Rogue Villain-Chapter 265: Daddy Issues

"T-that’s not a wyvern, is it?"

Ackster stared at the source of the colossal shadow with disbelief. At Tararat’s audible gulp, a spark of excitement found its way into his eyes.

Ackster looked in the red dragon’s direction. It was headed to the Council village.

"Perfect!"

Ackster had found something to make up for Tararat’s lacking performance. It would also boost Kargas.

Ackster glanced at Tararat.

"You coming?"

He didn’t wait for a response as he dashed forward, leaving behind a ravaged and bleeding wasteland.

There was no way Ackster could know why the dragon had decided to crash Kargas’ party. But the reason didn’t matter. As long as it was there, Ackster was confident he could fight it, either with or without Kargas. Just the thought had Ackster’s spine trembling with danger alerts and excitement. A dragon would undoubtedly be Ackster’s strongest foe yet. The Sword God excluded.

Ackster knew it was reckless and foolish to challenge the dragon, but the sheer excitement he felt was enough to make him confident that Unstoppable and his other skills would see him through to the other side. So, he sprinted at full speed toward the Council.

Still, despite only holding back from using Limit Breaker, Ackster couldn’t even keep up with the dragon, much less catch up to it.

But it didn’t seem he had missed a lot when he finally arrived at the Hall since there was nothing but dead silence filling the place. Ackster sensed a plethora of living beings, but there was a void in the middle of the Hall right next to Kargas.

Ackster could sense the painfully awkward silence even from outside, so he waited before bursting inside.

"Child, you have returned."

"I see. You are the one."

The dark and powerful voice didn’t belong. Ackster hadn’t heard anything like it before, but he could tell it was the dragon talking to Kargas. Kargas’ voice was stable, considering he was standing in front of his mortal enemy and biological father.

"If you mean your father, then yes."

"I wouldn’t say you’ve earned that title."

"Hmph. It seems you have picked up foolish values during your time in the human world, child. You should have stayed. This Land does not welcome your existence. You should leave before the others come to get rid of you. You have, after all, a long way to go before reaching maturity."

"So, you’re chasing me away as soon as I return?"

Ackster could feel Kargas’ violent emotions even from outside the Hall. It was obvious to everyone that the dragon was asking Kargas to leave for his own sake. But Kargas hadn’t possessed the gift of sanity for long, and he wasn’t the best at controlling the emotions he felt when faced with one of the reasons for his gloomy fate and youth.

"Child, control your temper. You do not know the effect you have on ones such as myself. I will use force if necessary."

"First neglect, now abuse? Wow, you really win Father of the Year, fucking deadbeat."

Kargas snarled before sheathing his curved, jagged sword and turning around with a huff. He was emotional, not dumb. Of course, he could tell he was in danger.

"Ah, wait a minute!"

The dragon glared at the rat, who had first sneaked around outside and who now dared to intrude.

Kargas looked at Ackster with a raised eyebrow.

"What?"

"This shitty reptile only said you would be in danger if you didn’t mature."

"So?"

"If you ask me, that only means you have to grow as a Dragon Slayer and grasp the entirety of your abilities. In that case, not even your boxed old man can do anything about you, right, Dragon Slayer?"

There was no way Ackster could let this opportunity slip out of his and Kargas’ hands. He was a little worried that Kargas’ father had said others, meaning several dragons might already be on the way. But it would be fine as long as Kargas reached the next stage in his evolution by killing a dragon.

"Lowly cur, you dare tell my child what to do?!"

Ackster could feel his neck prickle with the angry daddy dragon’s sharp glare and fierce question. But he shook it off.

"First, you abandoned your son, and now you’re trying to control who he can hang out with? Kargas was right, you suck as a father. What you should be doing is bend forward, sweep that hair out of the way, and let Kargas cut your fucking head off. That’s the least you could do to apologize to your son. Fortunately, that can also prevent the other dragons from killing him, no?"

The plymorphed dragon glared at Ackster with growing intensity. He even took a step toward him with mana gathering in his hands. But he stopped when Kargas stood in the way with his hand on the hilt of his weapon.

"My child, you’re stopping me from exterminating this insolent dog?"

"This insolent dog saved me from a tortuous lack of clarity. In this world, he is the only one who forced me to see the truth and accept who I am. His methods are a little unorthodox, but I owe him my life. You, on the other hand, I wouldn’t mind killing. Back the fuck down."

Kargas mirrored the intensity his father had shown Ackster as he glared at his father.

Kargas’ father let out a deep sigh and took a step back as he let his hands fall to his sides. He had a surprisingly defeated expression on his face.

"I will spare his life for your sake, my child. But I must advise against following his suggestion. As you are now, you will only invite death by challenging one of my kind."

"That’s why—"

Kargas shot Ackster a sharp look before he could finish his sentence. Although Kargas had said he wouldn’t mind killing his father, he didn’t mean it. Not truly. So, he would appreciate it if Ackster stopped suggesting his father lay down his life.

Akcster shrugged and held up his hands in defeat. He had earned Kargas’ loyalty through an extraordinary coincidence. He shouldn’t blow it up. But he wasn’t going to blow this opportunity up, either.

Ackster put a hand on Kargas’ shoulder.

"Don’t forget, you’re not alone. If it’s you and me working together, I’m sure we can handle a dragon or two."

Kargas felt his hands tingle and his blood grow hot. His senses were growing sharper, the air he was inhaling was richer, and the world was growing more colorful. He could hear the individual heartbeats of everyone in the Council Hall frozen stiff.

And trumping them all were two heartbeats echoing like thunderclaps once every minute.

"You better be right. We don’t have a choice anymore."