a flower crown joined in, her voice harmonizing with his.
The tune they played was a nocturne from the era of the Eight Greed Kings, Under a Violet Moon.
The melodic notes rippled through the air by the bonfire. The girl's skirt twirled, the boy's eyes shone like stars, and every dancer's heart swayed with the music. Everyone was lost in the enchanting melody, savoring the peaceful, serene night:
"Raise your hats and your glasses too, "
"We will dance the whole night through, "
"We're going back to a time we knew, "
"Under a violet moon…"
Franco bowed slightly to EeDechi, extending his arm in a gentlemanly invitation. "Captain, may I have the honor of a grind dance?"
"Get lost. I might consider a hopak, though." For once, EeDechi didn't snap at Franco loudly, probably not wanting to ruin the blissful mood.
Franco put on a mock-regretful expression, then stepped back lightly and soon found a slender girl to be his dance partner, teaching her to dance the grind.
"Nabe, shall we dance too?" Ainz, caught up in the moment, held out his hand to Nabe, who was lingering in the corner.
"Me?" Nabe was flustered, her cheeks flushing with a delicate blush.
She wanted to take Ainz's outstretched hand but pulled back, nervous. "No way, if Albedo…" She stole a glance at EeDechi, then continued, "If the Guardian Overseer finds out, she'll have my head."
Ainz paused, realizing she had a point. If Albedo got jealous, it'd be a real mess.
In his mind, he pictured Albedo's flushed face. If he could invite her to dance under the moonlight, she'd probably be over the moon.
Truth be told, when the idea of dancing popped into Ainz's head, Albedo was the first person he thought of. But right now, only Nabe was by his side.
"Don't worry, I'll smooth things over for you. Come on." Ainz pulled Nabe to her feet, and they stepped hand-in-hand toward the bonfire, their feet moving in a lively rhythm, advancing and retreating in sync.
…
After the dance ended, the night grew deeper, with stars twinkling high above. The villagers trickled back to their homes, but EeDechi and a few others lingered by the bonfire, chatting and boasting with some elders and the bard, swapping stories from their travels.
The female dragonborn Draevor knelt before the fire, praying:
"Mighty and supreme Dragon Progenitor, let your blazing light shine upon me, banishing the darkness in my heart. Let your fierce flames purify me, cleansing my filth. Grant me the strength to soar with outstretched wings, to break free from chains and surpass my limits…
"I revere your power and beg you to ignite my bloodline. I offer my soul and life, seeking the power that surges through boiling blood!"
Unlike human deities, the Dragon Progenitor's prayers were steeped in fire and blood. After finishing her prayer, the devout follower used Wild Magic to reignite the fading bonfire.
"How did you learn to use Wild Magic?" EeDechi asked the Draevor beside her.
Draevor stared at a piece of wood in her hand. Wisps of white smoke curled from it before it suddenly burst into flame. She tossed the burning wood into the bonfire's embers and answered:
"I never practiced it on purpose. Honestly, I've never heard of a way to train Wild Magic. It's powered by the soul, creating a 'domain.' In that domain, certain things bend to your will.
"The stronger the soul, the bigger the domain, and the more powerful the Wild Magic. We dragonborn have strong, resilient souls, and they grow even stronger with age. So Wild Magic is pure talent.
"The stronger your soul, the more badass your Wild Magic. I've heard the strongest Wild Magic can outshine even Tier Magic. My brother Ezar's Wild Magic is freaking terrifying—he could burn a whole forest into a lava pit!"
EeDechi thought for a moment, then asked, "So, only races with dragon blood can master Wild Magic? No one else?"
Draevor nodded. "Exactly. Wild Magic is exclusive to dragonborn and dragons. I don't know why it's like that. If I could find my brother, he might know. He's a pureblood dragon, so maybe he knows the origin of Wild Magic."
"By the way," she said, looking across the fire at the adventurer Momon, "you're traveling adventurers too. Any chance you know where my brother is? His name's Ezar Flame, a strapping young red dragon, goes by 'the Monarch of Flame.'"
Ainz pondered for a moment, about to say he'd never heard of him, when a fragment of memory sparked. He pulled a black-covered booklet from his spatial ring, discreetly hiding the Sorcerer Kingdom emblem on the cover, and flipped through a few pages.
The Monarch of Flame. Ainz hadn't heard of the nickname, but something about it rang a bell. He quickly flipped to the section in his booklet about E-Rantel.
