The Crimson Royal Castle stood silently beneath the burning skies of the Dragon Realm.
Outside the colossal obsidian windows of the master chamber, rivers of molten lava flowed endlessly through the distant mountains like glowing veins carved into the flesh of the world itself. Ancient volcanic winds drifted across the dark fortress while silver flames burned quietly inside dragon-shaped braziers positioned along the chamber walls.
The atmosphere felt heavy tonight.
Unusually heavy.
Kel rested against the massive black headboard of the royal bed while faint silver light illuminated portions of his face beneath the darkness. Loose black robes draped lazily around his body while several ancient documents remained scattered across the crimson sheets beside him untouched.
Yet his attention was elsewhere.
Because the chamber felt… too quiet.
His dark eyes slowly shifted toward the far side of the room.
Sairen floated silently near the enormous windows.
Her spiritual form looked dimmer tonight.
Silver hair moved softly beneath invisible winds while moonlight-like spiritual particles drifted around her body quietly. The usually calm guardian spirit remained facing the volcanic mountains outside without speaking a single word.
For hours.
And that alone felt strange.
Very strange.
Because Sairen was never truly silent around him.
She criticized him constantly.
Questioned him endlessly.
Watched him like an overprotective ancient spirit who distrusted nearly every reckless decision he made.
But tonight—
Nothing.
Only silence.
Kel quietly stared at her for a moment longer before exhaling softly.
"…You've been quiet since the coronation."
No response came.
The silver-haired spirit remained motionless near the window.
Kel narrowed his eyes slightly afterward.
"…What happened, Sairen?"
Still nothing.
Only the distant sound of volcanic winds entering through the ancient chamber.
Kel finally sat upright slowly.
The crimson sheets shifted softly around him while silver flames reflected faintly within his dark eyes.
"Oh guardian of the Scarlet Lake," he said calmly, "why are you so quiet now?"
His voice softened slightly afterward.
"Did I do something inappropriate that displeased you?"
For several moments—
Sairen said nothing.
Then finally—
Her shoulders lowered slightly.
"…Why did you use Pocket Space Magic on those twelve Dragon Generals?"
Kel blinked once.
So that was the reason.
The silver-haired spirit slowly turned toward him afterward.
And for the first time since the coronation—
Sadness could clearly be seen within her expression.
Not anger.
Sadness.
"You know what kind of burden that requires," she whispered quietly. "To imprison twelve ancient dragon generals simultaneously inside an independent dimensional space…"
Her silver eyes trembled faintly afterward.
"You have to continuously drain your mana to maintain the containment."
The chamber became silent again.
Kel quietly looked toward her.
Then calmly replied.
"…It was worth it."
Sairen's expression darkened immediately.
"Worth it?"
The spiritual pressure around her fluctuated slightly beneath the chamber light.
"Kel… if your mana collapses while maintaining those chains, you know what happens."
Of course he knew.
Mana Diversion.
One of the most terrifying failures possible for high-level magic users.
The moment mana circulation destabilized completely—
The body itself would begin consuming life force directly.
Organs would collapse.
Aura pathways would rupture.
And eventually—
Death.
Sairen slowly clenched her hands.
"If your mana runs out… you could die."
Her voice lowered further afterward.
"…Was it truly worth risking your life for this?"
The volcanic winds howled softly outside.
Silver flames flickered within the darkness.
And then—
Kel smiled faintly.
A calm smile.
Cold.
Practical.
"It was worth it," he repeated quietly.
Sairen stared at him silently.
Kel leaned back slightly against the headboard afterward while folding one arm calmly beneath the dim chamber light.
"Because now," he said softly, "I possess twelve Dragon Generals as prisoners while the entire world believes they were erased from existence."
The room became still.
Even Sairen's expression froze slightly.
Kel's dark eyes reflected the silver flames quietly.
"You understand what that means, don't you?"
His voice remained calm.
Almost terrifyingly calm.
"I never intended to fight all twelve directly."
Sairen frowned slightly.
Kel continued.
"After removing Vistara's seven-layered curse, nearly half my power reserves were already exhausted. If I truly fought those twelve monsters head-on…"
His eyes narrowed faintly afterward.
"…I could probably defeat seven."
A brief pause.
"Maybe ten."
The silence afterward felt suffocating.
Because both of them understood what kind of statement that actually was.
Those twelve Dragon Generals were not ordinary dragons.
They were legends.
Ancient war monsters who had protected the previous Silver Dragon King for centuries.
Each one alone possessed enough power to massacre armies.
And yet—
Kel spoke of defeating ten of them as though discussing battlefield calculations.
Not arrogance.
Calculation.
Sairen quietly lowered her gaze afterward.
"…But not all twelve."
Kel nodded calmly.
"Not all twelve."
The Dragon Emperor slowly looked toward the ceiling afterward while speaking quietly.
