Chapter 210 — The Draiger King

Chapter 210: Chapter 210 — The Draiger King

Chapter 210 — The Draiger King

Thousands of miles away from the Alchemy Tower, on the other side of the world, a massive castle rose above a land ruled by beasts.

Deep within that castle was a throne room large enough to swallow entire buildings.

Black stone pillars stretched toward a ceiling so high it disappeared into shadow. Massive braziers burned along the walls, their flames barely pushing back the darkness. Between the pillars stood armored beast guards, each one silent and unmoving.

At the far end of the hall stood the throne.

Dark stone formed its base, while its back rose nearly twenty feet into the air. Strange bones had been worked into the frame. Some belonged to beasts.

Others were unmistakably human.

Ancient claw marks covered its sides, and a long crimson carpet stretched from the throne all the way to the entrance.

A man sat upon it.

At least, he looked somewhat like one.

His body was humanoid, but there was no mistaking the beast within him.

Orange ears rose from the top of his head. His eyes resembled those of a tiger, narrow pupils surrounded by a deep golden-orange. His teeth were slightly too long and sharp to belong to any human.

Despite all of that, there was something strangely regal about him.

He sat calmly upon the throne, one arm resting against its side as he watched the humans gathered before him.

There were dozens throughout the chamber.

Some carried trays of food and drinks. Others stood silently against the walls, heads lowered, careful not to draw attention to themselves.

Then there was the line directly in front of the throne.

Men and women of different ages knelt quietly on the stone floor, waiting for their turn.

Their faces were pale and empty. Some stared at the floor. Others looked straight ahead with dead eyes, as if whatever fear they’d once possessed had already been exhausted long ago.

The man on the throne studied them.

His gaze eventually settled on a young woman who appeared to be around twenty years old.

He raised one finger.

"You."

The woman’s body stiffened.

"Come here, human."

She stood.

Her legs trembled as she approached, but she didn’t resist.

There was nowhere to run.

She stopped several feet from the throne.

The man’s lips slowly curled upward.

"Oh... you’ll do nicely."

Crack.

The woman’s eyes widened.

Bones shifted beneath the man’s skin.

Muscles expanded.

His humanoid form grew rapidly as orange fur spread across his body.

Within seconds, the man was gone.

In his place stood an enormous beast nearly the size of an elephant.

A Draiger.

It vaguely resembled a tiger, but the similarities ended quickly.

Thick scales covered parts of its enormous body between patches of orange-and-black fur. Two massive wings rested against its back. Its head carried the shape of a tiger’s, but broader and far more monstrous, with rows of long teeth filling its jaws.

Behind it stretched a powerful tail, closer to a dragon’s than a tiger’s.

Draigers were incredibly rare.

They were also known for being vicious, bloodthirsty creatures.

And this Draiger stood above nearly all others.

He was one of the most powerful beasts alive.

The young woman stared upward.

For the first time, the emptiness in her expression broke.

Fear returned.

The Draiger raised one enormous paw.

She flinched.

BOOM!

His paw slammed down.

The woman’s body struck the stone floor beneath it.

The Draiger lowered his massive head.

His jaws opened.

The woman’s eyes widened.

Then his teeth closed around her head.

A wet crunch echoed through the throne room.

The Draiger pulled back and swallowed.

Then he continued eating.

The humans waiting in line watched.

One woman trembled quietly.

An older man closed his eyes.

Someone farther back began to cry without making a sound.

But none of them moved.

They had known what would happen when they were brought here.

They lived in a world ruled by beasts.

Humans were beneath them.

The Draiger finished the last mouthful and slowly licked the blood from his teeth.

His gaze moved toward the next human.

Then stopped.

One ear twitched.

The enormous chamber went still.

Slowly, the Draiger raised his head.

His gaze turned toward the distant wall as though stone, distance, even the curvature of the world meant nothing to him.

For several seconds, he didn’t move.

Then his eyes narrowed.

Something had disappeared.

Something that had belonged to him.

A curse.

That shouldn’t have been possible.

He hadn’t placed one of those curses in...

Eight thousand years?

Perhaps nine?

It had been near the end of the great war.

Yet now—

One of those curses was gone.

The Draiger’s eyes gleamed.

"Interesting."

His voice rumbled throughout the throne room.

"It seems an ant finally learned how to grow wings."

For a moment, he considered dealing with it himself.

Then dismissed the thought.

