"Not impressive."
The dragon hovered high in the air, looking coldly down at the tiny figure below. His deep voice rumbled with disdain.
"But you won't be leaving today."
With that, he dove down, clearly unwilling to waste another word.
Despite his massive size, his movements were terrifyingly agile. In an instant, he appeared before Nikki, and his enormous claws closed around her like an iron cage.
What's happening?!
Nikki's heart pounded with horror. The dragon wasn't attacking her projected illusion—he had gone straight for her real body!
A chill of unprecedented fear rose within her chest.
This guy… he's far beyond the King rank. He's…
A Saint.
Transcendent Rank 7 — the Saint Realm — was the absolute limit a mortal could reach. In the entire world, those known to have attained that realm could be counted on two hands.
And yet, there was one standing here — on a forsaken border wall.
It was as absurd as using an anti-aircraft cannon to kill a mosquito.
"The Saints are forbidden from intervening in mortal wars!" Nikki shouted, terror and panic twisting her words into a desperate bluff. "Would you dare violate the Oath?"
"Hmph. And the Oath also forbids Fifth-Tier beings from waging war on the ground," the dragon sneered. "I don't recall seeing you obey that rule."
He clenched his claws tighter, ready to crush her into pulp. In his long life, he had seen countless arrogant little witches — each one thinking herself the heroine of destiny — yet they were all pitifully weak.
Except for her — that insane one fifty years ago, who had blinded him with nothing but the aftermath of her power. Aside from her, he feared no witch.
"Worms should know their place," he growled. "Be grateful I'll grant you a swift death. I am Augustus — Vice Captain of the Dragon Knights of the Holy Inquisition Alliance."
But then—
Augustus froze.
A familiar, dreadful aura suddenly reached his senses — one far more ancient and terrifying than even that witch from fifty years ago.
He had felt it once, long ago, when he was still a young wyrmling — an aura so fearsome it was seared into his memory forever.
Without thinking, he released Nikki. She plummeted to the ground, gasping for air.
She didn't notice the faint glow emanating from a rectangular object tucked in the pocket of her fur skirt.
"Damn it…" Augustus muttered. "You're one of his chosen."
His vast, amber eyes narrowed sharply as he caught sight of the object's shape.
He instantly pulled back, creating distance between them, and for a moment, even considered fleeing outright.
But he forced himself to calm down, rising back into the air and glaring down at Nikki once more.
"Worm," he said coldly, "you should be grateful for your patron. I'll spare you this time.
Remember this — no King-ranked being is allowed to cross the Wall of Despair at Godien. Should you dare break the Oath, I'll personally reduce your Aira Court to ashes.
Now… begone."
With a thunderous roar, Augustus unleashed a shockwave so powerful it blasted Nikki off the wall and sent her flying into the distance.
Then, turning his burning gaze upon the horde of beastmen below, he let out a low snort.
At once, thousands of them erupted into flames, turning into blazing torches of flesh.
"Hm?"
Augustus frowned. He had sensed one among the swarm who somehow survived his attack. When he tried to pinpoint that presence again, it had already vanished.
"Interesting."
He muttered the word but didn't pursue. Whatever it was, it was insignificant — the kind of insect he could squash at will. Not worth his time.
Meanwhile, far from the battlefield — beneath a dead tree at the edge of the Bloodstained Plains — Bug Girl slowly reappeared, breathing heavily.
Her eyes flicked back toward the Watcher's Wall with thinly veiled unease.
"A Dragon Knight… here?" she whispered. "Why would one of them be stationed in the Three Empires' borderlands instead of guarding the Holy See? Unless… something's happened at the Sanctum."
She sighed, shaking her head. There was no point thinking about it.
For small people like her, there were things better left unknown.
Then her gaze caught a flicker of movement — Nikki's battered body tumbling down from the sky.
A strange light glinted in Bug Girl's eyes. For a moment, her normally emotionless face curved into an almost ecstatic smile — as though struck by some thrilling idea.
But the smile vanished as quickly as it came. By the time she rose into the air and flew toward Nikki, her face had already returned to its usual cold, expressionless mask.
Heim City Walls
Hel stood frozen, staring at the massive figure streaking across the sky. For half a minute, she couldn't even move.
Finally, she turned to Lily beside her, her voice trembling slightly.
"Was that… a dragon?"
"Yes, Young Master," Lily replied, equally astonished. Though she recovered quicker — she had once seen a dragon before, briefly, in her younger years.
Hel, on the other hand, was a transmigrator. This was her first time seeing such a legendary creature. And no matter how calm she tried to stay, her heart was pounding wildly.
Then again… in a world where magic existed, maybe dragons weren't so strange after all.
Still—
A dragon appearing in a remote backwater like Heim Territory?
That was like dropping a final boss into a beginner's village.
"Good thing I'm not some arrow-happy adventurer," Hel muttered under her breath. "Otherwise, I'd have already put one right in his knee."
Lily blinked, not understanding a word, though with Viviane present, she refrained from asking.
"Anyway," Hel sighed, pulling herself together. "Dragons are way above our pay grade. Not something we should worry about.
The fires below are dying out. Lily, have the men gather and bury the corpses. If a plague breaks out, we'll be in real trouble."
Then she paused—her eyes narrowing with sudden inspiration.
"Wait. A plague…"
An idea — dark and cunning — flickered to life in her mind.
"Here's what we'll do," she said slowly. "Move all the bodies outside the city walls. Stack them near the riverbank."
She pointed toward a small stream that flowed from Mount Black and connected to the city's moat. The spring water flowed past Heim, then drained into that same river.
"Young Master, what are you planning?" Lily asked cautiously.
"Nothing much," Hel replied, lips curling into a sly smile. "Just a little experiment… or, you could say, a contingency plan."