"…After successfully hunting Kamish, two national-level Hunters have settled in the M Nation."
David's voice carried a hint of pride, but soon that pride turned into complex melancholy.
"Yet, the script of fate is always so ridiculous. Among the five Hunters who survived back then, not a single one was a magic-type Hunter."
"Therefore, this Runestone, bearing the authority of the great dragon, could only be sealed here, quietly… awaiting the arrival of its true master who could awaken it."
David gently stroked the thick transparent glass with his hand, looking at the Runestone inside, which emitted an ominous red glow, his eyes filled with reluctance.
This was undoubtedly the most precious magic artifact existing in the world, bar none!
Its value had long surpassed the realm of money; it was a forbidden miracle that could not be touched no matter the cost!
But now, this sacred relic, which embodied countless sacrifices and glories, was about to be taken away so casually by an outsider… no, by a Demon Lord who reigned over the world…
"Now, it belongs to you, Hunter Rhode."
Before he finished speaking—
Rhode was too lazy to wait for David to unlock it and unhesitatingly punched through the reinforced glass in front of him.
Ignoring the twitching corner of David's mouth, he calmly reached out and precisely grasped the Runestone amidst the countless scattered fragments.
Then, he decisively clenched his five fingers.
Crack—
[Congratulations! You have obtained the skill: Dragon's Fear!]
[Effect: Unleashes a soul roar powerful enough to plunge all things into eternal despair. All living beings within range (regardless of friend or foe) will be forcibly dragged into an abyss of "paralysis" and "fear"!]
This was an incredibly powerful skill, containing terrifying power, but also with very obvious drawbacks.
However…
Rhode's lips curved into a playful arc.
[Authority: Perfect Synchronization, activated!]
[The "483" effect of Dragon's Fear has been changed to: You will gain perfect dominion and can freely select targets to be forcibly controlled by the roar.]
"Very good."
Rhode clapped the stone dust from his hands, as if he had done something insignificant.
"Take me to Kamish's corpse."
[Basement Twenty-Four, Dragon Corpse Storage]
Fully armed soldiers, who had been waiting there, saluted Rhode and David with a standard military salute, their eyes a mix of curiosity and reverence.
They then opened the thick, suffocating special alloy door for the two.
The moment the door opened, a chilling draft brushed against their faces.
Rhode narrowed his eyes slightly.
No, this wasn't cold air… but air mixed with faint magic power.
It had been dead for a full eight years, yet the dissipated magic power could still reach such a dense level.
As expected, it was one of the strongest dragons in the former Dragon Legion.
Passing through a long, brightly lit corridor, the two finally stopped before a vast, empty space as large as an underground cavern.
"This is it."
David's voice trembled slightly.
The sight before them was enough to make any human facing it feel the most primal sense of insignificance and fear from the bottom of their hearts.
It was a gigantic red Western Dragon, indescribable in words!
It had five hideous gray horns, huge eyes that glowed with a faint yellow light, a light brown abdomen, and a long, whip-like red tail!
"Actually, all the electricity used in our Hunter Management Bureau building comes from Kamish's magic crystal."
David added, then discreetly stepped back, giving up all the space.
He knew that no matter what Rhode wanted to do next, he couldn't stop him, so he might as well be generous.
Rhode's gaze swept over the entire dragon. Under magic observation, he discovered it was a female dragon, which deepened the smile on his lips.
He slowly raised his head and said faintly to the massive corpse emanating a dense aura of death.
"Stand up."
Sizzle—!
The moment his words fell, dozens of high-intensity spotlights hanging overhead began to flicker madly!
A bone-chilling gust of wind also swept in from somewhere unknown!
Roar ah ah ah—!!!
An unidentifiable dragon's lament, as if exploding directly in the depths of the soul, pierced through the entire underground facility!
All the staff and soldiers present instantly clutched their ears in pain, letting out agonizing screams, with blood even seeping from their ears!
Rhode, however, remained expressionless. In his dark pupils, the shadow of Kamish, rapidly spreading across the ground, was reflected.
Within the ink-black shadow, something was slowly rising.
The colossal silhouette, enveloped in dense black steam, obscuring the sky and sun, was undoubtedly the image of a giant dragon!
"W-W-What the hell is that?!"
All the staff screamed in terror, scrambling backward!
Even David, who had been standing by the side, wildly speculating about Rhode's thoughts, held his breath at that instant!
