Chapter 28: Craig’s Request [1]

Every single gaze within the colossal colosseum was fixed squarely on the Seventh Young Master.

Craig walked smoothly across the black basalt floor, approaching his father’s elevated throne with absolute grace and unbothered composure.

Behind him, his four cousins—Makel, Jakel, Jaron, and Mizuri—followed in a neat line, their eyes still wide with lingering shock.

At the far end of the arena floor, Chaosbringer, Soul Dreamer, and Dark Sister remained where they had landed.

The three gargantuan abominations laid their massive horned heads down, their golden and grey eyes watching from a distance as their master walked toward the altar of power.

A suffocating silence reigned across the arena, thick with a volatile mixture of emotions.

Shock, disbelief, intense envy, and burning ambition rippled through the stands.

High up in the royal boxes, the older half-siblings—the top successors who had previously maintained cold, arrogant expressions—now frowned deeply.

Try as they might, they could no longer hide their profound discomfort and rising fear.

The dynamic of the coming succession war had just been violently shattered.

Stopping ten paces before the first marble step of the one-hundred-step altar, Craig dropped cleanly onto his knees.

He placed his right hand over his heart and greeted the Patriarch in the high, melodic cadence of the ancient tongue.

"Vael’mor, Drak’thos... I have returned, Father... bringing with me three magnificent gifts." A faint, confident smile touched his lips as he looked up.

(Glory to the Dragon Throne) ℯℯ𝑙.

Right behind him, his four cousins dropped to their knees in unison, their foreheads pressed respectfully toward the floor as they echoed their greeting in High Darkstarian.

"Zul’sae, Drak’thos! We greet the Lord Duke!"

(Praise the Dragon Throne)

Duke Oscar exhaled a long, heavy breath, his dark golden eyes scanning the five Trueborn Darkstarians kneeling before his throne.

Tens of thousands of spectators held their breath, every eye locked onto the Patriarch, waiting for the supreme ruler’s judgment.

Oscar’s brows furrowed slightly, his imposing voice cutting through the dead quiet of the arena like a war blade.

"The Darkstarian bloodline stands firm today," Oscar declared, his voice echoing in the minds of everyone present. "Our children who entered the Dragon’s Calling Ceremony have returned with great pride and strengthened cores."

The Duke paused, his sharp gaze locking onto Craig.

"However, I must ask you, Seventh Child... why do you stand before this realm bound to three dragons instead of one?" Duke Oscar questioned, his tone carrying a heavy weight.

"Do you not know that it is an unwritten law of our bloodline that a Darkstarian may only ever bond with a single dragon?"

Craig’s lips curled into a calm, unyielding smirk as he slowly raised his head, his golden eyes meeting his father’s terrifying gaze without a flinch.

"It is true that such an unwritten law exists, Lord Father," Craig spoke smoothly, his voice echoing with absolute clarity.

"However, that law was only established because, throughout the centuries, not a single Darkstarian possessed the capacity to bond with more than one."

He paused, his voice dropping slightly as a chill swept through the hall.

"I simply exist as the sole exception to that ancient law."

A collective murmur broke out among the elders, but Craig continued before anyone could interrupt.

"Initially, my sole intention was to enter the northern volcanic rifts and tame Chaosbringer.

Yet, who could have foreseen that Chaosbringer possessed a mate, and that his mate possessed a trueborn sister? When I stood before them, they all chose to offer their souls to me—and I simply accepted them."

"Is that so?" Duke Oscar heaved a long, audible sigh of relief, the tension in his broad shoulders melting away.

A loud, booming laugh suddenly erupted from the Patriarch’s chest. "Then instead of condemning your extraordinary actions, this Duchy shall celebrate them!"

The moment the words left the Duke’s mouth, the entire colosseum erupted into thunderous applause.

Tens of thousands of spectators leaped to their feet, cheering, stomping, and shouting as the historic miracle was officially validated by the highest authority in the land.

Duke Oscar raised a single gloved hand.

SHHH—

Instantly, the deafening roar of the crowd cut off, returning the arena to a deathly, expectant silence once more.

Oscar leaned forward on the Scarlet Throne, his eyes shining with fierce pride and dangerous intrigue.

"You have unequivocally proven yourself as a supreme candidate for the coming Successor War, and the undisputed victor of today’s Dragon’s Calling Ceremony," Duke Oscar proclaimed.

"You have performed a miracle that no warrior in the history of our Great House has ever accomplished."

The Duke gestured toward the three massive beasts resting on the arena floor.

"You have bonded not only with a legendary 5th-Tier Calamity, but two high 4th-Tier dragons alongside it. You tamed Chaosbringer—a beast that stubbornly rejected even me when I was a teenager forty years ago!" Oscar laughed heartily, his voice vibrating the volcanic stone beneath their feet.

The Patriarch leaned back, resting his chin on his fist. "Tell me, child... As the victor of this sacred ritual, I shall grant you a single request. What is it that you desire?"

Craig slowly rose to his feet.

His four cousins remained kneeling behind him, as the Patriarch had not yet formally dismissed or congratulated them individually.

Craig folded his hands and offered a deep, respectful bow to his father atop the Scarlet Throne.

"I am deeply grateful for your favor, Lord Father," Craig answered, his clear voice carrying to every corner of the vast colosseum.

"My request is simple, Lord Patriach .....I ask that you grant me absolute legal permission to create, command, and operate my own independent military organization."