The wind died down, and even the chirping of birds ceased. It was as if the entire world had held its breath, spreading a sense of tension.
Artherion's eyes gleamed ominously. A faint blue light began to pulse from inside his mouth.
He was about to unleash his breath and eliminate everyone before him in an instant.
Mere humans like them would never be able to withstand this extreme-cold breath.
However, just before the breath could be released, Ghislain shouted loudly toward the sky.
"Artherion—!"
For a moment, Artherion's eyes flickered with doubt. He loosened his stance slightly and tilted his head.
"A human... knows my name?"
He had been sealed away for a thousand years. Even if his name had remained recorded somewhere, humans couldn't possibly know that he had been imprisoned here.
His land was now an abandoned, forgotten expanse of snowy wilderness where no one could tread.
And so, curiosity arose. Who exactly was this person to know his name and dare to call it out?
Ghislain continued speaking.
"I am Duke Fenris of the Lutania Kingdom! The one who brought down the resurrected Salvation Church! I know you are looking for the Adversary!"
Artherion's eyes widened. How could he possibly know that?
But soon, a possibility crossed his mind—his friend who had been helping the humans.
"Could it be... that you met Erenes?"
If that were the case, it wouldn't be strange for him to know his objective. Moreover, his added claim was quite intriguing.
"You brought down the resurrected Salvation Church?"
He had heard from Erenes that the humans were fighting against the Salvation Church.
And yet, the war had already ended?
Suddenly, he recalled something Erenes had said in the past.
— There is a remarkably brilliant human ruler. He prepares and acts as if he foresees everything.
"Ah, so you must be that human leader."
Artherion let out a subtle smile.
He had heard that they had fought against the Salvation Church and even managed to delay the expansion of the rifts, albeit temporarily. Hearing that, he had been somewhat impressed.
Even though humans had grown weaker over the past thousand years, they had still managed to hold back the Salvation Church and the rifts. It was truly an impressive feat.
Artherion's curiosity about the human grew stronger.
Ghislain shouted again.
"I want to speak with you about that matter! We can help you!"
"Help me? You dare to?"
Artherion's eyes curved slightly, as if amused. What an interesting human.
After pondering briefly, he nodded.
"Very well... someone like you might be worthy of speaking with me."
Artherion muttered softly and began to descend slowly. At the same time, a dazzling light emanated from his body.
The light was so bright that no one could keep their eyes open.
When the light subsided,
Standing on the ground was an extraordinarily handsome man with flowing white hair. His appearance was so stunning that everyone gasped.
Step, step.
In his human form, Artherion approached with a leisurely gait.
Stopping a few steps away from Ghislain, he slowly opened his mouth.
"I am... the monarch of eternal blizzards, the guardian of wisdom, the lord of frost, the keeper of the world's balance. The last Dragon Lord—Artherion. I will grant you an audience."
His grandiose introduction didn't feel out of place. It matched his arrogant demeanor perfectly.
Behind Ghislain, Kaor finally snapped out of his daze and blurted out.
"I am the Leather King of Lutania, Ogre Slayer, and almost Cyclops Slayer—mmph!"
Belinda quickly covered Kaor's mouth and dragged him back.
Artherion chuckled at the scene.
"There is one here who resembles my old, loudmouthed friend."
Ghislain's face turned slightly awkward. He had a feeling he knew who he was referring to.
Artherion turned to Ghislain and asked.
"Are you the representative of the humans?"
"For now, yes."
"Is it true that you defeated the Salvation Church?"
"There are still remnants, but their main forces have been eradicated. We are currently pursuing the stragglers."
Ghislain replied stiffly, and Artherion looked at him with an odd expression.
"A human speaking so arrogantly... Still, I will let it slide, given the merit of your achievements. Now, tell me again why you requested this audience."
"I heard from Erenes. You're looking for Adversary, the so-called King of the Salvation Church. That person is our enemy as well."
"And?"
"There's no need to kill humans while searching for that person. We can assist you in finding him."
Ghislain spoke with a cold gaze. Artherion, seeing this, smiled again.
Despite knowing who he was, this human dared to meet his eyes with such defiance.
Artherion looked around.
"Hmm..."
He saw small fortresses scattered in the distance—quite a number of them.
They appeared to be recently built, most likely intended to confront him.
"Are you planning to fight me?"
"If necessary."
"That would only happen if negotiations fail, I presume?"
"Correct."
The heavy tension caused everyone to grip their weapons tightly as the two continued their exchange.
Piote, who had suggested attempting negotiations, cautiously stepped forward.
"Um, excuse me... I am Priest Piote of Juana. Wouldn't it be better not to fight when we have a common enemy? Even the goddess would not wish for such pointless conflict."
"Fight? The word 'fight' only applies to those who are worthy of it. Do you think you are worthy to fight me?"
"..."
His words were exceedingly arrogant, yet no one could refute them.
After all, he was a dragon—a supreme and unparalleled being.
Artherion sneered at Piote.
"Even if your goddess herself were to come and speak, I would not listen. I no longer believe in such useless beings. In fact, I despise them."
"Th-that's..."
Piote was flustered. Dragons were said to have been created by the goddesses to protect the world.
And yet, here was one openly denying its creator—with outright scorn.
"How dare you!"
Thud!
Parniel gripped her mace tightly and stepped forward. As a saintess, she couldn't tolerate such blasphemy.
Powerful holy power radiated from her.
"Whoa, wait a second."
Ghislain reached out to stop her, while Belinda, Gillian, and Kaor blocked her path. Tenant moved slightly closer to Ghislain.
