The Villain's Story

Chapter 687: [687] Giant Dragon.

He was like a mountain, wrenched free from the tundra. His crystalline scales caught even the tiniest of light and turned it into a prismatic halo. One that overshadowed even the light of the blue sea beneath, and banished the darkness of the hollow spine.

His body was a fusion of jagged glaciers and sinewy muscle, with ridges of frost-crusted spines running down his neck and back. His wings spanned the sky, membranous sheets of translucent ice stretched taut over spiked, silver-white bones, humming with a faint, chilling resonance as they unfurled, reaching the top of the ceiling.

”Oh no...”

He was immense, the second-largest dragon they had seen, smaller only than Ariel. He was the size of one of her claws. She was the size of a continent or so, so it was understandable. He was a mountain, and that mountain portrayed a smile on his immense face.

”Practice number 2. A fight against an extremely powerful opponent, one that also dwarfs you in size.”

The icicles dangling from his maw, the supposed beard that he loved to stroke, shook, expressing his laughter.

”Oh no...”

This time, it was Alan who let out the ʼOh noʼ. Both of them were scared, and neither of them wanted to fight.

But Kazikato still rushed forward, rising from the water and lunging at Azmakul, he was like an ant compared to him.

Alan used his tail to grab Kazikatoʼs tail and stopped him before he could do anything rash. ”Calm down, what are you even going to do?”

Azmakul had not yet attacked them, and the safest thing to do was observe for a while, and ask questions.

Blindly rushing into a dragon the size of a mountain was a bad idea, a very bad idea. They had to think first.

”Can we use magic?”

Alan asked, as Kazikato backed away, his segments gaining enough speed. Azmakul looked down at them, the glow in his eyes a pale blue, as if winter itself was burned into them. The movement of his mouth to speak was enough to make everything tremble.

”Of course.”

Without even waiting for something else, Alan tried to open a portal and run away, he knew fighting a divine being, was out of the question. Azmakul may not go all out on them, using everything at his disposal, but he did not need to go all out to kill them. He was simply testing them.

He wouldnʼt kill them, there was not even the slightest chance of that happening. None at all. Alan had realized Azmakul was a sort of realist. He would be judging them not on their ability to fight, but to make decisions...

All the bickering he heard was enough for him to realize. And if he was being honest, one should run from a fight he cannot win. If Azmakul did not want them to do this, then he would be willing to explain later, and even justify it.

But he could not open a portal, and Azmakul laughed as beads of sweat trickled down Alanʼs scaly face.

”Excellent choice. It is better to run than fight an overwhelming opponent, but what if I donʼt let you run?”

His voice was like thunder, and Alan struggled to open portals, every time he tried, they would vanish in a second, before they could get big enough for him to fit through.

”A portal is a delicate structure, the slightest change in mana in the area can disrupt it, one big enough can destroy it. All I have to do is release my mana and make it act wildly in the surroundings, young prince.

Higher beings do this instinctively, though for other reasons.”

”Kazikato, buy me some time.”

”Huh? What?”

Before he could even comprehend Alanʼs words, Alan was gone, his figure disappearing from everyoneʼs sight.

*****

It was an impossible task, they could not do it no matter how much they tried. How would they even try to defeat Azmakul? A divine being? He was going easy on them, but it was still absurd.

They tried for days, Alan mostly. Kazikato did not have his regeneration, so his breaks were longer. Alan, on the other hand, was subject to torturous amounts of beatings.

They spent days trying to simply injure Azmakul, yet they were unable to do even that. Even Alanʼs [Supreme Meteor] failed to leave a scratch. The spell impressed Azmakul, but it was nothing to his titanic size.

Alan tried focusing on size only, but his spells were broken before they could even be materialized.

Eventually, Azmakul gave up on trying to teach them. Well, it was more like he had nothing more to teach them. They had learned everything they could, the rest would depend on their own growth and the unique features that their body would possess.

The most significant thing that they achieved during the training was fixing what was wrong with Kazikatoʼs dragon form. Azmakul managed to help Kazikato combine all of his elemental affinities into his dragon form, unlike the one where his original [Death] affinity reigned supreme.

Azmakul managed to help Kazikato get over his problem, but Alan was still an enigma. He had done whatever was asked of him, yet he was still unable to merge his elements into one, singular form. His dragon form was still the same.

Ice reigned supreme, and even Azmakul was confused as to why it was not happening. If it happened with Kazikato, why did it not with Alan, who did the same thing? Eventually, they left it and stopped the training. Alan would have to figure out by himself.

The constant complaints also helped to end the training, eventually, Azmakul finally brought them to what he called the ʼChamber.ʼ

It was where Kizmalʼs heart was located, the heart of a lightning supreme...and it was pretty

normal.

It was just a wall, one that had an array carved into it, one Alan and Kazikato could not understand, and a hole which led to the inside. Outside, was a platform. One big enough to

hold a few Arctic Titans.

”That is it?”

Kazikato inquired, as he got closer to the hole, he was stopped by Azmakul before he could go

inside.

Alan was far too exhausted, his face was as blank as the snow fields above, and he did not even speak, he simply lay on the ground, looking at the darkness above.

Azmakulʼs training had wrung him dry, he had no strength to even stand at this point. Of course, all of this was simply mental exhaustion, his strength had long since returned.

”Yes, were you expecting something more?”

”I was expecting something grander...”

He had a look of disappointment on his face. Azmakul sighed, and Kazikato stared deep into the hole, trying to uncover its secrets, but his Dragon eyes failed to do so.

He went back and observed the massive array carved into the wall.

Alan opened up his system, the one designed by Ariel. It was crude compared to the original, but it got the job done. The original system was organized, but this one? Ariel simply put

everything together.

[Trial of Frost.]

1: Gain the approval of Lanesha, Supreme of Frost.

- Completed.

2:Gain the approval of Azmakul.

- Completed.

3: Defeat what lies in the heart of Kizmal.

- Incomplete.

Reward: Winter Heart.

[Trial of Shadows.]

....

[Trial of Darkness.]

...

[Trial of Death.]

...

The rest were the same as ever. Alan was curious as to how long it would take him to complete everything. He was just done with the first trial, and he knew the rest would be even more

difficult, and unknown.

It had taken him a while just for the Trial of Frost, the one basically handed to him on a silver

platter... the rest were bound to be devious, and difficult.

”What is the winter heart?”

He stood up and asked, Azmakul turned to look at him and asked.

”Why do you want to know, prince?”

”Itʼs the reward I get for completing the trial of Frost. You didnʼt know?”

He was surprised, he thought Azmakul out of all people would know the reward for

completing the trials, since he knew about the trials themselves.

Azmakulʼs gaze turned cold, and he answered.

”It is an artifact. One, her majesty Lanesha developed herself. There are only two in existence,

one in her own chest, and one that would be your reward.

She will give you the lesser heart of winter, I suppose.”

”What does it do?”

”I have no idea, her majesty made it as a passion project when she was bored. I know of the

originalʼs abilities, but I do not know what the one given to you would be capable of.

My guess is, it would be the ability to use her signature skills.”

Alan raised his brows, curious.

”What skills?” If they were the signature skills of a supreme, they had to be good. He wonʼt be able to use

them at their fullest potential, but it would be great to have them.