"W-what?"
Envy widened her eyes as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"What nonsense is this! Why should I take responsibility!"
She slammed her hand down fiercely as if telling him to stop talking nonsense. She seemed so flustered that she couldn't control her strength, causing the black universe to split with a loud crack.
"No matter how powerful the Dragon Lord is, he couldn't create an absolute magic to exterminate all humans on the continent by himself. That magic nearly reached completion because you helped him, so you must take responsibility."
Raon tilted his chin as if asking why he needed to state such an obvious fact.
"And in the end, he even sentenced me to death with dragon language powered by your strength. If not for His help, I would already be dead."
He furrowed his brow deeply as he mentioned how the Dragon Lord had decreed death with the dragon language.
"As you know, I am the vessel He has prepared for a long time."
Raon placed a hand on his chest and exhaled slowly.
"He has carefully nurtured this body so it would never break, preparing for the day He would descend into it. Now He's extremely furious that it almost got destroyed by a mere yellow lizard."
He bit his lip hard, suggesting that Wrath was so angry he might burst out at any moment.
-This King is indeed angry.
Wrath exhaled white steam from his mouth as if truly enraged.
-But my anger is not directed at someone like Envy, it's at you! Raon Zieghart!
He grabbed Raon by the collar and shook him violently up and down.
-How long are you going to keep selling this King's name! Why are you still doing this even after surpassing the limits of transcendence!
Wrath ground his teeth as if he truly couldn't understand.
'It's convenient, isn't it?'
Raon shrugged his shoulders lightly.
'It's clear that Envy fears you more than the other demon kings. It makes sense to use that.'
The demon kings, except for Lust and Greed, were wary of Wrath's existence. It meant they were definitely inferior in martial prowess, so it was advantageous to exploit that if possible.
-D-damn it! Why am I leashed to someone like this!
Wrath screamed in frustration while pulling at his cheeks, seemingly anticipating that his name would continue to be exploited.
-Envy! Don't listen to this fellow! Use what you've prepared to wipe out everything!
He waved his hands wildly at Envy telling her not to hold back, but naturally, she couldn't see him.
"Envy."
Raon looked at Envy while patting the trembling Wrath's head.
"I barely managed to stop Him from bursting out right now."
He drew up the anger within his soul, revealing to Envy that Wrath was right beside him.
"Urgh!"
Envy chewed her lips nervously while clutching her beautiful green hair.
"He is generous. He won't ask for something you cannot do."
Raon offered a carrot to Envy, who had previously been struck by a stinging whip, and tilted his chin.
"However, if you run away from here, He says He will chase you to the ends of the earth and hold you accountable for today's events. No, before that, He said He would turn all the avatars and vessels you've prepared on earth into blocks of ice."
He spoke in a chilling voice as if Wrath had really said those words.
"This crazy bastard..."
Envy glared at Raon with trembling fists. She seemed to be forcibly suppressing her anger at the thought of Wrath being behind him.
-Huh...?
Wrath blinked his eyes blankly.
-How did you know that Envy had created avatars and vessels on earth?
'You just said it moments ago. You told her to use what she's prepared to wipe out everything.'
-That's just it! This King only said she had prepared something!
He frowned, seemingly unable to understand no matter how much he thought about it.
'Envy is the type who prefers expanding her influence rather than relying on her own martial prowess. You can see that from the Mustan incident and now with the Dragon Lord affair. With your hint about "preparations," it was obvious.'
Raon smiled slightly, saying it was just a simple guess.
-Damn it all, I can't believe such a shot in the dark actually worked...
Wrath sighed, seeming to understand the outcome from Envy's distorted expression.
-Anyway, this damned fellow's mind is more frightening than his sword!
He ground his teeth, calling Raon someone that was impossible to like no matter what.
"Damn you, Wrath! Unlucky Wrath! You're just a muscle-brained monkey!"
Envy fiercely called out Wrath's name rather than Raon's as she stomped her foot. She must have been very angry, as dimensions twisted as if about to collapse from her stomping.
"..."
Raon waited leisurely with his arms crossed, despite breaking into a cold sweat at Envy's display of power.
"Haah..."
