Chapter 34: Calamity Dragon

Under the continuous bombardment of all kinds of offensive magic, the ice crystals had begun to shatter. Seeing this, the crowd’s shouting and cursing grew even louder.

Crack! The ice finally split apart.

But what emerged before them was not the small silver dragon from before—rather, it was a fully grown silver dragon with blood-red eyes, stretching fifteen meters long!

“ROAR!!!”

A furious roar echoed across the land. The red moon in the sky vanished with the roar, obscured by thick clouds, and pure white snowflakes began to drift gently from above.

Everyone was stunned by the sudden transformation. Several figures in the crowd, upon witnessing the anomaly, began to fade away on the spot, leaving behind only patches of empty ground, as if they had never been there at all.

The blood-red hue in everyone’s eyes dispersed. As their minds cleared, they looked up to see snowflakes dancing through the air, falling like a dream—only to once again be frozen in place.

But the scene before them wasn’t the serene beauty of an ordinary winter. The snowflakes that fell on the grass instantly froze the ground; the ones that landed on flesh turned it into snow and ice.

Just like that, the entire meadow silently became a forbidden zone for life. After casting its spell in a fit of rage, the silver dragon glanced around. There was no living creature in sight.

With no target left to vent its fury on, the silver dragon began to rampage through its surroundings.

Only after a long while—after fully unleashing its wrath—did it bury itself beneath the thick snow and fall into slumber.

*****

Some distance away on a high mountain, a figure was peering through a strange cylindrical device toward the land below. Nearby, the same succubus who had appeared in the royal palace was watching him with a smile, though her words were anything but kind:

“Did you fail again, my lord?”

She placed deliberate emphasis on the word again, but the figure beside her remained unmoved by her mockery.

Clicking her tongue, the succubus grumbled inwardly about how boring he still was. Just as she was about to speak again, a calm voice sounded beside her.

“Old Alduin holds her in high regard. He planted a ‘legacy’ deep in her consciousness. The moment I acted, he intervened.”

“He’s really placing his hopes on that little one, huh? Let me see!” The succubus snatched the odd device from the figure’s hands and looked down with great interest.

But her expression quickly turned disappointed. “She doesn’t seem that special. All dragons look this brutal when they hit adulthood—mindless fighting and killing. So dull.”

She tossed the device back and waved dismissively. With a flick of her hand, she opened a portal in the air. As she stepped into it, she mocked:

“The king is very upset with your repeated failures, you know. Meanwhile, my task is complete. The negative emotions here are more than enough.”

Just before disappearing into the portal, she paused and added:

“One last reminder—I’ve lifted the spatial seal on this area. Those idiotic dragons might show up any moment. You’d better take care of yourself.”

After the succubus left, the figure let out a cold snort, and his form slowly faded into nothingness.

*****

The next morning.

All five members of the Courage and Justice adventuring party had slept soundly the previous night. Feeling refreshed, they headed downstairs to the adventurer’s guild hall—only to find both the hall and the tavern completely empty.

Feeling that something was off, the group stepped out onto the main street. At this time of day, the capital was usually bustling with life, but now it was eerily quiet. The sky was ominously overcast. They exchanged glances and realized something strange was going on. Immediately, they became alert.

Just then, a flustered passerby with a small backpack came running in their direction. The group quietly prepared their weapons and rushed to intercept him.

“Hey, brother! What’s going on in the capital today? Why is there no one around?”

The man eyed them warily, but when he saw that they made no move to snatch his bag, he relaxed a little. Concisely, he explained, “Everyone who attended the banquet last night has mysteriously disappeared!”

“What?” The group was shocked and quickly pressed for more information. “What happened? Is there any other news?”

The passerby shook his head. “I don’t know much else. That’s just what I heard from others. The whole city’s nearly deserted. This is too strange. I suggest you run while you still can! This place might be cursed!”

With that, he hurried off toward the city gates, as if fleeing from a plague.

A glint flashed in Phyllis’s eyes as she spoke first: “I saw a glimmer of gold in that man’s backpack!”

The group had still been half-skeptical about the man’s claims, but at Phyllis’s words, they all froze—then quickly understood. York’s expression turned serious as he led the group back inside to pack their things, preparing to leave this haunted place called Druid.

They all knew Phyllis’s personality and sharp eyes. If she said she saw gold, that meant the man had coins in his bag.

If even a commoner could collect gold in such a situation—and considering the strange circumstances—they were certain something terrible had happened in this city. It was time to get out.

Only Phyllis seemed a bit conflicted. That man looked like he’d made quite a haul… should she loot while the place was still deserted—no, she meant, should she gather some ownerless goods before leaving?

