"A black dragon?"
Kurose Akira noticed the information that had popped up in his field of vision, a flicker of surprise flashing through his eyes.
He hadn't expected to run into that black dragon again here—the very same one he had once forcibly bound with a soul contract.
However…
Akira's brows slowly knit together, his expression turning grave.
What he really hadn't expected was this dragon's… peculiar hobby.
She actually liked rolling around in the swamp?!
Wait a second.
The ghostly wailing sounds the villagers had been hearing at night—Could those have been coming from this black dragon?
"Let's go down," Akira ordered Mare Rhine.
Mare Rhine lowered her gaze toward the swamp below. There were no rotting corpses, only thick, muddy wetlands—but even so, she had no intention of letting filth stain her dragon scales.
Especially after her rebirth, her scales—enhanced by the [Valkyrie] trait—had become as exquisite and flawless as finely forged armor. She cherished them far too much to tolerate such pollution.
As she descended, blazing white steam erupted from the gaps between her scales.
In an instant, the swamp beneath them evaporated under the scorching heat, the wetland rapidly drying into solid earth.
Once they landed, Mare Rhine immediately reverted to her human form.
At the same time, Akira's gaze locked onto the black dragon's position.
The muddy soil encasing her had already hardened as well, turning into dry earth that tightly wrapped around her massive body.
This abrupt environmental change violently interrupted Vernis's slumber.
She burst out of the ground in a rage, roaring furiously:
"Which blind bastard dares interrupt this princess's sleep?! I'll tear you to pieces and throw you into the Sea of Corrosion to feed the sharks!"
"Hmph."
Akira let out a soft snort, signaling her to look his way.
"Is it you? You filthy human whose brain is full of big—"
Vernis was just about to unleash a stream of beautiful hometown profanity when her eyes landed on Akira.
Her words died in her throat.
And when she noticed Mare Rhine standing behind him, her legs trembled slightly as a flood of complicated emotions surged through her.
Huh?!
Why is it these two?!
Don't tell me this human tracked me here through the soul contract?!
Damn it! My good life is over!
Wait—Wasn't that red one dead already?!
Why is she standing here perfectly alive?!
Did she… crawl out of her grave?!
And why is she together with this human?!
Wuwuwu~My glorious dragon life is about to be stolen by a despicable human~!
After an intense storm of inner turmoil, Vernis snapped into survival mode.
Her attitude flipped instantly.
She plastered on a humble, ingratiating smile and bowed deeply.
"So it was you, my most handsome, bravest, and invincible master! May I ask what glorious task you require of your loyal servant?"
The sheer speed of her transformation made Akira pause slightly. He hadn't expected Vernis to adapt—and accept her new status—so quickly.
But what caught his attention more was what she'd said earlier.
A princess?So she was royalty among the black dragons?
"It's nothing," Akira replied calmly. "Just passing by."
Vernis froze.
She had never imagined that he had discovered her purely by coincidence.
"T-then what a fateful encounter~ heehee~" she forced out a smile, all while cursing the Goddess of Fate in her heart.
Meanwhile, Akira carefully observed her.
The pitch-black dragon, though previously caked in mud, still had scales gleaming with luster—faintly reflecting a dark golden sheen beneath the surface.
After a moment, Akira asked,"There's been a lot of noise coming from the swamp lately. It's been disturbing the nearby village. Was that you?"
"Noise?" Vernis shook her head vigorously. "I didn't make any weird sounds!"
Then she ground her teeth in irritation.
"I know! It must be that thing deeper in the swamp! Making such a racket every night—and now they want me to take the blame?! How infuriating!"
Akira frowned slightly. "You're saying there's something else in the swamp?"
"A snake-man," Vernis explained. "They say he carries Medusa's bloodline. Though no matter how noble that blood is, he's still just a snake—utterly insignificant compared to us exalted dragons~"
"Medusa?"
The moment that name left Vernis's mouth, Mare Rhine's expression subtly changed.
Akira noticed it immediately.
He had never seen such a look on her face.
This was the dragon of destruction—someone who hadn't even flinched when facing the Life Dragon that once defeated her.
And yet, just hearing the name Medusa caused her to react like this…
"What's wrong?" Akira asked quietly. "Is something off?"
Mare Rhine shook her head lightly. "It's nothing. Why would there be?"
Then she turned to Vernis, her tone suddenly stern.
"Medusa… is that one still in this world?"
"Huh?" Vernis blinked. "Medusa's a person?"
She had always thought Medusa referred to some kind of race or bloodline. The idea that it was a specific individual had never crossed her mind.
"What an idiot," Mare Rhine muttered, frowning at Vernis's reaction and seriously questioning her intelligence.
Faced with the insult, Vernis could only poke her fingers together pitifully, adopting a weak and helpless posture.
How could she dare resist?!
Ever since being educated by Mare Rhine last time, she had learned exactly how insignificant she truly was!
"If you mean the Medusa Queen," Lucía spoke up at that moment, "she left the Magic Continent thousands of years ago."
"She left?"
The instant Mare Rhine heard that, the fear gripping her heart vanished like clouds blown away by the wind.
She never wanted to encounter the Medusa Queen again.
Recalling the years she'd spent petrified—enduring an existence worse than death—made her shudder. That torment had been far crueler than dying outright.
At least after becoming a soul, she could fall into slumber, and centuries would pass in the blink of an eye.
But while petrified, she could only watch the world change around her, powerless, her heart drowning in despair.
"Mm."Lucía nodded gently and continued,"It's said she was favored by a certain god and was guided to the divine realm, becoming one of the gods herself. But which god it was—history never recorded."
"I see," Akira murmured, nodding thoughtfully as he listened.
"But~"Lucía's tone shifted slightly."There are also rumors that the Medusa Queen once returned from the divine realm to the Magic Continent. As for why—that remains a mystery. Whether it's true or not… no one knows."