Envy exhaled a long sigh as if somewhat relieved, then straightened her back.
"Fine. I'll wait..."
She nodded as if she had no choice and stepped back.
-...
Wrath only blinked his eyes as he watched her.
-Wait, you're the one who acted like a madman, so why am I the one getting cursed...
He teared up with his blue eyes as if feeling wronged.
'I'll buy you something tasty later.'
Raon patted Wrath's back, then approached the Dragon Lord again.
"Envy, you say?"
He looked at the Dragon Lord's wavering eyes with an incredulous smile.
"How could a dragon possibly envy a human?"
He tilted his chin, asking when and where the Dragon Lord had first felt envy toward Glenn.
[...]
The Dragon Lord kept his mouth tightly shut, seemingly too embarrassed to answer.
"Speak. What are you trying to hide when everything's already been exposed?"
Raon kicked the Dragon Lord's head with a sneer.
"Were you that angry about being outmatched by Glenn Zieghart? Because dragons were no longer the strongest race on earth?"
He shook the Dragon Lord's soul with his Soul Sword, demanding an answer.
[Kuuugh!]
The Dragon Lord groaned in pain from the Soul Sword, his eyes contorting. Yet even so, he refused to open his mouth.
"You should be ashamed. Your power was given to you at birth, while Glenn Zieghart's strength was built by his own efforts. If you're going to be envious..."
[No!]
The Dragon Lord shouted fiercely.
[I did not envy Glenn Zieghart because of his martial prowess!]
He shook his chin briefly as if to say he didn't simply envy Glenn for being strong.
"Then?"
Raon lowered his hand, telling him to continue speaking.
[His eyes.]
"Eyes?"
Not understanding what he meant, Raon tilted his head.
[Glenn Zieghart's eyes. The eyes of a conqueror who understands all things under heaven and places everything beneath his feet. He looked down on me. On the King of Dragons!]
The Dragon Lord ground his teeth as if Glenn's eyes had dismissed him.
[Those eyes are only fitting for when I look at humans, who are like insects. How dare a mere human look at me with such eyes!]
He exhaled angry breaths, saying he absolutely hated that Glenn looked down on him the same way he looked down on humans.
[As the Dragon Lord, I...]
"Ah, so..."
Raon twisted his lips upward, cutting off the Dragon Lord's words.
"You normally treated humans like insects, but you got angry when a human treated you the same way? So you felt this disgusting envy and even created magic with the intention of killing all humans."
It was so absurd that a laugh—no, a sigh—burst from him.
[Don't mock me! Unless you've experienced it yourself...]
"I've experienced it my entire life?"
Raon raised his fist and struck the Dragon Lord's rolling eyeball.
[Kuuuugh!]
The Dragon Lord screamed in agony as his eyeball burst, his entire body trembling violently.
"I've received mocking, dismissal, and hateful stares as if I were an insect all my life."
Raon frowned as he brushed back his blood-soaked hair.
"And I changed their distorted gazes with my own strength. I never thought of killing everyone like you did."
He shook his head, saying he was different from the Dragon Lord.
"The same goes for Glenn Zieghart. He also faced many trials, but he overcame them with his own strength to reach his current position. No one else has had such vile thoughts of borrowing others' power to kill everyone like you."
He snorted, saying the Dragon Lord wasn't qualified to be even a mediator, let alone the Dragon Lord.
"Besides, the idea that Glenn Zieghart looked down on you is probably a misunderstanding. He's not that kind of person."
Raon closed and opened his eyes, recalling the warmth that Glenn currently showed.
[Y-you wouldn't understand! Glenn Zieghart's eyes were...]
"You never even had a proper conversation with him, did you? You just thought that way on your own and fell into a victim mentality."
There was no way Glenn would have shown dismissive eyes toward dragons without reason. There must have been another reason.
[L-Lord...]
[To think he actually envied a human...]
[We must strip him of his position as Lord immediately! To think so many of our kind died because of someone like him!]
[I can hardly believe what I'm hearing with my own ears.]
[That's not a dragon's way of thinking, but a human's!]
[Let's go back. There's no reason to fight anymore.]
