"Avalon? So it was you, Merlin.
I was wondering where this reject learned fairy magecraft. So this is where it began.
What, do you intend to use this reject... no, to you, he must be a perfectly serviceable pawn.
Do you intend to use this pawn to avenge the previous Dragonhead?"
Surrounded by a sea of flowers, "Vortigern" watched the distant mage gently pat the back of the boy coughing violently beside him and spoke with a sneer.
As he finished, "Vortigern" even produced a dazzling crown from somewhere and placed it on his head.
The crown radiating starlight clashed sharply with his pitch-black armor, for it was the greatest treasure of the previous "Dragonhead" he had mentioned-a trophy "Vortigern" had seized.
And the "previous Dragonhead" whom "Vortigern" spoke of was both his younger brother and the enemy who had opposed him longest in his life, as well as Merlin's friend and lord of several decades.
The former king of Britain.
The Great Dragonhead-
Uther Pendragon.
"Dragonhead" was what the people of Britain, particularly those in Wales, called their king.
It was also the origin of the British royal family's surname, "Pendragon."
"Dragon," or rather, "Ddraig," meant "dragon."
And "Pen" meant "head" or "chief."
Together, they formed "Pendragon."
It meant "dragon king," "chief dragon," or "chief of dragons."
That was where the title "Dragonhead" came from.
The Vortigern of old knew that he was less capable of governing a kingdom than Uther. Thus, when Uther, the fourth son of the former king Constantine, proclaimed himself king without authorization, Vortigern did not deem it rebellion. Instead, he willingly surrendered his right to inherit the position of "Dragonhead."
Later, because of King Uther's heroic deeds, such as expelling foreign peoples and campaigning against Ireland,
people added a "Y" before "Pendragon" when addressing him to distinguish him from previous kings and refer specifically to Uther.
Thus, "the Great Dragonhead"-Y Pendragon.
This "Y" served a similar function to "the": it, too, was a definite article.
And the crown "Vortigern" now wore was precisely the trophy he had seized over a decade ago while fighting "his own" younger brother, Uther.
It was also the symbol of kingship Merlin had forged with fairy craftsmanship for Uther, his future successor, and the successor after that-
the Crown of Stars.
Back in the present, Merlin ignored "Vortigern's" provocation, continuing to pat Sovell's back and soothe both the boy and the tense muscles around his airway.
Once Sovell, still suffering from having his throat gripped, had steadied his breathing beside him,
Merlin looked at "Vortigern" and spoke in an unusually cold voice, enunciating every word:
"Even if Vortigern stole that crown from Uther, it is still not something you have any right to defile. The same goes for Vortigern's body, White Dragon of Britain."
"White Dragon of Britain?!"
Beside him, Sovell had only just managed to regain his breath. At those words, his pupils abruptly contracted, and he involuntarily repeated the name.
Why was Sovell so shocked?
Hadn't it already been stated that Sovell knew "Vortigern" carried the aura of a white dragon?
Indeed, Sovell had sensed that aura on "Vortigern."
But at the time, Sovell had merely assumed that "Vortigern" had obtained the power of dragon kind through some means, then ultimately acquired the same aura as Sovell because of his own identity as the "White Dragon."
Even when Sovell later began to question "Vortigern's" identity, he had only suspected that someone was impersonating him, or that the dragon's power had affected his father's mind.
But.
Merlin's words overturned every one of Sovell's earlier guesses.
The "Vortigern" before him was indeed Vortigern himself-but only in body.
Then who was the current "Vortigern"?
If "White Dragon," or Ddraig Wen, was a symbolic, derogatory name for Vortigern,
then
the White Dragon of Britain
was the symbol of the foreign peoples and the King of the Wicked in Merlin's prophecy decades ago.
The counterpart to the Red Dragon that protected Britain's people.
The true source of Sovell's dragon bloodline.
An indisputable divine beast-class phantasmal species-
the white dragon of Britain!
The "Vortigern" before them... no, the white dragon before them showed no anger at having his true identity exposed. Instead, he lowered his head, stroked "his own" beard, and laughed:
"Hahahahaha! What should I say? That you truly deserve your title as the highest-ranking mage?
You discerned my origins so easily."
But...
"But."
The white dragon paused briefly before continuing:
"If you wish to take this reject from me, it will not be so easy!"
With that, the white dragon revealed his true form within the bounded field of flowers.
A white dragon hundreds of yards long!
Compared with Sovell's earlier rampage in Fantasyland, the white dragon before them truly lived up to his mature form.
Scorching dragon breath spewed from the white dragon's mouth. Merlin waved his staff, and the breath instantly transformed into countless flowers.
Sustained by the white dragon's heart, that stream of dragon breath could never cease, while Merlin, in his current state, had no need to worry about the immense drain on his magical reserves.
And so the two...
confronted each other.
Contended with each other.
Held each other at bay.
Suddenly!
"-Rhongomyniad (▇▇▇▇)!!!"
A voice-cracking dragon roar echoed through the bounded field.
What followed was a pillar of starlight that blotted out the sky. A surging torrent of magical energy shattered the stalemate.
It was Sovell.
Moments earlier, Sovell had revealed the Holy Spear's true form. Dragon scales covered his entire body, his eyes had become slit pupils, and the rippling patterns on his dragon horns revealed the enormous magical energy contained within.
His Dragon Heart pounded without cease. Scorching breath escaped Sovell's mouth as the magical energy throughout his body poured continuously into the Holy Spear's shaft.
The first.
The second.
The third.
The fourth.
The fifth!!!
In a frenzy, Sovell released five of Merlin's seals on the Holy Spear all at once!
Under the boy's control, an immense amount of magical energy gathered inside the spear, with none escaping.
Yet a considerable portion surged back into his body, leaving his flesh unbearably hot, his eyes bloodshot, and his cheeks scarlet.
Every part of the boy's body groaned silently. Surface blood vessels and skin ruptured, and blood began to spill out.
The pain was now hundreds of times worse than when he had shaken the magecraft seals earlier!
But Sovell could no longer spare a thought for any of it. He no longer cared what damage he did to his body.
Fuck the magical backlash!
This bastard had to die here today!!
And join Father in death!!!
The moment Sovell heard Merlin say, "That crown is not something you have any right to defile. The same goes for Vortigern's body," he understood.
The father who had doted on him ten years ago, stayed by his side, and preserved his happy childhood was no longer in this world.
All that remained in this world was an evil dragon that had stolen his father's remains!
And so, in the very next instant, Sovell settled on this plan.
Release five of the Holy Spear's seals at once.
Compress the overflowing magical energy inside its shaft, even if it meant forcing that energy back into his body.
He even forcibly swallowed the screams brought on by the excruciating pain in his flesh.
All so that neither the surging magical energy nor his cries would draw the white dragon's attention.
To kill him with a single strike!!!
Before you continue