Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Once upon a time, in a beautiful White Castle on top of a beautiful hill, lived a little red Dragon called Roksu.

The infant Dragon woke up the world surrounded by friendly human faces. They had been the sworn protectors of this place for many generations, so when they saw the signs that the red eggshellbegan to crack, they all came to celebrate and greet the child as he took his first breath. Roksu remembered the moment of his birth very vividly – all Dragons did, unlike human infants. He remembered the chill of the air when he crawled out of the warm safety of the egg, the bright and excited expressions of the people who would soon become his friends and family, the fluffy blanket that was placed upon him. He recalled curling up inside it, his head barely peaking out as he watched them carefully. They cooed around him and spoke to him in soft tones. He had not known their language yet, but he could tell by their voices that... they loved him.

And so, within the first minute of his new life, the little red Dragon smiled – because he knew he was safe, and that was all that mattered to him. His toothless smile made everyone around him cheer.

From that point on, Roksu led a charming, idyllic life. A slacker life, one could say.

He did not need to do anything, as all the adults around him were eager to take care of his every need. When he was hungry, he was fed. When he wished to know something, he was taught and given books right away. When he wanted to play games, there were plenty of volunteers. There was no pressure, no danger. And Roksu was happy.

Then one fateful day, everything changed.

It was a quiet day in the castle. Roksu spent time lazying around as usual, reading his favorite books aloud to the black egg; his yet-to-be-born sibling. One day his sibling would hatch, and according to his friends, his mom's spirit would awaken as well from within the enchanted walls of the castle. Since he knew that Dragons lived for a thousand years, he didn't worry that the black Dragon was taking his time. They would all be together one day. Roksu just needed to wait patiently. He was good at that.

But once the evening came, a foreboding feeling crept unto the red Dragon, like a quiet midnight tide coming onto a dark shore – with unseendanger lurking in its depths.

It was so quiet. Too quiet. Come to think of it… How long has it been since one of his human friends visited?

Usually, they were very enthusiastic about keeping him company; he could hardly spend a day or two without visitors. Three days in a row of peace and quiet was a treat for the introverted little Dragon, who loved reading in silence. But without him noticing, it had been days. No… A week.

It had been a whole week. And no one showed up. Not even to leave him a message.

A cold chill fell down his spine.

'They're probably just busy!' Roksu thought to himself, trying to dismiss the bad feeling as nothing more than overactive imagination. 'They have jobs to do. They forgot to tell me they wouldn't be able to visit, that's all.'

With that thought, Roksu went to bed. But that night… Roksu had a most unusual nightmare.

He dreamed of living a different life, as a human named Kim Roksu. He lived with his parents in a small apartment, in a country called South Korea. He grew up loved and healthy, going to college and making friends, as ordinary humans do. It many ways, that past life was not much different than his current one. For him, it had been perfect in its simplicity.

However one day, without a warning... his world fell into chaos. He lost his parents, his home, his job, the stability he enjoyed. By the time he was 20, his perfect life was gone. And at the age of 26, he died a violent, painful death.

Despite everything, he died without regrets.

'It's not such a terrible way to go,' Kim Roksu had thought during his final moments. 'If it has to end here, at least the others made it.'

The last thing he saw in that life were the tearful, heartbroken faces of his old friends, but they were alive – that was all that mattered to Kim Roksu. Everything had gone dark after that.

The little red Dragon woke up in the middle of the night, his skin covered in sweat.

'The Birth of Heroes!' he remembered frantically, his eyes wide in shock.

In his past life, shortly before his death, he read a fantasy series called "The Birth of Heroes" by Nelan Barrow. He remembered it now.

The contents of the book played in front of his eyes.

It was a story of a Korean transmigrator named Choi Han, who thought against a powerful villain. While the majority of the story focused on the protagonist, there was a short prologue at the very beginning of the first Volume. The villain, who went by the name of the White Star, desired to be unrivaled in strength – no matter what atrocities he had to commitin order to achieve it. The narrative stated that he killed everyone from his hometown one by one... and that once he was done, he broke into the White Castlein the middle of the night, and killed the Dragon children: both the sleeping red Dragon, and the unborn black egg. The White Star then devoured the heart of the red Dragonto boost his powers, and used the black one's corpse to create a chimera, by fusing its heart with a monster through a black magic ritual. The monster was meant to go on a rampage, slaughtering all creatures in sight to absorb their life essence, until the last Dragon Slayer came to slay it and absorb all the strength it gathered in his stead. In the story, Choi Han happened to come across that monster before it had a chance to grow stronger, kill it, and start off his heroic journey to defeat the dastardly villain.

But Roksu couldn't care less about Choi Han's heroic journey at the moment. That was him! He was the red Dragon from that story!! And his sibling was the black egg!!!

And he knew the White Star, too! He was that one creepy guy who always gave Roksu bad vibes whenever he visited, even thoughthe little red Dragonhad tried to convince himself he was being irrational since his cookies were good!

But no matter how much he wished to dismiss his memories as nothing more than a bad dream, he could feel in his bones that it was all real. He did not remember everything from his life as Kim Roksu – in fact, most of it was blurry and felt distant. He didn't feel like a 26-year-old man either, he was still the same child who went to bed a couple of hours ago. But the life he was currently living without a doubt reflected the contents of "The Birth of Heroes"…

...the book series which utterly failed to be specific about its timeline!

How old was the 'young red Dragon' from the book, exactly? Explain, Nelan! His life was was at stake here, couldn't you be bothered to be a little more specific about the details of his own murder?!

12 years old surely counts as young to any species, but! Since Roksu had not seen anyone for this past week… Did that mean they had all been murdered already by the White Star?! If anything, seeing as he hadpartly recovered memories of his past life just now for no discernible reason, all evidence pointed to tonight possibly being the very night when the White Star decides to break in and kill the Dragon children!

Roksu rushed out of bed in a blind panic, each heartbeat feeling like the seconds ticking away to his doom. Without wasting any time, the little red Dragon grabbed the first set of clothes in the wardrobe, shoved a bunch of random items from the pantry into his magical spatial bag, took the black egg from its silk cushion and fled from his home into the darkness of the night.

His attribute activated, making him as fast as Light. Within seconds, he was miles away from the castle.

A good thing, too, because mere minutes later two dark figures approached the hill with the castle.

"…The gate was left open? This is unexpected." The masked man spoke.

"That just makes our job easier, my Liege."

But once they entered, there was not a living soul inside the castle. The black egg was missing as well – the cushion it was supposed to rest on, conspicuously empty.

"Where could he possibly had run off to?"

"I do not know.The red Dragon isn't fond of hiding. Or traveling, for that matter. He is quite the lazy creature of habit."The White Star rubbed his chin. "How odd… There is no way anyone could have warned him about us coming."

He would know. The White Star had personally killed everyone protecting the castle and its inhabitants.

"Maybe he went to the village for a visit, and we simply missed him?"

"Possible. You stay here and wait, Bernard. I will search the area. Contact me at once when he comes back."

"Yes, my Liege. But what if he doesn't plan to return?"

The White Star smiled, his cold eyes behind the mask glowing with certainty.

"Oh, he will. After all, his mother's spirit is trapped within these walls." Making the Dragon Lord essentially a hostage, until she was released.

The little Red Dragon would return eventually, of that the White Star had little doubt. The little fool would never abandon his family. It was a weakness he had every intention to exploit.

Meanwhile, Roksu cursed himself as he realized he forgot to put on shoes. He didn't even have a blanket to cover his sibling's shell with! He briefly mourned his favorite fluffy blanket thathe left in his bedroom, but it was too late to turn back. He quickly cast a charm to keep both of them warm, then another spell to make them invisible to other creatures. Just in case someone was following him.

Luckily, he was not completely unprepared. Roksu had always liked keeping all his favorite things in his spatial bag. He carried plenty of things with him, likepillows, books, cookie ingredients, gold bars and coins: the last two he never had a chance to use before, but he liked how shiny they were. They were also great to make forts with when stacked on top of each other. It was a fun game he liked to play with his friend.

...His human friends. Which... It seemed like… like he would never see any of them again.

Roksu sniffed, his eyes getting oddly moist despite the magic protecting him the weather.

He wished he had gotten his memories before today. Maybe he could have prevented this? Could he have saved them all if he remembered his past life just a little bit earlier?

But no, the little red Dragon realized his own folly right away. The timing had been beyond his control. There must have been a reason why he got his memories back at this exact moment. It had to be divine intervention.

'Stupid gods. If they have to meddle, can't they do it right?'

(Far away in the celestial realm, the God of Death sneezed.)

At least, his memories explained why Roksu had always felt most comfortable in his human form. Ever since he learned to polymorph, the little red Dragon had rarely ever bothered to return to his natural draconic shape. He used to believe that he simply liked to match the appearance of his friends, in order not to feel like the odd one out. Turns out, he was the odd one out all along – but in a different way than he thought.

Because as it turned out, he was not a Dragon wearing the shape of a human. He was a human wearing the shape of a Dragon. Or, well… he used to be a full human, and now he was a full Dragon… with the spirit of a full human? The confusion of it all made his head hurt, so he decided to stop thinking about it for now.

He was Roksu. That had to be enough.

In like no time at all, dawn started to above the snowy mountain peaks. And once it hit, turning the sky pink, Roksu stopped running to catch a breath, and finally start planning his next steps.

If he wanted to survive, he couldn't fightthe White Star alone. The villain from the book series was freakishly strong, even compared to Dragons, and Roksu was still just a kid. And he couldn't count of Choi Han's help either – even if the protagonist of "The Birth of Heroes" was already around, he wasn't ready to face the final boss right away either. There were a lot of trials in the series that gradually made him grow stronger, and allies who helped him on his journey.

Not to mention that Choi Han's involvement in the plot only kicked off when the chimera monster attacked Harris Village. Which would never come to pass in this reality, thank you very much – Roksu promised himself as he patted the black egg's shell for comfort.

This was too much to handle for him. He needed an adult.

A strong, trustworthy adult. Which meant another Dragon.

Fortunately, there was such an individual mentioned in "The Birth of Heroes". An Ancient Dragon from the Western continent. Not a main character, but definitely powerful and trustworthy. All he had to do was find him.

Roksu was startled out of his contemplation, when something colorful caught his attention in the otherwise monochrome landscape. On a mountain nearby, there was a moving spot of red among the sparkly snow.

The curious little Dragon cast a levitation spell, getting closer within a blink of an eye to get a closer look.

The moving spot that caught his eye was, in fact, a tiny red kitten. One of a pair, the other a silver color, blending inwith the surroundings much better than its companion. With his sharp Dragon senses, Roksu could tell right away that they were Beast People.

The kittens did not look so well. Unlike Roksu, who had magical defense against the weather, they were shivering from the sharp cold winds, fur wet and their paws sinking in the deep snow no matter how carefully they tried to tread. Roksu started to feel cold just by looking at them.

To ease his own discomfort, the little Dragon cast a spell to dry their fur and warm them up. The kittens gasped, feeling the difference immediately.

"Sister!" the red kitten said, his ears perking up. His big golden eyes were filled with wonder. "It suddenly got warm! But the snow is not melting?"

"It feels like magic," the older kitten said.

"But where is it coming from?"

The kittens stopped, looking around. Roksu felt a sigh leaving him. He couldn't have these two getting lost in these mountain, trying to find a non-existent source of magic. He never planned on revealing himself, but it seemed like it was the only choice in this situation.

He landed gently on the snow, his bare feet not sinking into it at all despite his considerable weight.

"What are you two doing here?" He said taking off the invisibility spell, not bothering to even say hello. "It's dangerous to wander these mountains alone."

