VOLUME 14: CHAPTER 9

"You called for me, father?"

Several days after the Dragons declared their desire to conquer the Bottomless Gorge in order to mine the adamantite, Crown Prince Hafnir was summoned by his father, Dwarven King Lerenon.

As a father, King Lerenon had never been the affectionate type. He'd always been impartial to his sons, treating them based on merits rather than familial love.

Still, Crown Prince Hafnir believed his father cherished his children. When one of his brothers died during the Trial, King Lerenon even personally led his army to slaughter the Corrupted Dryad.

The Crown Prince stood in the throne room in silence, patiently waiting for the Dwarven King to finish polishing his sword. Based on what the Crown Prince heard on his way here, it seemed that there would be an expedition soon to a faraway land. It was well known that the Dwarven King would always polish his equipment before heading out.

And the next words that came out of the Dwarven King's mouth proved that Crown Prince Hafnir was right.

"We'll be departing for the Uncharted Mountains in a few hours. The Dragons asked us to come along with them to watch the human king's magic demonstration."

Magic demonstration?

The human king and his spell demonstration aside, the Crown Prince wondered why they were going to such a faraway land now of all times.

"The Uncharted Mountains? I thought we plan on going to the Bottomless Gorge in a couple of weeks?"

The Uncharted Mountain was located far east of the Poison Insect Paradise. By distance alone, it would take a normal dwarf at least half a year to reach the place by foot, and that's if they were lucky to not meet any monsters along the way.

True to its name, the Uncharted Mountains was an area on the map that had never been fully explored before, even by the dwarves. It was an area synonymous with the Endless Forest of the lukasians.

Due to the distance, if they head to the Uncharted Mountains now, they wouldn't make it in time for the expedition to the Bottomless Gorge.

"The place was suggested by the human king," said King Lerenon. "I don't know what kind of spell he'll be using, but he asked for a land devoid of any creatures for his magic demonstration."

"But if we go there now…."

The Dwarven King raised his sword, admiring its perfectly polished blade. The sword glimmered from the slightest touch of light in the throne room.

"Hafnir, make no mistake. Try to see the situation using the perspective of the Dragons instead of us dwarves. To us, it's called the Uncharted Mountains, but for the Dragons, it's something similar to their backyard."

"…Ah."

Hafnir was reminded again of the vast difference between the two species. The distance he was worried about would be crossed by the Dragons simply by their ability to fly.

Still, something did not make sense.

If the human king wished to demonstrate his magic, why did they have to go as far as the Uncharted Mountains? Hafnir buried such questions at the back of his mind.

King Lerenon started polishing his bracers next. Without looking at his son, he said, "I heard what you did for your brothers."

The story of how Crown Prince Hafnir begged the Ancient Fire Dragons to spare his brothers had spread throughout the entire Kingdom by now. Thanks to this, the dwarves started seeing the Crown Prince in a new light. Even Prince Orgro, who used to curse Hafnir whenever they met, had started treating him amicably after learning of what he did.

Giving out information regarding a massive adamantite deposit in exchange for the lives of two dwarves was an incredible feat. Due to how precious adamantite was, not everyone would be willing to do what the Crown Prince did.

"That's..."

"Good job."

"Eh?"

For the first time in his life, Crown Prince Hafnir heard his father praise him. Crown Prince Hafnir's eyes widened as he gazed at the Dwarven King.

The Dwarven King stopped polishing his bracers and smiled at him. "You did what I couldn't back then. I am proud of you, my son."

The shoulders of Crown Prince Hafnir started quivering. He didn't know his father could smile like that. It was his first time seeing so much affection in his father's eyes.

Slowly, a self-mocking smile formed on the Dwarven King's face. "When I was your age, I didn't even try to save my brothers. Gorovir survived, that's true, but it's mainly because he's the kingdom's greatest blacksmith."

The Dwarven King continued, "I was too enamored by the throne. I already knew I was destined to win it, but I was afraid of competition. Do you know what I felt when my brothers and the other members of my family were executed by Vulcan after the Trial?"

