Tale of the Red Dragon Without Dragon’s Might
Chapter 198 - 197 Not Over Yet

Chapter 198: Chapter 197 Not Over Yet

The Ophalos Demon could speak and write nearly all languages, enabling them to function as cunning diplomats and negotiators, skillfully and flexibly brokering terms and alliances.

Men only speak of loyalty when the price of betrayal is too low.

If the Ophalos Demon could help him return to Earth, Leon couldn’t guarantee that he wouldn’t betray Tassera. But since such a scenario was clearly impossible, there was only one answer: "You think a simple ’thank you’ is enough to make me sit idle? Is your face that big?"

Tassera glanced at Leon. It was clearly the dead of night, yet his crimson scales somehow appeared more resplendent than usual. She couldn’t help but curl her lips into a faint smile.

"Ophalos Demon, you self-serving Yugros Demons have only profit in your eyes. You don’t understand what emotions even mean, so don’t try to sow discord between us. It won’t work," Tassera responded, resuming her Dragon Form. Compared to a fully-armored Red Dragon, her appearance was more modest yet no less imposing.

"Discussing feelings with a chaotic-evil Red Dragon?" The Ophalos Demon chuckled. "The very things you believe in will one day be your downfall."

"You might think you know Red Dragons, but you don’t know about me." Tassera stood firm, unfazed. "I don’t trust Red Dragons, but I trust him."

Hearing Tassera’s words, Leon felt a twinge of emotion. If there was one thing he hated most, it was people who tried to stir up trouble. "Why waste words with it, Tassera? A Yugros Demon’s mouth never utters anything true... Just kill it, and there’ll be no more problems."

"Hold off killing it for now; I want to ask why it has schemed against me," Tassera replied.

"It’s not that I want to scheme against you; it’s that you brought this on yourself," the Ophalos Demon said. "Your insatiable curiosity will be your undoing."

The Ophalos Demon reiterated that Tassera wouldn’t have been targeted if she hadn’t acquired the Bloodsucking Sword and insisted on investigating it. Her curiosity offended the powerful being who created the cursed weapon, and that being ordered it to set up this entire plot against her.

Leon listened, finally connecting the dots about how Tassera’s Flame Card played into all of this.

"You think you can kill me?" Tassera sneered, her voice laced with icy disdain. "Is the so-called ’master’ you speak of underestimating me?"

"You’ve misunderstood something," the Ophalos Demon replied. "I didn’t come here to kill you. I’m merely the bait to lure you out... The person who gave you the address for this ruin? I tampered with it a little beforehand."

"Once you show up here, the people of Oasis City will make their move and seize your shop," the Ophalos Demon continued. "That shop you worked so hard to open will be taken away. Will that make you sad and despair? That’s exactly what my master wants to see."

"Taking my shop won’t be so easy," Tassera said. She thought of the myriad Magic Traps and the Stone Magic Statue protecting her store.

"Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t be," the Ophalos Demon admitted as he spread his arms in an elegant gesture while pacing. "But to ensure their success, my master has generously bestowed upon them many formidable items, as powerful as the Bloodsucking Sword."

Tassera nodded slightly, her voice calm. "It’s just a shop. I don’t really care."

"If not for the way your eyes keep darting elsewhere, if not for those subtle movements, I might almost believe you," the Ophalos Demon said. "Ah, what a delightful evening, isn’t it?"

"Trying to leave?" The Ophalos Demon clasped his hands behind his back, tilting his gaze toward the Blue Dragon. "I’ll make sure you don’t get the chance."

"Don’t let its words shake you. It’s just money—what’s the big deal?" Leon interjected. "Money is a fleeting thing. If we kill it, we’ll profit instead. Ready the Dimension Anchor so it can’t escape with Otherworldly Transmission."

"A teenage Red Dragon," the Ophalos Demon sneered, now eyeing Leon.

"What’s your problem with that?" Leon retorted, reminding himself of his victories against foes like Death Knights and Angmog, a Red Dragon of prime adulthood. Sure, he couldn’t yet beat the Death Horror Monarch, but he never expected an Ophalos Demon to look down on him.

Leon bared his teeth but held his tongue. He roared instead, unleashing his ferocious presence, swiping a claw imbued with an immobilization spell—whether through aura or spell, it worked. The Demon froze for just a few seconds, but it was enough for Leon to lunge and grab hold. Before he could follow through, however, the Demon vanished.

A combination of Flash Technique and Teleportation brought the Ophalos Demon atop a tall pillar. Seeing the Red Dragon glaring at him, the Demon created a minor illusion and used the Invisibility Technique to take to the sky. Yet, to his dismay, the Red Dragon transformed into an ethereal mist that rendered the illusions useless, relentlessly homing in on him.

What’s with this Red Dragon? What spell is that? The Ophalos Demon panicked, preparing another teleportation. But no matter where he fled, the mist-like dragon adjusted its trajectory, ceaselessly pursuing him.

Teleportation again, followed by Dimension Gate. Leon finally acknowledged that chasing the fleet-footed Ophalos Demon was proving annoyingly tedious.