The kittens, startled upon his sudden appearance, tried to back away. The red kitten slipped and was about to roll down the steep snowy slope of the mountain. Roksu caught him with a levitation spell and lifted him up into the air, taking a closer look at him. The kitten blinked at him cutely.

"I can see all of your ribs," Roksu said, displeased. Both of them looked unnaturally thin despite the fluffy fur covering their bodies. The little red Dragon hated the signs of starvation, especially on children.

Children should be able to eat well, no matter who they were or where they came from.

Roksu let the red kitten back down next to his sister. The silver kitten's fur, previously raised in fear, slowly lowered as she checked on her younger brother.

"Here," he said, taking out some cooked chicken legs on a silver plate from his spatial bag. He left floating in the air it in front of the kittens, as there was no even surface nearby to place it on."It's not heavily seasoned, so it should be alright for you to eat."

After a cautious sniff or two, the Beast kids did not wait any longer and started devouring the food with frightening speed. Roksu decided to join in, taking out another plate for himself.

"Thank you, mister!" said the red kitten as soon as he was done, purring in happiness. "It was delicious!"

"Yes, thank you," the silver one added as she licked her paw. "We were very hungry."

"Yes, I could tell. Now, can you answer me why are you out here? This place is dangerous for kids to be alone."

"We're running away!"

"Yes, we would have been killed if he stayed."

Roksu blinked and said without thinking: "Oh, you too?"

The cats perked up. "You ran away too, mister?"

"Yes, from a very bad man." The White Startruly deserved the title of the main villain. "If you are against someone stronger than you, you have to run and save your strength to smack them in the back later." He remembered that much from his past life as Kim Roksu. "That's why I'm going to search for someone who can help me."

The kittens came closer to him and started rubbing against his ankles, the vibration of their purrs sinking into his skin. "What is your name, mister?"

Since he had no free hands to push them away, he decided to allow it. For now. "...Roksu. What are yours?"

"I'm Ohn." The silver kitten introduced herself.

"I'm Hong!" Her red brother followed suit, blinking with large golden eyes. "Can we come with you, Roksu?"

"We can be useful!" Ohn rubbed her fluffy cheek against Roksu, her tail twisting around his leg.

"Please let us come with you?"

"Please~?"

Roksu sighed, his fingers tapping gently against the black shell. He already had one younger sibling to carry. Was he really about to saddle himself with another pair?

However…

"How old are you two?"

"I'm five!"

"And I'm seven!" Apparently Ohn was the older sibling.

Roksu remembered a certain passage from "The Birth of Heroes", concerning the Ancient Dragon he was looking for. The author described the golden Dragon's personalityas"someone with a softer heart than he'd ever be willing to admit, especially towards children, the pathetic and the weak". These kittens certainly belonged in all three of these categories, making them the perfect bait for the Ancient Dragon.

That settled it. Roksu could use these two to make the Ancient Dragon take pity on them all.

(Roksu conveniently ignored the fact that he himself was also a child, and himself alone would certainly be enough to convince the old Dragon to help against a murderous psychopath willing to eat Dragon hearts. Not to mention he had an egg with him that was also in dire need of protection… and that their mom was the Dragon Lord.

No, taking these poor, homeless, adorable children along was clearly a necessary move, definitely not motivated by any altruistic impulses.)

"Alright, but you will have to stick close to me,"Roksu warned the other two."We might have to travel through some pretty dangerous places."

The fact that Nelan Barrow failed to mention where the golden Dragon lived was troublesome. But if Roksu knew anything from his experience as a Dragon, it was that most of their race preferred solitude – or at the very least, introverted lifestyle. Being constantly surrounded by overly excitable, energetic people was exhausting. And the best way to be left alone is build your house in a place others don't have easy access to – like Forbidden Regions for instance.

Roksu remembered all the Forbidden Regionsof the Western Continent from his lessons. The number one was the Forest of Darkness. It was the place where the beginning of the plot of "The Birth of Heroes" unfolded. He doubted the Ancient Dragon actually lived there, but he had to start somewhere.

If nothing else, he could at least confirm Choi Han's existence to prove to himself that the memories of his past life were real, and the White Star was a real threat, instead of just a dumb nightmare that made him ran away from his cozy bed in the middle of the night…without shoes. The last thing he wanted was to abandon his perfect slacker life over a fit of imaginary paranoia.

(Also, Roksu did not think he should bring the kittens to the Land of Death just yet. It seemed like a rapid jump from a frosty mountain peak to full desert heat could be a bit dangerous for their fragile health... and the Valley of Despair would be just as bad where it came to the weather, if not worse.)

Yes, it would be best to start the search in the Forest of Darkness, since it was the closest to their current position anyway. He was a Dragon, so he really wasn't worried about monsters in the slightest. Once he looked around, he could proceedwith investigating other, more remote locations.

With a clear destination in mind, Roksu prepared the teleportation spell. "Are you two ready?"

The kittens boldly climbed up his back, and settled on each of his shoulders. "Yes!" They seemed very pleased with themselves.

Roksu huffed, amused. He activated the spell, making all of them vanish.

Off to the West they went.

On a bright sunny morning, three children magically appearedat the edge ofForbidden Region of the Roan Kingdom. Roksu blinked, adjusting to the different light and colors. The air smelled of recent rain.

"Are we going into the forest, Roksu?" Hong asked, sniffing around as well.

"So warm..." Ohn purred, happy to be out of the freezing mountains.

"Wait here for a minute you two," Roksu instructed them. "I will be back in a minute." He turned himself invisible again.

In the blink of an eye, he moved high into the air and looked around. Sure enough, there was a human settlement nearby. It certainly looked like Harris Village.

With his sharp, draconic eyes, Roksu watched the bustling villagers, trying to spot a head of black among mostly the brown-haired folk. Sure enough, he found one before long.

The little Dragon flew in a circle around the village to get a better look. He did not dare to get too close, lest he could be spotted by a protagonist's sharp senses. He could tell this individual already possessed extraordinary strength and potential for Swordsmaster aura, even if his abilitieshad not been refined yet. One couldn't be too careful around someone like that.

Still, Choi Han did not seem to notice anything amiss. He was focused on his work chopping wood, casually exchanging greetings with the passersby.

He definitely looked the part of a young Korean transmigrator. Roksu let out a sigh. There was no doubt about it, then. He made the firm decision to stay as far away from this person as possible. As long as the White Star didn't create a monster to attack the village, Choi Han would have no reason at all to leave this peaceful village. Staying away was the best option for both of them.

With that conviction in mind, Roksu quickly went back to where he left his companions. "Let's get going."

And so, a Dragon and two cats walked into a forest.

"Welcome, to the Forest of Darkness."

"Forest of Darkness? Is that what it's called?" The kittens looked around curiously.

"That's right. Its one of the five Forbidden Regions of the Western Continent."

"We're on the Western Continent now? Cool!"

"Why is it called a Forbidden Region, Roksu? It looks so normal."

"It is just a forest, like any other." Roksu shrugged, adjusting his hold on the black egg as he confidently strolled through the woods. "According to the books I've read, the only things that make it different are the mutated monsters and plants."

"Monsters?" Ohn stopped purring and looked around curiously. Both she and her brother stepped closer to their guide. "There are monsters here?"

"Not at the moment. "

"Why?"

"They must have ran off. They probably sensed powerful magic aura when we teleported. Wild monsterswouldn'tdare to mess with something potentially stronger than them, unless they were desperate."

The red Dragon was beyond a doubt one the strongest being in the Forest of Darkness right now. But come to think of it… Had these siblings even realize he was a Dragon yet?

Eh, whatever. Roksu didn't feel like explaining himself.

"It's still quite early in the day," Roksu spoke thoughtfully, rubbing the shiny dark shell. "Let's explore a bit, and see if anyone lives here – aside from the monsters."

"And then?"

"And then… we could take a break to eat?"

The kittens were more than happy with that plan.

The children explored the forest with curious, energetic glee that of kids who had never stepped outside their hometown before. Before long, Ohn started collecting colorful leaves from the ground and passing them to Roksu, who put them into his spatial bag. Hong found a bush full of poisonous berries and started to munch on them. Roksu wasn't worried – it was obvious the red kitten had Poison Attribute, so he would be fine.They discovered a big lake, but there was nothing there aside from a lot of monster tracks leading in all sorts of directions.

"There is a peak of a mountain in that direction," Roksu mused, the lack of trees around the lake allowing him to see horizon above the branches. "I think that's the center of the Forest."

"Do you think your friend lives on that mountain?"

"Friend?" Roksu blinked at Ohn in confusion. "What friend?"

"The friend who will help you with the bad man?" the silver kitten blinked back at him. "Wasn't that what you said?"

"Oh, him. He's not my friend."

"Then how do you know he's going to help you?"

Roksu smirked. "I think I can convince him."

Ohn suddenly had a foreboding feeling, as if someone was going to get scammed in the near future.

(Far away, a certain Golden Dragon sneezed.

"Must be the elves gossiping again," the Ancient Dragon sighed.)

But before Ohn could press any further, a sudden noise of a branch snapping reached her ears.

Startled from the sound of the first creature they'd encountered so far, the kittens quickly ran back to Roksu to hide behind his heels, their fur standing up.

Roksu tilted his head. Oh… that was quite an interesting presence, one he had not felt yet since he was born in this world.

"Show yourself," he spoke with calm confidence, his small figure emanating power.

He did not have to wait long. With the rustle of the leaves, a hooded figure emerged from behind the bush.

...A figure which, much to Roksu's annoyance, happened to be significantly taller than him.

"I can't believe it…" A young male voice spoke in awe. "You are… a Dragon, aren't you? A real Dragon?"

The kittens behind him meowed, audibly shocked at the revelation. So they really had not figured it out before this point, despite his powerful magic. Then again… They only just met him a short while ago, and they were just smallchildren. It was still a little off-putting how easily this stranger figured out his identity – he would have preferred plausible deniability for a little longer.

Also, the moment Roksu heard those words, he felt a cold shiver go down his spine. He had a bad feeling. And so, he decided to lie – even if the cat was very much out of the bag.

"Who, me?" he asked in the most innocent, child-like voice he could muster. "I'm just a lost travelerwalking through the forest. And who might you be?"

The hooded figure huffed in amusement, crossing his arms in such an immature way that immediately betrayed him as a teenager. "Just a lost traveler, you say? But somehow, your presence alone sent every monster in a mile radius running.

"Must have been you, mister. You should probably take a shower." Roksu deadpanned, making the other boy twitch in annoyance.

"Says the child walking barefoot through the Forest of Darkness."

"I lost my shoes."

"And your socks too?"

"They got stuck in mud."

"Your feet are perfectly clean."

"Are you staring at my feet now? How creepy."

"You claim to be an ordinary traveler, yet you are accompanied bytwo Cat Beast People."

"Is that a crime?"

"You have a literal Dragon egg in your hands."

"It's just a rock I found."

"An egg-shaped rock?"

"Yeah. There is a ton of those in that lake over there."

"Seems like a pretty big rock to carry for no reason."

"Who said I had no reason?"

The stranger was very much unimpressed with his unrelenting lies.

"Which is?"

"I don't feel like sharing it with a creepy stranger."

"What creepy stranger!" The teenager took a stepforward, putting a hand to his chest as he bowed.Roksu thought he seemed unfairly elegant for someone so annoying. "I'll have you know that I am a very respectable individual. I am Al-" Heconspicuously stopped mid-sentence, then cleared his throat. "-bert. I'm Albert. Pleasure to be of service."

"I see," said Roksu. 'Like hell you are,' he thought while wearing a grin. "Nice to meet you, Albert! I'm Bob."