There was no reason.

Whatever had broken his curse wasn’t a threat to him.

Nothing had been a threat to him for a very long time.

The beasts had won the war.

He had risen above nearly all others.

Entire lands belonged to creatures like him, and humans lived beneath their rule without even understanding the true scale of the world they inhabited.

Still...

Someone had broken his curse.

That deserved investigation.

The Draiger looked down at the next human.

"You."

A middle-aged man immediately stood.

"Come here."

The human approached before dropping to his knees.

"Oh, great Draiger."

His voice shook.

"Please accept my sacrifice and bless my family. May they receive your protection and many blessings for what I give you today."

Silence filled the throne room.

The Draiger stared at him.

Then—

"HA!"

His laughter shook the chamber.

The man looked up.

The Draiger lowered his enormous head until one golden eye was almost level with him.

"You think the blessings are real?"

The man’s expression went blank.

"What...?"

"Stupid human."

The Draiger’s mouth twisted into something resembling a smile.

"You’re food."

The man stared at him.

"Nothing more."

Color slowly drained from his face.

Behind him, several humans looked at one another.

For the first time, something disturbed the numb acceptance running through the line.

The Draiger seemed amused by all of it.

"You really thought I was going to bless your family?"

He laughed again.

"No. That’s simply what your villages teach you so you’ll willingly walk into my castle and become my food."

The man’s mouth opened.

Nothing came out.

For years, perhaps his entire life, he’d believed his death meant something.

That his family would prosper because of it.

That giving himself to a creature above humanity would earn them protection.

And with a few words, all of it disappeared.

The Draiger opened his jaws.

"Now quit talking."

The man finally moved.

Too late.

The Draiger’s jaws snapped shut around the middle of his body.

CRUNCH.

The man’s body went limp.

Several people in the line looked away.

One woman covered her mouth, desperately holding back a sound.

The Draiger chewed slowly.

Then his eyes drifted toward the distance again.

That strange feeling remained.

Someone had broken his curse.

A faint excitement began stirring inside him.

"It looks like things might finally become fun again."

He swallowed.

For thousands of years, life had become painfully boring.

The war was over.

His enemies were gone.

Humans offered no challenge.

Even the beasts beneath him knew better than to oppose him.

But now, somewhere across the world, someone had done something that shouldn’t have been possible.

He wondered who they were.

More importantly—

He wondered how they’d done it.

His gaze shifted toward one of the guards standing near the entrance.

"Brekkal."

The guard immediately stepped forward.

He was another Draiger, though the pressure surrounding him was nothing compared to the creature before him.

"Yes, King."

The Draiger King gestured lazily toward the distant direction where he’d felt the curse disappear.

"One of the ants over there has somehow broken my curse."

Brekkal’s expression changed.

For the first time, the guard’s perfect composure slipped.

Only slightly.

But the King noticed.

"I want to know how."

Brekkal immediately lowered his head.

"Yes, King."

"Put together a team and investigate it."

The King paused.

A claw tapped once against the stone.

"Use humans if necessary."

Another tap.

"Or perhaps that worthless Evil God Organization can finally make itself useful."

Brekkal lowered his head further.

"Either way, make it happen."

The King’s golden eyes narrowed.

"And don’t take too long."

"Yes, King."

Brekkal bowed before turning and leaving the throne room.

The King watched him go.

Then he looked down.

Part of the human he’d been eating still remained on the floor.

He picked it up and swallowed most of what was left, leaving only a leg between his claws.

Crunch.

He chewed slowly.

"Hopefully something interesting happens soon."

His massive body began shrinking.

Bones shifted.

Wings folded inward and disappeared.

Scales sank beneath skin.

Within moments, the monster was gone.

The humanoid man stood in its place.

The Draiger King walked back toward his throne.

The remaining humans stayed perfectly still as he passed.

No one dared meet his eyes.

He sat down.

Leaned back.

And closed his eyes.

Within moments, he looked almost peaceful.

As though he hadn’t just eaten two people alive.

As though the blood staining the stone beneath his throne belonged to nothing more important than livestock.

A faint smile remained on his face.

For the first time in thousands of years, something unexpected had happened.

One of his curses was gone.

Someone had reached across eight thousand years and erased something that should have lasted forever.

And whoever had done it had no idea they’d just caught the attention of one of the most powerful beasts in the world.

Perhaps his boring life was finally about to become interesting again.