Dragon King: Throne of Demons and Gods
Chapter 90: The Strong Are Moving

Chapter 90: The Strong Are Moving

The Guild Master leaned forward slightly in his chair, fingers tapping the wooden armrest.

"This best potential..." he muttered. "Have you even seen the other two? How can you be so sure?"

Alicia didn’t flinch. She kept her eyes on the crystal screen, voice calm.

"We don’t need to see them all in person. The third sacred talks often. And she shows off even more. From what we’ve observed, she is simply... undefeatable."

The Guild Master raised an eyebrow.

"Undefeatable?"

"Yes," Alicia replied. "Literally. She is biologically born to overcome any challenge."

On the battlefield, Airi’s aura erupted.

A burst of heat washed through the forest dungeon, wind scattering leaves in all directions. Her muscles tightened.

Her skin flushed with a deeper tone, pink veins rising along her arms and legs. Her eyes turned completely white, glowing with energy.

"Her power," Alicia continued, "is a blessing that adapts her to defeat her opponent. If she’s weaker than the enemy... she becomes just strong enough to win."

Airi’s feet slammed into the crater’s edge. With a single breath, she leapt.

BOOM.

The force of her jump shattered the crater behind her, blasting apart soil and debris. Her body became a streak of light.

With a swing, her sword cut through the air like it was nothing.

CRASH!

An explosion followed. Trees bent and cracked. The force of the impact sent debris flying in all directions.

The party ducked, shielding their eyes from the dust. Cassandra peeked through her fingers. Blood sprayed through the haze.

The manticore roared. A shadow leapt from the dust.

The beast soared above, its wings flapping wildly.

Its back leg was gone, completely severed and bleeding.

Airi landed just below it, her aura blazing around her like a sun.

She pointed up.

"Oh? You want to run away?"

Her grin widened.

The air around her shimmered.

Then her body pulsed.

The pink hue faded. Her skin returned to its natural tone. She crouched, readying for another jump.

[Blessing of the Skies]

BOOM.

She launched into the air, shooting up like a missile.

The party stared, stunned.

Above, the manticore flapped faster, trying to gain height, but then, Airi’s path twisted unnaturally.

Ronan gasped.

"WHAT?! SHE CAN FLY?!"

She soared in a curve, chasing it midair. The beast turned to bite her.

She raised one hand and braced her foot against its snout.

The beast roared and twisted. It dove, wings curling.

Trying to slam her down.

But then—

Her aura exploded again.

[Blessing of the Protector]

A glowing bubble formed around her, shielding her entirely.

It expanded outward. The manticore’s jaw scraped the barrier.

It growled, pulling back in frustration.

Bad idea.

Airi was already in position.

She raised her blade, muscles rippling.

[Blessing of the Beast Slayer]

A slash. Just one.

The air split.

A white line shimmered across the beast’s body.

The manticore froze.

Then...

Its body split in half, top and bottom.

Blood rained like a waterfall.

The Guild Master leaned forward, eyes still wide from what he had just heard.

"What kind of ability is that?!"

Alicia stood beside him.

"It is a miracle. But not a unique one."

He turned sharply toward her.

"What do you mean not unique?"

She adjusted her glasses.

"There are old stories. Legends about the previous Hero, how he could call upon blessings from the gods, choosing what he needed most at the moment. I’ve never seen it myself, but this looks very similar to the legend."

The Guild Master furrowed his brow, stunned.

"Then... is she the new Hero? An incarnation, maybe?"

Alicia shook her head.

"It’s just impossible, and not because of that reason. She was appraised as a magic swordsman. Not a Hero."

He leaned back in his seat, jaw tight.

"Still... the power she showed. It’s not something you see every day. Who is she? What’s her story?"

Alicia answered without pause.

"Her name is Airi. She’s an orphan from a distant region. Officially registered as Iron Rank. Her biggest flaw, aside from talking too much, is that she knows how valuable she is."

"Arrogant?"

"Very. She’s a free-timer. Hops between parties. She quit four Mithril-ranked teams because they didn’t put her on the front line. And now..."

She tapped on the crystal display, showing the New Horizons emblem.

"She joined that Copper-ranked clan. She’s raiding low-tier dungeons."