Definitely-Not-Albertlifted his head, his posture full of disbelief. "Bob. That's… that's what you're going with? Seriously? Bob?"

"It's just as real as the name you gave me, mister," Roksu replied with an angelic smile.

"It could be my real name."

'Yeah right.' Roku rolled his eyes. "And I could be simply Bob the traveler."

"I refuse to believe there's an actual Dragon named Bob." Not-Albert seemed to find that premise very offensive for some reason.

"Why are you so sure I'm a Dragon? That seems statistically unlikely."

"Aside from all the reasons I listed?"

"Circumstantial evidence at best. I might be a perfectly normal human."

Not-Albert walked closer, until he was two feet away, leaning down and making eye contact. He looked smug."Bob, my friend… Do you really not know?" He pointed at his own eyes. "You have slit-shaped pupils."

Roksu blinked, annoyed. Seriously? He couldn't believe he missed such a stupid detail. The only reason why the kittens did not notice was probably because they had slit-shaped pupils themselves, being cats and all. Roksu almost polymorphed his eyes on the spot just to spite Not-Albert, but. Why even bother at this point? He was used to this form of his, he felt too lazy to change it now.

The red Dragon huffed, deciding he had enough of this conversation. "Whatever. I don't have to explain myself to anyone." He stated with all the natural arrogance of a juvenile Dragon. "Much less some suspicious Dark Elf."

If anyone else had ever made such an observation about Alver Crossman, the Crown Prince of the Roan Kingdom, it would have meantaninevitable death – for the Prince, that is.

The secret quarter Dark Elf waswatching at the young Dragon with carefully concealed awe. Despite his earlier words, the child's polymorphed human form was quite convincing. Draconic pupils aside, the disguise could have fooled him...if only everything else about the childwasn'talso out of place. Everything from his ill-suited attire for a journey throughadangerous forest, to striking appearance, powerful aura and confident posture – not to mention the company of Cat Beast children, a race completely uncommon to the WesternContinent – his entire presencegave him away as a rare Dragon.

The very creature he had been searching for. Alver refused to pass on this chance. Especially since this little Dragon wasn't even hostile; amusingly grumpy and childish at worst.

Speaking of which...

"Well, this suspicious Dark Elf – only quarter at that for your information, my friend-"

"We are not friends!"

"-could hardly consider himself a respectable adult if I let a non-Dragon child wander around a Forbidden Region alone."

That… was an annoyingly good point, and Roksu did not like it. Still, that did not mean he would give in without a fight. He turned around and started walking away. "I can handle myself, Dragon or not. And you're probably not even an adult yourself!"

"Well I am turning 18 tomorrow, so I might as well be." Alver was infuriatingly smug about it as he followed right behind him. "And you are what, ten?"

"Twelve. And a half," Roksu added quickly, then immediately felt embarrassed about it. Wasn't it terribly childish to add half-years to your age?

Then again, Not-Albert just added a day to his own – so who was the childish one here again?

"And I'm five!" Hong suddenly joined in the conversation, seemingly having accepted that Alver would be their companion from that point on – an unspoken agreement which Roksu very much resented."My sister is seven. We are big kids!"

"Ah, yes I see," Alver nodded solemnly. "I'm sure you two are very mature for your age." Ohn laughed, clever enough to recognize a jab directed at the little Dragon.

Roksu felt doubly betrayed. Whose side were those two on, again?

"But you three are definitely too young to travel without supervision…" Alver looked over the group with sincere concern. "Were are your parents?"

"My mom is waiting for me at home," Roksu said boldly, seeing as the kittens weren't eager to answer. "And we don't need supervision anyway. If we add up our ages, together we're basically 24 and older than you."

Did that make sense? Not really. But Roksu did not care. Why couldn't the annoying teen just let them be?

"You should probably average it if that's how you want to count it," Alver said with amusement. "That would make you only 8-year-old each."

Roksu pouted. Then, his expression cleared as something simple occurred to him. Why not use this situation to his advantage?

"Well… if you insist on supervising us…" Slowly, a smirk rose on his face. "That means you will have to fill the role of aresponsible adult to look after us helpless children. Isn't that right, Albert?"

The Prince had a very bad feeling all of a sudden.

The little red Dragon lounged on a luxurious red cashmere blanket and a couple of pillows placed over soft grass, presenting the perfect picture of a spoiled Young Lordwhilethe part Dark Elftirelessly worked on their campsite. Roksu continued to pet the silverkitten on his lap as the red kitten amused himself by making biscuits with one of the pillows, all threeperfectly content with this arrangement.

"You are putting them together all wrong." The Dragonmade another remark with glee, causing the kittens to snicker. The teenager to shoot Roksu an irritated look. "The campfire needs to be perfectly symmetrical!"

"I don't think that makes much of a difference..." Alver said, attempting to correct the position of the logs according to the instructions.

"I know what I'm talking about. Start over!"

The Prince groaned in irritation. He was certain the child was just messing with him.

But, well. He wasn't exactly in a position to argue with a Dragon – no matter how petty said Dragon was.

"There. Is that better?"

"I guess." At last, Roksu magnanimously agreed. "Good job, I suppose."

Alver huffed. "Anything else, oh mighty Sir Bob?"

"That's great and mighty Sir Bob to you!" Roksu rolled his eyes at him. "What do you think? Get the fire going! We are hungry. Some responsible adult you are, letting us starve." This was so much fun, he thought. What a joy it was, to be still and do nothing while someone else did all the work.

Who would have thought that Prince Alver would end up serving as a Dragon's personal chef one day. If any of his Dark Elf relatives ever found out, they would have been envious for sure. For his part, Alver just felt irritated to be bossed around like a servant, when he knew for a fact this kid could prepare everything – food included – in a short momentusing his own magic. But he wouldn't give up so easily.

He had to get on the little Dragon's good side even if it killed him. The fate of his whole kingdom depended on it.

"You don't happen to have any cooking ingredients, do you?" the teenager asked, putting some packet beef jerky out of his pockets. "I have only this much on me. We might need to do some hunting if-"

Roksu lazily waved his index finger in the air. An abrupt pig-like shriek sounded from beyond the trees, interrupting the teenager mid-sentence. The noise went silent as quickly as it started. A moment later, a huge body of a boar monster soared through the trees and landed directly in front of Alver.

He blinked at the dead body in shock.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Roksu said nonchalantly, taking out a bag of spices and throwing it at the boy's head. "Prepare the meat. You know how to do that, right? You are such a mature adult after all."

Alver's eye twitched. "This is driving me nuts," he muttered to himself, pulling his sleeves up. Never before had he been forced to do such dirty work, but. He accepted the challenge with dignity.

Roksu, Ohn and Hong happily ate all of the Prince's jerky while they waited for him to skin the animal, prepare the meat, and roast it above the fire. By the time the food was ready, it was afternoon and despite their snacks in the meantime, all of their stomachs were roaring from hunger. The four companions dig into the roasted pork happily.

"Delicious," Ohn said, licking her paw.

"So good!" Hong agreed with his mouth full.

"It actually is really good," Roksu said, pleasantly surprised. "Not bad, Albert. You might have potential as a professional chef after all."

"As tempting as that sounds," Not-Albert said with dignity, wiping his mouth with a handkerchief "I already have a career path in mind."

"Shame. I would have hired you – if you were a little less annoying, that is."

The part Dark Elf laughed. "Thank you for the compliment."

"Alright, since you passed basic cooking requirements now you get to make us dessert."

"Wait wha-?"

From his spatial bag, the little red Dragon pulled out a sack of flour, a metal tin withsugar, and several other ingredients, including chocolate chips. "Chocolate cookies, if you please. Go on."

Alver stared.

"Uh…May I ask why would you carry an industrial sized bag of flour with you?"

Roksu responded: "Better question is, Albert, why wouldn't I have an industrial sized bag of flour with me?"

The teenager wasn't sure if the other was serious or not. 'Truly, Dragons are beyond mortal comprehension…' he thought, and decided not to question it anymore.

By the time the sun set behind horizon, all the cookies the part Dark Elf painstakingly cooked over the campfire were long gone. One cannot underestimate children's love for sweets.

"You know," Alver said as they prepared the tent for the night. "Why don't we visit my place tomorrow? I have some really good sweets back home."

"You do?" Ohn asked with starts in her eyes.

"What kinds of sweets?" Hong eagerly climbed onto the boy's shoulders. "More cookies?"

"Not just cookies. We have dried fruit, and candied nuts, and all kinds of cakes. Meat and snacks, too! What do you think?"

The kittens meowed eagerly, rubbing against him and purring.

"How manipulative," Roksu said from his cozy spot on the blanket, his eyes closed. He had not moved from it since they first stopped to make camp – or more accurately, since Alver made the camp. The part Dark Elf thought it was both irritating and adorable how lazy this little Dragon was. "Tempting us with candy to go to your house? You sound like a second rate kidnapper." Despite these words, he sounded completely relaxed.

"You mean you don't want the opportunity to mooch off of my food to your hearts content?" Alver asked slyly. "Especially at my birthday banquet tomorrow."

Roksu's eyes snapped open in an instant "Birthday banquet?"

"Exactly." The teenager leaned in closer and whispered into his ear: "There will be layered chocolate cake."

Well, that settled it. "We'll go first thing in the morning." Roksu turned onto his side, moving his arms around the pillow where the black egg rested. With a flick of magic, a blanket covered him and his sibling. The kittens settled between the little red Dragon and the quarter Dark Elf.

Alver's warm brown eyes reflected the stars as he quietly celebrated this incredible victory in his mind. All of today's labor had been worth it.

He was finally bringing a Dragon home with him. Perhaps, his curse was soon to be over.

Chapter Text

They did not, in fact, go to Alver's place first thing in the morning. The first thing that happened was a monster attack at dawn.

Roksu had placed some wards before going to sleep, but he had deliberately kept them subtle in order to not draw attention to their camp – just in case an enemy appeared nearby for some reason. The benefit of it was that their campsite was basically undetectable unless someone walked right into it. The downside of it was, as it turned out, that an unlucky snake monster had come across it and smashed its face right into it. It naturally failed to cross the barrier, but unhappy to be in pain, it made quite the ruckus and it woke them all up fast.

Suffice to say, Roksu was irritated to be woken up so early. But luckily, by the time he bothered to sit up and rub the sleep out of his eyes, the part Dark Elf was already done chasing the monster away.

"I didn't realize you had a sword with you," the little red Dragon commented, looking at the elegant blade in the teenager's hands.

"You're not only one with a spatial bag, Bob my friend." Came the answer with a cheeky grin.

"Ugh." Roksu already forgot he gave the other that name, but could not be bothered to correct him. "Whatever. So, where do you live? I can teleport us right there, I don't feel like walking today."

"Ah," the other's face suddenly turned awkward. "You see, there is this one little thing that I might have neglected to mention..."

A little while later, the part Dark Elf, the little red Dragonand the two kittens stood in the capital city of Roan Kingdom, right front of Palace of Joy – the apparent 'humble' abode of the newest member of their group.

"...You really are the Crown Prince, huh. I did not expect this."

Alver Crossman, now disguised to be pale and blond for reasons he failed to explain, gave him a bright, fake smile and opened the door for them. "What, am I not handsome enough to be a Prince?"

"More like, you were so annoying I could have sworn you were a lawyer."Roksu said, entering and looking at the interior design. It was a lot less posh than what he had expected. "Or a tax collector."

Alver put a hand to his chest. "You wound me, deeply." He lead the way, guiding them through the corridors. For a royal palace, it really seemed to be shockingly tasteful and modest – not a single obnoxiously glided piece of furniture in sight. "But technically, as a Prince I can perform similar functions depending on circumstances. Only if his royal Majesty commands it, of course."

