The Red Dragon wailed in pain and rage. For the first time in its life, a small and insignificant creature like a human managed to injure itself like this? With its remaining eye, the creature searched for Kale through the scorched viscounty still burning in its sundering flames.
But Kale had already sneaked his way onto the back of the creature. By the time the dragon realized it, it was already too late. Kale skewered the Nemesis Dagger again, and again, and again, and again onto the back of the Dragon's reverse scale, the weakest spot of the mighty creature.
The only point through which Axel could truly kill such a mighty being.
By the time Kale had stabbed the Dragon through the reverse scale more than ten times, the creature's internal central nervous system was already a beautiful mess. The Red Dragon, in its last moments, died through screams and pain.
Nature itself echoed sadness for the death of its most favored race. Kale's hands trembled for a moment as he stopped. He closed his eyes, examining his own condition. He heaved a sigh of relief. The energy that was siphoned by the system from killing the three church Deacons and the Dragon priest was just enough to accomplish most of it all.
So, only 20% of his life force was absorbed by the Dagger, in order to kill the Dragon; it wasn't anything life-threatening. But he still felt dizzy and extremely weak. Kale smashed his fist onto the bloody red scale of the dead dragon, and his hand was instantly injured.
But the pain of it cleared his mind somewhat; remembering the quest the system had given him, he did not stop. Cutting through the reverse scale of the Red Dragon, he peeled off more and more scales of the creature. The nemesis dagger cut through it all with even greater ease, since the Dragon was already dead.
Covered in dragon blood that was filled with divine energy to the brim. Kale, after an immense effort, was able to cut out the heart of the Dragon. That still pulsed with a strange and unfathomable power.
The moment he accomplished that, the system's glitching sound reached his ears. The Dragon heart instantly disappeared, right in front of his eyes.
The glitching sound in his ears only continued to intensify until barely flickering texts showed in front of him.
[Congratulations to the Host on completing the urgent quest.]
[The system has been reactivated]
[The heart of the Dragon has been stored inside the system storage space]
[Necessary Dragon Blood has been stored within the system storage]
[Congratulations to the Host for managing to kill the 'Red Dragon' once more]
[You have used the 'Nemesis Dagger' twice in a row.]
[The artifact spirit now craves to devour your soul.]
[From now on, the 'Nemesis Dagger' shall be unavailable to the Host until he is powerful enough.]
[Host has gained the title 'Dragon Bane']
[Dragon Bane: 20% passive boost in constitution, 20% passive boost in all senses. When faced with Draconic species, depending on the bloodline purity of the Draconic creature, the boost in senses and constitution may reach up to 50%.]
Kale was pleasantly surprised by the notifications, though not being able to use the Nemesis Dagger was indeed a bummer.
But maybe it was actually a good thing in the end, and before he could completely relax, the system buzzed in his ears like a warning siren once more. Red texts appeared in his vision, indicating imminent danger.
[Warning!! Warning!! Warning!!!]
[Three powerful human entities are approaching from a great distance at great speed.]
[Host must immediately run away from this location.]
Kale could only curse his shitty luck as the familiar bad feeling crept up his senses. Looking around one last time, he hurriedly ran from that location. His entire body was covered in the blood of the Dragons; he knew that powerful existences could track this thing.
So, he hurriedly threw the bloody clothes away, diving into a pond to clean off the blood, then stealing some clothes from the underground of a burnt house. The system chimed in once more,
[The System has veiled the host's existence; you will not be recognized as Dragon Killer unless personally inspected by powerful entities. But the host is still within the danger zone and must keep running.]
"What the fuck do you think I'm doing?" He scowled in between tired breaths.
He had been running with all of his might for more than 30 minutes straight. Even though he was somewhat stronger after the awakening, and the title that boosted his prowess and senses. He was still within the confining limits of a normal human, albeit a much stronger one.
Not to mention, this body was still that of a 12-year-old, though not of a normal 12-year-old kid, that's for sure.
It was only after five more minutes that the system stated, [Good work, Host. You are now safe, outside of the powerful existences' sensory areas.]
Kale's entire body slumped to the ground in a grassy field. His legs gave in; only adrenaline had kept him going all this time. Even before he started running, he was not in optimal condition. His tired body and mind could not hold on any longer. Kale blacked out.
Falling into the silent embrace of sleep, a small relief washing over his mind, he had done it. He had slaughtered the damn dragon that killed his family; this time, he protected them all before any misfortune could fall onto Dagan.
***
Not long after Kale had lost consciousness, three mighty figures appeared right above the dead dragon's body and the completely scorched Ebon viscounty. Their sheer presence was powerful enough to change the surroundings ever so slightly.
The first one was Dorn Morrow, Highlord rank Earth Elemental from House of Morrow, who had brown eyes and long hair that was almost earthy in color, which spoke of his pureblood lineage within the Morrow family.
His eyes blazed with suspicion and shock; he couldn't believe he was seeing a Dragon with his own eyes for the first time in his life.
And one that was already dead, and from the looks of it, it was actually killed.
Kaelin, Highlord rank Martial from The Divine Fist Sect, the most prominent mercenary force within Stonehelm. He was a buff man filled with power, his entire figure exuding unquestionable physical might. The energy exuding from him was savage and brutal.
Very few in his own ranks would dare clash against him head-on, for it would be mostly futile.
His eyes contained greed as he looked towards the remains of the Dragon. But unlike his appearance, he was no rash man; he was extremely quick-witted. He waited silently, looking for what actions the other two would take.
The last presence was perhaps the most prominent one.
Veron, the Highlord-rank Priest from the main branch of the Dragon Church within the region of Stonehelm. The man wore all-white attire; his irises had a golden hue, and one large bronze horn curved out from his forehead.
Five circular stripes were on his horn. The priest's eyes remained locked onto the Red Dragon's corpse, just like the other two, but his gaze was filled with fanatic fervor and boundless greed. The priest who was always calm and collected, a symbol of tranquility and peace, that image of him was no more.
He looked like a crazy bastard who had found the biggest loot of his life. The other two powerhouses could see that this psychopath would do anything and everything in his power to get his hands on the complete corpse of the Dragon race.
But how could Kaelin and Dorn Morrow let that happen? They had to take a stake in this juicy piece of meat.