"So I chose the more beneficial outcome."
The silver-haired spirit remained silent.
Kel's expression became colder afterward.
"I acted as though I erased them from existence."
The memory resurfaced faintly within the chamber.
The coronation.
The outrage.
The hostility.
The twelve Dragon Generals unleashing their killing intent simultaneously against Velor.
And then—
Kel raising his hand.
Space distorting.
Reality collapsing inward.
The generals vanishing completely beneath twisting darkness while the entire Dragon Realm watched in horror.
No bodies.
No blood.
Only disappearance.
The perfect illusion of annihilation.
Sairen slowly whispered afterward.
"…Pocket dimensional imprisonment…"
Kel nodded once.
"I chained them directly into my private dimensional space."
The silver-haired guardian immediately closed her eyes briefly.
Because even hearing it sounded insane.
Creating a stable Pocket Space itself already required monstrous control over dimensional laws.
But imprisoning twelve ancient dragons inside one simultaneously?
That bordered on impossible.
And worse—
Kel was maintaining the dimensional prison continuously even now.
Every second.
Every moment.
Even while sleeping.
Mana was constantly being consumed.
Kel quietly exhaled afterward.
"It was necessary."
Sairen opened her eyes slowly.
Kel's voice became colder.
"They were fanatically loyal to the previous Silver Dragon King."
The atmosphere within the chamber shifted slightly afterward.
Dangerous.
Heavy.
"You saw how quickly they opposed Velor."
His dark eyes reflected faint silver light.
"If they remained alive publicly, the Dragon Realm would never fully stabilize beneath his rule."
That was the truth.
The Dragon Realm respected strength above everything.
And the Twelve Generals represented the final pillars of the old era.
As long as they existed—
Velor's authority would remain challenged constantly.
Civil war would eventually become inevitable.
Kel calmly crossed his arms afterward.
"So I removed them."
Simple words.
Terrifying meaning.
Sairen quietly stared at him afterward.
"…You planned all this beforehand."
Kel smiled faintly.
"Of course."
The silver-haired spirit suddenly looked frustrated.
"You say that so casually…"
Kel tilted his head slightly.
"Because it was the most logical solution."
Sairen floated closer afterward while her silver hair moved softly around her shoulders.
"But risking your own life—"
"Is acceptable."
Her voice stopped immediately.
Kel looked toward her quietly.
"Power exists to be used."
The chamber fell silent again.
Then slowly—
A colder smile appeared on Kel's face.
"And now…"
His fingers tapped softly against the bedframe.
"I possess twelve ancient dragon prisoners."
Sairen immediately sensed where this conversation was going.
And unfortunately—
She already disliked it.
Kel's dark eyes gleamed faintly beneath the silver flames.
"I can kill them whenever necessary."
The temperature inside the chamber seemed to drop.
"Their blood can be refined into enhancement potions."
His tone remained disturbingly calm.
"Their marrow can strengthen high-level medicines."
Another pause.
"Their bones can forge legendary weapons."
Silver flames flickered violently afterward.
Even Sairen stared at him speechlessly for several moments.
Because the terrifying part was—
Kel was not joking.
He was already calculating how to use them efficiently.
Like resources.
Like materials.
Like assets.
Finally—
The guardian spirit sighed softly.
A long tired sigh.
"…You truly became frightening."
Kel blinked once before smiling faintly.
"That sounds like praise."
"It wasn't."
A quiet chuckle escaped him afterward.
The tension inside the chamber eased slightly.
But only slightly.
Sairen slowly approached the bed afterward before sitting quietly near the edge in spiritual form.
Her silver eyes lowered softly.
"…I was not angry."
Kel looked toward her silently.
"I was worried."
The words were quiet.
Almost fragile.
And strangely—
Those words affected the chamber more heavily than any previous conversation tonight.
Kel's expression softened slightly afterward.
Because he understood.
Sairen had witnessed him since the forming soul contract.
The cursed child.
The dying heir.
The boy who struggled merely to breathe.
She remembered every moment of weakness.
Every near death.
Every sleepless night.
So watching him recklessly burden himself again…
Naturally frightened her.
Kel quietly looked toward the volcanic skies outside afterward.
"…I know."
The silver-haired spirit stared at him silently.
Then finally—
She smiled faintly.
A helpless smile.
"You're impossible."
Kel leaned back calmly against the headboard afterward.
"Yet somehow everything keeps working."
"That," Sairen muttered softly, "is the most terrifying part about you."
Outside—
The volcanic winds continued howling beneath the ancient skies of the Dragon Realm.
And somewhere far beneath the Crimson Castle—
Within a sealed dimensional prison hidden beyond reality itself—
Twelve Dragon Generals remained chained endlessly in darkness…
Completely unaware that their existence had already become part of the Dragon Emperor's future plans