The Dwarven King's self-mocking smile grew deeper, "Relief. I felt relieved knowing they were dead. I felt at ease knowing that all potential threats have been killed by the Dragon."

The Dwarven King looked up. "Pathetic, aren't I? People often say I'm the strongest Dwarven King in history, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. Strong? Hah! I couldn't even protect what's important to me back then."

Aside from Crown Prince Hafnir, there were six guards in the throne room. Although the guards were trying their best to appear as expressionless possible, it was apparent they were also shaken by this revelation.

Who knew that the Dwarven King Lerenon had this side to him?

"Compared to me, you're more qualified for the Dwarven King position," said King Lerenon.

The Dwarven King stood up and handed Crown Prince Hafnir an old book and a fist-size white orb.

"Father… this is?"

"In the next few years, I will officially hand over the position of Dwarven King to you," said King Lerenon. "These are the items handed down from generations to generations of Dwarven Kings. This book contains the principles of the martial art technique created by the First Dwarven King, and the memory stone contains the fragmented instructions that will help you master the technique."

Crown Prince Hafnir nervously received the two items.

The book aside, he recognized what the orb was. This wasn't the first time he'd seen a memory stone.

"…Will I meet the First Dwarven King once I use this stone?" said Crown Prince Hafnir. 

King Lerenon shook his head. "That's impossible. As I've said before, the memories in that stone are fragmented. Even I took half a decade to fully understand them. Rather than memories, they're more similar to incomplete instructions. Without the book, you wouldn't understand the instructions contained in the memory stone. Likewise, without the memory stone, you wouldn't be able to understand what's written on the book. The two couldn't exist without the other."

Half a decade? 

If even someone as talented as his father took half a decade to fully understand the martial art technique, it would probably take Crown Prince Hafnir several decades before he could master them. 

Still, knowing how powerful his father was, this martial technique was probably the real deal. 

Seeing Crown Prince Hafnir's expression, King Lerenon seemed to have understood his thoughts. 

The King smiled warmly, "Do not worry. You are more than qualified to learn the martial art technique created by the Founder. Have more faith in yourself. I believe that if it's you, you'll be able to learn it sooner or later."

Crown Prince Hafnir willed back the tears that had formed at the corner of his eyes. He'd never heard such encouraging words from his father before. This was the first time.

"T-Thank you, father."

King Lerenon patted his shoulder. "Now, get ready. All of us – your brothers included – will accompany the human king and the Dragons to the Uncharted Mountains."

***

Several hours later, the Ancient Fire Dragons and King Lark's group arrived at the Dwarven Royal Palace. 

Just like before, their arrival caused a commotion. 

"Is everyone here?" said Vulcan. 

All of the members of the royal family and a hand-picked number of retinues had already gathered in the throne room. Including Lark's group, nearly forty people would be going to the Uncharted Mountains today to witness Lark's spell demonstration. 

"Yes, Great Guardian Deity," said King Lerenon. 

Unlike before, the dwarves didn't prostrate on the ground as they greeted the Dragons. Lark told Vulcan that he found it uncomfortable to be greeted this way, and the leader of the Ancient Fire Dragons readily agreed to be lenient. 

In accordance to Lark' request, King Lerenon also brought his advisors and several military officials with him. Lark said that the spell he would demonstrate on the Uncharted Mountains would take a toll on his body, and even he would find it hard to cast the same spell twice. Therefore, it would be better if more people witnessed it for the first time.

"Dwarves, be grateful we are bringing all of you with us. If not for King Lark's request, you wouldn't have even been granted this chance," said Vulcan. 

King Lerenon bowed his head. "We are grateful for this opportunity, Great Guardian Deity." 

While King Lerenon was uttering those words, the advisors and military officials the Dwarven King brought with him silently mocked Lark in their minds.

Although they revered the Dragons as deities, the same couldn't be said for these humans. 

Spell demonstration? 

Hah! How laughable. 

It was absurd that they should be grateful that they were being given the opportunity to witness the spell of a mere human. 