The fact that he did not refer to his own father as such and used such a lofty title instead, made alarm bells ring in Roksu's mind. He immediately decided to ignore them.

"I wouldn't be bragging about that if I were you. You sound less like a Prince and more like a glorified servant."

Alver laughed, just to be contrary. "Come in, please. As my honored guest, we need to prepare your clothes for the banquet."

Suddenly Roksu realized the biggest problem with attending to a party hosted by a real Prince… there would be people. A LOT of them.

In his past life as Kim Roksu, he hated parties. Especially the political events. He already hated this. Was any amount of food actually worth this?

'It better be.'

If Alver's promised layered chocolate cake failed to deliver, he was going to prank him so bad.

"Ah, aunt Tasha!" The teenager greeted a woman who was quickly approaching them. Roksu's sharp senses informed him that under her disguise she was a Dark Elf as well, except a pure-blooded one unlike the Prince. "Perfect timing."

"Alver, where have you run off too this time?! I haven't seen you anywhere in two days!" she spoke, apparently very stressed. No wonder, considering what kind of nephew she had. "We have barely a couple of hours before- who's this?"

"Auntie, allow me to introduce you to a very special guest," Alver spoke with sincerity. "I wish for him to accompany me for today's banquet, and he needs some clothes. Could you please bring our tailor here?"

The woman made an incredulous face at him. "You expect Sylvia to finish a brand new outfitin mere hours?!"

"She will do it," he said with conviction. "She will be more than happy to, Auntie, trust me. Take a good look at him and you will realize just who this is."

"What do you mean…?" Tasha directed her attentivegaze onto Alver's companion, trying to find what he was implying. When her eyes met Roksu's, she froze, no doubt at the sight of his pupils and what their shape meant. "I-is this…?" Her lips shaped out the word 'Dragon' without a sound.

Her eyes grew even wider when she looked at the shape in his hands. She quickly turned to her nephew, her expression desperate for a confirmation that her suspicions were correct. Alver nodded his his head quickly, twice.

"Hello," Roksu said simply.

A moment later, Tasha started to drop on her knees. Before she could hit the floor, however, Roksu raised one of his palms in her direction.

"Please do not do that," he said with an air of exasperation. "I do not wish to advertise my identity at the moment." He patted the black shell of his sibling. "This makes things a little too obvious though, so if I could also request for something to conceal it aside from the clothes, that would be appreciated." He had no intention of leaving his sibling behind. Not while there was a lunatic running lose – even if they were currently a continent away.

"Ah, yes, of course!" Tasha said brightly, clasping her hands. Her eyes sparkled. "Anything you need, sir! May I ask how long you will be staying with us?" She was definitely an Elf, alright.

"I'm not sure," the little red Dragon said. "Definitely until the end of the banquet. I heard there will be cake."

"Oh, there will be!" Tasha said with great enthusiasm. "Only the best for you, oh most respectable Sir! Right this way!"

As it turned out, Dark Elf Sylvia was indeed ecstatic to make an elegant outfit for a Dragon, even if she only had a couple of hours to make it. The power of Elves in Dragon-worshiping mode was not to be underestimated. Not only did she finish with time to spare, it looked even more elegant than the outfit the Prince himself had prepared for the banquet. Even the little red Dragon was impressed.

Roksu and the kittens were given tea and cookies while they waited, sittingon the amazingly comfortable couch of Alver's office.That was enough for the young Dragon's bad mood to disappear entirely. The cookies were almost as good as the ones that crazy guy the White Star used to bring him years ago – for that alone, this whole ordeal was definitely worth it.

He almost changed his mind again, however, once he and the kitten made an entrance into the banquet hall.

While no one paid any specific attention to him, the fact that he entered with the Prince raised some eyebrows. Roksu remembered to change the shape of his pupils this time, and he put his sibling's egg into a present-looking box, cushioning the inside with his own pillows and blankets. He definitely looked the part like a child carrying a birthday present for royalty – the only thing that could possibly give him away was his deadpan expression.

Roksu sat near the Crown Prince, listening halfheartedly to his flowery speech as he used his glib tongue to its fullest potential. He wished to focus solely on the delicious food – the kittens certainly did not have a problem with that, their faces entirely covers in gravy and chocolate as they devoured everything Roksu placed on their plates beneath the table. No, the problem was that there was something about this whole event that did not sit right with him.

The food and the decorations were flawless. There was a lot of guests attending, all of them nobility dressed in their finest clothes. The music was light and blended well with the atmosphere of a birthday celebration. Everything seemed to be in order.

What was the problem, then?

Roksu examined the faces of the guests, and suddenly he realized what was so odd about this situation.

There was not a single person present who seemed happy for the Crown Prince.

No, in fact the longer he looked around, the more he realized how utterly unfriendly everyone seemed. None of their smiles were sincere, there were whispers exchanged between nobles, many of them without any regard of what it looked like while Alver was giving a speech. Some seemed to downright mock him, behind their hands and fans glittering glasses of wine. There were only a couple of exceptions among thm, like a table of nobles who seemed more focused on scolding one of their members instead of Alver's speech.

Was Prince Alver… unpopular for some reason?

The little Dragon's chewing slowed down.

He did not know the Crown Prince very well. They could hardly be called friends at this point. He spent the past day bickering with him and bossing him around. But an image of his social situation was slowly unfolding before his eyes – and for some reason, Roksu did not like it one bit.

Then, right as Alver was finishing his speech, someone interrupted.

"Announcing, his royal Majesty King Zed Crossman!" the master of ceremony proclaimed.

Everybody turned as a tall, blond figure entered the banquet hall and took the center of the stage. He resembled his son quite a bit… in the disguise, that is.

'Ah,' Roksu suddenly realized. 'Of course. That's why Alver disguises himself.'

He knew that people with the Darkness Attribute weren't exactly popular, especially in human kingdoms. The inhabitants of Western Continent in particular seemed to favor the faith of the Sun God, who was very firmly against those kinds of individuals.

In other words: even if Alver was able to conceal his Dark Elf heritage and Attribute by claiming his mother was only a dark-skinned Southerner, if anyone doubted Alver's parentage he could kiss his royal career goodbye.

Yes, Roksu did not like these circumstances.

"Thank you all for coming," the King spoke, not looking once at his son. "I hope you all enjoy the celebration." And with that, he left.

He. Just. Left.

Roksu watched him go with his jaw dropped.

'What the actual hell just happened?!'

This was the celebration of his oldest son's 18th birthday! No customary good wishes? No acknowledgment of his heir to the throne? No praise, or scolding if he deserved it? Not even a speech about him finally becoming a man, about his responsibility to his people as a future king?

Not to mention, they were in public! This man just publicly ignored his own son! No wonder the nobles were acting like this, it probably wasn't even the first time something like this occurred. But politically speaking, that was the worst kind of message you could send to your citizens! Not only did he undermine his son's authority and dignity as a Crown Prince, he just showed them what a terrible father he was! Even if he was holding a grudge against Alver, he shouldn't be acting like this – at the very least, for the sake of his on image!

But his worst crime of all… He didn't even stay to try the birthday cake!

The audacity of that man!!!

Roksu decided right then and there, that he despised Alver's father. Anyone would deserve a better parent for their coming-of-age birthday.

'Zed Crossman, you bastard... You better watch out!' The King of the Roan Kingdom had no idea what kind of enemy he made that day.

The kittens must have felt his change of mood, as they stopped eating and started rubbing against the young Dragonto comfort him. In the corner of his eye, Alver also noticed the dangerous expression on the face of his special guest.

'Did something upset him just now? I hope it wasn't the cake.' His cooks really did their best, it would break their hearts if they found out a Dragon did not like their sweets.

Despite the King's very public faux pas, the banquet continued without disturbance. Slowly, some nobles started to approach Alver… to 'give him their good wishes'.

In other words, to mock him in the most polite way possible. The longer it went on, the more Roksu lost his appetite. Was this a birthday banquet, or an event solely dedicated to be as passive-aggressive as humanly possible?

Things reached the peak of irritating when one of the least friendly-looking nobles finally came forward.

"Ah, Prince Alver, what a surprise to see you hosting such an event!" A sleazy noble with blond hair and cold eyes spoke. This man's mere presence made Roksu skin crawl. How could Alver stand such people? "Congratulations on reaching the age of 18. Many of us thought you wouldn't have made it!"

Did he seriously just imply what Roksu thought he did? Roksu wanted to scratch away that fake smile with his claws.

"Venion Sten, what an unexpected pleasure to have you here," Prince Alver replied smoothly. "How is your older brother doing?"

The noble'ssmug expression dropped dramatically. Roksu may have lacked context, but he could imagine the question hit quite the sore spot.

"...Taylor is well," he forced out the words, with pitiful effort to seem unaffected. "Thank you for your... kind concern, your highness."

The Crown Prince grinned brilliantly and patted Venion's shoulderas if oblivious to his poor mood. "I'm very happy to hear it! Please send him my regards, his absence is so unfortunate for this auspicious event. But I hear he must be awfully busy these days, becoming the Sten heir,so it is perfectly understandable."

Even Roksu could read between the lines. 'What a pity you are here instead of your brother, whom I actually respect. But I know he has actual responsibilities to attend to – unlike you, since you have enough time to come to a birthday party of someone you don't even like.'

Venion's sour expression put lemons to shame. "Let us hope this event truly remains auspicious, your highness." He clearly hoped for the opposite. "You never know what the future has in store for us. An unlucky incident could occur at any time."

What a way to say 'I hope you swallow poison and die, your highness'!

"How true, and I do appreciate your concern!" The Prince spoke without an ounce of uncertainty. "I admit that it is unfortunate that some of the most anticipated, important guests couldn't attend." Venion clearly wasn't on that list. "Still, the fact so many heirs and higher ranking nobles chose to make an appearance bodes well for us all!" Again, not on that list.

The little Dragon could appreciate a sick burn, even if he wished for it to a bit more literal. Maybe he should just go for it and set the stupid noble on fire? For scientific purposes, naturally.

Suddenly, someone passed right next to Venion and collided with his shoulder, spilling wine all over his pristine white shirt. The glass goblet dropped on the floor shattering loudly, making everyone in the banquet hall look towards the commotion.

"Argh-! The hell do you think you're doing?!" Venion Sten completely lost his composure, looking down at his ruined outfit with pure rage.

"Whoops, did not see you there." A red-haired teenager with a bratty yet uniquely elegant air spoke in a completely unapologetic voice. "I might have noticed you if you were actually someone important."

Roksu already liked him.

"Cale, please watch your step next!" His bespectacled companion scolded him, somehow under the impression that the collision did not happen on purpose. "You could at least apologize to Young Master Venion…" The well intended advice went completely ignored. Roksu would have felt bad for him, if he wasn't 100% on Cale's side in this.

What a pity Young Master Cale had not happened to carry strong acid in that goblet.

"Why, you-!" Venion looked close to strangling Cale on the sport. The only reason he didn't was likely because they were in the full view of a large number of nobles. "Do you have any idea how much this material costs?!"

"Yeah yeah, what a shame, feel free to send the Henituse county the bill." 15-year-old Cale Henituse teenager rolled his eyes, grabbing a bottle of wine from a nearby table. "You made me lose my glass, so I hope you don't mind if I make do without." He took a swig straight from the bottle, downing half of it in one go. Once he finished, he lifted an eyebrow at Venion. "You're still here? I'd hurry if I were you. From what I've heard, that fabric is a nightmare to clean stains from."