The Guild Master stared, baffled.

"This is ridiculous... with this power, she should be challenging high-tier threats... It would make her stronger way better."

"Agreed," Alicia said. "But she does things her way. And from the looks of it, she’s just getting started."

Inside the dungeon, Airi twirled her sword nonchalantly like a child’s toy, her boots lightly tapping against the crater she’d left behind.

She glanced at the glowing fragments floating around her. Four runes danced in her vision.

[Blessing of Strength] [Blessing of the Skies] [Blessing of the Protector] [Blessing of the Beast Slayer]

She hummed, twitching her head.

"Hm, hm, hmmm... Okay, I’ll keep you," she said, tapping on the Blessing of the Protector.

The other three flickered once, then crumbled.

She crossed her arms and tilted her head as she turned to face the stunned New Horizons members.

Every single one of them was speechless.

Crest’s mouth was slightly open. Cassandra’s hand still hovered over her mouth. Ronan looked like he was holding his breath.

Airi tilted her head again and grinned like a queen addressing her audience.

"Heh. What? Don’t look at me like that," she said. "You’re lucky I’m in a good mood, I made it long enough for you to enjoy the show."

There was a beat of silence.

Ronan finally found his voice.

"Who... who are you, exactly?"

Airi threw her head back dramatically.

"Who am I? I am a legend. The future number one. The swordsman of heaven, and Goddess of your dreams. You can drop your weapons and bow before the ultimate warrior. On the flesh, and success: Sacred Goddess Airi."

The Guild Master leaned back in his chair, eyes twitching with joy.

"Three Sacred at once..." he muttered. "It’s a miracle. A real one."

Alicia, ever composed, nodded.

"It changes everything. For the first time, we can truly prepare. War is coming, and now... we finally have weapons strong enough to fight right from the beginning."

The Guild Master allowed himself a small laugh.

"Humanity has hope right off the bat. And thanks God they’re not lazying around. The strong have already started moving."

At that exact moment, Airi walked confidently down the cobbled road with New Horizons trailing behind her.

They passed through the marketplace toward the next dungeon.

Inside a small gear shop tucked between bakeries, the shopkeeper tapped his fingers impatiently.

"If you don’t have the coin, miss, I can’t give it to you."

He leaned forward, eyeing his customer.

"You sure you don’t have enough money?"

A very familiar elf woman standing at the counter flipped a page in her book calmly.

"Not for now," she said flatly. "I suppose I’ll be right back."

She closed her book and turned to leave.

Far away, a vortex swirled closed behind Bel as he stepped out of the dungeon.

He took a long breath, letting the air cool his lungs. Then, he opened his system interface and checked his new skills.

[Water Mastery: Maxed]

A new skill blinked just beneath it.

[Primordial Drench]

Effect: Unleash a massive surge of water energy. 40% chance to inflict [Soaked]. Increased effectiveness against fire-type opponent.

[Soaked]

Effect: Reduces movement speed by 30%. Increases damage taken from electricity by 20%. Lasts 10 seconds. Stackable.

MP Cost: 1,600 MP.

Bel grinned.

"Not bad..."

And there was more.

His stats had spiked again. Wisdom, intelligence, mana pool, they all surged after the boss core’s absorption.

"Boss cores from my dungeons are just on another level," he said to himself, flexing his fingers. "With all this mana I could spam my magic non stop."

He opened his palm.

Resting in it, the Void Gate Key for another Category C dungeon.

"Four elements... that’s more than halfway there."

He took a deep breath, then grinned wider.

"Tonight, I evolve."

With that thought, he virtually inserted the key in a door. The air shimmered. A swirling vortex of dark blue and violet opened in front of him.

He stepped forward without hesitation.

Back at the capital, the city gates buzzed with guards controlling the people. Suddenly, one guard froze, pointing.

"Is that... the Viscount? From Margrave?"

"He’s on foot?! Where’s his carriage?"

Several guards rushed toward the noble as he shuffled across the dirt road, clothes torn and dust-covered.

"Viscount! What happened?! Where is your escort? Where’s your security?!"

The Viscount lifted his head slowly.

His voice came out simple and relaxed.

"Nothing. It was simple... Business."