The Shadow Dragon, after fully forming, noticed Rhode standing before it, and its soul-shaking roar abruptly ceased.
"Is it you who awakened me from eternal slumber… the King of the Undead, the Shadow Monarch?"
Only the Shadow Monarch could pull souls that had fallen into the abyss of death back into the living world.
The Dragon recognized Rhode's true identity at a glance.
The King of the Undead, in human form, was staring at it with a gaze so majestic that its very soul trembled.
That absolute authority, belonging to a monarch, stemming from the deepest part of its soul, caused the Dragon to instinctively shiver.
But this was only temporary.
The Dragon's gaze slowly moved past Rhode's shoulder and shifted backward.
Then, those humans, mouths agape, looking at it with foolishly terrified expressions, came into its view.
Humans… humans?!
The Dragon instantly recalled the endless malice and hatred it had harbored towards these insignificant beings before it drew its last breath!
Immediately after, the pain of being ambushed by those humans with despicable methods and ultimately having its throat cut, also surged forth like a tide in that instant!
I must kill all these humans!
Snap.
The string of rationality completely broke.
The Dragon, straightening its body, had a monstrous bloodlust in its eyes!
"Kill… kill them all!!!"
The air inside the vault seemed to ignite in that instant, beginning to boil violently!
"My God…"
Director David let out a desperate cry.
This massive space, specially constructed to house Kamish's corpse, seemed so small the moment the Dragon rose.
With a "boom,"
Its head violently slammed into the ceiling, shattering the several-meter-thick reinforced concrete with a single blow!
Debris rained down like pebbles!
"Wh-what?!"
"No way…?"
Amidst the exclamations of the crowd, a crimson light, growing brighter and brighter, was rapidly condensing at a visible speed within Kamish's abyss-like maw!
The Hunter Management Bureau staff had countless meetings to review the battle records after the Kamish battle, so they recognized this move immediately.
"That's… that's Kamish's Breath!!!"
One of the administrators' faces instantly turned ashen, and his legs gave out, causing him to collapse onto the ground!
The other two frantically pressed the door lock's password, desperate to escape this death trap!
And David, knowing all these actions were futile, merely looked between Rhode and Kamish, utterly distraught, his eyes filled with despair.
The red light formed by magic finally transformed into a sphere, like a miniature sun, radiating destructive power!
Just as that super-heated Dragon Breath, capable of melting everything in the world, was about to erupt—
"Stop."
Rhode's calm, almost indifferent voice, echoed clearly throughout the entire space.
The Director and his group reflexively raised their arms to shield their eyes from the blinding light.
When the destructive light completely enveloped the entire interior space, everyone thought their death was imminent.
But the anticipated death did not arrive.
They slowly, tremblingly, lowered their hands from their eyes.
Then, they saw… a scene they would never comprehend in this life, like a miracle descending.
"How… how is this possible…"
Even though the Dragon's body was still emanating immense fury and killing intent.
Yet, the destructive fire in its mouth was rapidly extinguishing at a visible speed.
The strongest "Calamity" in human history—the Dragon Kamish—whose single breath had evaporated the lives of over a hundred of the most elite Hunters, had stopped its attack solely because of that man's single word?!
David, still shaken, fixed his gaze on Rhode.
And what happened next made him feel as if his worldview was being repeatedly trampled!
Rhode looked at the Dragon and slowly spoke to it:
"The magic stone embedded in your mind has long been removed. You no longer need to obey the commands of those Rulers."
The words that came out of Rhode's mouth were not any known human language, but the language of beasts.
This was a skill Rhode automatically acquired after gaining the power of the Shadow Monarch.
The fiercely standing Dragon, hearing this, its massive body suddenly trembled!
The bloody light in its eyes rapidly faded.
Then, it slowly lowered its proud head, obediently bringing its enormous head close to Rhode, showing him the highest respect and… obedience, in an almost reverent posture.
The Dragon, with its nose to the ground, whispered.
"Your humble servant greets the new Monarch."
Rhode, in a pleasant mood, reached out his hand and placed it on her mountain-sized nose.
The Dragon comfortably closed her eyes, enjoying her Lord's caress, and a "purring" sound emanated from her throat.
Her huge tail, made of shadows, even wagged gently behind her, like a playful puppy.
An indescribable feeling of comfort and happiness flowed from her nose to the depths of her soul.
