Chapter 24 : Sorry I didn’t know (4)

Bacalion hummed to himself as he flew toward the ocean where the Blue Dragon Clan resided, Dante tightly clutched in his grasp. He was so delighted by the fact that he had tricked that loathsome Black Dragon that he couldn’t contain his glee.

Everything was going exactly as planned.

Now, all that was left was to tear out the neck of that damn Black Dragon, who had walked straight into the trap and into his territory.

A grin crept across Bacalion’s lips at the thought, but he soon shook his head.

No, no. Granting that bastard a swift, painless death would be far too merciful.

He needed something more. If possible, something that would mentally torment or provoke the Black Dragon.

Ah. Of course.

Bacalion looked down at the demon boy pinned helplessly in his claw.

‘Perfect. I’ll use this brat.’

Dragons—especially those of the Black Dragon clan—were obsessively possessive. And above all else, they hated, no, despised when someone else laid a hand on what they considered theirs. Be it an object, a human, anything at all.

According to his vassals’ reports, this demon boy held significant value to the Black Dragon.

──So what would happen if he ripped this boy to shreds right in front of that bastard’s face?

“[Keh-heh-heh!]”

The very idea of watching the Black Dragon’s face contort with rage up close sent a thrill through him. Just the thought alone made a wave of ecstasy rise to his throat.

Unable to suppress his laughter, Bacalion flapped his wings harder, speeding up his flight in a rush to return to his lair.

***

Holy f*ck. Look at this b*stard flying faster and faster. Not even a sliver of consideration. This son of a b*tch has the personality of a sewer rat.

Wait—actually, weren’t all dragons like this? Didn’t matter the world, they were universally a**holes, weren’t they?

Despite the icy winds slapping him in the face and the cold radiating from the Blue Dragon’s body making him shiver all over, Dante endured the freezing hell purely out of spite. He clung on with sheer grit and mental swearing.

If he were just a normal human, he would’ve died of hypothermia a long time ago. But luckily—or unluckily—he was a demon. And demons had way better survival stats than humans.

Which meant, yeah, he was a bit more resistant to the cold.

…So, like… am I supposed to be happy about that? Or mad?

…Whatever. First things first—calm the f*ck down.

Take a deep breath and analyze the situation. Like that one saying…

Even if you get bitten by a dragon, if you keep your head straight, you can survive—wait, no, that was about tigers. And dragons don’t just bite you, they smash you into pulp!

And what’s there to analyze anyway?! One second I’m chilling in the courtyard, then suddenly some crazy blue lizard appears out of nowhere, grabs me with his giant hand, and just f*cking takes off.

That’s it!

──I’ve been kidnapped!!

Dante clenched his teeth and looked down at the vast drop below him.

F*cking hell, what sin did I commit in my past life to deserve this? One winged lizard named Olivia was already more than enough!

Wait, that’s right. Yeonhwa. Lady Yeonhwa told me—

She said to call her name in times of danger──!

Just as Dante parted his lips to summon the fox’s name, a memory flashed through his mind.

“[The Soul Synchronization consumes a massive amount of the familiar’s power and mental strength, depending on how long it’s maintained.]”

“[To recover the strength regained through the Yeouiju you gave me, I need to enter a deep slumber…]”

Only thirty minutes ago, Yeonhwa had used a powerful skill—Soul Synchronization—for his sake, burning through a huge chunk of her strength.

To restore her power, she was likely sleeping within her inner world.

To forcibly drag her out now, when she’d just begun to recover, and beg for help…

Would that be right?

Asking her to fight a dragon—the strongest, most feared species of all—when he didn’t even know how much strength she had left? When he didn’t have a clue about this dragon’s full power?

One wrong move, and both of them could die pathetic, meaningless deaths.

──That gamble… I can’t take it. No—I won’t.

Dante quietly shut his eyes.

By now, Lady Olivia must’ve already realized he was missing from the castle.

She would never forgive anyone who laid hands on her belongings. Whether through magic or brute force, she would stop at nothing to hunt down this blue lizard b*stard. And while she was at it, she’d drag Dante back too.

──For now, he could only trust in Olivia’s reckless, unrelenting nature.

But… Dante had gotten one thing wrong.

It wasn’t that Olivia would stop at nothing to punish the one who dared touch her possession.

It was that Dante was the possession she would do anything to reclaim—and punishing Bacalion was merely the bonus.

***

The vast ocean lying between the Blake Empire and the Xenos Mountains—the Seden Sea.

That was where most of the Blue Dragon clan, including Bacalion, made their home.

Flap!

Bacalion had flown far beyond the Leprechaun and Achaia Empires, reaching the heart of the Seden Sea. With a powerful flap of his wings, he halted in mid-air.

Then, he cast a spell that allowed him to breathe freely underwater.

“【Parma】.”

A transparent barrier bloomed from his horn, expanding until it wrapped snugly around his body like a second skin.

Of course, Dante, still clutched in Bakalion’s grasp, was also covered by the barrier.

Splash!!!

Now fully enclosed by the magical shield, Bakalion dove into the ocean without hesitation.

With a colossal splash and a tower of water rising high into the sky, Dante vanished from the surface world.

