Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse

Derek swallowed nervously. Dragons—what kind of creatures were they? Not just in World Breaker, but in every fantasy world, dragons were always portrayed as the most powerful beings. The flames they breathed could melt iron, and their scales deflected any weapon. But above all, the most terrifying aspect was their immense size. Even legendary heroes were crushed under their massive feet, like squashed tomatoes, their remains unrecognizable. Truly, dragons were living nightmares.

At least, that was what they were supposed to be.

"Why does it look... smaller?" Derek muttered.

It wasn't his imagination. The dragon was indeed a dragon, but it was much smaller than expected. At best, it could only carry two or three people on its back without any room to spare.

"Aren't dragons supposed to be much bigger than that? What do you think?" Derek asked.

Ethan glanced at Fafnir as it flew through the sky and smiled. "Didn't the lord mention before he left that this is its first evolution? It's probably still growing. After all, the egg wasn't that big either."

It was true. Fafnir wasn't at its strongest yet, but it was already capable of flying and breathing fire. That alone made it a formidable addition to their forces.

"Aaaah!" "What is that!?" "It's a dragon! A dragon!"

The two men clicked their tongues at the commotion coming from inside the walls.

The fact that Fafnir was evolving was a secret known only to a few higher-ups. Neither the settlers nor most of the pioneers knew it was Fafnir, so it was no surprise the territory was in chaos.

"We'd better head back and calm everyone down," Derek said.

"But the enemy is about to attack. Is that okay?" Ethan asked, looking at the forces gathered outside.

"They seem to be scared by Fafnir's roar. They're hesitating. One of us could go back quickly to handle it..." Ethan suggested.

Before he could finish, Fafnir, who had been circling the sky, suddenly flew toward the wall.

Derek pointed frantically.

"Wait! What? It's coming this way!"

"Seriously!? The enemy is right in front of us, and now this...!"

They didn't think Fafnir would attack them—it had demonstrated intelligence even as a hatchling. A single evolution wouldn't make it forget its allies. The problem was the enemy. Though they were weaker, they were still pioneers. If they saw a black dragon, they'd attack immediately, and any injuries to Fafnir could be disastrous.

"Hey, stop! Don't come any closer!"

"Get back! Not yet!"

"Craaaaw!"

Despite their desperate signals, Fafnir didn't listen and flapped its wings toward the gate. As it let out a loud roar, screams echoed from all directions.

"What the hell!? What is that!?"

"A dragon!"

"Why is there a dragon here!?"

The alliance, which had been preparing for the siege, was thrown into chaos by the sudden appearance of the dragon. Derek and Ethan had hoped the enemy would scatter, but unfortunately, the enemy commander was a capable leader.

"Calm down, idiots! It looks big because of its wings, but it's not actually that large! Look properly!" the commander barked.

"Wait... it's true..." murmured one of the alliance pioneers.

The alliance pioneers regained their composure and observed Fafnir more carefully. Its massive wings made it look much bigger than it actually was, but its body wasn't that large. It seemed manageable—small enough to be hunted if they could bring it down.

"Has the system ever given us a monster we couldn't handle? It might look like that, but it's clearly within our level! Don't be scared!"

The commander's assumption was wildly incorrect, considering that Fafnir wasn't a system boss but Justin's pet. However, to those unaware of the truth, it seemed like a reasonable conclusion.

With the commander's words, the alliance quickly regained control. Derek and Ethan clicked their tongues as they watched the enemy regain their composure.

"They're cooler-headed than I thought. This is going to be a problem," Ethan muttered.

"Damn it. Hey, Fafnir! Get back here! Stop flying around and risking yourself!" Derek shouted.

"Crreeeaaak."

Despite Derek's calls, Fafnir huffed and flapped its wings arrogantly, as if it didn't care about the commands of a mere human.

"Ugh, that thing doesn't even realize we're trying to help..." Derek groaned.

"Magicians, attack! Hit it with everything you've got!" the enemy commander ordered.

"Oh no, it's starting!" Derek cried out.

Flashes of magic spells shot up from all directions, aimed at Fafnir. From behind the walls, the angle was difficult, so Derek wasn't worried about being hit. But Fafnir was out in the open, its entire body exposed, making it an easy target.

'It won't die from second-tier magic, but if it gets hit and crashes into the middle of the enemy ranks...'

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Before Derek could finish his thought, the sound of explosions filled the sky. Spells collided with Fafnir's scales, crackling like fireworks. Though the damage wasn't severe, the force was enough to disrupt its flight.

"Damn it! It's going to crash! We need to open the gates and go save it!" Derek shouted.

"I was just about to suggest the same thing! If we don't, there's no way we'll be able to fight off a hundred of them!" Ethan replied.

"Crreeaaak."

The two men froze at the sound of a low growl. They turned their heads just in time to see the thick smoke from the explosions dissipate.

There, Fafnir hovered in the air, completely unharmed.

"My god!"

"Damn it...!"

Inside the fortress, there were shouts of astonished joy, while outside, the air was filled with screams of despair. After displaying its unscathed body, Fafnir let out a snort and opened its mouth wide. The enemy commander's face turned ghostly pale as he realized what was about to happen.

"Scatter! Run now! Don't group together, spread out...!"

