Chapter 170 – The Plan
The dragon slumbering within the gray mist appeared ancient and serene.
Its brown head rested quietly against the ground, while its long neck stretched upward like a winding mountain range. Semi-transparent crimson scales shimmered faintly, and its streamlined, powerful body radiated a strange, almost mesmerizing beauty.
At a glance, it looked like a reddish hill—silent and unmoving—resting within the dark expanse.
---
Though souls had no need to breathe, remnants of instinct seemed to linger.
Its nostrils flared faintly, its belly rising and falling in slow rhythm.
It had likely slept here for a very long time.
Gray mist drifted lazily around its claws, beneath its body, and between the folds of its wings.
A natural pressure emanated from it—
whether born from its powerful soul or the instinctive fear of weaker beings.
No other spirits dared approach.
And so, it had slept undisturbed.
---
Until now.
A hand suddenly emerged from the mist—
and touched its forehead.
The dragon's eyelids twitched.
Before it could react—
golden threads appeared across its body, forming a web-like grid.
A sense of danger surged within it.
Its eyes snapped open, revealing blazing red vertical pupils.
Anger flashed within them as it locked onto the figure before it.
But it was too late.
---
The golden threads tightened.
They seemed to specifically restrain spiritual entities.
Despite its furious struggle and roar—
it was useless.
Within moments, the massive dragon soul was compressed, folded, and condensed—
into a silver-edged card.
Caught effortlessly in the hand of the white-clad figure.
---
Within the misty darkness, the dragon's presence vanished.
Not far away, the bald Varys approached.
"That makes sixteen," he said calmly.
"The last one I know of. The largest—the Black Dread—rarely shows itself. The same goes for its two consorts."
His voice was steady, deep—nothing like the soft, affected tone he used in life.
This—
was his true voice.
Everything before had been an act.
---
Charles nodded, flipping the card in his hand, examining it carefully.
Then he looked up at Varys.
The bald man instinctively took a step back.
"You promised you wouldn't act against me again, my lord."
Even with his composed tone, unease lingered.
The earlier transformation had clearly shaken him.
---
"Of course."
Charles shrugged.
Though they had once been enemies, he had no intention of destroying Varys.
Keeping a local like him had its advantages.
At the very least, he was far more useful than the countless dull, unresponsive souls in this realm.
There were very few spirits here capable of actual communication.
Varys was one of the rare exceptions.
And now—
he posed no threat.
He might even prove useful in the future.
---
As the thought crossed his mind, Charles suddenly asked:
"Have you seen a golden figure here?"
Varys visibly relaxed at his normal tone.
"Yes," he answered immediately.
"He's quite conspicuous. But he doesn't speak—just like the others."
Charles nodded.
"Good. If you can make him speak… or show any kind of reaction…"
"I might consider granting you a request."
---
Varys blinked, momentarily stunned.
But before he could respond—
the white figure vanished.
Leaving him alone in the gray mist.
He sighed quietly, a trace of regret lingering.
---
Back in the real world—
Charles returned from the dark realm.
He casually dropped a thick stack of cards onto the bed.
Then picked up a notebook and quill, beginning to jot down thoughts, organizing his plan.
---
"As far as I know… the only dragons in this world are the three around that silver-haired girl."
"…and they can barely fly yet."
"There may be others… but regardless of which one I face—"
he wrote a line in his notebook—
"a fire-resistance barrier against dragonfire is essential."
---
But as he wrote—
a doubt surfaced.
"Is dragonfire… truly the same as ordinary fire?"
"…or would a standard fire barrier be useless against it?"
The thought flashed through his mind—
and was quickly dismissed.
Because, in truth, he had no better option.
"Prepare in advance. If it really doesn't work… I'll just crush the crystal and teleport away. Then regroup and think of something else."
Muttering to himself, Charles added a few more notes to his notebook, then fell back into thought.
---
"First—set up the magic array and the battlefield ahead of time."
"I'll stand in the open with the staff as bait."
"As long as she steps into the array's range… there's a chance to bind her."
---
"And the second step…"
He paused, turning his gaze toward the staff resting on the bed.
A hint of hesitation crossed his face.
"…Can you actually trap her?"
The staff trembled faintly in response.
It was impossible to tell whether that meant yes or no.
Charles chose to assume yes.
---
According to his plan—
if everything went smoothly, once bound, the Lady of Light wouldn't simply sit still.
At that point, she likely wouldn't be able to maintain a physical form.
But—
she could still separate her divinity from her vessel.
That much had been confirmed by the Three-Eyed Raven.
"And that's where you come in…"
Charles muttered, frowning slightly.
The staff had the ability to absorb souls into that black space.
He had used it many times—
on human souls.
But a god's soul?
That… was untested.
---
He had briefly considered experimenting on the Three-Eyed Raven.
But dismissed the idea.
Firstly, the Raven seemed too weak—testing on him wouldn't prove much.
Secondly—
asking something like that outright would be… deeply offensive.
---
"So I'll proceed under the assumption that it works."
He wrote a few more lines in his notebook.
---
If successful—
the Lady of Light's soul would be drawn into the black space.
And Charles would already have the binding array prepared inside.
If he could restrain her soul there—
then…
he might even be able to devour her.
---
Of course—
there were many possible failures:
She could break free
She could counterattack
She might not even be pulled in at all
But everything carried risk.
Without trying, he'd never know.
---
"The staff still has enough of that prismatic energy… so setting up the array there should be fine."
"But one array probably isn't enough…"
"If the plan fails—and I can't win…"
"I'll retreat. Return to the main world and build up strength."
"…though it'd be best to finish this in one go."
---
After refining the details again and again—
Charles finally settled on his plan.
Then—
a new concern surfaced.
---
"The real question now is…"
"When will she come?"
For a moment, he frowned.
What if—
after all this preparation—
the Lady of Light simply… never showed up?