***

‘…Huh? I’m underwater… but I can breathe? My clothes aren’t even wet…? And it’s not cold, either. Huh. I guess this clear film is doing the trick. That blue lizard did mumble something earlier—it must’ve been a spell.’

It was the first time in his life that Dante had seen the world beneath the sea.

It wasn’t exactly the way he’d wanted to see it—but since he was here, he figured he might as well look around. Sightseeing comes before strategy, after all.

‘Honestly, there’s nothing I can do right now anyway. If I’m going to die because of some screw-up, at least let me take in one beautiful view before I go.’

Dante turned his head, looking around with curiosity.

“Whoa…”

A quiet gasp escaped him.

At first, it had been hard to see through the bubbles and turbulence. But now—contrary to what he’d expected—the sea was breathtakingly beautiful.

Schools of fish, their colors unfamiliar, swam together in fluid harmony. Sunlight filtered through the surface above, casting a soft glow that lit up the depths.

Beneath it all, vibrant coral, shells, and seaweed reflected the light like stars scattered across a night sky.

‘Who would’ve thought such beauty lay beneath the murky sea?’

Life is full of surprises, huh.

Blub, blub, blub.

With trails of bubbles behind him, Bacalion swam downward—deeper, deeper—into the abyss.

The further they went, the darker it became.

In response, Bacalion’s horns began to glow, casting light ahead like lanterns in the dark.

‘Holy sh*t.’

Bioluminescent horns?

‘…Damn. I want one. Olivia’s horns don’t light up like that, do they?’

After weaving through jagged reefs and shadowy ravines, they finally came upon a massive cave hidden among towering seaweed. Without hesitation, Bakalion dove inside.

Judging by its size, it had to be the lizard’s lair.

Vmmmm──!

At the entrance, another transparent barrier shimmered into view. It parted to let Bakalion pass, then sealed shut behind him.

“[Hoo…]”

Bakalion exhaled softly.

Strangely, the inside of the cave was filled with fresh air—as if completely cut off from the ocean. Not a single drop of moisture remained. A dry, well-worn path led deeper inside.

Of course, it was gigantic, befitting a dragon’s den.

Step. Step.

Bakalion began to walk deeper into the cave.

Now that the rush of flight and swimming had passed, Dante finally had a moment to study his captor.

Blue metallic scales covered his body like armor.

Webbing grew between his limbs.

A long, pointed snout—clearly designed for underwater hunting—framed a set of piercing emerald eyes behind a thin membrane.

Instead of a mane, gill-like fins ran down his back. His tail split into two fin-like tips.

His horns jutted out straight, then curled back inward.

—To be honest, he was ugly.

Yeah. He was a clunky, ugly sea dragon. Dante didn’t know much about dragon beauty standards, but even he could tell that Olivia’s true form was much more elegant and attractive than this reptile.

‘Man… I’m seriously curious what this lizard looks like in human form.’

‘Wait, how long is this cave, anyway? We’ve been walking forever.’

Dante squinted as his irritation grew. Just then, they reached a chamber larger than the entrance. At its center, someone was sitting cross-legged on a flat stone slab, likely a bed.

…Wait a sec. That silhouette…

‘N-no way…!’

Though shadows cloaked the figure, Dante instantly recognized the outline—he had served at her side too long not to know.

He gasped sharply.

Meanwhile, Bakalion, unaware of the presence before him, noticed only one thing: a despicable black dragon had invaded his lair.

With seething rage, he unleashed his Dragon Fear and roared:

“[You filthy black-scaled b*stard! You’ve signed your own death warrant today! It’s finally time to avenge the Blue Dragon clan! Drop your Polymorph and face me!!]”

The force of his voice shook the cave, stalactites crashing to the ground from above.

Then, the figure slowly stepped forward—out of the shadows.

Glossy black hair fell past her waist.

Eyes red as crystallized blood pierced the dark.

Towering above ordinary men, she moved with an elegance born of overwhelming power. Dressed in a sleek black suit and casually loosening her tie—

The Black Dragon, or rather…

The head of the Black Dragon clan, a being whose very name evoked awe and fear in equal measure across dragonkind—

The Demon Dragon, Olivia—spoke in a relaxed, almost amused tone.

“────Welcome, Bacalion.”

…What?

The moment Bacalion met those crimson eyes, his confident, battle-ready expression crumbled.

No way.

Of all the black dragons in existence… it couldn’t be her.

Surely, he hadn’t touched something that belonged to that dragon.

There had to be some mistake.

Maybe she was just here on her own business. The black dragon he was meant to fight hadn’t arrived yet.

Yeah… that had to be it.

After all, she disappeared from the world of dragons after descending into the human realm.

But his hopes were crushed.

Every cell in Bakalion’s body screamed in warning.

Especially his animal instincts—the primal fear of death.

In a desperate attempt to resolve the dissonance in his mind, he forced his trembling voice into something polite.

Honor of the Blue Dragons? Hatred for black-scaled traitors?

F*ck that. Nothing’s more important than staying alive.

‘Please, please, please, please, please, please, please…!!’

“[…L-Lord… What brings you… to such a humble place?]”

“Pfft, what a strange question,”

Olivia chuckled, shrugging.

She raised a slender finger and pointed directly at Dante, still trapped in Bakalion’s grasp.

“────Isn’t it obvious, you f*cking dumb*ss?”

“I came to get what’s mine.”