In the days after the Ancient Dragon War ended, when both Godwyn and Fortissax were still alive.
As brothers-in-arms who had shared life and death, this man and dragon often spent their free time doing what men secretly enjoy.
Yes, exactly what you're thinking.
Debating.
"Fort, who do you think is the strongest Ancient Dragon?"
"Probably me. Or maybe my sister."
"And what about that one?"
"That one is our King. Neither Ancient Dragon nor Flying Dragon. He is a being far older and more powerful than us."
"So, if it came down to you and Him..."
"That's a dangerous topic."
Normally, Fortissax would never touch on such a subject. But now, speaking casually with his closest brother, and since Godwyn had already shared plenty of Golden Order gossip with him, Fortissax thought for a moment before answering.
"If we're talking about Him at full strength... I'd probably be killed instantly."
"...Instantly?"
"Yes. Instantly."
He hesitated, a look of longing flickering in his eyes.
"The gap between Him and me is about the same as the gap between me and an ordinary Ancient Dragon. No, perhaps even greater. Back then, dragon civilization was far more advanced than it is now. And in His prime, gods still walked beside Him..."
"It's just a pity..."
Fortissax trailed off, regret flashing in his eyes before he let out a heavy sigh.
The gods' departure, the rebellion of the Mad Dragons, and the meteorites that rained down from the heavens...
In what felt like an instant, dragon civilization was reduced to rubble. That wound would never fade from the Ancient Dragons' hearts, and it was one of the reasons they hated the Flying Dragon.
Beyond the rebellion against the Dragonlord that left Him gravely injured, many Ancient Dragons believed it was the Flying Dragon who had drawn down that calamity, destroying their civilization.
But the truth—no dragon knew.
Realizing Fort had no desire to dwell on the subject, Godwyn shifted back to the earlier question.
"But either way, right now you're the strongest among the Ancient Dragons, aren't you?"
Fortissax nodded.
"Theoretically, yes."
"So, aside from your sister with her bloodline suppression, you could guarantee victory against any Ancient Dragon?"
"You put it that way..."
Fortissax chuckled, then raised his head, his golden eyes serious.
"It might sound arrogant, but it's the truth. And not just the Ancient Dragons. Excluding those two, any dragon alive today wouldn't stand a chance against me one-on-one."
"What about dragons outside the Lands Between? Would you still win?"
"I would."
Fortissax declared proudly.
"After all, I am the 'Strongest Rock.' I earned that title by defeating countless powerful foes without suffering a single loss. How could I possibly—"
Thud!
The vision ended.
The massive dragon collapsed to the ground, eyes wide with confusion and shock. Beside him, the golden First Prince was on one knee, leaning heavily on his sword, battered and disheveled.
Across from them stood the small Ashen One and the white dragonkin—without a single scratch.
Yes. Unscathed.
Against this dragon-human pair who could be called invincible, Lloyd and Seath had taken not a single wound.
To be clear, Fortissax and Godwyn were anything but weak. One was the strongest Ancient Dragon of the modern age. The other, the Golden Prince who had nearly single-handedly carried the Ancient Dragon War.
And after years of honing their skills, their techniques were sharper, their coordination more seamless, and they had recovered the peak state they once held during that war. Together, they could have crushed any faction in their prime during the Shattering War era. Even combined forces might not prevail.
Before the fight even began, Godwyn and Fortissax had agreed: if their opponents were pushed too hard, they would stop, let them recover, and then face them again one by one.
After all, this was only a dungeon run, not true history. Communication had been smooth, their opponents even friendly enough to offer help.
By reason and courtesy, they shouldn't have pushed too far. And while Lloyd's Law forbade throwing matches, bending things within the rules was still possible.
But reality proved them wrong.
Terribly wrong.
Their opponents had no need for such consideration.
In fact... they were the challengers.
Seath.
Fortissax had never heard that name before. The creature looked like a dragon, but what kind of dragon it was—or whether it came from beyond the Lands Between—he couldn't tell.
But one thing was clear: what stood before him was not its true form. At best, it was a projection or incarnation.
That fact irritated him at first.
Everyone knew incarnations limited one's strength. Especially for dragons—facing their humanoid incarnation instead of their true body was like fighting two entirely different beings.