"Is surrendering to the Shadow Monarch so blissful…?"
Normally, the higher the existence, the stronger its ego.
Even the Dragon itself was surprised that it so obediently followed the new monarch's command.
David and the trembling administrators in the corner of the wall, seeing Kamish so unbelievably docile and obedient, rubbed their eyes in shock, unable to believe the reality before them.
"That Kamish… is actually wagging its tail at Hunter Rhode?"
"The worst disaster in human history, resurrected and becoming a subordinate of a foreign Hunter, hehe, hahaha, how could I be having such a dream."
Rhode felt the surging power within Kamish and showed a satisfied smile.
"How do you feel now?"
Kamish gently nudged Rhode's hand with her nose, as if being affectionate.
"I feel great, My King, I can become even stronger!"
In the original story, Kamish did not successfully become a Shadow Soldier due to being dead for too long… but now, he succeeded.
"Very good. You go wait in my shadow for now."
"As you command, My King."
The enormous Shadow Dragon transformed into a stream of light, instantly diving into Rhode's shadow and disappearing.
Rhode looked at the massive Dragon's remains before him, and with a casual wave of his hand, the entire mountain-like corpse vanished into thin air, absorbed into his Kamui Space.
Kamish's body was already an overly overpowered material for this world.
In the past, there was an outstanding craftsman who, after making Kamish's Rage from her only drop, a tooth, passed away due to old age.
There are no Awakened in the present world who can fashion accessories dropped from the Dragon into weapons.
But the Danmachi World has the most excellent craftsmen.
Later, he could have Tsubaki forge them into weapons for the girls, and Kamish wouldn't mind anyway.
Kamish in the shadow: "...."
David watched helplessly as Rhode took everything, including the U.S.'s national treasure, feeling a painful ache in his heart, yet still forcing a smile that was uglier than crying.
"Hunter Rhode, do you need anything else?"
At this moment, he had a sense of déjà vu, like expending America's resources to please Rhode.
Rhode was about to leave, but hearing this, he suddenly stopped.
"Hmm, now that you mention it, there is one thing."
The smile on David's face instantly froze.
He wished he could travel back three seconds and slap himself hard.
"Don't look at me with such a resentful gaze."
Rhode was quite satisfied with his sensible attitude.
"You still have a National Power-level Hunter named Christopher Reed, right?"
David heard this, was startled, his legs went weak, and he almost knelt before Rhode on the spot, his face crestfallen.
"He… he offended you too?!"
Rhode casually tossed a small stone to David, who fumbled to catch it, holding it carefully in his palm as if it were a sacred relic.
"As long as he's obedient, he won't offend me."
"Tell him for me to always wear this, and if he encounters a critical situation, immediately crush it and call for my help."
David was stunned, his gaze towards Rhode becoming incredibly complex.
He had thought this person was a dictator even more brutal than Thomas, but he didn't expect… he actually had such a righteous and kind side?
"But… will Reed be in danger?"
Rhode's eyes deepened, and he spoke faintly.
"This matter is troublesome to explain. Just have him follow my instructions. If he doesn't listen…"
Rhode's tone suddenly turned cold.
"I'll go there now and kill him myself."
David's eyelids twitched wildly, instantly overturning his naive thought from just now.
Righteous and kind?
This guy was clearly the most dangerous tyrant demon king in this world!
Damn it, which idiot said all Asians were gentle, compliant, and easy to talk to?!
Christopher Reed's temper was actually just as volatile and arrogant; the only difference from Thomas was probably his lone wolf personality.
"I promise! I promise he'll be obedient!"
But David still made a guarantee to Rhode with an incredibly confident tone.
He simply didn't believe that even the most stubborn person, after personally seeing the video of Thomas being easily crushed like a chick, could still remain arrogant.
Rhode nodded in satisfaction and turned to walk towards the exit.
Aside from the Ancestor King, who would inevitably appear in Japan for the first time, a total of three Monarchs would sense the location of the Fragment of Brilliance and collectively ambush Christopher Reed.
This was also why Rhode did not immediately seal the opponent and retain the Fragment of Brilliance.
As long as the timing was right, he could kill four birds with one stone!
After walking out of the Hunter Management Bureau, Rhode could see David's hesitant expression, but had no intention of responding.
"I've given you my contact information, but unless it's an emergency, it's best not to disturb me, understood?"
"Y-yes!"