This was a building adorned with skulls and demonic statues, exuding a gloomy and ominous atmosphere.
It was a mage guild, but it hardly looked like a legitimate one.
However, the Council of Ishgar had no jurisdiction over Guiltina, and the local council in Guiltina didn't seem to care much either. So despite its strange and eerie style, this was, undeniably, a legal and official guild.
And this guild was exactly the target of Charles's journey—Diabolos, a guild of Dragon Eaters.
A burly man with a rugged face, covered in muscles and scars, sat heavily upon a throne, gnawing on the flesh of some unknown beast.
A scantily clad woman walked in and respectfully said, "Guild Master, you called for me!"
The man was Georg Reizen, the Guild Master of Diabolos, a Dragon Slayer of the Four Beast Dragons.
Georg gruffly said, "You're here, Kyria. I just received some information. Go check it out and see if it's reliable."
Kyria chuckled and replied, "Oh? What kind of information could make the Guild Master take such interest?"
Georg bared his beast-like fangs and said, "What else? News of a dragon, of course.
I heard there are signs of a fire dragon active in the Satage Mountains. If the information is accurate, it might be one of the Five Dragon Gods we've been searching for—the Flame Dragon God.
I'm looking forward to it. I wonder what a dragon with the title of 'god' would taste like."
A twisted smile appeared on Kyria's face.
For Dragon Eaters like them, devouring dragons was the path to power. The first time they consumed dragon flesh, the pain was unbearable, but they quickly became addicted and couldn't stop.
It wasn't so much the taste they craved, but the rush of power that followed.
To obtain great strength, one had to pay the price.
So it wasn't just Georg—even Kyria herself was eager to hunt a dragon.
Kyria departed quickly and arrived at the reported location the very next day.
In the valley, Kyria looked seriously at the hellish scene before her.
This place might once have been covered in lush vegetation, but now there wasn't a single trace of green. The valley had been scorched pitch-black by searing flames, and the central area had been vitrified.
Even though who knows how many days had passed, the oppressive heat could still be felt.
Kyria could almost envision what had happened here—some entity floating above the valley, unleashing intense flames down upon the center.
The moment the flames touched the ground, all vegetation vaporized, and the earth turned into crystal. Then the flames spread, reducing the entire valley to ash.
She couldn't say exactly what had caused this scene, but other than a dragon, she couldn't think of anything else capable of it.
While she was thinking, she suddenly heard voices.
"See? I told you this would work!"
"Charles is amazing—someone really showed up!"
Surprised, Kyria turned around and spotted a group of people standing in the distance.
She sniffed the air, and a twisted smile crept onto her face as she said, "This smell… You're Dragon Slayers, aren't you? I haven't seen you before—you don't look like you're from Guiltina!"
Charles snapped his fingers and said, "Correct, but unfortunately, no prize for you."
Kyria shook her head and said, "What are you talking about? You're the prize! Let me taste how delicious your dragon power really is!"
A flash of white light struck Kyria and sent her flying.
Sting had been itching to fight the Dragon Eaters, and being stared at like food by Kyria had enraged him—he launched himself at her without hesitation.
Charles facepalmed. As expected, Sting had completely forgotten the warning he'd given him earlier.
Kyria retreated several steps, a glint of disdain flashing in her eyes. "Is that all you've got?"
"Then try this one!"
Unable to endure the contempt, Sting opened his mouth and unleashed "White Dragon's Roar" directly at Kyria.
Even when facing Sting's full-force roar, Kyria's expression didn't change at all. With a casual motion, she swung her arm at the incoming beam of light.
The next moment was shocking. The beam Sting had released was cleanly sliced in two, and the cut extended all the way to where he stood, leaving him stunned.
In the blink of an eye, the beam dissipated. Sting stared at the figure standing in front of him and swallowed hard.
Charles had appeared just in time to block the invisible slash before it could hit Sting.
White steam rose from Charles's palm—the same hand he had used to crush Kyria's slash.
Kyria's expression changed—first becoming serious, then wild.
She was also a Dragon Eater, and the dragon she had devoured was the Blade Dragon. With its power, she possessed the ability of "severing"—able to cut through anything with form.
But this was the first time she had seen someone physically block her magic with their body—it was an absurd feat.
Charles waved his hand and said, "Sting, fall back. She's not someone you can defeat at your current level."
Sting clenched his teeth. Though frustrated, he knew from her magic just now that Charles was right—this wasn't a fight he could take part in.
Kyria made no move to stop him. Instead, her burning gaze remained fixed on Charles. "Hey, what's your name?"
Charles replied politely, "I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Charles. Let's get along well from here on out."
Charles genuinely wanted to "get along" with Kyria—after all, she was a specimen he had already earmarked for research.
Kyria could more or less guess what he was thinking from the look in his eyes—it wasn't any different from how she viewed others as food.
So she got angry too and lunged at Charles.
"'Get along,' huh? I'd rather turn you into my pet! Let me sever your 'strength'!"
Their eyes met, and Kyria swung her arm at Charles. But this time, there was no sharp blade—just a casual swipe.
But this didn't mean the magic had failed. Kyria had a perverse hobby of turning the strong into weaklings and keeping them as pets.
This magic worked through eye contact, severing the sense of "strength" in the opponent's mind, fulfilling her twisted desire.
Charles's gaze didn't waver at all. He simply raised a leg and kicked Kyria flying.
Though the magic was derived from the Blade Dragon's power of severing, it was ultimately a form of hypnotic magic. And the weakness of hypnosis was understanding—once you grasped its principle, you could become immune.
As it happened, Charles met that condition. So Kyria never even had the chance to feel smug.
Her magic having failed, Kyria flew into a rage. Without pausing to consider why it hadn't worked, she launched another attack.
"Blade Dragon's Twin Cleave!"
Her arms transformed into the sharpest twin blades, and she slashed at Charles without hesitation.
Charles twisted his body, smoothly slipping through the gap between the slashes and punched straight at her.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Kyria didn't dodge. Instead, she chose to clash head-on with Charles!
"There's nothing I can't cut! Blade Dragon's Overlord Sword!"
Blade met flame, and the ground was torn open, then shattered by the combined explosion of fire and slashes.
The madness in Kyria's eyes vanished—because she saw Charles push through the aftermath of the clash and throw a punch straight at her.
(End of Chapter)
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