The voice that erupted from the darkness was not merely loud—it was ancient, vast, and filled with a fury that seemed older than the palace itself. It rolled through the throne room like thunder trapped inside stone, vibrating through the pillars and echoing along the cracked marble floor until even the walls seemed to tremble beneath its weight.
"Who are you," the voice rumbled slowly, each word vibrating through the air like the tolling of a massive bell, "to wake me from my slumber? Do you wish to die?"
As the words faded, the massive shape behind the shattered wall shifted again, and the Dragon King pushed its enormous head further into the throne room. Two eyes opened within the darkness, glowing like molten gold, their light reflecting off the dust-filled air as they locked directly onto the small human figure standing before them.
The difference in scale was almost absurd. One of the dragon's fangs alone was nearly the size of Toki's entire body, and when the creature exhaled, its breath rolled through the chamber like the opening of a furnace, carrying the scent of ancient stone and something far older than the kingdom itself.
Behind Toki, King Mathias could feel his legs trembling despite every effort to remain composed, while Smith's normally calm expression had grown rigid with disbelief. They were standing in the presence of a creature that had not walked the surface of the world for centuries.
Yet the young knight standing at the center of the throne room did not move.
Blood dripped steadily from Toki's shattered hand, running along the living chain of gold wrapped tightly around his wrist before falling in quiet droplets onto the marble floor. The pain pulsed through his arm like a second heartbeat, sharp and relentless, but his grip only tightened as he lifted his head and met the dragon's burning gaze.
"I'm not afraid of you," he said calmly.
The words were not loud, but they carried through the vast chamber with surprising clarity.
Toki took a slow breath before continuing, his voice steady despite the storm of tension pressing down on the room.
"And we don't have time for formalities," he added. "The capital is literally burning right now."
The Dragon King slowly lowered its enormous head toward him, the movement so deliberate that the ground trembled faintly with every inch it descended. The dragon studied him in silence for several long seconds, golden pupils narrowing as though measuring something invisible.
Finally, it spoke again, its tone colder than before.
"If the kingdom is in danger," the dragon said slowly, "it is not my responsibility to rescue you from the consequences of your own failures."
Its massive gaze shifted briefly toward the throne where Mathias stood.
"You have a weak king," it continued bluntly, the words landing like stones dropped into still water.
Mathias flinched.
"And you knights," the dragon went on, its voice dripping with contempt, "do not even compare to the warriors who once protected this land."
For a moment the Dragon King seemed to drift into memory, its enormous eyes narrowing slightly as though looking beyond the present and into another era entirely.
"The knights of the age of Rindal were men of honor," it murmured. "They stood beneath the banners of a kingdom that deserved to survive."
The name lingered in the air like a ghost.
"But that era ended long ago," the dragon continued, its voice hardening once more. "Even if I once swore a pact with this kingdom, the truth remains that Rindal is no longer among the living."
The dragon leaned closer.
"And none of you carry the honor for which he fought."
A low rumble rolled deep within its chest.
"I will not protect weakness."
The words echoed across the throne room.
"If you cannot protect yourselves," the Dragon King concluded coldly, "then you deserve to die."
Toki's body trembled.
Not from fear but from anger.
Blood continued dripping between his fingers as he clenched the chain tighter, his injured hand shaking slightly as he fought to keep control of the pain spreading through his arm. The dragon watched him with a faint curiosity, as though observing a particularly stubborn insect.
"So tell me," the Dragon King said with quiet amusement, "what exactly do you intend to do now? Run back to your princess and cry for help?"
Its massive nostrils flared slightly as it exhaled.
"I have listened to all of you," it continued. "I will not give my blessing to any of these so-called heirs."
Its gaze sharpened.
"There is no heir worthy of Rindal's name. His dynasty died with him, and with it died the last true hope of this kingdom."
For a heartbeat, the throne room remained completely silent.
Then Toki exploded.
"SHUT YOUR MOUTH, YOU DAMN LIZARD!"
The words tore through the chamber like a thunder.
Mathias froze in disbelief.
Smith blinked in shock.
Even the Dragon King seemed genuinely startled.
Toki's voice rose again, fury pouring from him like wildfire.
"You talk so much about Rindal!" he shouted. "About how the kingdom is doomed!"
His wounded hand trembled violently.
"But you haven't done a single damn thing!"
The dragon's pupils narrowed sharply.
"Luminith is the weakest of the five great kingdoms!" Toki continued, his voice cracking with raw emotion. "And while we've been bleeding to keep it standing, you've been hiding down here in the dark like a coward!"
The Dragon King's claws dug deeper into the stone floor.