Of course, the dwarves would never voice out these thoughts out loud. They silently bowed their heads, following the Dwarven King's lead, pretending to be thrilled to witness the spell of the human king. 

After leaving the dwarven palace, Vulcan called out his sons. 

"Agnus, Arcturus." 

"Yes!" 

"Father!" 

"King Lark needs to conserve his mana for the spell demonstration, so it'll be up to the two of you to transport these dwarves to the Uncharted Mountains." 

Hearing this, Agnus' face contorted. Even Arcturus was taken aback by this order.

Although they were both young, they still had their pride as members of the Dragon Race.

Their father was basically asking the two of them to let those stupid dwarves ride on their backs.

For several seconds, the two stood there, unable to utter a reply. 

"Hm? Didn't you hear your father?" said Vesta in a cold voice. Only her lips were smiling. Her reptilian pupils elongated as she stared at her sons.

"…B-But mother," said Agnus. 

Vesta's gaze turned sharper. "But what?"

Seeing this, Arcturus shuddered. He nudged Agnus, wordlessly telling him not to provoke their mother any further. 

"Haha, we'll do it, of course," Arcturus nervously chuckled. "Right, Agnus?" He whispered to his little brother, "What are you doing? Just say you'll do it! You know what will happen to us if she gets angry!" 

Agnus prevented a groan from leaking out of his mouth. He said in resignation, "Yes. We'll take care of it, mother." 

Unable to show disdain for their parents, the two young Dragons directed their hatred to the dwarves instead. 

Agnus and Arcturus glared at the dwarves. If looks could kill, they would have slaughtered them by now. Noticing their displeasure, the dwarves averted their gazes, afraid of aggravating the situation further. 

Agnus clicked his tongue. "Just this once—" 

Slowly, he undid his polymorph. His clothes transformed into scales, and the weapon on his back turned into claws. His body grew, transforming into a fifty-meter large red dragon. 

In a far deeper voice, Agnus continued, "—I'll let you ride on my back." 

The dwarves who witnessed the hatchling's transformation shuddered in awe. And when Arcturus also started undoing his polymorph, some of the advisors shrieked from excitement. 

Who would have known that a day would come when they would be able to witness a Dragon's polymorph up-close! 

Moreover, they would be given the privilege to ride on top of the Great Guardian Deities' back! 

One after another, the dwarves and the other members of Lark's group rode on top of Agnus and Arcturus. Vulcan, Shahaneth, Vesta, and the Scylla didn't bother reverting to their original form. They planned on just flying there in their human forms, together with Lark. 

"God Evander, if you change your mind," said the first Scylla head. "We can always revert to our original form and carry you all the way to that mountain."

The other heads readily nodded. 

"That's right!"

"Please don't hesitate to tell us!" 

Lark smiled, "Thank you, Blackie. I'll take you on the offer when the time comes." 

The seven old men shrieked, "You can count on us, God Evander!" 

Allowing the Scylla to revert to its original form and carry them all the way to the Uncharted Mountains would be the ideal scenario if Lark wished to conserve all of his mana. But after some deliberation, he decided against it. Flying there on his own would allow him to have a better view of the surroundings. 

Lark wished to see everything with his own eyes, unobstructed by anything. He wished to experience with his own body the beauty of the Dwarven Mountain range, along with everything it has to offer.

***

After flying for almost an entire day, their group finally arrived at the Uncharted Mountains. 

The dwarves King Lerenon brought with him weren't accustomed to flying. By the time they arrived, their bodies were already sore from all the sitting. Thankfully, Lark shielded them from the wind using a barrier spell. Otherwise, they would have frozen to death by now. 

"Ugh, I feel like puking," muttered one of the advisors. 

"Hey, don't you dare! Just hold it in!" muttered another. 

"B-But I can't! A-Ah, uagghhh!" 

"Uuaaacckk!" 

Unable to take it any longer, the advisor vomited on the ground, and the other dwarves who saw this followed suit. 

Seeing this, Vulcan and Arcturus frowned and clicked their tongues in disgust. King Lerenon and the princes were also displeased but decided not to rebuke the dwarves. 