A dragon from beyond the Lands Between, facing him and Godwyn together, not only used a projection and an Incarnation, but even stayed in human form.
How arrogant was that?
Or did she just fail to read their strength?
It turned out she read them perfectly.
And precisely because she did, she couldn't be bothered to take dragon form.
With a single snap of her fingers, every creature in the Dungeon froze for over ten seconds. If Lloyd hadn't chosen to be respectful and fight properly, she could have pulled out her staff, picked her angle, and sent the two of them packing with a single Azur.
When the stasis ended, she still looked bored and cold.
Attack? Attacks were useless.
Any strike aimed at her was locked in the past. All she had to do was take a couple of steps back before the frozen slice of time fractured, and every blow would whiff.
Lag wins games, kid!
If it were just her and Lloyd here, she'd probably have tossed out a line like that. But with outsiders around, she kept quiet. She simply slipped past their offense and lazily threw out a few spells.
Like Crystal Soul Spears raining from above.
Like five orbs circling over her head, each unleashing a torrent of Soul Stream in a roaring breath.
Like a crystalline storm spreading from her side, nearly engulfing the entire Dungeon.
To her, these really were small spells.
The Seath Lloyd fought earlier treated them as ultimate moves, but as she'd already said—she might be called Seath, yet she was not the same kind as those other Seath.
She was the most Seath of all Seath.
And the strongest Seath.
How strong? For example, strong enough to crush the Seath Lloyd fought before with a single finger and turn the entire Dungeon into crystal.
Granted, the Dungeon's restrictions meant the power she projected here wasn't much.
But even that fraction was enough for her to toy with the man and the dragon together.
If Lloyd hadn't shown some respect by opening with that time-stop, the two across from them would have died seven or eight times already.
And her edge wasn't only raw power.
Yes, Fortissax and Godwyn fought in smooth sync; their offense and defense flowed together with effortless ease.
But set that sibling-like coordination against her and Lloyd, and it looked like kids playing house—riddled with gaps.
In sheer time spent together, she and Lloyd outclassed them by orders of magnitude, and their mutual understanding was on a whole different level.
The man and the dragon before them had merely shared life and death. She and Lloyd had died and come back who knows how many times.
So without bullying them with time-space sorceries, without using anything beyond spec, she could still cut them down at will with ordinary spells, coordinating with the fool at her side.
Or rather, cut them down together with the fool at her side.
When she attacked, Lloyd covered. When Lloyd took a hit, she raised her shield.
No need for words, no need to signal, not even a glance to find each other's position. Eyes closed, hearing sealed, thinking with their toes—they could still gauge where the other was, what tactics they'd take, and how to sync up.
So even with Lloyd not using his main account, even with Seath limiting her strength, it was still a one-sided stomp.
A complete rout.
So overwhelming that Fortissax started doubting dragonkind itself, convinced all dragons beyond the Lands Between were monsters.
So overwhelming that Godwyn fell silent, at a loss for words.
Seeing the two of them like that, Lloyd felt a twinge of embarrassment. He'd held back as much as he could and hadn't pulled any cheap tricks during the time-stop, yet even this felt a bit much...
"Do you think we should let them land a couple of hits? Or at least pretend we're hurt?"
"You can pretend if you want. I'm not doing it."
Seath flicked her tail, then lifted her head to glance at Fortissax in the distance.
"Your strength is fine, but don't compare yourself to me—or to the fool beside me. We're not normal beings. There's no need to feel too discouraged."
But after hearing that, Fortissax only looked more dejected.
Godwyn, meanwhile, gave a bitter smile and sighed.
"You're even stronger than I thought..."
He had already heard from Morgott about Lloyd's so-called "main account," but the problem was this: even without using it, Lloyd had already crushed the combined strength of him and Fortissax.
And if Lloyd had gone all out... he couldn't even imagine what kind of chaos that would bring.
The Golden Order Dynasty at its peak? No, it might take summoning the legendary Greater Will itself...
...
Once man and dragon admitted defeat, the dungeon cleared.
