The might of dragons needs no explanation.
Within the setting of YGGDRASIL, the highest-tier dragons were also among the most powerful enemies. They could truly be called the strongest enemy race.
By design, the Dragon Race had no natural lifespan limit.
They possessed overwhelming physical attack power, formidable physical defense, and seemingly bottomless stamina and magic. On top of that, they could wield countless special abilities and spells.
They were both terrifying foes and walking treasure troves.
The data crystals dropped by dragons were all valuable, and the drop rate for crafted items was higher than that of ordinary monsters.
Various parts harvested from their bodies—skin, meat, blood, teeth, claws, eyeballs, and scales—each had their own uses.
Dragon hide could be used to produce Magic Scrolls capable of sealing 10th-Tier Magic.
Dragon Meat could be synthesized into high-tier pet feed that increased experience gain.
Dragon Blood could be refined into advanced Magic Potions that permanently enhanced a Player's attributes.
Dragon teeth and claws could be forged into weapons and special magical items, making them rare pieces of high-quality equipment.
Back during the game era, Nazarick had even gone through a period of excessive dragon hunting (monster farming).
For example, the Ancient Frost Dragon that lived in Jotunheim, which provided the main ingredient for Frost Dragon Steak.
Or the Ice Demon Dragon that dropped the item Primordial Ice.
Momonga understood the power of dragons extremely well.
So when he obtained this long-coveted strength, he immediately began testing it.
...
Kazte Plains.
Bleating cries like those of goats echoed through the barren land.
On the desolate plains, several enormous creatures were locked in close-quarters combat.
Among them, four identical figures stood out as especially strange.
Their bodies were enormous lumps of flesh sprouting black whip-like tentacles.
Around the mass were several huge mouths, constantly dripping green slime.
At the lower part of their bodies were two pairs of massive hooves that allowed them to stand upright.
Their silhouettes resembled trees: the thick, stubby legs like trunks, and the tentacle-covered body like a canopy.
Standing between 12 and 20 feet tall, they exuded a foul odor like that of a freshly unearthed grave.
Their name was [Dark Young].
This referred to the "Young" from Shub-Niggurath's title, "The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young."
They were summoned through the Super-Tier Magic [Iä Shub-Niggurath].
Their overall strength exceeded Level 90.
As long as they were not destroyed, they could remain for around ten days.
Although they lacked particularly powerful special abilities, their endurance was exceptional.
They were usually deployed as frontline shields for magic casters. Even Level 100 Players would struggle to defeat them quickly.
Yet now, the four Dark Young had fallen into a difficult battle.
Their opponent was a strange dragon.
Its body looked somewhat gaunt. It had no scales, and instead its entire body was covered in layers of ghastly pale exoskeleton.
Sharp dragon claws tore through the air.
Its long tail whipped about violently.
A dark breath surged from its mouth.
From its appearance, one could vaguely see traces of the Elder Coffin Dragon Lord.
...
Not far from the battlefield.
"Tsk, four Dark Young."
"Even if you harvest Demons to replenish them, the experience cost used to replace the sacrificial offerings is still enormous. Momonga really doesn't hold back."
Sitting cross-legged on the head of the Heavenly Dragon Lord, Naohara casually rubbed Evileye's hair, enjoying the silky texture while watching the battle in the distance.
His tone carried a hint of emotion.
Summoning Dark Young required sacrificial offerings, and the number needed scaled with the number of deaths caused.
In the game, most Players would already consider themselves lucky if they could summon a single Dark Young. Being able to summon two was extremely rare.
Because the cost-effectiveness simply didn't add up.
As a result, the Super-Tier Magic [Iä Shub-Niggurath] had never been particularly popular during the game era.
Now Momonga had summoned four Dark Young as sparring partners. That alone could be considered a record, though the price was rather expensive.
"Well, it's Momonga. That fits his personality perfectly."
Beside him, Herohero lay with his head resting on Solution's lap and replied lazily.
Since he couldn't fully control his current power yet, he refused to spar with the Guardians for fear of accidentally injuring them.
He also didn't want to challenge Naohara or the others, worried he would just get completely beaten.