"You have no right to judge us!" Toki shouted, pointing directly at the creature's enormous face. "You don't know how hard we fight to keep this kingdom alive! You don't know how much blood has been spilled to protect what Rindal left behind!"
His chest rose and fell heavily as his anger burned hotter.
"And who the hell gave you the right to insult my Utsuki?" he continued fiercely. "Unlike you, she's actually doing something!"
Toki wiped blood from his lip with the back of his sleeve.
"I'm not Rindal," he said firmly. "And I don't care how great he was."
His eyes burned brighter.
"But what I do know is that dragons will reach the plaza soon, and I'm not losing anyone else."
He yanked the chain sharply.
"So get your gigantic ass moving and show me why you're called the King of the Dragons," he said coldly. "Because this isn't a request."
He stared directly into the dragon's eyes.
"I don't care whether you want to help or not. To me… you're worthless."
The Dragon King erupted.
The roar that exploded from its throat shook the entire palace, cracking the marble floor beneath their feet as the pillars trembled violently and dust rained from the ceiling.
"ENOUGH!" the dragon thundered.
"I have already given you more time than you deserved, worm!"
Its massive jaws opened with terrifying speed, the motion so violent that it created a thunderous sonic boom inside the throne room.
A blinding light ignited deep within its throat.
It was not fire.
White energy condensed violently within the dragon's mouth, shining brighter than the sun itself as waves of heat and radiation rippled outward through the chamber.
Mathias immediately shouted in panic.
"TOKI! That's The Atomic Breath!"
The air itself began to vibrate.
"It's already irradiating the area! Move!"
His voice broke with desperation.
"The blast moves at the speed of light!"
But Toki did not move.
His cloak whipped violently in the rising pressure while his blue hair fluttered like a banner caught in a storm. He simply stood there, staring directly into the burning light gathering inside the dragon's mouth.
"I've seen death too many times," he said quietly.
"…to be afraid of it now."
For the first time, the Dragon King hesitated.
Its mind studied the young knight more carefully.
Strange.
The dragon narrowed its eyes.
In appearance, he was not very different from Rindal.
The same golden eyes.
But Rindal's hair had been red.
This boy's was blue.
And yet the stubbornness was identical.
The light inside its mouth intensified.
But it was too late.
"O.... I will tear you apart atom by atom until nothing remains!"
The blast erupted.
Light swallowed the throne room completely.
For a moment the world turned white.
Then suddenly—
The light vanished.
Smoke drifted lazily from the dragon's mouth.
And Toki was still standing there.
The Dragon King's eyes widened in shock.
"What…?"
Its voice trembled slightly with disbelief.
"Who are you?"
Toki tilted his head.
"I've asked myself that question more times than I should have," he admitted quietly.
His eyes hardened.
"But I'm done waiting for the answer."
Suddenly he swung the chain forward, and the living metal shot through the air like a serpent before wrapping tightly around one of the dragon's massive horns.
The Dragon King jerked violently.
"…Living Gold?!"
Toki pulled with all his strength, launching himself upward through the air until he landed directly on the dragon's head.
The beast roared in fury and slammed its skull against the palace walls in an attempt to crush the tiny human clinging to its scales, but Toki held on stubbornly, wrapping the chain tighter around its neck until it formed a crude leash similar to the one he used when riding Umma.
With a furious roar, the Dragon King suddenly surged upward, smashing through the palace roof in an explosion of stone and dust as its enormous wings spread wide beneath the darkened sky.
Its enormous body shook with terrifying force as it attempted to throw the small human clinging stubbornly to its back. Each movement felt like an earthquake traveling through living flesh and scale. The creature rolled sideways, then snapped upward again, its wings beating hard enough to tear through the clouds themselves.
But the chain held.
Toki's arms screamed in pain as the violent motion tried to rip him free, yet the living gold links remained wrapped tightly around the dragon's horn and neck, anchoring him firmly against the creature's scales. His broken hand burned with agony where the chain cut into his skin, but he clenched his teeth and held on.
I'm not letting go now…
The wind roared past his ears like a hurricane.
For several seconds the dragon continued thrashing wildly, attempting to dislodge the stubborn rider on its back. But gradually Toki noticed something strange.
The dragon wasn't only struggling.
It was growing.
At first the change was subtle—barely noticeable. Yet within moments the sensation became unmistakable. Toki could feel the entire body beneath him expanding, the scales shifting and stretching while powerful muscles swelled beneath the creature's crimson armor.
Even the air itself seemed to distort.
It felt as if the dragon's enormous body was pulling the very atmosphere toward itself, inhaling the surrounding space like a living storm.
Toki frowned slightly.
The creature was growing rapidly—far beyond the size it had shown inside the palace.