Fear Technique, resisted. Exile Technique, resisted.

Monster Immobilization Technique landed, bypassing his awareness. But numbing Leon was impossible—his burning Samadhi True Fire blazed within him, purging sickness, subduing evil, and leaving within its flames neither remnants nor harm.

Chain Lightning, Death Finger? Leon wasn’t about to endure injuries. He activated Vajra Body without hesitation.

An Ophalos Demon—just one—was only a minor obstacle despite its extensive spell arsenal, taxing Leon’s time and patience but nothing more. Immobilized by one spell, it lay prone under Leon’s claw, both arms torn off—merely because Leon didn’t feel like killing it outright.

"A teenage dragon’s enough to have a problem?" Leon mocked, glaring down at the Ophalos Demon.

Even with both arms gone, the Ophalos Demon retained its poise, replying calmly, "No problem. You’re strong. You’ve won."

"Now tell me, who is this ’master’ of yours?" Leon demanded.

"Didn’t you notice the Blue Dragon hasn’t asked me? It’s because she knows I won’t speak," the Demon said.

"Do you think I won’t kill you?" Leon increased the pressure of his grip. While the Demon’s physical resilience as a spellcaster was far superior to most, under any ordinary circumstances, its body would already be pulp.

"Then go ahead, kill me," the Ophalos Demon shouted defiantly.

Dying held no fear for the Demon; as a Yugros Demon, it would dissolve into ooze upon death, reforming in the Eternal Wilderness of the Burning Flame Hell, fully restored. The only way to permanently destroy a Yugros Demon was to kill it on its home plane—the Burning Flame Hell.

And armed with that knowledge, the Ophalos Demon had no qualms about defying either the Blue or Red Dragons, showing zero care for its personal safety.

"Clearly, you haven’t seen my methods." Leon inhaled deeply, unleashing his Samadhi True Fire.

Leon had long suspected that his Samadhi True Fire was capable of incinerating demons and devils alike even on the Material Plane, given its ability to burn souls. When he previously encountered a haughty Hunting Demon, one blast of the True Fire had it fleeing in utter terror. Still, lacking proof, Leon saw this Ophalos Demon as a fitting test subject.

He curbed the fire after mere contact—anxious about outright killing the Demon. The result? The Demon’s once-furry jackal-like head was now hairless, though not a single scream or plea for mercy escaped it. Leon’s confidence wavered... His fire was potent but evidently not deadly enough.

"Shall I continue?" Leon asked, undeterred, convinced the fire was at least excruciatingly painful if not lethal.

The Ophalos Demon pursed its lips, glaring at the Red Dragon. Prideful as it was, sensing imminent death, its survival instincts overruled all. Elegance abandoned, it muttered meekly: "My apologies—my tone was a bit loud just now."

Leon burst into laughter. "If apologies worked, we wouldn’t need law enforcement."

"So, who is it?" Leon pressed again.

"I can’t say," the Ophalos Demon admitted. "It’s watching everything here and can show up anytime. It could find me in the Burning Flame Hell and kill me."

"It could kill you in Burning Flame Hell, but I can kill you right now. Pick one," Leon said, licking his lips.

"Master, save me!" the Ophalos Demon, now truly distressed, called out fearfully.

Suddenly, an ominous presence surged. The projection of a Yugros Demon lord wielding a forge hammer and long whip gradually materialized.

"Who are you?" Leon asked.

"Marahix," came the Yugros Demon lord’s deep, resonant answer.

"Never heard of you," Leon replied matter-of-factly.

"That’s Chains Demon General Marahis," the Ophalos Demon interjected.

Leon shot the Demon a glance, rising to his feet. Summoning the Catastrophe Blade, he tore a scale from his own body, dropping it to the ground as he activated the Downy Hairs technique, summoning a doppelgänger. "I don’t care who you are. That Blue Dragon is my ally. If you want to harm her, you’ll have to get through me first. I’ll be waiting right here."

"I’ll remember you," Marahix said, voice cold as it faded.

"And I’ll remember you," Leon retorted with a nonchalant lift of his chin.

"You can shield her now, but can you protect her every moment, everywhere?"

"I don’t have to. Once I get to the Burning Flame Hell and kill you, it’ll be over."

"I’ll be waiting." Marahix’s projection flickered before vanishing completely.

"Coward. I thought it might actually teleport here," Leon sneered, turning back to the campfire. "You have anything else to say?"

The Ophalos Demon tilted its head, murmuring, "So even the grand Chains Demon General Marahis fears death? It’s long been said it’s one of the Night Hag sisters’ masterpieces, more akin to a cunning Night Hag than an actual Yugros Demon. Looks like it’s true."

"Done talking?" Leon asked.

"I can sign a contract to serve you," the Ophalos Demon offered.

"No matter what promises Yugros Demons make, the moment a better opportunity arises, they immediately break them. I’m not stupid," Leon said, unleashing another jet of Samadhi True Fire. "I can trust devils, but not your kind."