Black Dragon Attack

Aleric, as the capital of the Sacred Empire, carried infinite prosperity and glory in its name. However, the streets that should have been bustling with traffic were now deserted. All thirteen million residents of the capital were hiding in their homes with their doors and windows shut. The cause of all this was a giant creature in the sky, continuously crashing into the magic array.

With a length of about thirty meters from head to tail, it possessed immense power. Each flap of its wings sent out a strong gust of wind, propelling its massive body to crash into the magic array. Such a physique and appearance undoubtedly belonged to the apex predator of the Sacred Continent's food chain: the Dragon race. It roared incessantly, its golden, linear pupils filled with rage, as if vowing to destroy the protective formation of the nation.

"Why is this happening! You, tell me why the Black Dragon is attacking the capital! Who provoked the Dragon race!"

Within the opulent palace, Kaiske XIII angrily smashed his favorite White Stone Cup. He violently grabbed a Marquis from the group of his subordinates in the great hall and questioned him.

"N-no, I don't know... Your Majesty, please rest assured, even the Dragon race cannot destroy the magic array meticulously crafted by countless mages."

The poor Marquis had no idea what had driven the Dragon race mad. He could only soften his tone to comfort the annoyed Emperor.

"I know, but that's a Black Dragon. Surely you know what a Black Dragon signifies, right?"

Kaiske XIII took several deep breaths to calm himself. He glanced regretfully at his impulsive victim before pulling his gaze away from the pile of shards. He surveyed the people below and asked. If it were just an ordinary Dragon, it wouldn't have made His Majesty the Emperor so angry. But a Black Dragon was different; it was a complete symbol of national destruction.

The Black Dragon's notorious reputation was second only to that of the Poison Dragon. Every resident of the Sacred Continent knew the legend of the Black Madman. Hundreds of years ago, when the Sacred Empire wasn't even an empire yet, there was already a powerful empire on the continent. However, no one expected that empire to be destroyed overnight, and the cause was merely a single Black Dragon.

As for the reason for the Black Dragon's destruction of the empire, people learned it from those who narrowly escaped death. And those who knew the reason could only sigh immensely.

On a certain sunny morning, the empire's magic corps was pursuing an Elemental Spirit. Everyone knew what a treasure an Elemental Spirit was. However, the problem arose during the pursuit. Perhaps out of frustration, some foolish mage unleashed a wide-range magic spell at the Elemental Spirit, hitting the cliff face. Rocks fell, striking a sleeping Black Dragon below.

After that, this Black Dragon, with bloodshot eyes, tore apart half of that empire. Black Dragons were already the most powerful warriors among the Dragon race. Their tough skin could completely immunize them against magic below level eight. Only mages of the Saint of Magic level could contend with it, but even they could only barely injure it, not kill it. It was precisely that battle that made humans, who believed they ruled the continent, realize who was the king at the top of the food chain.

In the ruined palace, the emperor of a certain empire calmly looked at the Black Dragon before him, inquiring about the mastermind. At this point, all he wanted to know was who could command a Dragon to target him.

"Sorry, I was groggy."

The Black Dragon, covered in blood, looked at the hellish scene around it, yawned unconscionably, and slowly flew away. The Emperor, upon hearing this, couldn't catch his breath and died in the ruined palace. Of course, politics had no mercy. The severely weakened empire was divided among various countries. From then on, the Black Dragon was given a friendly nickname by later generations: the Black Madman.

Finally, according to a story sung by a certain bard, the Black Madman's true identity was the Black Dragon King, an existence on par with an Archmage. As for why it was sleeping there that day, only God knew.

While Kaiske XIII was throwing a tantrum, His Holiness the Pope had personally gone to maintain the magic array. He floated in mid-air, looking at the Black Dragon's bleeding body from the constant impacts, very confused. Why would it attack the capital, even to the point of injuring itself like this?

The only good news for the Sacred Empire was probably that this Black Dragon's combat power was not high. After about two hours of crashing, the Black Dragon finally exhausted its strength and collapsed on the magic array, panting heavily.

"Light Magic [Light Seal Sword]"

Seeing this, the Pope immediately ordered the magic array to be dispelled. As the Black Dragon's body fell due to gravity, swords made of light surrounded it, preventing it from rioting and slowly lowering it to the ground.

"Young Black Dragon, please tell me why you attacked the capital."

The Pope approached the Black Dragon and asked. That's right, judging by its physique, this Black Dragon was not an adult, merely a developing young dragon.

"Roar! Roar!"

The Black Dragon's eyes flashed with grief and indignation. Tears streamed from its eyes, which were much larger than the Pope's head. It opened its mouth and let out a torrent of... snot and tears, drenching the Pope.

"...Speak human."

The Pope was not angry. He calmly wiped the liquid from his face and said. The Black Dragon also felt that humans couldn't understand it. Its body, under a strange power, slowly shrank until it transformed into a child about ten years old. Black hair, black eyes, and a cute face with a hint of baby fat that could make countless aunts scream and want to hug him, if he weren't a Black Dragon.

"You damned humans! You killed my fiancée!"

