Ch.207206. The Dragon’s Head

# 206. The Dragon’s Head

The gatekeepers who had brought them to their king without particular complaint, even somewhat kindly.

Solomon’s non-violent philosophy had played a part in this strange behavior.

If not for that, the battle would have begun before they even entered this place.

Bael looked at his worthy opponent he hadn’t seen in a long time and smiled suspiciously.

“It’s been a while, Solomon.”

Those eyes that looked at Bael upon hearing those words.

If anyone other than Bael had looked into those eyes, they would have been gripped by fear.

And even without those eyes, the size comparable to a national palace and the magical power reminiscent of the Persian kingdom instinctively evoked primal fear.

After a moment, the solemn voice of that monster echoed throughout the canyon.

“What brings you here? I’m certain I told you not to come.”

A voice that sounded like a warning.

That voice contained deep anger.

However, Bael seemed unconcerned about such matters.

“I merely kept the promise I made back then.”

Solomon frowned upon hearing those words.

Then he gave one final warning to the one who wouldn’t even listen to his words.

“Leave right now, while I’m still asking nicely.”

“Don’t be like that. Think again. Don’t you, like me, want to end this tiresome war?”

That was true.

Solomon did not approve of the ongoing war between them.

However, his reasons were clearly different from Bael’s.

“Violence begets violence. I do not wish to use violence to solve violence.”

“Tch… How long will you keep spouting such nonsense?”

“Non…sense? Did you just call it nonsense?”

A voice with a completely different tone than before.

With that single voice, the atmosphere around them changed dramatically.

Even the air felt heavy in this atmosphere, and within it, they were targeting each other.

Exuding blatant killing intent.

“Surely… you don’t think you can subdue me by force? Do you think that makes any sense?”

“Why not? It worked well enough last time.”

Bael immediately raised his weapon, [Lucifer’s Staff].

The energy emanating from that staff was by no means inferior compared to Solomon’s aura.

It certainly lived up to its reputation as an SSS+ grade item.

“Humans always use such weapons. Is it because you lack confidence in your own abilities?”

“We’re smart and you’re stupid, inferior creature.”

That exchange became the harbinger of battle, and everyone present assumed combat positions.

In that tense situation, he spoke.

“This is your last chance. Leave now, and I’ll forget this ever happened.”

Solomon didn’t want to fight them.

That’s why he offered those words as a form of mercy and an escape route.

However, Bael’s thoughts were quite different, and sure enough, he pointed his staff toward Solomon.

And that action became the signal for this massive battle.

“Capture him alive no matter what, by my command.”

The battle began, as expected, with his magic.

A massive fireball summoned from the tip of his staff, reminiscent of a meteor, crashed down upon them.

-BOOM!!!-

Just one spell.

Yet its power was beyond imagination.

The fireball swept away everything in sight, and the canyon instantly became a sea of flames.

Of course, that was just the beginning.

“Kill the others, we only need him. Agareus.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Though the order was directed only at Agareus, he didn’t move alone.

Six executioners and various mercenaries moved simultaneously.

They struck at their enemies with their respective abilities.

Still, being dragon-folk, they weren’t easily defeated.

“Did you think you could defeat us with such meager attacks?”

A voice full of confidence.

Solomon seemed certain of their victory already, given his previous experience and the significant difference in raw power.

However, the other side wasn’t going down easily either.

“Stand before me.”

Hearing Bael’s command, several figures quickly ran to stand in front of him.

Bael gave them another order.

“Don’t let any attack reach me, for about 5 minutes.”

Bael immediately knelt down.

Then he hurriedly began drawing a magic circle.

“F-five minutes?”

“Shut up and just defend, Phenex!!”

In this situation, Amon, another executioner, shouted loudly at Phenex.

Amon deployed his shield against the breath of the approaching monsters.

-WHOOSH!! ROAR!!-

Blue flames erupting from the mouths of those monsters.