The Dragons turned their gazes away from the vomiting dwarves. 

"We're here," said Vulcan. "This is the Uncharted Mountains, King Lark."

Lark looked around him. Contrary to the lush mountains they passed on their way here, this place looked barren. Some parts of the mountain range resembled canyons, and there were hardly any plants or trees around. 

It was the perfect place for Lark to perform the most powerful spell of the Fire Elemental Lord Candela. 

Lark looked at the horizon. "What's beyond these mountains, Vulcan?" 

This place was so far that unlike the Kingdom of Lukas, the Empire, and the Republic of Everfrost, it remained relatively warm. 

Vulcan looked in the same direction Lark was gazing at. "Hm… that one? When I was young, I flew all the way to the end of that place. Beyond the Uncharted Mountains is a massive grassland. And beyond that is the ocean."

"The ocean, huh," muttered Lark.

Just to be safe, Lark released a cloud of mana and willed it to expand, covering a radius of several kilometers. After confirming that there were no creatures around aside from some small animals, he decided to perform the spell here at this place. 

Lark said to everyone. "Listen. I can perform this spell only once, so I request everyone to observe and watch it carefully. This is a spell exclusive to Fire Elementals, and as a human, I have to pay a hefty price to perform this spell." 

When the seven heads heard this, they trembled. They immediately understood what Lark was pertaining to. When a mage mentioned the words 'hefty price', it meant only two things: an offering or their life force. 

"W-Wait, God Evander! Surely, you're not planning to use your life force to perform the spell?!" 

"L-Life force?" 

"Please stop! Don't do it, God Evander!"

The seven heads panicked, and even Lady Alice started joining them in dissuading Lark from casting the spell.

"You're going to use your life force for the spell demonstration, King Lark?" said Vulcan, finding it absurd. 

Unlike mana, life force couldn't be naturally recovered. Using life force was no different from trading a person's life in exchange of casting a spell. 

The Dragons finally realized why Lark asked them to bring the dwarves with them. It would be too much of a waste if only the dragons witnessed this spell. 

Lark smiled. "Adamantite isn't cheap, Vulcan. I need to do this much in exchange for all the adamantite I'll be receiving from you later on." 

Even back in the Era of Magic, adamantite was a precious resource. Lark wasn't shameless enough to just leverage on their friendship to obtain the adamantite deposits in the Bottomless Gorge. 

Adamantite wasn't something a person could buy with money, after all. 

Vulcan and Vesta looked at each other.

For the first time, Vesta's smile completely slid down her face. She understood the gravity of the situation. She understood that the human before her would be spending his already limited lifespan for this demonstration.

"How many years of your life do you plan on using?" said Vesta.

"Around ten years at most, Vesta," said Lark.

"T-TEN YEARS?!"

The seven old men shouted in terror. Even Lady Alice nearly fainted when she heard those words. 

"Please understand, Blackie," said Lark. "Adamantite isn't something I can just obtain for free."

Even during the Era of Magic, a person could work all their life and not be able to obtain even a small amount of adamantite. Some people would even agree that the metal was more precious than a person's life. 

"B-But!"

"Y-Your l-lifespan!"

"God Evander, don't do this, please!" 

Vulcan said, "King Lark… I'll give it to you for free. So, listen to the snake. There's no need for you to do this."

For the first time, Vulcan and the Scylla came to an agreement. 

Agnus, who'd grown fond of Lark, added, "I've seen the deposits in the Bottomless Gorge with my own eyes. The adamantite vein is incredibly big. There should be enough left even if we split it among us. Father is right. Don't waste your life force like this."

Lark shook his head. "It's fine. Just think of it as my selfish desire to perform the spell of my beloved master. And witnessing the strongest spell of the Fire Elemental Lord Candela will help the entire Fire Dragons reach greater heights in the future."

Lark took a step forward, and from his body, white mana started seeping out. Like flames, the mana flickered and danced, covering Lark's body. Strangely, the white mana that resembled flames felt cold rather than hot.

"The Fire Elemental Lord Candela is an existence even the Demon Lords feared," said Lark. 