Although the Black Dragon boy was restrained by the light swords, he still roared with his childish voice.

"Is that so? If you tell me the truth, I will help you get justice."

The Pope nodded understandingly. If it was a matter of a murdered spouse, then this young dragon's actions would be explained. Although there were few desperate individuals who called themselves dragon slayers, there were still those who would risk their lives for the magical materials on a dragon's body.

"My fiancée was so powerful, so beautiful, but I hadn't even had a chance to mate with her before I heard she died because of a human curse. You will all pay for her!"

"May I ask your fiancée's name?"

The Pope felt increasingly uneasy. How could her description sound so much like that child? So he asked tentatively.

"Mayona."

"...Wait, wait. I've never heard that child was engaged to a dragon."

The Pope was completely taken aback. He would sooner believe that the God of Light and Demon King Satan had made peace than believe that the cold Mayona would get engaged to someone, let alone a non-human.

"When we dragons find a mate, we knock them out and drag them home."

The Black Dragon boy flicked his hair, which had grown out as a result of his transformation into a human, seeming to find it a bit bothersome. Dragon traditions were all about raiding, which was universally acknowledged on the continent. Finding a mate was the same; regardless of gender, they would forcefully take whomever they fancied. It was that barbaric.

"But you couldn't defeat her..."

"Hmph, only those who can defeat my woman are qualified to be my mate. Isn't that only natural?"

"Cough, there's a reason for every grievance. You can go find the culprit who cursed her."

The Pope realized this Black Dragon was a masochist. Although he didn't know what grudges Mayona had with him, he still tried to guide him to find the real culprit. The Pope had been keeping this debt in mind.

"Why should I do such troublesome things? Why not just kill all humans?"

The Black Dragon boy's eyes flickered with confusion. To dragons, humans were like ants. Rather than spending effort to find one more filthy ant among them, it was simpler to kill them all.

"As expected, dragons are all simple-minded... I mean, you can't do it alone."

"My dad is Douglas."

As the Black Dragon boy uttered his father's name, the Pope's expression changed considerably. Douglas was precisely the Black Dragon King who had destroyed half the empire. He hadn't expected this Black Dragon to be a second-generation royal.

"Even if he's the Black Dragon King..."

"My dad is Douglas."

"Can we have a proper conversation?!"

"My dad is Douglas."

"Alright, alright, Light Magic: [Holy Light]."

The Pope gave up on reasoning with the savage creature. This wasn't stubbornness anymore; his brain simply couldn't offer a second thought. This wasn't the place to talk, either, and the little boy was completely naked. No matter how you looked at it, this was the capital city's main street. The Pope casually cast a spell to cover the Black Dragon boy's private parts, so that only dazzling Holy Light could be seen from any angle.

As the Pope began to lead the way, the light sword sealing the Black Dragon boy also carried him into the air, following the Pope into the cathedral's interior.

"Listen, Black Dragon, what I'm about to tell you must be kept a secret."

The Pope released the light sword binding the Black Dragon boy, took a deep breath, and gathered his thoughts. Finally, he spoke in a tone of relief, "Mayona, she's still alive."

"You're trying to trick me. My dad said not to believe a single word humans say."

The Black Dragon boy wasn't that stupid. He questioned the Pope's words because the news about Mayona had been all over the continent. He hadn't seen her come to stop him when he attacked the imperial capital today, so wasn't that proof she was dead?

"I'm not lying. This is a Soul Candle. It can record whether a person is alive or dead."

The Pope took out a burning candle from his Space Ring. Unlike ordinary candles, the flame burning on it was emerald green. For the person bound to the Soul Candle, the more vigorously the flame burned, the healthier they were.

"Then, then where is she!"

The Black Dragon boy could smell Mayona's scent from the magic Power emitted by the Soul Candle. This confirmed that the Pope wasn't lying to him, and he immediately asked excitedly.

"I don't know. All I can tell you is that she's alive."

The Pope truly didn't know where Mayona was. After Mayona left, he watched her Soul Candle day and night. The flame had once flickered so weakly that it was almost extinguished, but gradually, as if someone had pulled it, the flame grew stronger and stronger, eventually reaching a healthy state. The Pope had been grinning foolishly with joy for several days because of this.

The Pope didn't know who had saved Mayona. Perhaps she was lucky enough to encounter a reclusive master in the mountains, or perhaps she had agreed to some condition and couldn't return. None of that mattered. The important thing was that she was alive, and that was the best outcome.

"Since she's alive, I'm relieved. Thanks, old man."

The Black Dragon boy, overjoyed, transformed back into his dragon form, smashed through the ceiling, and flew out. Now that he knew she was alive, it was time to go find his fiancée.

"My roof..."

The Pope looked at the smashed cathedral and sighed. He seemed to be the only victim of this Black Dragon attack. However, he had also gained quite a bit. The Black Dragon had left behind a lot of dragon blood, which had already been collected and could be used for magic research. Even more precious were the dragon's tears. The Dragon race's unyielding spirit, even unto death, was well-known. Obtaining dragon tears was ten thousand times more difficult than killing a dragon. Only an ignorant young dragon would cry so loudly.