Lord: Starting from a Goblin Nest

Ocas’s Magic Wand waved frantically in the air, seemingly struggling against some entity invisible on the Material Plane. The Demon Lord’s body, which reeked of rot and death, vanished from the cave as abruptly as it had appeared, leaving no trace behind.

”Wait! My lord! Don’t abandon me!” Farama’s descendant watched in a panic as his most powerful backer vanished like a popped bubble. This unexpected turn of events made him think he was trapped in a cruel nightmare, but the Devil Duke’s cold gaze felt like daggers in his back, forcing him to confront the absurd reality before him.

”Your Highness, Your Highness Gracia!” The black-robed man collapsed to the ground, his unfocused gaze looking up at the not-so-tall Gracia as he crawled forward several steps on his knees. ”Your Highness, I am willing to pledge my loyalty to you! You once bestowed your grace upon my ancestors, and I can prove I am more outstanding than they were! More outstanding than this Lord who has stolen my land! I will prove I am worthy of your favor!”

”Mortals from your kingdom are all like this, so I’m not surprised,” the Desire Demon Queen said, kicking the black-robed man and sending him tumbling. Before he could cry out, the blade in her hand pierced his chest. ”But business is business. I went to stir up trouble in Ocas’s lair, but not for the sake of taking in someone like you.”

”Lair?” Ron stared at Gracia, dumbfounded. ”Y-you don’t mean to say you went after—”

”Why else would that old goat withdraw his projection?” Gracia chuckled lightly. ”You see, I’ve put in a great deal of effort to ensure our transaction proceeds smoothly. According to our contract, the deal for the Abyssal Silver...”

’She’s one of the most intelligent of the Nine Prisons Dukes, how could she do something like that?’

Gracia’s explanation left Ron feeling rather flattered. Just as he was about to agree to make a concession, the Golden Dragon, who had transformed back into his Dragon Descendant form, suddenly spoke up to warn him. ”Gracia has suffered for this before. You can’t expect a Duke to make the same mistake twice, Ron.”

”I quite like your use of ’gutter’ to describe the Abyss, but why did you have to meddle?” Gracia wrinkled her nose. ”Alright, fine. I didn’t go personally. What Ocas observed was just an avatar of mine—but that was enough to make him cautious. At the very least, he won’t be considering causing you any more trouble.”

”Sigh. This is why I hate you hypocritical Golden Dragons. I was just adding a little weight to my bargaining chips.”

”I was just worried your ’added weight’ would swindle away Ron’s soul,” the Golden Dragon said, lowering his head and avoiding Gracia’s gaze. But as he looked down, he suddenly noticed that the black-robed man Gracia had pinned to the ground wasn’t completely dead yet!

”Devil... thief... dragon...” Farama’s last descendant muttered. Taking advantage of the moment when no one was paying attention, his stiff arm slowly rose. A spectral Hand Crossbow appeared in his hand, silently aiming for Ron’s heart. ”All of you... just die!”

Gracia’s eyelashes twitched slightly, but she made no move. She even deliberately struck up a conversation with Ron to attract the mortal’s attention. This forced Ron to focus all his Energy on the Devil Duke, completely oblivious to the imminent danger.

A gray mist quietly coalesced into the shape of a bell, but it was almost instantly incinerated by flames from Hell.

And all of this, up to the moment the Golden Dragon lunged to tackle Ron, happened in the blink of an eye.

”Watch out!” The Golden Dragon lunged forward, shoving Ron to the ground. His own body staggered, and then he slowly collapsed.

”Old Jin! Dammit! Ron!” Mazarino, who had been organizing his Spellbook, snapped to attention as if waking from a dream. Terrifying Arcane Energy surged toward the black-robed man. The violent Magic ripped apart the robe and mist, exposing the withered, emaciated, and hole-ridden body of Farama’s last descendant for all to see.

The Goblin Hunter reacted as well, darting forward. With a single grab, he tore a thin layer of skin from the corpse’s skeleton. ”What the hell! This guy is already dead!”

”A Witch Demon, of all things...” Gracia said, propping her chin on her hand thoughtfully. ”No wonder he could take a blow from my sword and not die, and even have the strength to counterattack.”

”Are-are you okay?” Ron, who had been knocked to the ground, immediately rushed to the Golden Dragon’s side. The scales on the True Dragon who had blocked the sneak attack for him were continuously falling off. ”Wait, I have healing Potions here, and a Scroll!”

”N-no need to bother,” the Golden Dragon, who looked to be in bad shape, actually managed a smile. He moved his hand, showing Ron the wound on his chest. ”The constitution of a Giant Dragon is far stronger than a mortal’s. It’s a mere fatal wound, nothing for a Dragon Descendant.”

”But you’re losing scales! From the sound of it, that bolt must have pierced your—”

”Don’t describe it using mortal anatomy; it’s meaningless,” the Golden Dragon said. A black mist swirled around his wound, but a golden radiance immediately flared up and suppressed it. His voice also became full of vigor again. ”See? I’m fine. Already recovered! If I hadn’t saved you, you definitely wouldn’t have recovered this fast!”

Ron looked doubtfully at the Golden Dragon, who had gotten back up and was once again full of life. The wound on his chest was indeed disappearing rapidly. If Ron had been a moment later with his concern, it would have already healed completely.

”A mere death throe from a Witch Demon is unlikely to seriously injure him,” Gracia said, seemingly to console Ron, but with a hint of implication. ”But that’s not something you need to worry about. He is a Priest of Bahamut, an adult Golden Dragon. The people who should be worried about him will be.”

”Now, while I’m here, how about we settle our first transaction? I see you’ve almost finished collecting the fragments of that poor queen.”

Gracia walked over. Farama had yet to awaken; even as the Sect Leader’s palm caressed her face, the queen did not open her eyes.

”There are still two parts missing,” Ron said after confirming once more that the Golden Dragon was truly all right. He then turned his attention back to the matter at hand. ”I had intended to hand her over to you complete.”

”I’m afraid that won’t be possible,” the Golden Dragon said calmly. There was no longer any trace of injury on him. ”While you were visiting Carolina, Mazarino and I checked the last sealed location. The body part there had already been taken—without alerting the guards.”

The Golden Dragon’s head turned toward Gracia, who was now openly displaying her displeasure, but he showed no fear. ”I imagine that for Her Highness, the Princess, she is already complete, is she not?”