Chapter 90: Ch 90: Calamity Dragon
Seven days of absolute peace had graced the Verdian Empire. For one entire week, Raidan completely ignored the system interface, the rapidly expanding borders of his domain, and the terrifying revelation of the faceless assassin. He spent every waking moment with Naida, exploring the hidden, lush gardens of the Grand Palace of Light.
They bathed in the enchanted hot springs that bubbled beneath the marble foundations, and they solidified the profound bond that anchored his soul to this new reality.
The citizens of Olympus rejoiced in the ambient blessings of their union. The refugee children from Earth finally played freely in the pristine streets of District Three without any fear of the nobility. The aristocracy remained completely silent, thoroughly subdued by the absolute execution of Lord Valerius.
But Raidan was a conqueror by nature. The quiet, opulent comfort of the imperial palace could never completely extinguish the burning fire in his blood. The shattered, gray static corpse of the system anomaly was locked securely inside a heavy vault deep beneath the obsidian altar.
Raidan knew the true administrators were watching from the shadows of the code. He knew the tutorial phase of his existence was ending rapidly. He needed more power.
He needed absolute, unquestionable dominance over the raw mechanics of the world before the true architects of the system decided to erase his sanctuary.
On the morning of the eighth day, Raidan returned to the Imperial War Room. The massive circular chamber was constructed entirely of polished white marble and illuminated by floating spheres of bright golden sunlight.
Kael stood at rigid attention near the heavily reinforced doorway, his dark armor gleaming with freshly applied protective enchantments. Aaron and Sarah, the leading engineers from the plasma forge, were projecting a massive holographic map of the continent onto the central obsidian war table.
Raidan stepped up to the edge of the table. His glowing emerald eyes immediately locked onto a violently pulsing crimson beacon located far to the north, situated well beyond the safely established borders of Olympus.
"Report," Raidan commanded smoothly. His voice carried the familiar, absolute weight of the Zenith Emperor, demanding immediate clarity.
Aaron cleared his throat nervously, tapping a complex sequence of glowing runes on the projector console. The holographic map zoomed in instantly on a jagged, treacherous mountain range. The towering peaks were painted in violent shades of red and black on the digital display.
"My Emperor, our long range scouts detected a massive thermal anomaly in the Jonas Mountains exactly forty eight hours ago," Aaron explained. "At first, our analysts assumed it was a sudden volcanic eruption caused by shifting tectonic plates. But the heat signature is actively moving across the terrain. It is hunting. Entire diverse ecosystems of high tier monsters are fleeing frantically south to escape the rapidly expanding perimeter."
Sarah leaned forward, her expression entirely serious and devoid of her usual casual demeanor. "We managed to retrieve visual data from a stealth drone right before the extreme ambient temperature melted its internal circuits. It is a class calamity entity. A Fire Dragon. Judging by the massive ambient mana displacement recorded in the area, it is easily over level one hundred."
Raidan stared intently at the glowing red projection. A deep, predatory smile slowly formed on his face.
He opened his personal system interface with a flick of his wrist, glancing briefly at his skill list. He possessed the Monster Tamer skill at rank S One. He also possessed the Scorch Dragon’s Roar skill at rank A One. He had obtained the devastating roar skill long ago during the initial bloody conquest of the lower districts, but he had never possessed a true reptilian mount to properly synchronize his elemental abilities.
A Fire Dragon was not just a mindless, wandering beast. It was an engine of pure, apocalyptic destruction. If the true administrators were planning to attack his empire with digital anomalies, Raidan was going to answer them with a creature born from the primordial code of the world itself.
"The Jonas Mountains," Raidan murmured softly. The name tasted like ash and opportunity on his tongue. "Perfect. I needed a valid excuse to stretch my legs anyway."
Naida did not try to stop him when he returned to their private chambers. When Raidan informed her of his dangerous destination, the Radiant Saintess simply stepped close, adjusting the high collar of his black combat tunic.
She closed her eyes and infused his body with a localized, incredibly potent blessing of supreme thermal resistance. She understood the heavy burden he carried on his shoulders. She knew he was proactively building an arsenal to protect their home from the unseen forces manipulating the system.
"Do not burn your new clothes. And bring the creature back alive if you can manage it. The refugee children have never seen a real dragon before."
"I will put a sturdy leash on it just for them," Raidan promised confidently. He kissed her forehead tenderly before turning his back and walking swiftly toward the central teleportation matrix.