Although he could fight a True Dragon Lord, he still felt somewhat restrained doing so.
After thinking it over, he eventually turned his attention to summoned creatures instead.
And the Level 90 Dark Young became the perfect choice. Tough, resilient, and ideal punching bags.
"The sacrificial ritual was a success. The power of the Elder Coffin Dragon Lord was inherited perfectly. And we also discovered something interesting."
Naohara looked down at Keno in his arms, his eyes shifting slightly.
With the end of the [Dragon Transformation Secret Art], the history of the New World was quietly altered.
Everything involving the Elder Coffin Dragon Lord had been rewritten in an instant.
Ancient documents and records were maliciously distorted.
The course of history became blurred and unclear.
A false history replaced the real one, concealing the truth.
Logically speaking, the memory in Keno's mind that identified the Elder Coffin Dragon Lord as the destroyer of her country should have changed.
But the reality surprised Naohara.
Keno's memories had indeed changed, but the change was incomplete.
With just a little prompting from him, she easily broke free from the false history.
And this phenomenon was not limited to Keno.
Renner, Shalltear, Albedo, and even any random NPC in Nazarick were the same.
None of them had forgotten the existence of the Elder Coffin Dragon Lord.
This confirmed a hypothesis for Naohara and Herohero.
[Dragon Transformation Secret Art]
Rather than rewriting history itself, this primordial magic alters people's memories and records of history. The events that truly occurred in the past remain unchanged.
Memory is alive. It flows, and it does not simply disappear.
For living beings, life itself is the process of accumulating and cultivating memories.
The existence of the Elder Coffin Dragon Lord was not truly erased from the world. What disappeared were the memories of it.
This disappearance covered the entire New World.
But only the New World.
Naohara, Herohero, and even the many NPCs of Nazarick were not native lifeforms of this world in the first place. In essence, they were [Descenders] who had arrived from the game.
Because they were [Descenders], they were not affected by the rules of the New World.
As for Keno's situation, it was probably due to the item she had used.
Although she had been born in the New World, she had recently used the race-change item Naohara gave her. That item originated from the game itself, from within YGGDRASIL.
So in a sense, she was no longer a purely native being of the New World either.
"My apologies, my king."
"This result has surprised us as well. After studying primordial magic for hundreds of years, we never realized we had not even truly understood its effects."
The Brightness Dragon Lord's feelings were complicated.
He had always regarded himself as the scholar among the True Dragon Lords, yet he had made a mistake in the very field he prided himself on most.
"Although it differs somewhat from what we expected, the result is still good. There's no need to belittle yourself. Brightness, I've always seen your efforts."
Naohara patted the space beside him, signaling for him to sit.
Among the True Dragon Lords, the Brightness Dragon Lord was the one who reassured him the second most. The Vampiric Dragon Lord ranked third.
As for the first...
Naohara glanced downward. Hearing the faint sound of snoring, he couldn't help but shake his head.
"What about the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord?"
Naohara asked.
According to the latest intelligence received by the Brightness Dragon Lord, the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord seemed to have already found the Swordmaster Dragon Lord.
Recently, he had been trying to gather the True Dragon Lords for a meeting to discuss the details of launching an attack on Nazarick.
Heh. Quite diligent, wasn't he?
"There's no news yet, but it should be soon."
"My king, shall we move to capture this traitor to the Dragon Race?"
The Vampiric Dragon Lord stepped forward and spoke respectfully.
He bared his lips, revealing crimson fangs, his face filled with a vicious grin.
In his eyes, the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord was nothing but a walking achievement waiting to be claimed.
"There's no need. Let's hear what he intends first. I'm very interested in his plans and his hidden cards."
Naohara waved his hand, indicating there was no need to rush.
Before capturing the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord, they needed to extract as many of his secrets as possible. Otherwise, once he was caught, there would be no more chances.
"Heh heh. Attacking Cocytus, killing the Sorcerer Kingdom's Guard Captain, and Samirth along with his pet…"
"This guy has caused us quite a bit of trouble lately. Since he's been so generous, we should return the favor properly."