Venion ground his teeth so hard it looked like he was about to break a tooth. But, unwilling to humiliate himself any further, he made the smart decision and left.

"Pathetic," Cale muttered after him, then turned to the Crown Prince. "My biggest condolences to you, your highness. Your birthday banquet is definitely the wort party I have ever attended in my entire life."

"Cale!" His friend was red from embarrassment. "Please, put that bottle down. You really shouldn't drink so much at your age..."

"This is my first time, leave me alone Eric," Cale grumbled, his face flushed nearly as much as Eric. Yet for some reason, Roksu had a strange suspicion that this young man was far more sober than he seemed.

"I am very sad to hear that, Young Master Cale," Alver replied, undaunted by the remark. "Is there anything I could do to make your time here more pleasant?"

"Yes, you could kick out all those a**holes over there," Cale waved at the gathering carelessly, not bothering to single anyone out. Apparently he meant everyone.

Roksu couldn't agree more. Alver rubbed his chin, clearly not taking the suggestion seriously yet willing to play along.

"I wish I could, Young Master. But if I did, who would be left to enjoy the celebration?"

"Who says anyone here deserves to enjoy it? It's your party, you should do whatever the hell you want."

"He is right."

For the first time since he entered the hall, Roksu spoke. Immediately, everyone nearby turned in his direction.

Roksu finally decided enough was enough.

"Excuse me?" Alver seemed baffled by his interjection at this point.

"He is?" Eric wondered.

"I am??" Even Cale seemed shocked.

Forget the food, the decorations and everything else. Those things weren't enough for a good party. What actually made an event enjoyable was likable people. Roksu used to have many human friends for 12 years of this life, so he knew that much.

"Yes, you are," Roksu said, looking Cale straight in the eye. "You are the only one so far I heard actually speak the truth in this damned place. This whole event is a miserable travesty of a birthday celebration." Then he turned to Alver. "This is meant to be YOUR day. There is no way you are actually enjoying this. So why should everybody else enjoy themselves? What kind of logic is that?!"

Why was Alver forced to smile at all those people telling him he shouldn't be here? They should all get lost instead. Who cared what they thought?

Roksu felt a pull he had not felt since before his reincarnation into this life. The irresistible desire… to make a s***show.

His mind made up, he climbed the table and let out some of his aura, making every single person present pay attention to him in an instant.

"Listen up, everyone!" His amplified voicerang brightly in the sudden silence. "Cale Henituse is the only one of you who has any sense in his head!"

Roksu could not have uttered a more accidentally controversial statement if he had tried.

"...What?"

"Did he just say Cale Henituse?!"

To say that all the attending nobles were offended to be compared to the infamous trashy lout of the Henituse family, would be an understatement.

Everybody glanced at the person in question, standing with a bottle of alcohol in his hand. Even Cale was stunned to hear such an absurd claim.

"You were invited to celebrate the 18th birthday of your own future King!" Roksu scolded them, putting some murderous intent into his aura. Slowly, his aura changed from attention-grabbing to overwhelmingly ominous. "You should at the very least show respect for his efforts of organizing such a big event! And yet, what have you been doing instead?" Roksu point at them, his eyes glowing with red with power. "Gossiping, scheming and slandering! You should all be ashamed! Is this really how the nobles of the Roan Kingdom behave? The oldest kingdom of the two continent! Your ancestors would be rolling in their graves if they could see you now!"

Despite a mere child criticizing a hall full of powerful political figures, not one of them dared to utter a sound. His aura was simply too menacing. Some of the more clever nobles were starting to figure out something was up.

"Well, no matter what lies you tell about the Prince and to yourselves, there is one fact no one can deny!" Roksu stepped down from his spot on the table, walked towards Alver, and stopped. Then, in a swift moment, his form changed.

He polymorphed into his true form. Everybody gasped in utter shock.

He was small, but it did not matter. With one swift flap of his wings and a dash of magic, the little red Dragon soared above everybody's heads, and landed on top of Alver's fake golden hair, making sure everybody took a good look at him.

"None of you have a Dragon for a friend!" Roksu declared. "I would never be friends with people like you! Because all of you, are terrible! But him, I like him! Alver Crossman is worth more than all of you combined!"

That did not mean he thought particularly highly of Alver, of course. Only that his respect towards everybody else had hit rock bottom. But of course, none of them needed to know that.

On and Hong meowed in agreement, taking their spots on two sides of Alver. It made quite the comical sight: the Crown Prince, with a Dragon sitting on top of his head instead of a crown, and two small fluffy kittens surrounding him like bodyguards.

No one present would ever forget this image.

"So remember this, terrible humans!" Roksu activated a teleportation array as he levitated the box with his sibling next to him. "The next time you say something mean about my friend I, Roksu the red Dragon, will be watching! I will hear everything! So, watch yourselves! Or I will smack you all in the back!"

And with this warning, the four figures disappeared.

"...Wow."

Cale Henituse was the one interrupted the stunned silence that continued to haunt the hall for almost half a minute.

"Did you hear that, Eric?" Cale spoke to his friend. "A Dragon said I'm the only noble making sense around here!" He took another drink from his bottle and smirked. "I'm going to quote that for the rest of my life."

And the royal banquet hall erupted with noise, as every single guest questioned in disbelief what the hell just happened.

"You…" Alver stood in the Palace of Joy, speechless. "You really didn't need to do that."

"I know!" Roksu puffed out his chest, back in his human form, hugging his sibling's egg close to his chest. "I did it because I wanted to! No one can tell a Dragon what to do."

"...Indeed, haha..." Alver laughed softly. "...hahaha..." Then a little louder, catching his breath and holding it for a moment. And finally, he grabbed his stomach and burst into laughter at full volume – in a way he had not laughed in a very long time: "PFFF-HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

Roksu raised an eyebrow at this strange outburst. 'What's wrong with him?'

"Ahahahaha… haaah…" Alver wiped a small tear from the edge his eye. "Ah, what a day. Thank you… Roksu."

"You are welcome." Roksu deadpanned at him. "Happy birthday, I guess."

"Happy birthday, he says!" The Crown Prince seemed ready to burst into laughter again. "It really was, wasn't it? The best birthday I ever had."

Roksu patted his shoulder. "Do you need to sit down?"

"No no, I'm good. I just never expected to witness a Dragon calling out everyone on their nonsense to their faces like this."

Roksu sat down on the couch, letting the egg rest at his lap. The kittens followed suit, settling down next to him. "How did it feel?"

Alver tilted his head thoughtfully, his gaze directed outside the window. "To be honest? Extremely refreshing."

The little red Dragon nodded. "Good. Your father better be prepared, because I'm coming for him next."

Alver turned and blinked at him with a strange expression. "I suppose I should ask you to leave my father alone…" He said slowly.

"But?" Roksu watched his expression with a smirk.

"But… who am I to argue with a Dragon?" The Crown Prince shrugged with a brilliant smile.

"In other words, you're telling me to go for it."

"I wouldn't dare to tell you what to do or not to do."

"Spoken like a true politician. That really should have been my first guess instead of lawyer."

Suddenly, Alver's smile went down, and he turned serious. "Actually, about that… I have request." He took a step forward, and knelt next to the couch to be on the same eye level as Roksu.

The Dragon immediately became wary. "A request?" Was it a mistake to declare himself a friend to this guy? Would he make him work?

Roksu's worst fear: the loss of his slacker life.

"Yes." Alver started petting Ohn absentmindedly. The silver kitten was perfectly happy with this arrangement. A little jealous, Hong inserted his own head under Roksu's palm, prompting him to pet as well. "I was hoping to get a Dragon's help for quite some time."

Something suddenly occurred to the little red Dragon. A question he did not consider before, and an answer. He remember what Alver said when they first met.

"You are… a Dragon, aren't you? A real Dragon?"

"You've been… searching for a Dragon, haven't you?" he said, watching Alver closely. "Before meeting me. That's why you were in the Forest of Darkness yesterday."

"That's right."

While the timing was a coincidence, the place was not. It was common knowledge that Dragons were arrogant and preferred solitude. That very same logic led Roksu to looking for the Golden Dragon in a Forbidden Region in the first place.

"You don't seem like the type of person to waste your time on something frivolous as rare creature hunting." The Crown Prince appeared to be a responsible type who took his duties very seriously. He wouldn't be out wasting time searching for Dragons on his own if it wasn't a dire matter. "You have a private problem that only a Dragon can solve. Is that it?"

"Correct." Alver smiled in awe and respect. Ohn purred happily. "Dragons really are incredible. You are very smart."

"Of course I am." Roksu frowned, thinking while scratching behind Hong's ears. "Either your life is in danger, or…" He rubbed his chin with his free hand, then snapped his fingers. "...your career as the future King? I'm right, aren't I. Something is threatening your position as the heir to the throne."

"I suppose you are correct. It is quite the delicate matter, and a long-held secret of the royal family." Alver released a slow breath. "The truth is… I am cursed."

'Wait, what?' Roksu did not expect this. Neither did the kittens, as they looked at the Crown Prince with concern.

"Are you sure?" The little red Dragon looked at him dubiously. "You seem perfectly healthy to me."

"Quite sure. My lineage bears a curse of the Sun God."

"I don't sense any curse on you."

"Nevertheless." Alver stood up. "Come, let me show you."

The Crown Prince lead the trio to a different palace, into a secret spot in the royal library. A secret entrance was opened, and soon they all found themselves in front of an ancient boulder with words carved on it.

Roksu read the words on the stone carefully.

<Descendants of the cursed blood.>

Talk about a bad start.

<The Sun God's eyes are always watching you.>

<Never set your eyes on taking over the sky.>

<The Sun will always rise.>

<The moment that darkness is placed inside one of you...>

<The moment when that person becomes the head of the household, the sky will be destroyed, the ground will tremble, and the kingdom will all fall into ruin. >

<There is only one way to avoid this fate...>

Roksu kept reading until he heard a clicking noise. He turned his head. The part Dark Elf had removed the magic concealing his true colors.

"You see, Roksu. The Crossman household always found the head's appearance to be important." He spread his arms as if showcasing something defective. "It was because they were worried about the Darkness Attribute getting mixed in." He pointed at himself. "They knew they couldn't risk the curse coming to fruition. That is why I had to hide myself all my life."

Alver had a twisted smile on his face.

"This is the dark secret of the Crossman royal family. People believe us to be blessed by the Sun God, but we are actually cursed by them."

He touched the stone.

"But, there is one part of the text that none of us can read. No one knows what it means. Which is why I hoped that perhaps a Dragon would know, and present a solution to the curse."

Roksu watched him with stunned eyes for a moment, his eyes shaking. Then, he looked back at the stone carvings.

'He must be shocked that such an old curse still exists in this world,' thought Alver. 'What if even the Dragons do not know the solution?'

What must Alver do, in order to prevent the curse from destroying his kingdom? Was the only solution for him to abandon his right to the throne and let his human-blooded brothers rule in his stead? Or, would even that much not be enough to prevent the curse at this point?

The Crown Prince did not know at the moment, but Roksu's shaken state had nothing to do with the threat of the curse.

No, it was solely due to the last two lines of the text right at the bottom.

<There is only one way to avoid this fate...>

<YOU KNOW THE RULES, AND SO DO I.>

The last phrase… it was written twice.

Once in the common tongue of the Western Continent – and the other.

It was in English.

It was in. Freaking. English.

Not only was it a language that was not supposed to exist in this world… but that line. That line!

An extremely cringe-worthy memory was suddenly thrust upon Roksu:

"Come on, Roksu, sing with us!"

"No."

"Please~!"

"Choi Jung Soo."

