"Roar!"
"Stop. I'm not your enemy."
From within the massive cloud of smoke caused by the explosion, a dragon's roar rang out. A moment later, a helpless voice followed.
Sephis paused. Sensing no hostility from the other party, he did not continue his attack.
His Dragon Wings spread and beat once, lifting him rapidly higher into the sky.
"Why were you following me?"
Facing the True Dragon Lord before him, Sephis's eyes flickered. He probed calmly while analyzing the situation.
From that brief clash just now, he could already tell that defeating this opponent would be extremely difficult.
No one understood the power of dragons better than a Dragonoid like him. And a True Dragon Lord possessed Wild Magic, which clearly put him at a disadvantage.
In a fight to the death, he had at most a forty percent chance of winning, and that was under the assumption of mutual destruction.
He could be resurrected in Nazarick after death, but that was not the outcome Sephis wanted.
A certain figure flashed through his mind.
If this were Demiurge, he would not act rashly in a situation like this.
Better to test the waters first.
On the other side, seeing that Sephis had not resumed his attack, the Brightness Dragon Lord quietly let out a breath.
At least communication was possible.
Although he was confident in his own strength, he had no desire to engage in a pointless life-and-death battle.
Among the many True Dragon Lords, the Brightness Dragon Lord was something of an outlier.
He had a notorious fondness for interbreeding with other races, earning him a rather infamous reputation within dragonkind.
The Dragon Princess of the Dragon Kingdom, for instance, was the descendant of the Brightness Dragon Lord and a human.
To describe how the other True Dragon Lords viewed this, it was akin to a human engaging in indecent acts with a goat while shouting, "Get pregnant already!"
Perhaps precisely because of his obsession with reproduction, bolstered by what one might jokingly call a sage mode state, the Brightness Dragon Lord did not possess the short temper common among most dragons.
He was more of a scholar-type True Dragon Lord.
"I merely sensed a familiar aura, so I came to take a look."
The Brightness Dragon Lord spoke as he observed the Dragonoid before him.
At the same time, he felt puzzled. This was the first time he had encountered such a powerful Dragonoid.
As a hybrid of dragon and human, Sephis's strength was comparable to that of a True Dragon Lord.
The Brightness Dragon Lord's enthusiasm for breeding with different races was not mere perversion. He had his own ambitions.
His goal was lofty. By crossbreeding with various races and producing offspring with innate Talents, he hoped to find a way to restore the corrupted Wild Magic through those abilities.
Sephis's appearance stirred both curiosity and suspicion within him.
A possibility came to mind.
"A familiar aura?"
Hearing the explanation, Sephis glanced down at himself and quickly traced back through his recent experiences until he identified the source.
The flesh of the Platinum Dragon Lord.
After consuming the Platinum Dragon Lord's flesh and blood, it was inevitable that some trace of its aura lingered on him.
But he had not expected it to attract a True Dragon Lord.
"So you want to know the reason?"
Sephis looked calmly at the True Dragon Lord before him as his magic began to stir once more.
"No."
Unexpectedly, the Brightness Dragon Lord shook his head.
"I only have one question. You… are a Player or an NPC, correct?"
After careful consideration, the Brightness Dragon Lord had reached his conclusion.
The other party could not possibly be the offspring of a True Dragon Lord.
His gaze swept over Sephis's armor and weapon. With the keen senses of dragonkind, he could clearly tell that they were equipment unique to Players.
Combined with the brief exchange earlier, in which Sephis had cast high-tier magic, this only reinforced his conclusion.
In the Brightness Dragon Lord's memory, only two types of beings fit these criteria.
Players.
Or NPCs created by Players.
As soon as the Brightness Dragon Lord finished speaking, the air between them grew heavy.
They locked eyes. Sephis remained silent.
And that silence was answer enough.
"So I was right."
The Brightness Dragon Lord let out a quiet sigh. He did not attack. Instead, his expression turned serious.
"Tell me. What is your stance toward the True Dragon Lords?"
The existence of Players did not provoke an extreme reaction from him.
Among the True Dragon Lords, the Brightness Dragon Lord was an outlier. Unlike most of his kin, he had little interest in power struggles. As long as the other party was not like the Eight Greed Kings, who delighted in slaughtering dragons, he did not particularly care.
"Those who submit prosper. Those who resist perish."
Sephis answered calmly.
He had expected an immediate attack, so the restraint surprised him slightly.
Recalling a previous conversation with Father-sama, he continued inwardly.
When it came to the True Dragon Lords, Nazarick had two ways of dealing with them. One was what had been done to the Platinum Dragon Lord. The other was subjugation.
As long as they were willing to provide Dragon Blood, Naohara did not mind allowing them to join Nazarick.
True Dragon Lords were rare resources. Turning them all into dragon staves would be a waste.
"Tch…"
The Brightness Dragon Lord clicked his tongue.
It was not the worst answer, but it was far from reassuring.
His expression shifted as he weighed his options. Should he risk everything and try to kill the Dragonoid before him?
But the familiar aura on Sephis, along with the mysterious disappearance of the Platinum Dragon Lord, gave him pause.
He recalled fragments of information from the war between True Dragon Lords, and the details surrounding the one who had fought the Platinum Dragon Lord.
After a long silence, he drew a deep breath.
"Among the Players… there is a pure-blooded dragon, isn't there?"
"So what if there is? And what if there isn't?"
Sephis replied evasively.
"If there is, then I can submit. But that dragon must defeat me personally."
After much deliberation, the Brightness Dragon Lord finally voiced his decision.
If his guess was correct, then the Platinum Dragon Lord had not been defeated by another True Dragon Lord.
He had been captured.
Captured by a Player who was a dragon.
The Six Great Gods and the Eight Greed Kings had once claimed that there were no pure-blooded dragons among Players. The Brightness Dragon Lord did not believe that.
He trusted his own judgment.
If so, then the other side had at least two Players. Possibly more. They might even have descended with a Guild, just as the Eight Greed Kings had.
That was why he proposed a duel.
If he lost, he would join them.
If the one who defeated him was also a dragon, then he had no reason to hesitate.
Eccentric as he was, he still had the pride of a dragon.
Dragons did not submit to other races. Only another dragon could command their allegiance.
If there were no dragons among these Players, then he would flee as far as possible. He might not be able to defeat them, but he could avoid them.
The Eight Greed Kings had nearly driven dragonkind to extinction. They had even weakened Wild Magic, forcing it to require souls to activate and rendering it effectively crippled.
The Brightness Dragon Lord had no confidence that the remaining True Dragon Lords could defeat this new group of Players.
And who knew what World-Class Items they possessed?
He had no intention of dying.
But if a dragon stood among them, it was different.
Submitting to a stronger dragon was not shameful. If there was a better option, why cling to a life of constant hiding?
He was alone, with no deep ties to the other True Dragon Lords.
The only one he was on decent terms with was another oddball like himself.
He felt no burden.
"…"
Sephis stared at the True Dragon Lord, momentarily stunned.
Did that mean he had successfully persuaded him?
He had been prepared for mutual destruction.
Were True Dragon Lords really this reasonable?
Or was his persuasion somehow that effective?
A large question mark seemed to hover over his head.
He opened his mouth to speak.
But before he could say anything, a sudden roar shattered the moment.