It was the reason why Evander Alaester took refuge in the territory of the Fire Elemental Lord back in his younger years, when he found himself surrounded by the demons in the Demon Realm. It was the reason they met back then. Looking back on those memories, it was one of Evander Alaester's fruitful encounters. 

The young Evander stayed in that territory until his wounds fully healed, and during that time, he'd forged a master-student relationship with Candela. 

Even the craziest demons didn't dare go past the inner parts of the Fire Elemental Lord's territory. 

Some bold ones would attempt to encroach it, but no one openly antagonized the Fire Elemental Lord Candela itself.

"And this spell I'm about to show all of you is the Fire Elemental Lord Candela's strongest spell."

Lark flew up, and the white flames licking his body slithered to the sky, forming a massive sun. 

"The origin of all flames."

The massive white sun slowly turned blue, before finally turning black. It grew larger and hotter while absorbing Lark's mana and life force, until it covered a massive portion of the sky.

"The Primordial Fire." 

After reaching a diameter of around five kilometers, the black sun finally stopped growing. If it were the Fire Elemental Lord Candela who cast this spell, it could easily grow three times larger than this. But for a human like Lark, this was the limit. 

He'd already burned through ten years of his life just for this spell. 

"Blackie, Vulcan," said Lark through mental transmission. "Please protect everyone." 

Without waiting for the two to respond, Lark willed the Primordial Fire to descend from the heavens and touch the ground. 

As the black sun descended, the heat felt by those below intensified. 

The Dragons, Lady Alice, and Blackie quickly erected barriers to protect everyone from the heat, but the black sun was so scorching that everyone felt like their bodies were melting. 

The dwarven royal advisors who'd been silently mocking Lark before for orchestrating this spell demonstration started wetting their pants. Their eyes had grown wide to the point of popping out. 

If not for the heat coming from above keeping them fully awake, they would have all fainted by now. 

"O-Oh Great Guardian Deities!" 

"We're… We're going to die!"

"G-Good heavens! Wha… W-What is that?!"

Crown Prince Hafnir's body froze from fear, and at the corner of his eyes he noticed that even his father was shaken by the black sun descending to the ground. 

If that thing touches the ground…

It wouldn't be surprising if it obliterated everything in sight. 

And their fears came true. 

The moment the black sun touched the ground, it exploded, creating a massive shockwave that shook the entire Uncharted Mountains. The barrier created by the Dragons, Scylla, and Lady Alice combined formed cracks and almost broke just from the shockwave alone.

The spell, created by combining not only Lark's mana but also his life force, unfolded before everyone in a terrifying manner.

The black flames spread out in all directions the moment the black sun exploded. Everything the black flames touched melted, even the ground and mountains included.

Everyone's vision became shrouded with black.

"The barrier!" shouted Vesta. "It's going to break soon!"

It was the first time Agnus saw his mother lose composure. Even she was terrified of what would happen the moment the barrier broke.

Agnus could instinctively feel it – even Fire Dragons like them would melt if those black flames devoured their bodies.

The Dragons, Scylla, and Lady Alice started pouring more mana into the barrier, strengthening it severalfold. Still, the black flames that had reached all the way here started chipping away at their barrier, creating numerous cracks on it. 

"Ah, God Evander!"

Thankfully, before the barrier finally broke, Lark descended before them and activated the Sword of Morpheus. Although he looked exhausted, Lark skillfully manipulated the Sword of Morpheus to turn into a large shield, deflecting most of the black flames that came their way.

This continued for several minutes, and eventually, the black flames subsided.

The black veil covering everything vanished, and everyone who saw the aftermath of the spell stood there in total silence.

Nearly a third of the Uncharted Mountains, a territory that spanned more than a thousand kilometers, had become a massive charred wasteland devoid of life. 

The mountains around them weren't flattened – they were melted by the spell.

Everyone finally realized why Lark refused to perform this spell near the Dwarven Kingdom.

This was a spell not meant to be used in a battle for it did not discriminate between allies and enemies.

It was purely a spell of mass destruction meant to obliterate everything.