The Red Dragon Fafnir circled in the air, his massive wings churning the air currents.
He was supposed to stay in the royal capital, following the teachings of his teacher Ilena. But a sudden mission had brought him to this border city—the Church of Light had discovered an ancient tablet here, and it had to be intercepted before the humans could send it to the Holy City.
Since ancient times, the True Dragon Imperial Court had spared no effort in collecting these "blasphemous tablets" that contained the power of the world's Origin, holding far more than any other race.
Ilena believed that rather than letting this thing fall into human hands, it would be better for the True Dragon Imperial Court to keep it on their behalf.
Conveniently, she herself needed rest due to a recent Soul backlash and could not come in person.
Fafnir had volunteered for this mission.
On one hand, he could share his teacher's burdens.
On the other hand, the Dragons Nest Mountain Range hadn't been peaceful lately. It was said that some dragons had discovered traces of Fungus People in the deep underground rifts; those disgusting mushroom monsters had almost taken over the entire underground world, and the two sides had already broken out in several major battles.
The entire True Dragon Imperial Court was in a chaotic state of war preparation, and no dragon had the time to bother with a "sinner" like him.
Therefore, this errand felt more like a brief outing for Fafnir. Carrying the intelligence provided by his teacher, he easily found his destination.
The Red Dragon circled the city three times, his crimson vertical pupils scanning the Osterburg church below. "Abnormal"—that was his first impression.
It was too quiet.
The entire church was as silent as a tomb; aside from the sound of the wind, not a single human voice could be heard. At this time, there should have been believers coming and going, but let alone believers, even the church personnel who should have been on patrol were nowhere to be seen.
Fafnir slowed his descent. A trap? Unlikely; humans shouldn't have the courage to actively ambush a True Dragon. That left only two possibilities: either something unusual had happened here, or... another force had beaten him to it.
After all, it was a "blasphemous tablet"; it wasn't impossible for it to attract other forces.
But the pride of a True Dragon would not allow him to retreat—facing the unknown, Fafnir took a deep breath, and the furnace-like elemental lungs within his chest began to operate. He didn't land directly, instead first breathing out a tentative cone-shaped Dragon Breath toward the plaza.
Boom!
Flames exploded on the stone ground, the high temperature distorting the air. No barriers were triggered, and no ambushes were exposed.
Only then did he fold his wings, his twenty-meter-long body slamming onto the ground amidst the air currents. The moment he landed, his front claw stomped heavily on the ground—
[Draconic Magic: Great Earth Tremor]!
The shockwave spread with him at the center, and the windows of the buildings surrounding the plaza shattered simultaneously. This was a standard anti-stealth tactic; any enemy hiding in the shadows would be shaken out of their concealment.
Still no reaction.
Fafnir narrowed his eyes. It was too clean, unnaturally clean. He raised his front claw and began chanting a third-circle detection Spell—
The elemental ripples of the basic magic [Life Detection] spread like water patterns, instantly locking onto a target standing at the church entrance whose life level far exceeded that of an ordinary person.
And at the very moment of locking on, that dark shadow moved.
Its speed was so fast it left afterimages on the retina.
So fast!
Fafnir didn't even have time to complete his spellcasting gestures and could only rely on his Dragon Clan instincts to dodge to the side. But the opponent's speed was ridiculously fast; he only felt a chill on the side of his neck—
Screech!
The ear-piercing sound of metal scraping against dragon scales echoed through the plaza.
Fafnir looked down; a white mark had been scraped onto a dragon scale on his neck, its edge slightly curled up.
His defense hadn't been breached, but this in itself was a disgrace.
A True Dragon's scales could withstand a direct hit from a siege crossbow, yet now, a hidden attacker had left a mark with just one surprise attack?
"Interesting."
Fafnir's voice was low like muffled thunder, but there was no panic in it, only a cold killing intent ignited after being provoked. He didn't pursue; instead, he flapped his wings and retreated ten meters, opening up a safe distance.
Tactical reassessment.
The opponent's speed far exceeded the limits of a Gold Rank human, their weapon could cause wear to dragon scales, and they had chosen the most cunning angle for the surprise attack—the location of the carotid artery. This wasn't a spontaneous attack, but a carefully planned hunt.
"Let me see your true face."
Fafnir opened his mouth, but this time what he spat out wasn't fire, but an invisible ripple—
[Draconic Magic: True Sight]!
A fourth-circle detection Spell that could see through most illusions and disguises. The ripple swept over the dark shadow, but the information it fed back made Fafnir's pupils contract slightly.
He couldn't see through it.
That cloak blocked all detection, even concealing his life aura completely. What... was going on?
#
Caesar hadn't expected that the newcomer would actually be an old acquaintance.
Although he didn't know the name, he was all too familiar with the appearance of this Red Dragon.