Raidan did not take a massive army on this expedition. He did not mobilize the heavily armored Vanguard of the Dawn. He only took Kael. The Imperial Blood Guard had proven his absolute, unwavering loyalty during the wedding incident and possessed the extreme agility necessary to survive in a high tier combat zone.
They stepped together into the brilliant emerald light of the spatial matrix and vanished completely from the capital city.
The transition through space was instantaneous. The emerald light faded rapidly, replacing the pristine, floral scented air of Olympus with a suffocating, deeply sulfurous heat.
Raidan and Kael materialized perfectly on a jagged ridge overlooking a massive, smoldering valley in the Jonas Mountains. The sky directly above them was entirely choked with thick, black ash, blocking out the sun completely. The temperature was high enough to instantly boil water. Without Naida’s supreme thermal blessing, even a hardened warrior like Kael would have suffered massive passive health drain just by breathing.
The surrounding environment was completely devastated. The ancient, towering pine trees that usually covered the lower mountain slopes were reduced to glowing, brittle embers. Rivers of bright orange molten rock carved new, destructive paths through the shattered stone. The thick air vibrated constantly with a low, terrifying frequency that resonated directly in their bones, mimicking the heartbeat of a sleeping god.
"The mana displacement is truly massive, Your Majesty. I cannot sense any living creatures within ten miles. Everything either ran away in terror or burned to ash in the initial blast."
"The beast is establishing a permanent territory. Dragons are incredibly territorial creatures. It woke up from its slumber, claimed this entire mountain range as its hoard, and ruthlessly purged anything that dared to breathe its air."
Raidan stepped forward confidently, entirely ignoring the blistering heat radiating from the cracked ground. He currently possessed over nine hundred points in his Attack stat and over eight hundred points in his Defense stat. The passive environmental fire damage registered as absolute zero against his supreme physical attributes.
His mana were tightly coiled in his chest, ready to be unleashed with microscopic perfection via his Ultra Mana Control skill.
They descended slowly into the burning valley. Every heavy step crushed charred bones and melted plates of armor. It seemed a foolish guild of high level explorers had attempted to conquer the beast before Raidan arrived. Their tragic remains were scattered indiscriminately across the jagged obsidian rocks, serving as a grim, silent warning to any future challengers.
Suddenly, the scorched ground beneath them convulsed violently.
A massive, terrifying shadow blotted out the crimson light entirely. The thick clouds of ash parted violently as a colossal pair of leathery wings slammed downward, generating a hurricane of superheated air that nearly knocked Kael off his feet.
Raidan looked up, his expression completely unfazed.
The Fire Dragon was truly magnificent. It was easily the size of a modern naval battleship. Its thick scales were not simply red; they were forged from hardened, cooling magma, glowing fiercely from within with a blinding, nuclear intensity. Twin horns of twisted, razor sharp black obsidian crowned its massive, reptilian head. Its giant eyes were deep pools of liquid gold, burning with ancient, unfiltered malice and predatory intelligence.
The system interface flickered wildly in Raidan’s vision as it struggled to properly analyze the colossal creature, finally producing a floating golden text box directly above the beast.
[ Name: Ignis, The World Breaker ]
[ Level: 145 ]
[ Species: Primordial Calamity Dragon ]
[ Status: Enraged, Highly Territorial ]
Ignis landed heavily on a jagged peak directly in front of them. The sheer, crushing weight of the dragon instantly shattered the mountain top, sending massive, flaming boulders tumbling down into the valley below. The beast lowered its massive head slowly, glaring intensely at the two tiny humans standing foolishly in the dead center of its newly claimed domain. It opened its massive jaws, revealing rows of serrated teeth the size of greatswords. A deep, terrifying rumble began to build rapidly in its cavernous chest, glowing brightly with the promise of absolute, incandescent death.
Kael firmly planted his boots into the stone, lowering his combat stance to prepare for the inevitable, devastating blast of dragon breath. He channeled his void energy into his spear, ready to die protecting his Emperor.
Raidan did not take a defensive stance. He did not summon a magical barrier to shield himself. He simply stood perfectly straight, his black void suit rippling aggressively in the thermal updraft. A cold, intensely arrogant smile touched his lips. He possessed only eighteen pathetic mana points, but he possessed the absolute, undeniable authority of the Verdian Emperor.
"You are a very loud, very dramatic lizard," Raidan projected his voice effortlessly over the roaring flames, ensuring the dragon heard every single word.
He also activated his Monster Tamer skill, flooding his SSS+ aura into the suffocating atmosphere. "Kneel."