"I don't know. He never showed his face," Silver replied. "His entire body was covered by a black cloak, and his head concealed beneath a hood."
Silver answered all of John's questions — not out of loyalty, but because he wanted to know too. "Who was this being? Why had he done this? Why had he helped them at all?"
Silver began describing the figure as best he could: a tall man, long white hair spilling from beneath his hood. But the most terrifying thing about him wasn't his appearance — it was the aura. A demonic pressure so immense it crushed even Silver, forcing him to agree to the transfer without resistance.
At the time, Silver's realm had been on the brink of collapse from starvation — and the mysterious man's offer to send them to a world rich with life had seemed like salvation. Silver had accepted immediately.
What he didn't tell John, however, was how that demonicaura had made him feel something he hadn't felt in thousands of years — FEAR.
"It seems there's more behind these disasters than I thought," John started thinking silently.
This wasn't some random rift bringing monsters through by chance. It was a plan — an orchestrated movement, designed by someone… or organization… with intent to destroy this world.
"Well," John decided, "for now, I'll focus on the remaining disasters. When the time comes, I'll find out more about this person — and end him MYSELF."
All John had to go on were the fragments of information Silver had given him. But it was enough to light a fire in him — the start of a new hunt.
The "Heaven and Earth Seal" that had contained their battle had faded when both John and Silver lost consciousness, yet no one dared approach the area. To step near that place meant only one thing — death for humans or monsters.
Silver had immediately ordered his dragons to cease their attacks once he entered the contract with John — any aggression from his followers would count as a violation of the contract, which could cause him immense pain… or even kill him.
Meanwhile, the American awakeners — including William — had been shocked to see the dragons retreat mid-battle.
John's plan had been simple: defeat Silver, save the awakeners, and gather their help for the battles ahead. But he'd achieved something even greater — gaining Silver as an ally while minimizing casualties among the awakeners.
Now, he commanded both an army of humans and an army of dragons:
Dragons ranging from S-rank (Level 300) to A-rank (Level 100).
Human awakeners, ten of whom were S-rank — the strongest being William (Level 300) — with hundreds of A-ranks and thousands of lower-ranked fighters.
The real reason the awakeners had lost before wasn't weakness — it was Silver, Orowyn, and Zaglith.
John thought briefly of Orowyn and Zaglith and felt a twinge of regret. If only he could have tamed them as well… he would have gained two dragons even stronger than humanity's mightiest.
But the sorrow passed quickly. Killing them had been necessary — had he hesitated, he'd be dead. And besides, he'd already gained Silver, who surpassed them both by far.
"You all seem to be in good shape," John said, approaching William and the others once he'd finished dealing with Silver.
William's face lit up with relief — but also confusion. "Why did your level only go up by 150 after fighting Silver? Ah… I see. You probably couldn't finish him off. Don't be upset — as long as you're alive, there's still hope." William's tone was soft with pity.
"You're right," John replied with a small grin. "I didn't kill Silver… I made him my subordinate."
"Don't worry, we can still—wait, you what?" William froze, eyes wide with disbelief.
It wasn't new for awakeners to control monsters — but they typically relied on numbers, not on controlling something of immense power. The higher a creature's rank, the harder it was to subdue.
No one — in all recorded history — had ever tamed an S-rank beast. So the idea of controlling Silver, the King of Dragons, was beyond impossible.
Yet John had done exactly that.
"I'll explain everything that happened during my fight with Silver," John said, and began recounting every detail of their battle.
Not everyone approved of his decision to keep alive the creature responsible for so much destruction — but power speaks louder than morality. Silver's strength would be invaluable, especially now that he was bound to John.
When John finished telling the story, William finally understood why John's level hadn't skyrocketed — he'd only slain Orowyn and Zaglith, not Silver.
Still, doubt lingered in William's heart. Even after killing those two, John's level should have risen by at least four hundred. Orowyn had been level 450, and Zaglith 400.
The reason? John's cursed luck.
His negative luck stat reduced his experience gain, lowered his loot drop rate to zero, and even caused materials to deteriorate after battle.
Just like what had happened with Orowyn and Zaglith — their bodies had turned to ash after death, thanks to Silver.
John, however, didn't care much about his level. He had other priorities.
Now it was time to plan the next step of his journey. His goal remained the same — to save as many humans as possible, as fast as possible.
He divided his forces into three units:
The Human Awakeners, led by William.
The Dragon Army, led by Silver.
And John himself, operating alone.
"So," William asked, his tone steady but curious, "where will our next destination be?"