Back in the Dragons Nest catacombs, this guy had been searching everywhere for Cecilia, and that high-and-mighty, arrogant dragon might was something Caesar could feel from a great distance.
At that time, his Rank had been too low, and he could only temporarily avoid the brunt of it.
But now, it was different.
It was clearly displayed on the System panel.
[Red Dragon Fafnir (LV.36)]
[Caesar (LV.36)]
Both sides were at the same Rank.
It seemed that today, he could finally settle that old debt!
Caesar pulled at the "covert cloak" on his head, completely concealing his aura and appearance; Ceciliahad already hidden away in advance as instructed. There were no worries for now.
This time, he not only wanted to win but also wanted the "Plasma Cult" to take the blame. This meant that signature skills like [Quicksand Abyss] and [Sandstorm] absolutely could not be used.
Then... he would use pure speed and violence to fight a battle befitting a "Cult assassin."
Although Caesar's arms were hidden under the wide cloak, his muscles were already tensed to the limit.
[Dragon Claw] covered his arms, [Metal Claw] reinforced their hardness, [Shadow Claw] increased penetration, and finally, he applied a layer of purple poison energy—[Poison Jab].
A four-in-one luxury combo.
Come, let's clash!
A familiar BGM seemed to automatically play in Caesar's mind.
[Dun~ dun, dun, dun, dun, dun]
[Dun~ dun, dun, dun, dun, dun]
[the dark trinity of the Plasma Cult has appeared!]
[I choose you, Red Dragon Fafnir! Use Inquiry!]
"Who are you?"
Fafnir hadn't been able to detect any results and finally became interested. It had been a long time since he had been ambushed like this, especially by such a "tiny" creature.
Caesar, naturally, did not answer.
[Metal Claw]! [Shadow Claw]! [Dragon Claw]!
Three claw skills of different attributes fused instantly, his right claw covered by a layer of pale skeletal claws, shimmering with metallic cold light and shadow energy.
"Swish!"
A black claw mark tore through the air, firmly imprinting itself on Fafnir's face.
Otto, kneeling on the ground, was already dazed.
First, he was scared out of his wits by the arrival of the dragon, and then he was stunned by Caesar's actions.
His... his "Lord" had actually taken the initiative to attack a dragon?
With a "bang," the Red Dragon's body was actually shaken by this strike, sliding back two steps, its thick Dragon Claws carving two deep furrows into the ground.
On Fafnir's cheek, a palm-sized dragon scale was forcibly scraped off, revealing the bright red flesh beneath.
Although there was no bleeding, that bone-deep piercing pain made Fafnir completely freeze.
An indescribable fury, mixed with a hint of long-lost excitement, rose from his heart.
How many days had it been? Since he lost that damn dragon egg, he had been confined to the academy and hadn't fought an opponent of the same level for a long time.
Good.
Very good.
"Human, state your name."
Fafnir spoke, his voice like rolling thunder, making the entire church hum.
"Plasma Cult."
Caesar hid his expression in the shadows of his hood and lowered his voice, spitting out a name.
"Plasma Cult?"
Fafnir muttered this unfamiliar name, his interest piqued instead.
A name he hadn't heard before. It must be some emerging human organization... but that wasn't important.
What was important was that his intuition told him the blasphemous tablet was on this cloaked person.
It seemed that despite his haste, he had still arrived a step too late.
Good.
The mission his teacher had assigned must be completed, and this reckless fellow in front of him was perfect for venting the anger he had built up during his long confinement.
"Regardless of what cult you belong to," the Red Dragon's voice boomed like thunder, "by daring to attack a True Dragon, you have already found your path to death."
Normally, even at the same Rank, a True Dragon was almost always a crushing force against any other race.
The life levels and energy reserves of the two sides were simply not on the same dimension. This was why Ilena, a Legendary Red Dragon, could suppress several experts of the same level from the Lordaeron Empire.
Fafnir hadn't had a good fight with an opponent of the same level for nearly a year.
The long-awaited battle made his long-suppressed tyrannical nature start to stir. The Red Dragonlooked at the short, cloaked figure before him and spoke arrogantly.
"Fine, since you want to fight, I'll give you a fair chance."
"Although you ambushed me, I must admit that your strength is decent for a short-lived species."
Fafnir folded his wings, and his massive body began to glow and shrink.
"My strength is indeed greater in dragon form, but against an enemy like you who is skilled at using size differences and blind spots, it would instead become a burden."
The light dissipated.
A red-haired young man wearing a dark red, ornate martial outfit appeared in his place.
He was slender, with a face so handsome it was almost demonic, and his red hair was as flamboyant as flames. He toyed with a golden badge in his hand.
"Remember my true name, Fafnir Sebastian."
The red-haired young man straightened his collar and said in a condescending tone.
"Since you want to play the game of assassins, I won't call you despicable. Let me accompany you in this human form. This is a... reward for that strike just now!"