"How about letting him experience real despair?"
Herohero cut in.
What the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord had done was far worse than what the Platinum Dragon Lord had done back then. Letting him off lightly was out of the question.
Momonga would surely think the same.
"True despair? That won't be easy."
Naohara spread his hands. Easy to say, hard to do.
Given a True Dragon Lord's experience and state of mind, that was no simple thing.
After all, even the Platinum Dragon Lord, who was now being used as a perpetual motion machine, had merely stopped thinking.
"As for that, I do have an idea."
The Brightness Dragon Lord's words immediately drew both their attention.
"But before that, I have a question. In making the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord feel despair, does that take priority over the Platinum Dragon Lord?"
The Brightness Dragon Lord did not say it outright, but the meaning behind his words was clear.
What he meant was simple. This matter required the Platinum Dragon Lord's cooperation.
"If I say yes, can you do it?"
Naohara narrowed his eyes slightly. After exchanging a brief Message with Herohero, he asked in return.
"In the past, I would not have been confident. But now... I am at least ninety percent sure it will succeed."
The Brightness Dragon Lord gave a light laugh.
He understood the Platinum Dragon Lord's personality very well. Getting him to cooperate was difficult, especially under the current circumstances, but there were always exceptions.
After all, the Platinum Dragon Lord was no longer alone.
He now had a weakness.
A fatal weakness.
One that could shake his very ideals.
"Then I'll wait and see."
The group looked at one another, then burst into laughter at the same time, making the whole scene look rather horrifying.
Well... at least, that was how it looked to Keno.
...
At the same time, in the Theocracy.
Inside a conference room, two figures were talking.
"I've brought you the Elf King. Don't forget our agreement."
The Deep Darkness Dragon Lord casually threw a half-dead figure onto the floor.
It was the Elf King, Decem Hougan.
But compared to before, the Elf King now looked especially miserable.
As a descendant of the Eight Greed Kings, once he had fallen into the hands of a True Dragon Lord, his tragic fate had already been sealed. The only reason he was still alive was because Wild Magic was barely sustaining his last breath.
"Of course."
Surshana nodded.
Although his skeletal appearance made it impossible to read his expression, his tone sounded perfectly sincere.
"I hope so."
The Deep Darkness Dragon Lord stared at the filth before him for several dozen seconds. Then his figure flickered and disappeared into the darkness.
"Sigh. What a suspicious partner."
Surshana shook his head.
He looked in the direction where the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord had disappeared, thought for a moment, and in the end chose not to make a move.
"How are things on our friend's side?"
As he turned around, several illusory figures had appeared at some point. In response to Surshana's question, one of the phantoms stepped forward.
"We've found some clues, but... it's troublesome."
The phantom's somewhat troubled voice sounded directly in his mind.
"Oh?"
"For even you to call it troublesome, you must have found something quite serious."
A trace of surprise flashed through Surshana's eyes. Given their current situation, there were not many things left that could trouble this particular companion of his.
"See for yourself."
The phantom took out a scroll and handed it to Surshana.
It contained the intelligence he had gathered over this period, information regarding those three fellow countrymen in the Sorcerer Kingdom.
"Let me see. Three mysterious adventurers, origins unknown, first appeared in E-Rantel..."
Surshana took the scroll and began reading at once.
There was not much written on it, but what was there had been recorded in great detail.
And among all that information, one name caught his attention.
"Adventurer team: Ainz... Ooal... Gown?"
Ainz Ooal Gown!
"That name... could it be?!"
Surshana abruptly looked up, visibly shaken.
The response he received was five silent phantoms giving their tacit confirmation.
For the first time, Surshana felt a stomach ache coming on. Why did it have to be this guild? It would have been better if it were the top-ranked Trinity Guild instead.
Ainz Ooal Gown. The Great Tomb of Nazarick.
The guild with the largest number of World-Class Items, guaranteed to have at least ten. Considering the server shutdown, they might even have more.
Well then. This really was troublesome.
Was there still time to go kill the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord now?
***
...
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on p-@-treon.
[email protected]/PinkSnake (50 Chapters Ahead).
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.
***