One month after Van's departure.
"So," Van muttered, standing before the Dragon King's throne; high atop the mountain.
The Mountain of Dragons. A kingdom forged not by bloodline, but by brute supremacy. Every dragon here was the size of a fortress, imbued with overwhelming magic and strength not of this world. This realm belonged to the strongest—ruled by a king not born, but crowned through domination. And this Dragon King... was said to stand equal in might to the Demon Lord herself.
To uphold his reign, the king surrounded himself with the fiercest warriors his kingdom could offer.
All of whom now lay broken at Van's feet.
Arms folded, Van stood before the towering sovereign, unfazed by the sheer scale of the draconic colossus.
"Feel like talking now?" Van asked coolly. "Or are you still gonna bark at me?"
❗ "Speak thy purpose, Van Hellix," the Dragon King growled, his voice rumbling like a landslide across the mountain. "Why dost thou tread upon this sacred peak, laying low mine kin?"
"Don't worry. They're still alive." Van sighed.
❗"What..!?"
"My hands are bloodied as of late," he murmured. "I've killed far too many. Let emotion guide me more times than I'd like to admit. What I came to discuss more than anything—"
❗ "Thou DAREST mock us?!" the Dragon King thundered, his wings flaring wide with wrath.
Van didn't flinch.
"How is that a mockery?"
❗ "Hmph! Thou comest here—ignorant, impudent—speaking the tongue of weakness! 'Too many slain'? Bah! 'Tis a badge of glory! To kill, and still draw breath, is the highest mark of worth! Your predecessors too acknowledged this, and now stand at the top!"
Van snorted.
"You seem really furious about me sparing you. I thought you dragons are all about wisdom and patience. What's with the outburst, Dragon King?"
The Dragon King's glowing eyes narrowed, his immense form looming like a living mountain. From the tip of his claw to the peak of his horns, he dwarfed Van a thousandfold.
Van glanced up, raising a brow.
'Roughly... a hundred times Liliac's size. How the hell can he even hear me from up there?'
[LILIAC = Alicia's bone dragon]
❗"Thou mistaketh fury for folly," the Dragon King rumbled, his voice echoing like thunder down the crags. "We are patient, aye. We are eternal—and with eternity, comes wisdom. Such truths are earned only through eons of war, fire, and bloodshed."
He raised his head proudly.
❗"The more one slays, the greater their renown. Strength is truth. To kill and to endure; these are the very currencies of our world. Surely, one such as thee hath come to see this? That both this realm and the other races comprehend power through dominance—power through power."
Van looked down, his eyes drifting to his open palm, recalling how the guards back in Varolon had fallen silent the moment he proved he could hurt them more than they could hurt him.
'He's not wrong...'
'...I came here to kill him, after all,' he thought, detached. 'And it's thanks to my strength that I can finally bring peace to Varolon... No; scratch that. To myself. It was strength that got me Alicia. Not something vague like empathy. Empathy came later...'
YOU ARE READING
Betrayed, I Met The Demon Lord
FantasíaVan and his friend Magus had reincarnated in another world with magic. Tasked to kill the demon lord, they set forth. Van was granted very rough skills that made life for him in that world a living hell, yet he muscled through. Magus however, was be...