There it was. In E-Rantel's Dragon Zoo, there was a specimen of a young red dragon labeled the One-Eyed Monarch of Flame.
"Young red dragon, name unknown, nicknamed 'the One-Eyed Monarch of Flame.' Left eye wounded by a human dragonslayer, commanded nearly a thousand dragonblood lizardmen, aimed to rally fearless soldiers to defy the great Supreme Overlord Ainz Ooal Gown, slain by a subjugation team…"
The Dragon Zoo housed many dragon specimens, all crafted from the intact corpses of dragons felled by the Sorcerer Kingdom, displayed as trophies. The One-Eyed Monarch of Flame, Ezar, was one of them.
Ainz tucked the booklet away, a mix of emotions swirling within him. But his -500 Justice Value soon sparked a twisted sense of amusement. He couldn't help but think, with a touch of malice, how entertaining it would be to see dragonborn Draevor's reaction when she found her long-sought brother preserved as a museum piece.
He looked up at Draevor and said, "I've heard of your brother's name."
"REALLY?!" Draevor's face lit up with joy. "Where did you hear it? Where is he?"
A glint flashed in Ainz's eyes behind his dark mask. "Right in E-Rantel, next to the central teleportation array, at a place called the Dragon Zoo."
"E-Rantel's Dragon Zoo!" Draevor sprang to her feet. "Got it! I'm heading there now!"
"Wait!" EeDechi called out to Draevor, her face darkening. "You won't find your brother there."
EeDechi had passed through the Dragon Zoo before and knew the deal—except for one chained-up black dragon still alive, all the others were stuffed specimens.
"You don't know that unless you try!" Draevor ignored EeDechi's warning. She eagerly leaped out of the bonfire's circle, her long legs carrying her into the darkness as she bolted toward the path leading away from Moonstone Hollow.
"You shouldn't have told her," EeDechi said coldly, glaring at adventurer Momon. "Some things are better left as obsessions when you can't find them. Finding them just leads to tragedy. She'd be better off searching her whole life."
Adventurer Momon, unperturbed, shrugged. Then it hit him—how did EeDechi know about the Dragon Zoo?
Ainz shot a glance at Nabe, who picked up the cue and asked EeDechi, "Have you been to E-Rantel?"
"Yeah, I've been there. It's a city that looks all shiny and peaceful on the surface but is actually a total shithole. The central teleportation array's decent, but everything else is garbage," EeDechi replied.
"WHAT?!" Adventurer Momon—or rather, Ainz Ooal Gown—felt like he'd been struck by lightning. If he could bleed, he'd be coughing up buckets right now. It finally clicked why EeDechi could cross thousands of miles in no time to reach the Eight Greed Kings' desert.
This girl had not only strutted through E-Rantel like she owned the place but had used his prized teleportation array! Ainz felt a phantom heart attack grip his nonexistent heart, nearly furious enough to drop dead on the spot.
E-Rantel was the Sorcerer Kingdom's first territory, the city closest to the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
Ainz cursed under his breath. His subordinates were a bunch of useless idiots—EeDechi had slipped right under their noses and even waltzed through the teleportation array like it was no big deal!
"Nabe, let's go. Time to hit the hay," adventurer Momon said, his voice grim as he stalked off.
"Sleep? Oh… sure!" Nabe's face turned apple-red, completely missing that Ainz had zero intention of actually sleeping.
In the quiet, the two slipped into the darkness, away from the bonfire, away from the village.
Ainz removed his steel mask, revealing his skeletal face. He was no longer the adamantite-level adventurer Momon but the ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick—Ainz Ooal Gown.
From his spatial ring, he pulled out a magical device resembling an old telegraph, extended its crystal antenna, and prepared to send a message to the Great Tomb of Nazarick, summoning all level-100 guardians to teleport here and deal with EeDechi once and for all!
Meanwhile, EeDechi sat by the bonfire, chatting with Barrett and Franco, oblivious to the demonic claws about to reach for her.
Ainz activated the magical screen, its faint glow illuminating his face. He successfully connected to the Great Tomb of Nazarick and sent EeDechi's location.
The message went through, but after a long pause, no level-100 guardians responded. Ainz's mind churned with confusion.
The connection was fine, yet no one answered. There was only one explanation: all the level-100 guardians had left their posts to handle an urgent, critical situation.
Suddenly, an emergency magical message shot across mountains and rivers, reaching Ainz's device. The screen's blinding red light bathed his face in a fiery glow.
"Lord Ainz! The Slane Theocracy is reviving the God of Death, Surshana!"