"Don't be so stiff! Come on, do it for me. It's my birthday!"

"It's my birthday too, you know. How can you do this to me?"

"I will owe you one!"

"..."

"..."

"...Owe me, you say?"

"Well, damn, looks like you played yourself, Choi Jung Soo! Roksu is going to squeeze you dry in the future."

"Eh, whatever, Team Leader. It will be worth it!"

Kim Roksu had reluctantly grabbed the microphone. An infamous music video from the 80's which had plagued the internet for ages started to play. He began to sing.

"We're not strangers to love..."

"You know the rules, and so do I!"

Roksu forced himself out of this traumatizing flashback.

There was no way.

There was no freaking way – this was an ancient curse from a hostiledeity they were taking about here! They can't be serious with this!

There was no way… that the actual answer to this curse was…!

"Never Gonna Give You Up?" Roksu whispered the title in horror.

Suddenly drums resounded in the empty chamber, followed by a cheerful instrumental tune. As the musicplayed, the stone started to melt away.

"How…?" Alver spoke in awe.

"Wow!" The kittens meowed in shock.

But Roksu did not pay the Prince nor the Cats any attention.

A modern internet meme. The solution to the curse of the Crossman family was a God. Damned. MEME!

Roksu would have covered his face if he could. Instead, he facepalmed straight into the black egg shell and whimpered. "We've been Rick Rolled…"

Ohn lightly scratched his leg in concern. "Are you okay, Roksu?"

This was officially the worst day of his life.

Chapter Text

Apparently, what the boulder had been hiding all this time was… a spear. A shiny, modern-looking, white spear which began glowing once Alver picked it up.

A short, high-pitched chime rang in the air, followed by robotic-sounding announcement:

"Battery. Fully charged!"

And it even came with... an AI chat-bot included. Wait, was that Sony logo carved on the hilt?!

How was this Roksu's life, again?

<When a person with darkness inside them appears...>

Moreover, there was a new writing on the wall.

<When they attempt to devour Dragons and take over...>

<A member of the Crossman bloodline will be tasked to protect the Dragons.>

Apparently, this whole 'curse' thing was an elaborate divine scheme against the White Star…

<Only you will be able to wield this weapon.>

...designed solely for Alver's benefit??

<You, a person with your own convictions.>

<Wield this weapon and defeat the darkness.>

Did Roksu accidentally create a whole new protagonist just now?!

<Go forth, fight and protect what is yours.>

<Become the sun.>

"Incredible," Alver was shocked and thrilled at the same time. The curse he had been dreading for so long, had been overturned in an instant. "A divine item…!"

"Hello, sir. Welcome, to Taerang's user interface!" The AI spoke in typical stiff, robotic voice. "This product had been specifically created by experts as a highest-class weapon against psychopaths with god complex trying to take over the world! Thank you for using Sony products! Sponsored by the Sun God Tech Corporations! No refunds available. For more information, please reach out to your local tech support provider!"

...It really was a Sony product. Roksu wanted to weep, but there was no one else present who could possibly sympathize with this level of cringe.

"We will now commence with the user registration. Please state your name."

"Huh?"

Roksu sighed. "Just... say your name."

"I am... Alver Crossman?"

"Alver Crossman, has been registered as Taerang user! We hope you have a pleasant experience using this product and slaying your enemies! Good luck! May the Force be with you!"

That's it. If Roksu ever found where the Sun God was hiding, he was going to strangle them – either for emotional damage or copyright infringement, he didn't even care at this point.

Meanwhile, Alver carefully examined the spear all over. "So, this is a divine item specifically designed to defeat the enemies of the world, who try to take over?"

"Yeah."

"The curse was actually a prophecy?"

"Looks like it."

"So the darkness part was never about the Darkness Attribute..." Suddenly, he looked back at the stone writing and frowned. "Wait a minute. What does this part mean?" He placed his hand next to one of the lines and read it aloud: "When they attempt to devour Dragons…?"

"Ah." Roksu said awkwardly. "About that."

Alver and the two kittens looked at him with deep concern.

"Roksu…?"

"Funny story… You weren't the only one in the Forest of Darkness looking for Dragons?"

"Huh?"

Roksu, as concisely as possible, proceeded to explain his own situation – no mention of his previous life and his memories, just pure facts.

"I'm sorry- did you just say that there's a guy wants to kill you and eat your heart?!"

That evening the little red Dragon, the part Dark Elf Prince, and two Cat Beast children found themselves in Alver's office, planning.

"Before I met you, there were several places I already search through for Dragons and crossed off my list," the Prince explained, pointing at the map on the desk. "The Land of Death is where my Dark Elf relatives live, so that's out. The Path of No Return has a legend of a Dragon living there and granting people's wishes – but either it's false or the Dragon who lived there moved out, since a lot of people tried and never found anything."

"Well I would have moved too, if people constantly showed up at my door asking me to grant their wishes for free," Roksu said flatly.

Alver smiled. "Fair point. I did check it out myself just in case, but it's really just a forest full of strange fog. No Dragons living there, currently."

"Alright. Where else?"

"Ten Finger Mountains – I had high hopes at first, but. I only found an Elf village. I thought they might know something about Dragons in their area since, you know, they are Elves. But they were… hm. Not exactly cooperative."

"What happened?"

Alver scratched his cheek, looking awkward.

"At first, they were under the impression that I was a human, so they refused me access to the village. Once I revealed my true face to them, however, they were even less inclined to be helpful. In the end, none of them wanted to speak with me."

Roksu frowned. "Are different types of Elves hostile towards one another?"

"That seems to be the case, at least with this village." The Prince shrugged. "They probably find dead mana and its users the enemies of nature? I guess it is understandable… Well, nothing can be done about it."

The little red Dragon did not like that at all. Neither did the kittens, judging by their angry hisses. "Oh, I think I can persuade them to change their minds, alright-!"

They were interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Alver, are you there?"

Alver walked to the office door and opened it. "What is it, aunt Tasha?"

"You have a guest."

"At this hour? Who is it?"

"It's… Young Master Cale Henituse?"

Alver and Roksu exchanged confused looks.

Out of sheer curiosity, the eventually decided to let him in.

"Good evening, your highness, and-" Cale blinked in surprised at the sight of the little red Dragon and the kittens. "-Dragon Roksu? What a pleasant surprise to see you here!"

"Why did you think I wouldn't be here?" Roksu thought his display at the banquet earlier that day made his friendship with Alver rather obvious.

"Oh no, I knew you would be here. But I kind of expected you to conceal your presence with magic or something," Cale waved his hand elegantly to emphasize his point. "You know, to test if people took your threat seriously."

"My… threat?"

Cale took a seat in front of Roksu. "You know, the whole 'I, Roksu the Dragon, will be watching your noble a***es and kick you all in the-!'"

"Yes, yes, we get your point, Young Master Cale… You need not elaborate," Alver interrupted him, uncomfortable to see someone cursing in front of the kids.

"That wasn't a threat, though," the Dragon stated calmly.

"Wasn't it?"

"Of course not. It was a promise."

Cale let out a surprised laugh. "Even better. Speaking of which… this is actually why I'm here." He pulled out a scroll of parchment from his pocket. "This is for you, sir Dragon."

"For me?" Roksu received the scroll in confusion. "What is it?"

Cale Henituse smirked. "A comprehensive list of every noble who used to regularly engage in gossip and scheming against the Crown Prince, as well as their major phobias and dislikes." His wicked smile got wider. "And a couple of suggestions on how to ruin their day, if you feel like it."

Alver gaped at Cale. "When did you even-?"

"-have the time?" Cale snorted. "Please. Obviously, it's the first thing I did after leaving the banquet. Officially, I am currently taking a nap to get rid of the hangover."

In other words, he had been compiling the list for the past couple of hours.

"Why would you even bother, though?" Roksu narrowed his eyes. "Seems like a lot of effort for no reason."

"Why, is ruining the lives of all of those shameless bastards not enough of a reason?"

"I was going to do so with or without your involvement. So… what do you want?"

Cale sighed. "Yeah, I figured a Dragon wouldn't buy it. I just want to make a deal."

"A deal?"

"To make sure you leave my immediate family and the North-East noble faction alone."

Roksu blinked. "Huh? That's it?"

"Yup." Cale nodded, resting his chin on his hand. "That's it."

"You want nothing else?"

"The pleasure of screwing over all people I hate already seem like an absolute win."

"So, you just want protection for yourself, your closest family, and the people who were at your table today."

"Exactly."

"What about your extended family?"

"Oh they're all fair game, please go for the throat."

"Young Master Cale, this discussion borders on criminal – please don't sic a Dragon on your own family in the presence of a Prince…"

Cale looked at Alver with amusement. "Don't at like you're not befitting from it, your highness."

Cale and Alver actually had a long-standing understanding with each other. They were not friends – not officially, at least. Years ago, Cale overheard some nobles gossiping about the Crown Prince, and 'accidentally' toppled a tower of wine glasses in their direction, causing quite the commotion. The Prince, more observant than most, actually took notice of his actions and sent him a secret note to thank him for his interference. Cale being Cale, he wrote back refusing any such allegations, yetcould not resist of adding helpful advice on how to humiliate others and make it look like an accident.

The two had been secret pen pals ever since. But, Cale had never actually stepped into the Crown Prince's office before, keeping the facade of absolute neutrality – liketrue Henituse, despite his general reputation of being the trashy lout of his family.

Apparently the very real threat of a pissed off Dragon made him break character and declare his alliance… in a fashion.

"This is… actually quite helpful?" Roksu said, reading Cale's prank ideas with growing fascination. "Alver, let's use some of those against the White Star!" The kittens meowed in approval.

"White Star? Who's that?"

"Just some guy keeping my house hostage, who wants to kill my sibling andeat my heart."

"Oh, I see…" Cale nodded absentmindedly, then his head snapped in his direction. "Wait. What the fu-?!"

And so, the team of four became a team of five.

The next day, after a hearty breakfast – and dessert – a human, a Dragon, a part Dark Elf, and two Cat Tribe children went to the Ten Finger Mountains.

Usually, traveling this kind of distance with such a group in a day would be very difficult and expensive. However, since Roksu was a Dragon – and a quite talented and powerful one, even for the standards of his kind – it was incredibly easy.

They reached the village before it was noon. For the local Elf population, it was one of the best and the worst days in their lives.

The best, because a Dragon graced them with their presence.

The worst, because the Dragon in question was very, very displeased with them.

"What do you mean, dirty?!" Roksu ranted at the cowering Elves, his murderous aura unleashed upon them. If he had access to full Dragon Fear already, they probably would have lost consciousness on the spot from the sheer pressure. "There is nothing wrong with dead mana or the Dark Attribute! It's all part of nature! How dare you lot be so narrow-minded and shallow-!"

It continued for quite a while. Cale, standing back with Alver – each holding a kitten in their arms – muttered to the Crown Prince:

"Should we stop him? We might have difficulty getting information out of them if they all pass out..."

"Do YOU feel bold enough to try and stop a Dragon on a rampage? Be my guest."

Wisely, Cale shut up.

Once Roksu was done scolding the Elves for their past discrimination, a brave individual with pale hair and a unique scar on his face dared to approach him.

"Oh mighty sir Dragon… is there any way me and my kin can repent and make things right?" he asked, his head low.

"What is your name?"

"Pendrick, most respectable sir…!"

"Just sir will do," the little red Dragon interrupted. As much as Roksu wanted for them to grovel in apology to the part Dark Elf, excessive worship gave him the creeps – he remained too human in spirit to enjoy that level of subservience. "Let us just get to the point. Do any of you know where we could find another Dragon?"