The expansion continued for several seconds before slowly stabilizing, the dragon's size finally settling into a new form that dwarfed its previous appearance.
From his position on its back, Toki glanced down toward the city below.
The capital looked smaller now.
His mind immediately flashed back to the conversation he had shared with Meldor .
"A dragon that size couldn't hide anywhere," the old man had insisted. "The world would notice something that big."
Toki exhaled slowly.
Meldor had been right.
But none of them had considered another possibility.
The dragon had simply compressed itself.
For centuries it had forced its massive body into a smaller form, shrinking its true size in order to remain hidden beneath the Palace.
Now, freed from the constraints of the underground chamber, the Dragon King had begun returning to its natural scale.
And that scale was terrifying.
The dragon suddenly spoke again, its voice vibrating through the sky like distant thunder.
"If you refuse to climb down…"
Its golden eyes burned with anger.
"…then I will simply absorb every drop of your mana until you shrivel into nothingness ."
Before Toki could respond, the Dragon King opened its enormous jaws.
The air shifted violently.
Mana from the surrounding sky began rushing toward the dragon like water pulled into a whirlpool. Invisible currents twisted around its mouth as the creature devoured the energy filling the atmosphere.
Toki immediately felt it.
The dragon wasn't just absorbing ambient mana.
It was pulling everything.
Including his.
A portion of Toki's mana was suddenly dragged from his body and pulled toward the dragon's open jaws.
Then something unexpected happened.
The Dragon King choked.
Its massive head jerked violently to the side as it gagged, a sound halfway between a cough and a roar erupting from its throat.
For a moment it looked as though the creature might actually vomit.
"What… is this?!"
The dragon's voice was filled with shock.
It shook its head violently, trying to clear the sensation from its throat.
"This mana…"
Its eyes narrowed sharply.
"…is rotten."
The word came out slowly.
Suspiciously.
"There is only one person in this world whose mana carries corruption like this."
The Dragon King twisted its enormous neck, glaring back toward the stubborn rider clinging to its back.
"How old are you really?"
Toki blinked.
Then he sighed slightly.
"You know," he said casually, adjusting his grip on the chain, "it's not very polite to ask someone their age before learning their name."
The dragon froze.
For half a second the creature simply stared at him in disbelief.
Then its roar exploded across the sky.
The fury in its voice was powerful enough to shake the clouds apart.
Far below them, in the central plaza of the capital, the battle had reached its breaking point.
Bernard and Harold stood side by side, their breathing heavy as they faced the monstrous dragon created by Rosalin and Reginald's fusion.
The creature towered above the shattered plaza, its crimson wings spreading wide as fire gathered once again inside its massive jaws.
The streets around them were already in ruins.
Burned stone.
Broken buildings.
Scorched earth.
Bernard wiped blood from the corner of his mouth as he leaned slightly on his sword, exhaustion creeping through every muscle in his body.
"Did you hear that?" Harold asked suddenly.
Bernard frowned.
The roar had been distant.
But unmistakable.
He glanced toward the sky briefly before shaking his head irritably.
"I don't know what that was," he muttered, tightening his grip on his weapon. "But it better be Toki…"
He exhaled slowly.
"…because I'm starting to run out of inspiration."
Harold grimaced.
He could feel it too.
Their mana reserves were nearly empty.
Every spell Bernard had sung into existence had drained another portion of his strength, and Harold's body ached from pushing his limits far beyond what he could endure.
"What do we do?" Harold asked quietly.
Bernard didn't hesitate.
"I'll tell you exactly what we do," he replied.
He grabbed Harold's arm.
"We run!"
The two men turned immediately and began sprinting across the ruined plaza, their boots pounding against the cracked stone as they tried to gain even a few extra seconds.
Behind them, the dragon's massive jaws opened wide.
Fire gathered inside its throat.
The heat was overwhelming.
Even from dozens of meters away they could already feel the scorching temperature rolling toward them like a tidal wave.
Harold glanced over his shoulder and his face went pale.
"It's going to catch us!"
Bernard didn't answer.
Instead he suddenly grabbed Harold and pulled him tightly against his chest, shielding him with his own body.
The dragon lunged forward.
Its enormous jaws descended toward them, rows of burning teeth closing rapidly as the beast prepared to swallow them whole.
Bernard could already feel the heat of its breath.
The monster's fangs were only meters away now.
Still holding Harold tightly, Bernard threw his head back and screamed toward the sky.
"TOKI!"
His voice cracked with rage and desperation.
"IF YOU'RE NOT BACK IN FIVE SECONDS…"
His grip tightened.
"…I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU IN THE NEXT LIFE!"