Belinda forced an awkward smile.
"Let's just call it disbelief, shall we? Different races might have different beliefs, right? How about we save the inquisition for later?"
Kaor added.
"Yeah! Religious freedom should be—"
His words died out as Parniel glared at him.
Parniel clenched her teeth and lowered her mace. She couldn't simply let such blasphemy slide.
However, since everyone was stopping her, she restrained herself. She didn't want unnecessary casualties either.
Even so, she glared at Artherion, trying to suppress her anger.
Artherion, entertained by the sight, continued speaking.
"Judging by your aura, you must be a saintess. How pitiful. You can only wield the power of a single goddess."
"Stop your nonsense. A saintess serves only one goddess."
"Hmm. It seems the goddesses can no longer wield their full powers."
"Silence!"
"But... there is another saintess here."
Ignoring Parniel's growl, Artherion turned toward Piote.
Piote spoke in a flustered voice.
"I'm... not a saintess, though?"
"What are you talking about? Although weaker than her, I can sense a fundamental power from you."
"I'm... a man, though?"
"..."
Artherion was stunned. A man could not be a saintess. Yet, there was undeniably an aura similar to that of a saintess emanating from Piote.
It was incomprehensible. For a Dragon Lord to mistake the holy power of a goddess was unthinkable.
Moreover, no matter how he looked, Piote appeared completely feminine—not just handsome, but outright like a woman.
And so, without realizing it, Artherion blurted out a ridiculous question.
"Why do you look like that?"
"...I don't know."
Piote made a sullen face. It wasn't his fault that he looked so pretty, like a woman.
To be mistaken even by a dragon—it was beyond unfair.
Even the tense people around them couldn't hold back their laughter and ended up covering their mouths to stifle it.
Seeing their reaction, Artherion let out a hearty laugh.
"The human world really has changed a lot."
Though clearly on edge, they still displayed an odd composure. It meant they were prepared to fight him if necessary.
Even a thousand years ago, there were barely any who could act like this in the presence of a dragon. Only the hero and his companions had shown such courage.
Feeling nostalgic, Artherion waved his hand.
Suddenly, a small table and chairs appeared between him and Ghislain, seemingly conjured out of thin air, though in reality, they had been taken from a subspace.
"Sit down. I feel inclined to hear more."
Ghislain obediently took a seat. Artherion gazed at him intently and asked.
"Now, tell me how you think you can be of help to me."
"...."
Ghislain remained silent for a moment.
This was indeed a dragon.
He was radiating a tremendous killing intent and pressure directed solely at him. He was testing him.
Summoning his mana, he endured it—not dispersing it but firmly holding his ground.
"Ho..."
Artherion let out a quiet exclamation, his eyes glinting with even more curiosity.
Ignoring his gaze, Ghislain began to explain step-by-step.
"We're also pursuing the remnants of the Salvation Church. Instead of stirring up chaos searching for the Adversary, wouldn't it be better to use us? We can send people across the continent to track down any traces."
He also emphasized how the alliance could assist Artherion in other ways.
Artherion listened carefully to Ghislain's words.
It wasn't a bad proposal. In fact, it was far more reasonable than his own plan.
Finding Adversary alone wouldn't be easy. If that person deliberately hid among humans, locating them would be nearly impossible.
However, humans were spread across the continent. With their help, even if the adversary tried to hide, they could be found quickly.
Artherion nodded.
"Your proposal is flawless. I have no reason to refuse."
He meant it. Why reject a faster and easier way to achieve his goal?
At his words, the people around them let out a sigh of relief. Negotiations had gone smoother than expected.
It made them wonder why Erenes had been so worried.
But Ghislain wasn't ready to relax.
'Something is off.'
Artherion still exuded an overwhelming presence. His arrogant demeanor suited him as an absolute being.
Yet... he couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss.
'Especially those eyes.'
In his previous life, he had never spoken with him up close in human form, so he hadn't noticed.
His blue eyes had a faint reddish tint, as if blood vessels had burst.
'This guy... is he really sane?'
In his past life, Artherion had acted as a mad dragon, destroying everything indiscriminately.
That's why humanity had united to kill him. Back then, negotiations hadn't even been considered.
Even now, traces of madness seemed to flicker faintly in his blue eyes.
Artherion, after nodding a few times, spoke again.
"Then, should I follow you? When do we begin..."
He trailed off mid-sentence.
Once again, his mind grew foggy, as though covered in mist.
It felt like insects were crawling inside his head. As he focused on that sensation, random thoughts began to flood in.
'Wait, why was I going to the Turian Kingdom?'
'What have I been doing all this time?'
'I had something to do, didn't I?'
He was supposed to find the adversary and kill him.
But there was no need to rush—weren't the humans offering to help?
Even so... shouldn't he go?
Artherion muttered blankly.
"...Right, the adversary is there."
"What?"
"I need to find the adversary and kill him."
"Didn't we say we'd help you with that?"
"It's a good proposal. But."
Artherion's words stopped. He stared at Ghislain with a blank expression.
A heavy silence fell over the area.
Slowly, Artherion opened his mouth.
"However, I suddenly feel curious."
"..."
Crack!
Suddenly, he stretched his mouth into a grotesque grin that reached his ears. His blue eyes were now completely stained red.
An eerie, chilling energy filled the surroundings.
"Why should I let worms like humans live? Wouldn't it be easier to just kill you all?"
At that moment, Ghislain drew his sword like lightning.
Without any hesitation, his blade shot straight toward Artherion's neck.