Before he could finish, Fafnir unleashed a torrent of blue flames, fanning out in all directions. The fire spread rapidly, and thick embers shot off in every direction.

Hell broke loose for any pioneer even touched by the flames.

"Ahhhh! Aaaaaagh!"

"Arghhh!"

There were no cries for help. The only sounds were screams of agony as the pioneers tried desperately to put out the blue flames that consumed their bodies. But no matter how much they rolled on the ground or thrashed about, the fire wouldn't go out. Instead, the flames fed on their blood like oil, burning even stronger.

Within seconds, the pioneers were reduced to charred corpses. And moments later, those corpses crumbled into ash, as the blue flames finally began to subside, satisfied with their destruction.

Tssst... tssst...

"...."

"...."

Everyone on the fortress wall was speechless, unable to react to the massacre they had just witnessed. Fafnir had only used its breath attack twice, and in less than five minutes, the entire enemy force had been reduced to ash. The sheer firepower left them all trembling, and Derek couldn't help but mutter under his breath.

"It's stronger than the boss."

"...."

Even Ethan couldn't argue. Justin had defeated 150 pioneers, but that was from the safety of the fortress walls, where he could cast spells freely. No matter how powerful Justin was, he couldn't have pulled off something like that while being fully exposed in the middle of the battlefield.

In contrast, Fafnir had taken every attack head-on, yet in under five minutes, it had turned the battlefield into a wasteland.

'This is the power of a dragon,' Ethan thought, feeling a shiver run down his spine. Despite the fact that Fafnir was on their side, the sheer force it displayed was terrifying. And this wasn't even its full potential—it wasn't fully grown yet.

Just as everyone stood frozen, overwhelmed by the scene, Fafnir let out a low growl.

Flap, flap

"Wait! Where is it going now!?" Derek shouted in panic.

Fafnir, having obliterated the enemy, showed no signs of returning to the fortress. Instead, it flapped its wings more vigorously, as if preparing to fly somewhere far away.

"Hey! Come back! Get back here!" Derek yelled.

"Crreeeeak."

Ignoring his commands, Fafnir let out a short snort, as if mocking him, then soared upward. Everyone stood dumbfounded, unsure what to do, but Fafnir didn't care. For the dragon, nothing mattered except its true master.

As it flew higher into the sky, Fafnir looked ahead toward a distant pillar of light. Without hesitation, it began speeding toward it, returning to the place it belonged—to its true master.

'What a headache...'

It was the third day since Justin had entered the banquet hall. He rubbed his forehead, feeling the weight of mental fatigue. His irritation was mainly due to the man who had been pestering him without end.

"Think about it again."

For what felt like the hundredth time, Justin heard the same words whispered into his ear as he tried to close his eyes.

It was annoying, but his companion showed no signs of stopping.

"The biggest threat right now is that dragon tamer. If we don't join forces now, he'll be the final winner. So let's..."

"Let's team up, take him down, and then have a fair competition between us?" Justin interrupted, finishing the man's sentence.

"...Exactly," the man replied, clearly irritated that Justin had cut him off, but he didn't deny it.

With a deep sigh, Justin repeated the same response he had given multiple times before.

"I've already told you—I'm not interested. Now, stop bugging me and get lost."

"You son of a...!"

Crash!

With a roar, the man slammed his fist onto the table, shattering it into pieces. His strength was undeniable—among the pioneers, he was known for his exceptional power. However, his rage meant nothing to Justin.

Clicking his tongue, Justin taunted him.

"Do you have some kind of problem? This is the third table you've broken. Do you just feel an urge to smash every table you see?"

"You...!"

"What? Do you want to fight? Right here and now?" Justin said, his words laced with challenge.

The man hesitated, caught off guard by the sincerity in Justin's tone. Though he wasn't afraid of Justin, he realized that fighting here would likely result in being eliminated from the quest altogether. Taking a step back, he struggled to contain his anger.

Justin sighed again and stared at the man in front of him—Kane.

Kane was one of the three leaders who had split the control of the banquet hall between themselves, along with Justin and Lucian. Of the three, Kane had the weakest force, yet he had been relentlessly pestering Justin since yesterday.

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After a deep breath, Kane glared at Justin, his words dripping with venom.

'He's insane,' Elias thought as he watched Justin lead his group forward to face the horde of monsters.

He couldn't believe Justin really intended to take on that mass of monsters with just his own forces.

'What's the point of being strong if you can't even see the danger at your own feet? No matter how powerful he is, it's useless if he's this reckless,' Elias mused.

To Elias, Justin was undeniably strong, but he was also blinded by his own arrogance. He seemed so confident in his strength that he acted without any regard for the potential consequences. A fool who hadn't considered the inevitable backlash.

Justin might have been lucky so far, but Elias was sure today would be the end for him.

"They say a person's greatest enemy is themselves. Looks like that's true here, don't you think? It's not even an external threat; he's walking into the jaws of death because of his own overconfidence," Elias said, trying to draw agreement from Damian.

But Damian merely glanced at him briefly without saying anything. He clearly had no desire to mock someone who was about to walk to their death.

Elias clicked his tongue in frustration. 'Always pretending to be the righteous one.'

Losing interest in Justin, Elias turned back to his waiting followers. Now that Justin was marching off to his death and the quest was likely doomed to fail, there was no point in trying to impress Damian anymore.