[A new Lord. No, we'll have to think about that later.]
The dragons who had come to rescue the Dragon Lord seemed to lose their will to fight, drooping their shoulders and folding their wings.
"Lord..."
Bartius flashed fierce beast-like eyes, seeming to hate the Lord who was of the same clan.
"The real madman was here all along."
The Red Dragon Valasiur let out a hollow laugh as he returned to his human form.
"I don't understand why anyone would pity the Lord."
The Blue Dragon Sirtiren shook her head repeatedly.
"Pity? I want to melt him with poison right now!"
The Black Dragon Dariauran ground his teeth, saying he wanted to kill the Dragon Lord even now.
"Still, it's fortunate that the matter has been resolved."
The White Dragon Bursiarabi rubbed his chin, seeming relieved that things had worked out somewhat well.
[Urgh, I, I...]
"Enough about your envy now. Let's move on to more important matters."
There was no need to waste more time since he now understood why the Dragon Lord hated humans and sided with the Archangel.
"You know where Derus Robert is, don't you?"
Raon shook his head as he wiped the blood from his hands.
[I d-don't know.]
The Dragon Lord shook his head while regenerating his burst eyeball with magic.
[He always contacts me first, so I don't know.]
He panted, saying it had been a long time since he had heard from Derus.
"I see you still don't know."
Raon gently lowered his hand toward the Dragon Lord.
"As long as my Soul Sword is embedded in your soul, all lies will be obvious."
He could immediately tell that the Dragon Lord was lying because he could distinguish truth from falsehood through the trembling of the Soul Sword.
[Urgh...]
The Dragon Lord's lips trembled as if he hadn't thought that far.
"Besides, it makes no sense that someone as devious as you would simply trust Derus Robert."
Raon extended his hand with a sneer.
"Fine. We have plenty of time. Let's see how long you can endure..."
[B-Borvorn!]
The Dragon Lord opened his trembling lips and shouted the word "Borvorn."
[I-in the northern region called Borvorn, I caught his signal! I secretly traced his communications whenever he contacted me, and the signal always came from there!]
He exhaled, stating that Derus Robert was definitely in the region of Borvorn.
"Borvorn?"
Raon deeply furrowed his brow.
'That's not far from Zieghart territory?'
Borvorn was a snowfield terrain to the northeast, adjacent to Zieghart. It was hard to believe that someone as cautious as Derus Robert would be so close.
'But it's not a lie.'
The Dragon Lord's soul did not waver. That meant he was telling the truth.
'I'll have to look into it.'
And as discreetly as possible. If the information that Derus Robert was in Borvorn was true, he could catch him off guard. It seemed necessary to explore after thorough preparation.
"Bartius."
Raon nodded and gestured to Bartius.
"It's your turn now."
Having obtained all the information he needed, it was time to hand the Lord over to the dragons who had become his allies.
"Haah..."
Bartius approached, grinding his teeth as if barely containing his excitement.
"Raon Zieghart. I think I'll have something to discuss with you afterward as well."
He narrowed his eyes thinly like threads as he looked at Raon and Envy behind him in turn. As a mediator, he seemed to want to resolve questions about the conversation between Envy and Raon.
"Yes. I'll explain later."
Raon nodded calmly. To prioritize the role of mediator even in this situation—Bartius could become a good Lord.
-That one could become a dragon, not just a lizard.
Wrath also nodded as if acknowledging Bartius.
"Well then..."
Raon approached Envy with his lips curled up.
"Hmm..."
Envy was deeply furrowing her beautiful brow, seeming uncomfortable.
"His conditions are twofold. First, you must participate in the war against the Archangel. And second..."
Raon turned around and pointed at Burren, who was blinking blankly.
"You must transfer your Authority of Envy to that human."
Burren had envied him since their trainee days. Since those emotions would still remain somewhat, he chose him because he would be able to receive at least some of Envy's authority.
"Setting aside the war for now..."
Envy tilted her chin as she looked at Burren.
"Why should I transfer my authority to that human? He barely has any envy in him? Rather..."
She pointed at Martha standing next to Burren, licking her lips slowly.
"That woman is far more attractive."