"Why, yes of course, sir. Are you perhaps looking for sir golden Dragon, Erhaben?"

Finally, Roksu managed to locate the Ancient Dragon Nelan wrote in 'The Birth of Heroes'.

The golden Dragon, as it turned out, lived on top of the most dangerous peak in the Western Continent: the infamous Mount Yellia of Whipper Kingdom.

"You know, I really should have considered this location before," Alver admitted. "It meets all the requirements of 'ideal Dragon lair location.'"

"Well, there is a lot of dangerous mountains in this land," Roksu said, his hand patting the shell of the black egg by habit. "A lot more than on the Eastern Continent, actually. Searching through each one would take ages."

"Still. I feel disappointed in myself that I never thought of it before. I mean, by definition this is the most inaccessible mountain. It would be more surprising if there wasn't a Dragon living here."

"Or, maybe this place became so infamously inaccessible because a Dragon lives here, not the other way around?" Cale suggested.

"Fair point."

Roksu let out his Dragon aura again. "Alright, that should do it. Now we just wait."

"How long do we have to wait?" Ohn asked him, playing with the snow. Usually she did not enjoy snow very much, but thanks to Roksu, she and her brother were protected from the cold with magic – making the snow a lot less miserable and a ton more fun.

"Is mister Dragon home?" Hong wondered, leaving a pattern of paw prints around himself.

"I would hope so." Said Roksu. "Where else would he be?"

"Grocery shopping?"

Cale looked at the red Cat with confusion. "You think a Dragon goes grocery shopping?"

"How else would he get food?" The kitten questioned curiously.

The answer seemed extremely obvious to therich noble. "Servants?"

"Do Dragons actually have servants, though?" Alver wondered, looking at Roksu. "I mean, I know your kind is usually very rich, but. Do you actually ever hire people to work for you?"

"I…do not know?" the little red Dragon said wonderingly. "I don't actually know any other Dragons, so..."

"We can ask the Dragon when we meet him!" Hong said cheerfully.

"Ask me what?"

The group all were startled at the sudden appearance of a tall, golden-haired figure with crossed arms. His Elf form was very slender and beautiful; his true identity mostly betrayed by the slit-shaped pupils.

"Ha!" Roksu said, turning to Alver. "You see? He also doesn't change his eyes! It's perfectly normal for Dragons!"

"I never said it wasn't..."

"Mister Dragon," Hong approached and the golden Dragon, looking up cutely with large eyes. "Were you shopping? Do Dragons go grocery shopping?"

"What I want to know, is the name of his tailor," Cale Henituse said with admiration at the sight of the golden Dragon's sense of fashion. "That outfit looks fabulous."

"He look very pretty," the silver kitten agreed. "But I prefer pink."

"My sister's tailor is really good at dresses, we could visit her later if you want," Cale offered without a second thought.

"That would be amazing!" Ohn seemed very happy.

Erhaben looked at the juvenile tourist group in front of his front door, all too distracted to pay any attention to him, and sighed:

"...I am too old for this."

"Excuse me, let me get this straight."

Everyone was sitting around the luxurious table in Erhaben's lair, enjoying tea and cookies. Meanwhile, the golden Dragon was rubbing his temples in disbelief at what he was hearing.

"You are telling me, you are the son of the Dragon Lord."

"That's right."

"You hatched mere 12 years ago, despite your egg being over 10,000 years old."

"Uhuh."

"You have a twin sibling, who is yet to hatch."

"Yup."

"And there is a Dragon Slayer currently invading your home."

"Yeah."

"Which happens to be the legendary Castle of Light..."

"Correct."

"And that Dragon Slayer has murdered all the other Dragon Slayers, who were your friends, making him the last one..."

"...Yes."

"And he intends to murder you too and eat your heart."

"And my sibling, yes."

"…"

"…"

"...What the hell, kid."

"You know, it sounds VERY different when he tells the story instead of you. It seems like you have neglected to mention some details to us?" Alver looked at Roksu incredulously. He wasn't the only one.

"Yeah, like that fact that you are basically a Dragon Prince??" Cale added, similarly in shock. "Or that all your friends got murdered recently?!"

Roksu looked away awkwardly. "I... don't like making long explanations."

"No kidding!" Alver laughed hysterically, passing his hand through the side of his head and messing up his hair. "This is driving me nuts. Roksu, you made it sound like there was some crazy bandit who randomly broke into your house! This guy basically committed highest treason against your race by breaking an ancient treaty with a ruler!"

"And he knows Black Magic," Cale added helpfully.

"Oh yes, and he knows Black Magic. Which had been ILLEGAL for TEN THOUSAND YEARS!"

"Well, now you know why I needed an adult."

"Wise choice, yes," Erhaben spoke, equally shaken by the severity of these revelations. He patted baffled Roksu on the head. "Good boy, well done on bringing this to me. No way in hell we are letting this be. We need to deal with that damn bastard as soon as possible. I am calling Olienne right now."

The golden Dragon summoned a communication orb.

"Ollie, you there? Get your a** over here right now, you lazy prick. We need to dismember amotherf***er." The fact that Erhaben was freely cursing in front of children spoke volumes about his state of mind.

"Excuse me, sir Dragon? If I could make a suggestion?"

Erhaben turned to the surprisingly bold human teenager. "What?"

"Dismemberment might be effective, but I fear it is FAR too kind and too swift of a sentence for a guy like that." Cale laced his hands together, his elbows on a table. His reddish brown eyes reflected the glittering surroundings, giving him an eerie appearance as he smiled dangerously. "Have you ever heard about the concept of 'cruel and unusual punishment'?"

The infiltration of the Castle of Light went smoothly. In fact, Sir Bernard almost didn't see them coming.

Despite being a powerful Dark Mage and a Lich, not only did he face three Dragons at once – two of whom were Ancient Dragons, making them the most powerful beings in the world…

It just so happened that Alver's new weapon was designed specifically to eliminate threats like him. Distracted by the Dragons, all it took was one blow.

"Thank you, for using Sony products!" Taerang chimed in cheerfully right after obliterating the Black Mage right where he stood. "Battery, half charged! Please leave in sunlight to restore power for: 2.5, days! Sponsored by the Sun God Tech Corporations!"

"Nice work, your highness," Cale patted Alver on the shoulder, looking at the black stain left on the wall. "Some weapon you got there! Must have cost a fortune."

"Not really, it only cost my family countless generations of lifetime fear and trauma," Prince Alver deadpanned.

"...Huh?"

"Never mind."

"Looks like he had a communication device with him," Erhaben noticed, picking up an orb from the floor. The Lich must have dropped it moments before he died, trying to contact his master. "I am certain he was meant to alert the White Star the moment Roksu returned to the Castle."

"I know this model of the device," Olienne, the grumpy Green Dragon, spoke in a gruff voice. He preferred a form resembling a Wolf Beast Person more than a human or an elf, making him taller than Erhaben. "They have the option of sending an alert without a message attached."

"You mean…" Roksu started saying, smiling.

"Exactly, kid," Olienne nodded, having the same line of thought. "We can set up bait for that bastard."

"Give us a day," Cale said, cracking his knuckles. "We are going to prepare for him a welcoming party he will NEVER forget."

Evil laughter of multiple creatures echoed through the halls of the castle.

When his subordinate sent the White Star the alert, he set out without a moment of delay.

Finally, the red Dragon must have returned home after a spontaneous short trip. The White Star wore a dark smile on his face. He would soon feast on Dragon flesh and achieve new heights. The world would become his. It was a good day.

The man had no idea that the trees, embedded with the power of the Green Dragon, were watching his every move as he approached the hill with the White Castle, surrounded by twilight glow.

The Gate was wide open, just like he left it. The White Star stepped inside.

It was strangely dark. Was it always this dark in here? He could have sword there used to be magic lights all over the ceiling.

Perhaps the little red Dragon turned them off for the night, as he headed to bed. But where was Bernard?

Unsettled, the White Star moved soundlessly through the corridor. He approached the door at the end of it, and pulled the handle.

Nothing happened. He tried again, but despite his superior strength the door wouldn't budge. The White Star frowned, and tried to let go of the door.

'Tried' being the key word here.

His hand remained stuck to the handle.

'What the hell?!' the man thought, gritting his teeth. He tried to detach his fingers from the metal handle, but it was as if it had fused with his skin.

Frustrated, the White Star pulled his sword out with his left hand and cut himself free. The only problem was, the door handle was still stuck to his palm.

The prideful man was furious. What kind of trick was this? It couldn't be magic, he would have sensed it. He sniffed carefully. There was a strange chemical smell coming from the handle, so subtle he had not noticed it before.

'Alchemical glue?' he finally figured it out.

Who in the world put glue on a door handle?!

From another part of the Castle, two kittens, two Dragons, a part Dark Elf and human watched the man through a magical orb, carefully set up beforehand to give them the perfect view of their enraged victim.

"And so it begins," said Roksu, petting the red kitten in his lap, looking like the perfect image of a crime lord. "To your positions, everyone."

Each of them left in a different direction. The only ones remaining were the Prince and the little red Dragon.

And…

"Here, Alver."

Roksu handed the black egg to the part Dark Elf. Alver was stunned.

"What…? Are you really entrusting this to me?"

"Of course," Roksu said with a nonchalant nod. "I can't have my sibling witness that kind of thing, you know. Think of the negative influence!"

"No, I mean…" The Crown Prince was really shocked by this turn of event. "You trust me this much? Really?"

"Alver…" Roksu put his hand on his shoulder. Since he was much shorter, it looked kind of ridiculous. "Are you dumb?"

"H-huh?"

"Think about it. Would you dare to even think of hurting a Dragon egg, when there are 3 other Dragons nearby?"

"Uhhh…" Alver had to admit, when put like that, it sounded extremely dumb. "But, you never put the egg down before. Not even for a moment."

It was very true. Ever since they met, Roksu either always had the egg by his side or in his arms. Even when he was asleep, he kept holding onto it.

"Because we were both in danger. But right now, THIS is the safest place." This was the one secret room which the White Star would never be able find, even if he spent hours destroying every wall in the castle.

Alver took a deep breath, then sighed. "Okay. I promise I will guard it with my life."

"You better. See you later."

Roksu left, leaving the Crown Prince of Roan Kingdom with a priceless treasure in his hands.

"Ah, he really drives me crazy," Alver said, patting the egg with a very, very gentle hand. "I hope you turn out a little less crazy than your older brother, kid."

To his shock, the black egg shuddered in his arms. The Prince froze.

"Oh no," he whispered, sweating.

This better not mean what he thought it meant…!

Elsewhere, White Star figured that since his victim must have been aware of his presence anyway, he decided to forgo subtlety and cut the door open. Much to his surprise… the door destroyed swung open before him.

The door was apparently meant to be pushed, not pulled. But the White Star had been certain it had been the opposite before?

Whatever.

"Come out, red Dragon!" he called out, trying to sound dignified and in control of the situation. Even if his right hand was out of commission at the moment, his swords his were still unparalleled – he was certain he could take down any Dragon. Especially one that was only 12 years old. "Are you a coward, hiding in your mommy's house like this? Come and face me like a real Dragon!"

He walked through the next room, destroying everything in sight. Having learned his lesson with the door handle, he simply cut through the next door as well and passed through the threshold.

Unfortunately, so focused on what was in front of him, he neglected watch out for things beneath him: or rather, lack of things beneath him.

There was a carpet covering a hole cut neatly in the ground, and the White Star fell right through.

"Urgh!" he exclaimed, landing on top of a large, half-filled bathtub. Whatever was inside it, however, it was NOT water. It stank of the same smell the door handle stuck to his palm did.