*****

The Kingdom of Tara was experiencing widespread abnormal weather, accompanied by an intense demonic aura. The combination drew the attention of many powerful individuals.

A female elf, dressed like a mage, tore through space and appeared on a snow-covered prairie. She reached out with two fingers to catch a snowflake drifting past her face and studied it carefully.

Another spatial rift opened nearby, and several clergymen from the Church arrived.

The elven mage spotted one of them and said in surprise, “So even you’ve come in person.”

The kindly-looking elder, addressed as “Your Excellency,” nodded at the elf and replied, “Since the Grand Mage has come as well, I assume you’ve also sensed the heavy demonic aura here.”

The elf, known as the Grand Mage, responded calmly, “There’s indeed some lingering demonic energy, but I’m more concerned about the environmental changes. These snowflakes are infused with a very high concentration of magic. To my knowledge, not even the most powerful ice-type forbidden spells have effects that last this long.”

As she finished speaking, more spatial rifts appeared nearby. The newcomers radiated powerful auras. It was clear they all knew each other, and after exchanging brief greetings, they split up and began their investigations.

Perhaps the arrival of so many powerful figures disturbed a silver dragon sleeping beneath the snow. Startled awake from her dreams, she burst out from beneath the ice under everyone’s astonished gazes, roaring at the figures around her.

With bloodshot eyes, the enraged silver dragon launched an attack. But these were some of the top powerhouses in the world—they weren’t afraid of a dragon, though they didn’t go for the kill out of respect for the dragon race.

After a fierce battle—or rather, after the silver dragon was thoroughly beaten—her crimson eyes began to regain clarity. Realizing that the people before her were not to be trifled with, she staggered off toward Dragon Island.

The legendary-level powerhouses present also noticed something off about the dragon during the fight. Seeing her rage fade from her eyes, and out of respect for the dragon race, they let her go.

The investigation into the demonic residue continued. Church personnel began preparing materials to cast a time-reversal spell.

Only the Grand Mage showed no interest. She bid the others farewell and left. Thinking deeply about the silver dragon from before, she changed course after teleporting away and headed in the direction of Dragon Island.

The others were well aware of the elf’s free-spirited nature and didn’t concern themselves with her departure, continuing their research.

As the Church activated the recall magic, they made no attempt to hide it, and the others gathered around to watch the scene from the past unfold.

“This silver dragon has gone too far!” exclaimed a cold man with a sword at his waist. As he watched the dragon slaughter every inhabitant of the city with magic, he frowned and spoke through clenched teeth.

“In my opinion, those people brought it on themselves. They deserved to die!” a burly man with a scar across his face said loudly. “There’s no right or wrong on the battlefield—if you raise your hand against me, don’t blame me for killing you.”

The two began to argue, and the others nearby, each with their own opinions, joined the debate. A kindly elder of the Church frowned deeply. After a long silence, he sighed and gave an order to the church staff beside him.

“Put out a continent-wide bounty on that silver dragon.”

This matter truly was difficult to handle. From what was seen during the retrocognition ritual, it had already been confirmed that the demons were the true culprits behind the incident. Moreover, it was the humans who attacked the silver dragon first—and at that time, the dragon was already in a state of frenzy. It was likely that much of what the silver dragon did afterward was unconscious.

But regardless of whether he was the Pope of the Church or a servant of God, he was ultimately still a human being. In this matter, he had to consider the interests of humanity. In the end, with the massacre of an entire city to reckon with—and knowing that if not handled carefully, it could also harm the Church’s reputation—he chose to issue the bounty.

“Yes, Your Holiness,” the clergyman beside him replied respectfully.

With the Pope’s stance made clear, the others ceased their arguments. Even the burly man who had been voicing opposition fell silent. Since the matter had been decided, the discussion shifted to other topics, and the group began strategizing countermeasures for the demons’ invasion of the human world.

The news of Druid, the capital of the Kingdom of Tara, being completely wiped out quickly spread across the continent. The role the demons had played in the incident was publicly revealed by the Church, and this revelation made humanity even more aware of the terrifying threat posed by the demon race.

The Kingdom of Tara fragmented. Its territory was carved up by several neighboring countries, with only the former Duchy of Sesis managing to secede and establish itself as a small independent nation.

The sudden fall of one of the continent’s most powerful nations—ranked among the top—within just a month gave the other countries a grim glimpse into the strength and strange powers of the demons. All nations began strengthening their surveillance of demon activity, and they were also filled with dread toward the silver dragon who had destroyed an entire royal capital.

The name Calamity Dragon Cecilia spread across the southern continent with the news.