C228 - Power of the Dark Dragon (1)
The First Magic Tower of the Zipple Clan.
Lately, Keliac spent most of his time on the top floor of this tower, often called the Tower of Tales.
"Murakan, huh? We wanted to find Misha, but instead, we stumbled upon a much bigger fish," Keliac spoke, tapping his crystal ball with his fingertip.
Kadun sat across from him in his human form, frowning deeply.
"What good does it do? Damn it. How could I lose it right before my own eyes? It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
"It's been a while since I've seen you so upset."
"I'm not just upset. I can hardly forgive myself. Heavens, if I had captured Murakan, I could have also summoned his Contractor."
The Contractor of Solderet: The most crucial ingredient for the Demon God Stone's restoration by the Zipple Clan.
Keliac and the leaders of Zipple began to notice the possible activity of a Solderet Contractor in the year 1795.
This was before Jin met Andrei Zipple. It was the same year Jin started his life as a Reserve Flagbearer.
At that time, Kadun was informed by the Earth Dragons from Vermont, Rabus and Untielle, that they had encountered Murakan.
But even after hearing the news, Keliac and Kadun assumed that if a Dragon had killed Andrei Zipple and Biuretta, it was most likely Misha.
Whether Murakan had awakened from his slumber or not, they decided that it was impossible for him to face Andrei and Biuretta with his weakened powers.
"Well, that's true. But at least it shows that the Vermont Earth Dragons weren't making up nonsense. We can take our time to find better opportunities. You told me he didn't have any of his old powers anyway, right?"
His old powers.
Obviously, Keliac had no firsthand experience of Murakan's old powers. He had only been informed by the testimonies of other Dragons and records.
On the other hand, Kadun was well acquainted with Murakan's terrifying powers back then.
"Who knows? He might regain them."
"Is it possible to restore a Dragon's heart? Without the Demon God Stone?"
"I haven't seen any such cases, but Dark Dragons are very different from most Dragons. It's highly likely that he was lingering around Santelle to regain his former strength."
Keliac's eyes gleamed with intrigue.
Whether it was truly possible to restore a Dragon's heart or not, the fact that Kadun reacted this way intrigued him.
"If you say so, it just makes me want to fight Murakan at his best. Maybe it's not so bad if he reappears with all his strength."
"Don't entertain such horrible ideas."
"Anyway, I'm more concerned about the Holy King. We used the Creed Guardians Society without discussing it with him, so he'll probably come to complain soon. That guy is so tiresome, and more so with each passing day. He's rigid and hates me passionately. Hm, what to do." Keliac brought his hand to his forehead and shook his body.
Then he exaggeratedly displayed his worry and formed a big smile.
"Should I just kill him? Anyway, that guy is already quite old. When he dies, he's more likely to go to heaven than hell, so it's not such a bad deal for Miklan either."
Kadun shook his head at Keliac's conclusion. "Damn, you crazy bastard."
"Haha, is that too much?"
------------------
Jin's group escaped from Santelle without much trouble, thanks to Lani's help.
In the process, they faced about six Holy Knights from the Creed Guardians and also had to endure a chase while escaping the city.
But the group had no major issues in eluding them and made it to the portal of the Feudal States of Shol before circulation in the area was restricted.
All they had to do now was make some false detours to prevent the Creed Guardians from tracing them to Tikan. Their initial objective would now be completed.
But Jin and his companions couldn't be happy.
Murakan let out a small cry of pain in Jin's arms.
His small body was as hot as a flame. Despite his feline form, he still retained the damage inflicted by Kadun.
Unlike his usual transformations, Murakan's current form had nothing to do with his own will. After suffering a critical injury, he had unconsciously transformed into the most advantageous state for his survival.
Such forced transformation was a rare phenomenon observed only in particularly strong dragons.
"Although he lost his old powers, I'm glad he still has those defense mechanisms."
The fact that he escaped Kadun's capture and survived was more than enough for them to feel grateful.
"Of course, the problem is that he's currently reduced to nothing more than an ordinary cat. Jin, you'll have to give him more water. His temperature seems to be slowly decreasing, just as Lani said."
There were a few critical limitations that dragons faced when turning into any creature other than a human, and the most severe limitation of all was the one Murakhan was facing at that moment.
If they missed the valid return period, the Dragon would never be able to return to its true form on its own.
Regardless of what he had transformed into, the Dragon would be reduced to the identity of that creature and slowly lose his own identity as a dragon.
Jin scooped up some water in his hands, which Murakan lapped up with his tongue.
For now, they had no way of returning Murakan to his true form.
It was due to the peculiarity of Dark Dragons. Any other Dragon that wasn't dark could receive help from any other Dragon to return to their original state.
But Dark Dragons could only be helped by other Dark Dragons.
And with only two active Dark Dragons at that moment, the group had only one thing left to do: find Misha, Murakan's sister, whom they had originally set out to locate.
"I think I've never resented being a Dark Dragon as much as I do today. Once we return, we'll check Murakan's planned routes again and immediately resume our search in those places."