Basically, now most of his body was covered in alchemical glue. He couldn't even wipe it off – he knew that the first thing he touched would get stuck to him for good until he found a dissolvent.

The White Star cursed, feeling utterly humiliated.

"DAMN YOU, ROKSU!!!" He yelled, the scream echoing through the halls.

Little did he know, it was only the beginning.

His feet stuck to the floor the moment he exited the bathtub, so he had no choice but to abandon his boots. He barely took a couple of steps outside the bathroom, however, when he stepped on something.

'CRUNCH!'

The White Star looked down.

It was a painted chicken egg. The shell was dyed red. There was also a face drawn on it, with tongue sticking out in mockery.

Red covered his vision. The color of rage.

Each step he took, there seemed to be invisible eggs everywhere. The sharp edges of the shells stuck to his feet, making him feel like he had broken glass shards stuck in his skin – they were probably enchanted to feel hard like glass. In the end, he had to swing his sword again and again to get rid of all the invisible obstacles. And there was a LOT more hidden eggs: the room was painted yellow with egg yolk all over once he as done.

The door to the next room was half-open. The White Star did not trust it, and destroyed it with his sword.

Poor choice, because as it turned out, there was a hidden bag of fur on top of the door. The moment it fell down, the red and silver strands of fur spread in the air, flying in all directions covering the White Star from top to bottom.

The glue made it impossible to get rid of the fur. And what was even worse…

"Ah… ah…! ACHOO!"

He was starting to have a reaction.

But he wasn't even allergic to fur!

'The Dragon must have enchanted it,' the White Star seethed inwardly. 'Or coated the fur it in another alchemical substance.'

The fur stuck to his eyelids made it difficult to see. Despite all this, he refused to give up.

In the next room, the whole floor was completely covered in gold coins. There was so much of gold, in fact, it was almost a mountain of treasure. While it wasn't blocking his way entirely, it was extremely suspicious.

"Should I clear it out…?"

But gold wasn't easy to cut through, and even if he did – there was so much of it that even if he threw it at the walls, the coins would bounce back. And there wouldstill be many more covering the floor.

There was also the problem that if he threw coins around, some were bound to make contact and stick to him. While most of the glue on his body was covered in fur, there were still some exposed spot on him.

He refused to make any more risks. Still, he had to pass somehow. He took a couple of steps back, and made a leap. He would have landed smoothly on the other side of the hill of gold, but.

Once again, the White Star forgot to look up.

'CRASH!'

A bag full of gold bars fell straight on top of his head, causing his body to gracelessly land on the mountains of coins. The coins scattered everywhere with loud noise.

"URGH!"

If he were any other man, the White Star would have passed out from the blow. However, he was the strongest Dragon Slayer of his generation. There was no way a mere bag of gold bars could knock him out!

Still, the impact had been painful and made him disoriented for a few second. Just like he feared, there were gold coins stuck on him now, as well as the red and silver fur.

However, the White Star noticed something strange. Only about half of the coins actually stuck to his body, while the others fell as in there was no glue on him at all.

He touched one coin experimentally with his finger. The surface of it seemed unnaturally smooth for ordinary gold – almost slippery.

The White Star had to get up and take a step before fully realizing the deviousness of the coin trap.

There weren't two types of coins, no – the coins were coated in something too, but only on one side. The other side remained unstained, and was able to stuck to the White Star because of the glue.

The slippery side, however...

'CRASH!'

His foot slid beneath him as if he was stepping on wet soap, causing him to lose balance and fell back down – making even more coins stuck to him.

What a diabolical trap. He could no longer trust his own feet, with slippery coins stuck to his soles. His arms weren't doing any better. He managed to keep his sword in his grip, but even the swords got covered in coins and fur, making it a lot less effective.

Luckily, no coins stuck to his eyes yet. Slowly, step by step, the White managed to get out the treasure room, and enter the next room.

This one had mirrors on every single wall. The White Star had no choice but to witness what a pathetic mess had become.

He had never been so infuriated in his entire life.

"Roksu, when I catch you…!"

'POOF!'

Somehow, a spell flew at the White Star and he failed to dodge. A pink cloud surrounded him for a moment, then disappeared.

The White Star blinked at his reflection.

He had clown makeup on his face now.

"ROKSUUUUU!!!"

From his hiding stop, Roksu and the kittens were dying from laughter.

"Hahaha, oh, it worked perfectly!" the little red Dragon wiped tears from his eyes. "Are you guys ready?"

"Totally!"

"You bet we are!"

The kittens sneakily moved into their position, unseen. The Cats had the blood of assassins flowing in their veins, it was a piece of cake for them.

The next room the White Star entered was covered in fog. While he slowed his steps to tread as carefully as possible, it did not change the fact that he really couldn't see anything beneath his feet.

Like, let's say… a staircase.

'BAM-DUM-BAM-DUM-BAM-DUM-BAM-!'

The White Star slipped on the coins on his feet and fell down the stairs in a spectacular fashion.

Then he landed on a piano.

'BANG!!!'

The discordant notes played for a long time as the White Star laid on top of the keys, staring into the ceiling.

"…Why do they even have a piano?!"

The next room was completely dark, unlike the half-lit rooms he had encountered thus far. There was only one burning torch on the wall.

Clearly, it was a trap where he was meant to take the torch. However.

The White Star looked behind him, where the fog still covered the top of the stairs.

He trusted lack of sight even less than a conveniently placed torch. He decided to take it, in the end.

Each step the White Star took through the dark corridor was filled with paranoia. What next? Would an anvil fall on his head? The floor break under his feet??

Unfortunately for the White Star, the next trap was completely invisible. A certain red kitten filled the room with scentless, invisible gas, that had a very interesting property.

It was very, very flammable.

'BOOM!!!'

...There went all of his hair.

On the bright side, the fur on his body burned as well. The downside was, he was now entirely covered in burns.

"IS THAT ALL YOU GOT?!" The White Star yelled, his eyes bloodshot and his whole body coated in soot. "DO YOUR WORST, I DARE YOU!"

Right as he finished spelling out the challenge, he tripped on an invisible tripwire and landed face-first into a pile of something thick, sticky and moist.

'CRASH!'

His senses were immediately assaulted by an absolutely awful smell. It was… well…

The only accurate comparison of the smell was bulls***.

The moment the White Star realizes the implication of what he was now covered with, he roared in anger.

Cale Henituse, the one who came up with this particular trap, was delighted it had worked so well. "What a loser," he whispered, snickering into his palm as he watched the White Star through an orb.

People full of bulls*** deserved nothing less than smell like it.

Finally, the White Star approached his destination: the bedroom of the little red Dragon. Absolutely fed up with everything, he kicked the door open.

In the middle of the room, a red-haired person facing the opposite direction was sitting in a chair.

"There you are, you little brat-!"

Cale Henituse turned around, looking at the White Star in contempt. "Says the guy who smells like s***."

The White Star blinked, confused by the "Who the hell are you?"

"Ah, just a trashy lout." Cale smirked. "But I'm not the one who you should be concerned with."

The other door to the room opened, revealing the form of a golden-haired Elf.

"Hello, motherf****er!" He said with a very evil smile. "I heard you have a habit of murdering people and targeting kids."

Erhaben cracked his fist, a cloud of gold dust floating in the air.

"So, I am about to beat the s*** out of you."

A short while later, the White Star was running through the corridors, chased by dust and a very angry Dragon.

"Dammit! Where the hell Roksu found an Ancient Dragon!"

This wasn't a fight he was ready to face. He had hoped to eat at least a couple of Dragon hearts before picking up a fight with someone THAT strong.

"There… the exit…!"

But, just as he was about to taste sweet freedom...

"Hey bastard." A Green Dragon stood in his way. "Where do you think you're going, huh?"

'Another Dragon?!'

A moment later, however, the White Star realized the true extent of the newcomer's power.

'Another ANCIENT Dragon?!?!'

He had no chance of escaping now.

"ROKSU!!! I HOPE YOU ROT IN HEEEELL!!!"

...And that was the last the world ever heard, from the man known as the White Star.

Meanwhile, in the most secret room of the White Castle...

"Crap, crap, crap…!"

Alver looked at the cracking egg in his hands in utter panic.

"Now?? You had to pick NOW of all times to come out, kid?!"

Yes, unfortunately for the part Dark Elf, that was exactly the case. The terrified Prince watched as more and more cracks appeared on the black surface of the shell, a magical glow surrounding it.

It was about to happen, alright.

"...This is driving me nuts."

And Alver watched as the black Dragon hatched in his very hands.

Once the blinding flash of light was over, he blinked the spots out of his eyes and looked at the little creature in his hands.

It was criminally cute, with tiny paws and big blue eyes.

The two stared at each other in silence.

"...Daddy?" a cute voice spoke.

Alver would have facepalmed, but alas, his hands were busy.

"...Do I look like-?!"

Once the White Star got subdued and secured as a prisoner (he would remain alive for a long, LONG time, much to his greatest misforunte), everyone ran back to the secret room. They all sensed something extremely important had taken place.

Roksu made it back first, and gasped audibly at the sight of his little sibling finally out of the egg.

"Ah, there you are!" He ran forward and without hesitation, took his sibling into his arms. "Of course you had to come out when I wasn't there, didn't you little bro?" He could tell now that his sibling was a boy, by the position of his tiny horns.

His little brother looked cutely at him. "Bwo?"

"Yes, that's right!" Roksu nodded. "I am your big brother. Which means you have to respect me, got it?"

"Go-dit."

"What a good little brother."

"Bwotheh!"

"That's right."

"Wight!"

"So smart. We will become rich and be slackers in no time!"

"In-o-time!!" Roksu's little brother was quickly infected by his older siblings' enthusiasm.

Alver watched the two siblings with a deadpan expression. "...I don't even know what I was expecting, but somehow it wasn't this."

"They are so cute…!"

Alver jumped up, startled as a literal ghost appeared next to him. She was a beautiful woman with curly white hair and freckles. He rubbed his eyes. "Am I hallucinating now?"

"If that's the case, I'm afraid we are sharing the same hallucination," said Cale, who had just arrived.

Roksu finally noticed the new figure present, turned and stared. "...Mom? Is that you?"

"Wait, mom?!" Both Cale and Alver spoke at the same time.

"That's right, my children!" The ghostly manifestation of the Ancient Dragon Lord spoke, her voice soft and her face glowing with happiness. "Finally, we have been all reunited! Which means..."

The white Dragon approached her children and knelt next to her children.

"Roksu, my sweet child… It is finally time for you to hear what I had been waiting to tell you for a long, long time..."

She placed a hand on his shoulder tenderly. Then, she said in a cheerful tone:

"You are grounded!"

Roksu's jaw dropped. He did not expect THAT.

"H-huh?!"

"Look at this mess, son!" The Dragon Lord pointed in the direction of the communication orb, where the image of the destroyed rooms was still transmitting. "I know you were just playing around and messing with an evil bastard, and good for you! But! Mommy had worked so hard on these rooms!" Her smile, while still cheerful and kind, took a dangerous edge. "How long will it take to clean up all the glue, huh? And the piano! Why did you have to destroy mommy's favorite instrument!!"

Slowly, it dawned on Roksu that there was now a very difficult obstacle on the path to his slacker life...

"There!" Sheritt summoned a broom with her magic and put it in Roksu's hands. "Start with cleaning up the fur! I admit it was very funny, but now it's floating everywhere. So get to it right away! Chop chop!"

...a stern mother figure.

"Aw, s***." Roksu muttered to himself.

"I heard that, son! Don't make me start a swear jar!"

'Anything but that!!!'

And from that point on, everyone lived happily ever after.

The End!