Resolution (Part 1)

Faced with this extremely thorny yet unavoidable problem, everyone discussed it until dawn the next day before finally dispersing.

Fostadu, Dark Prison

"Open the door!"

"Yes!"

The clatter of sliding iron chains rang out, followed by the stone door in the rock wall opening. A dark figure entered along with the light. Mevajena and the others raised their heads to look at the newcomer. By the light spilling in through the open door, they saw a seven-colored dragon about 1.78 meters tall approaching them with elegant steps. The sight of this seven-colored dragon made the four of them tense up sharply, and one of them even shouted as he retreated toward the far end of the cell.

"What exactly do you want? If you're going to kill or torture us, can't you just give us a straight answer?"

"Alas! You acted so recklessly. Do you think that is worthy of your sister giving up her chance to escape in order to save your life?"

Sordil stared at the loudly protesting dragon below and asked in a teasing tone. Fordisg lowered his head, no longer possessing his earlier righteous indignation. This could be called the greatest shame of his life as a dragon. When he awoke and learned the full story, he regretted not dying in the previous attack and felt even more that his sister's sacrifice had not been worth it. Ever since then, whenever he saw his sister locked in the cell opposite him, Fordisg felt as though flames were scorching his face. He did not have the courage to meet her eyes. Seeing Fordisg lower his head and fall silent, Sordil stopped making things difficult for him and instead turned his gaze toward the dragon hiding on the other side of the cell.

"Mr. Black, you and I truly are fated! From Moens Canyon to Zobol Forest, you have been present everywhere. And now, you're even living in the same place as me!"

"You demon, you monster, what do you want now? I'm already your prisoner. Why won't you leave me alone? How much more do you want to torment me before you're satisfied?"

"Torment you? Mr. Black, have you misunderstood something? I came today to make friends with the four of you, and incidentally help you move to a new residence. After all, the environment here is far too harsh and unsuitable for living!"

Sordil smiled as he stared at this old acquaintance, but to Black, that smile looked like the vicious grin of a demon. Although the other three were not as terrified as Black, they were still tense. Ever since being imprisoned here, they had learned from Black why they had become captives. Thus, when facing Sordil, the "culprit," they felt both anger and a degree of awe.

"Oh, right! You don't know yet, do you? We left the Western Continent half a year ago. We are now in Ishgar on the Eastern Continent, so you can give up on any rescue from Koreita. They don't know where we are."

After informing Mevajena and the other three about Fostadu, Sordil left the dark prison without lingering. Before leaving, he instructed the guards to take the four of them out for a walk every day from then on, and to notify him immediately if they wished to see him. After leaving the dark prison, Sordil went straight to Kaldiz's residence. The two held a secret discussion for a long time. That night, Sordil once again used "Sleep" to send Kaldiz out of Fostadu, after which Kaldiz headed west at top speed.

Kingdom of Donagunov

"Your Majesty the Queen! This morning, a Black Great Dragon flew in from the east. He said he has important intelligence to report to His Highness Wise Dragon Belserion!"

"Oh? Bring him to see me first. If the matter is truly important, then it will not be too late for him to meet the Wise Dragon!"

After giving her orders, Irene's brows furrowed tightly. For the moment, she could not determine the identity or intentions of this Black Great Dragon. Still, out of caution, Irene decided to meet him.

"Kaldiz, Leader of the Star Forest Moon Boat secret realm on the Western Continent, greets the beautiful Queen Irene!"

Irene stared at Kaldiz in surprise. When she heard that he had come from the east, she had assumed he was a dragon from Ishgar. She never expected him to be a dragon from the Western Continent. Moreover, he was a survivor of the Star Forest Moon Boat secret realm, which had recently been wiped out by the bloodthirsty dragons of the Western Continent. But why had he come from the east of Donagunov?

"Please rise, Mr. Kaldiz. May I ask why you came from the east? And what is your purpose in coming to my Kingdom of Donagunov?"

"In reply to Your Majesty, I came from the east because the one who saved me is located east of your kingdom. As for why I came here, naturally, it is to seek aid!"

"Oh?"

"Precisely!"

Ever since meeting Black and the other three, Sordil had not concerned himself with them again. Instead, he spent his days in his room reading the collected books from Mildian Magic Academy, occasionally taking time to teach Anna Spirit Magic. But just because he was not in a hurry did not mean others were not.

Dark Prison

"Black, what do you think we should do? Glaide and the others do not even know where we are. How can they rescue us? Are we supposed to stay in this sunless place forever?"

"What else can we do? Holop, I advise you not to hold any lucky illusions. That little fox is cunning. Would he release us for no reason?"

"That's right! On this matter, I agree with Black. We wanted to destroy Fostadu in the first place. Would those people really forgive us so easily?"

"Brother, I think the people of Fostadu do not hate us that much. Otherwise, after safely escaping, they would have killed us immediately instead of imprisoning us until now!"

"Yes! Mevajena is right. Maybe they really do intend to release us! We can't miss this chance!"

"How about this? Let's meet that little fox again and properly discuss the conditions for our release. What do you think?"

"Fine! We'll follow Black's suggestion and meet him once more!"

One day, while Sordil was reading in his room, a human hurried to his door. Not long afterward, the man returned, while Seraf eagerly walked over to Sordil and whispered a few words in his ear.

"Excellent! The fish has finally taken the bait. Our plan can proceed to the next step. Come, let's go meet these four future contributors."

Upon hearing Seraf's report, Sordil walked toward the dark prison with a beaming smile, Seraf following closely behind. As they neared the prison, Sordil wiped the smile from his face and replaced it with an expressionless poker face. Seraf behind him followed suit. Sordil sat in a chair outside the entrance to the dark prison and said lazily:

"I heard from the guards that you wanted to see me. What is it? If there's nothing important, I'll go back and continue reading!"

The four dragons in the dark prison gritted their teeth as they glared at Sordil. They deeply resented his contempt, but fortunately, they all understood the disparity in their positions. Thus, Black suppressed his anger and said, "Sordil, we can help you accomplish something, but you have to let us leave this place!"

"Hah?"

As though he had heard a particularly amusing joke, Sordil burst out laughing in his chair. Once he was done laughing, his voice abruptly turned cold and harsh. He shouted at the four of them, "It seems you still have not understood your identities. You are merely my prisoners—my slaves. I could even trade you away as merchandise. You no longer have any right to bargain with me. Since there is nothing to discuss, I think you should stay in there for the rest of your lives! Warden, from today onward, there's no need to take them out for fresh air. Save the food and water as well!"