Their power was on a completely different level compared to the [Blue Flame] used by humans.

The earlier magic seemed cute in comparison.

Though he was blocking it, he was gradually being pushed back.

“Ugh… brutally strong…”

“Just hold on a little longer, Amon.”

She was preparing magic just like Bael, under Amon’s protection.

Marbas swung her staff toward her allies.

-SWISH!!-

A beautiful bright light from the staff circled around them, and soon it seeped into their bodies.

As those lights entered his body, Amon breathed a sigh of relief.

“Now I can manage…”

He still looked strained.

But it was a hundred, a thousand times better than before.

His breathing was more relaxed, and most importantly, he was no longer being pushed back but rather advancing little by little.

Of course, the other dragons wouldn’t allow that.

-CRASH!! CRUNCH!!-

Other dragons interfering with Amon, but he continued forward regardless.

With the support of his comrades.

“Did you think you could pierce my shield with such feeble attacks?”

The situation had changed somewhat.

And in this situation, the 5 minutes he had mentioned earlier had already passed.

5 minutes.

Right at the 5-minute mark, a formidable magical power was felt behind Amon.

A magic circle about 5 meters in radius. Bael stood on that glowing red magic circle and pointed his staff toward Solomon.

“Step aside.”

And Solomon, sensing that energy, instinctively closed his mouth that had been spewing fire.

Then he tried to flee.

He sensed it instinctively.

That it was dangerous.

However…

“Where do you think you’re going with that body!!”

A resounding cry.

Along with that cry, a brilliant radiance appeared and engulfed him.

-TZZZZZ!! BOOM!!-

***

“Then couldn’t we go to the canyon first and make contact with them?”

“Even if we make contact, Solomon won’t side with us anyway, and since we’re human, we can’t forcibly control him.”

Of course, this doesn’t mean I would have tried if I could.

“What if the other side makes contact with them and forcibly controls them?”

“He’s not that easy to deal with. He’s not the kind of being you can just capture by going there.”

“But you said he’s not impossible to capture.”

I certainly did say that.

But saying he’s not impossible to capture doesn’t mean he’s as easy to capture as other monsters.

“It would be difficult even if we mobilized all the executioners. There would be casualties, and in the worst case, we could be completely wiped out.”

Bael wouldn’t do such a thing.

It’s not absolutely impossible, but he wouldn’t do it.

And even if he did try such a thing, we have Lilith.

There’s no way Lilith wouldn’t know about such an important mission to capture Solomon, and there’s no way they wouldn’t take Lilith with them.

“If they tried something like that, that succubus would let us know. That’s why we went through all that trouble, right?”

“What if Bael just didn’t tell her?”

“Then… it would be dangerous.”

“Should we go check? You never know.”

If I hadn’t heard those words from her, I wouldn’t have even imagined it.

Because it didn’t happen in my previous life.

But now the circumstances were quite different, and that made me worried.

“You might be right…”

“What do you think about going there?”

“Definitely not just the two of us, under any circumstances.”

“Then what should we do…?”

“We need to bring someone, anyone…”

I thought of those most suitable for that “anyone.”

The Emperor, the two heroes, and Lilith.

With them, we wouldn’t die.

And the moment I thought of them, I sensed magical energy from an unexpected direction.

“Huh?”

I instinctively looked in that direction.

And proving that I wasn’t the only one who felt it, she was also looking in that direction.

“That direction… it’s not what I think it is, right…?”

“It didn’t start from that far away… but still this scale… and above all, this magical power…”

It was familiar.

Too familiar.

That’s why it sent chills down my spine.

“Um… Albert? That’s not what I think it is, right? Like, the aftermath of the Demon King’s magic or something…”

She was spot on.

So accurate that it gave me goosebumps.

I thought it was impossible.

But after directly feeling that energy, I couldn’t ignore it anymore.

I spoke to her, who had made such remarkably accurate statements.

“Quickly call everyone. At this rate, the Dragon’s Head will be captured.”