"Don't worry too much, Lord Jin. Since he's alive, I'm sure we'll find a solution soon."
"I didn't expect you to be capable of saying such things, Kuzan."
"As Kuzan said, he's still alive, and we also know how to return him to his form, so let's go back for now."
The group took a detour until the next morning and returned to Tikan.
They wanted to return as soon as possible due to Murakan's condition, but leaving a trail could invite many more problems than the Holy Knights from the Guardians Society. It could very well lead Kadun and the Zipple sorcerers directly to Tikan.
Fortunately, Murakan's temperature dropped during the night, although he still continued with his weak cries.
"My Lord, he's back! It seems that the demonic creature from Santelle was Murakan after all. But Murakan doesn't seem to be doing well. Was he hit by that Fire Dragon?"
"Tell everyone to gather in the office. Also, gather all the Healers in the mansion who are adept with animals."
"Animals, my Lord?"
"Hurry."
"Understood, sir. I'll gather the Healers immediately! But milord, it will take the others some time to reach the office right now. In fact, I think it would be better if you go to the reception yourself, milord."
"Why? Is something wrong?"
Jet nodded his head.
Then he looked around as if he didn't want anyone to hear him and whispered.
"So, about that. You know, Murakan's sister, right? I mean, this lady Misha..."
"Do you have any news about Misha?"
"What's going on with Misha?"
Jin and Quikantel stepped forward to ask. Jet almost jumped in surprise.
"Oh, don't even mention her! She's a bully through and through. I can assure you she's Murakan's sister. She suddenly barged into the Mansion about five minutes ago, but she started hitting people as soon as she arrived, and..."
"What?" Jin and Quikantel looked at each other in response.
"I think Beris was the first one to find out. Beris said she used some trick to suddenly appear in the Mansion's reception hall. Then Beris supposedly asked her in surprise, 'who the hell do you think you are, you thieving bitch?' And after saying that..."
"Did anything happen to Veris?" This time, Kuzan pushed his face towards Jet.
"Oh, wow. This is trouble. I think that guy's jaw is going to dislocate too."
Jin and Quikantel snapped out of their astonishment and started running towards the reception as well.
"Whoa, milord. Let me come with you. Be careful."
Why was Misha here, and how did she get here? And the violence? Was she hostile towards their companions in Tikan?
Would she be able to restore Murakan to his original state? What should he do if she said she couldn't, or worse, that she wouldn't?
All kinds of questions swirled in Jin's mind as he ran down the hallway.
What Jin and Quikantel found a moment later was Kuzan, but completely sprawled on the floor like wet laundry. His body trembled with spasms.
Beyond him, a rather peculiar scene unfolded.
The first person that caught their gaze was a woman with black hair and sharp eyes who returned to the table and sat cross-legged after dislocating Kuzan's jaw.
It was Misha.
"Look, it's the elder brother Jin!"
"Lord Jin, she's here, haha."
Surprisingly, Euria was in Misha's arms. Beside her was Latrie, serving tea and cookies on a plate. Latrie's hand trembled wildly as she held the plate.
Kashimir, Yulian, Enya, and even Gilly were sitting at the table. Alisa wasn't in the mansion as she was fulfilling her defense guard duties.
Kashimir had a courteous business smile. Yulian didn't seem phased, but his hands trembled as much as Latrie's.
Enya fared a little better, but she seemed quite shaken after seeing two people immediately fall unconscious. Only Gilly was calm enough to serve cookies on Misha's plate.
Jin and Quikantel were briefly taken aback by the scene.
What's going on here? This is madness. Oh, but wait. That lady was Misha?
He had seen her before.
It was right after overcoming Temar's strength in the form of the third mirage of the great desert of Mitra.
Jin quickly snapped back to his senses.
He didn't know why Misha had caused so much trouble upon her arrival, but nothing good ever came from panicking.
"I thought I had never seen you before, but it turns out I was mistaken. Dear great dragon, Lady Misha. I am Jin Runcandel."
Misha nodded with a plain face.
"Yes, but since we never got to converse in the great desert, this is practically the first time we've met. I'm glad to see you, Thousand-Year Contractor. Is that stupid brother of mine the one you're holding?"
"That's right. In fact, we were hoping to find you for Murakan's sake. As you can see..."
"I don't want to look at that thing, so put it somewhere else. First, sit down here. I don't want to waste time."
Jet was smart enough to take Murakan off his hands and take him to the Healers.
"Quikantel, how have you been?"
"I've been well, Misha. You should have told us you were coming."
"You've become prettier since the last time I saw you. You'd be wasted on that brother of mine, so I hope you forget about that idiot as soon as you can."
Quikantel pretended to cough as if she were embarrassed and waved her hand.
"Don't embarrass me like that. You just arrived. But Misha, most importantly, his condition is quite bad."
"I know. He must have been hit by Kadun. I'll heal him later. Why don't you tell me how you've been lately? It's been a while since I was in human societies. I could use some stories."
Tags:
SYS (Novel)