[Obtained Incantation: 'Fortissax's Lightning Spear']
[Obtained Incantation: 'Golden Lightning Strike']
[Obtained Weapon: 'Golden Dragon Thunder Claymore']
[Golden Dragon Thunder Claymore]
[A golden claymore entwined with crimson dragon thunder]
[Once wielded by 'Godwyn the Golden']
[After battle, infused with the strength of 'Fortissax, the Strongest Rock']
[It is said only a hero who defeats both may wield this blade]
[But is that truly possible?]
[Exclusive Ash of War: Stance of Gold and Thunder]
[Raise the sword parallel to the ground to unleash this skill]
[Light Attack: releases a forward Golden Impact]
[Heavy Attack: sweeps the area ahead with Dragon Thunder]
It was a powerful claymore.
Its stats were impressive, and the attack patterns solid.
But its real strength lay not in attributes or scaling, but in its Ash of War.
Simply put, it was a prayer-based, enhanced version of the Sword of Night and Flame.
Golden Impact traveled farther and cast faster. It didn't hit multiple times, but its cost was much lower.
As for the Dragon Thunder Sweep, it was on another level entirely—its range far outstripped Night-and-Flame's fire sweep, while dealing greater damage and staggering power.
And after either technique was cast, the blade gained a temporary enchantment matching the attack used, boosting its normal strikes. It was, essentially, a super-wheelchair weapon.
While Lloyd tested the claymore, Seath acquired the dungeon's time core.
Once she had it, the dungeon began to collapse. Godwyn and Fortissax bid Lloyd farewell before their figures faded away.
Soon after, with a sound like shattering glass, the dungeon crumbled completely.
A familiar wave of disorientation hit.
When Lloyd came to, he was back in Seath's room.
"Don't go yet," Seath said. "I need to use this to repair the temporal structure in your body. Wait until I'm done."
She then began tinkering with the newly obtained time core.
Lloyd, not knowing anything about such things, didn't dare interfere.
But waiting around was painfully boring. He glanced about the room for something to pass the time.
Then...
After failing to understand the books, finding no toys, and deciding against taking out his own toys for fear of breaking something...
His eyes inevitably drifted toward something he had been trying hard not to look at, but couldn't avoid in the end.
That long, white tail.
It felt wrong to do this while Seath was focused on her work.
But Lloyd thought, if he just touched the tail a little, it shouldn't matter. Especially since, knowing Seath's temperament, if she really didn't like it, she wouldn't hesitate to let him know.
So...
With that thought, Lloyd reached out and grabbed the tail swaying in front of him, almost as if it were teasing him.
The tail stiffened at first, then slowly softened under his touch.
When Seath didn't react, Lloyd relaxed. He pulled the tail into his arms and began to gently stroke it.
It felt wonderful—big and soft, perfect for stroking or squeezing. It was like hugging a massive, fleshy pillow.
The twitching tip was especially cute, making Lloyd unable to resist pinching it.
But just as he was engrossed in playing with it, Seath suddenly let out a strange sound.
"What's wrong?"
Lloyd looked at her, puzzled, loosening his grip slightly in guilt.
"If I'm bothering you, I'll stop..."
Silence.
Seath didn't turn around. Her back remained to Lloyd, her body trembling slightly.
After a long pause, as if finally regaining her composure, she ground her teeth and spoke.
"...Continue."
"What?"
"I said continue."
Seath's tail thumped against Lloyd's chest. She turned her head, casting a sideways glance that seemed angry but wasn't quite, and spoke irritably.
"If you're going to play, then play it through. Until I say stop, don't let go."
With that, she turned back around, leaning on the table and resuming her work.
Lloyd looked down at the tail thumping in his arms. Once he was sure Seath truly didn't mind, he hugged it again and resumed what he was doing.
Then...
After fiddling with it for a while, Lloyd stared at the tip of the tail. The longer he looked, the more it resembled a peeled, cooked shrimp.
Curiosity got the better of him. He leaned down and lightly bit the tip.
And then...
Thud—
The Eternal Dragon, who had just moments ago crushed Godwyn and Fortissax without a scratch, collapsed onto the floor.
Her posture was a mess, her body trembling.
After enduring for some time, she finally broke, a sweet, helpless sound escaping her lips.
"Dad, I was wrong..."
"A little gentler... like this, I can't keep working..."
...
[Upto 20 chapters ahead for now]
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