The Red Dragon Just Wants To Do As It Pleases-Chapter 490 - 293: Growing Up

The Dragon Feast at Montero Ore Town was as lively and successful as it could be, which was why the White Dragon Mofei, cradling his scratched head in the arms of his Drow mother, Kraidian, was crying just as bitterly:

"Mom! You have to stand up for me! Look how horribly those cruel guys beat me up! OHH!"

He was like the watchdog next door on New Year’s, expecting a grand meal, only to have its bowl snatched by a gang of mischievous kids to set off firecrackers. After yelping twice, it got kicked and ended up wailing, tears streaming down its face.

Watching the nincompoop Mofei being held and softly consoled by his mother, Kraidian—who couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry—Alfonse, the Black Dragon, was so consumed with envy that he nearly went mad on the spot!

After all, as the years passed, more and more young dragons were sent to the camp by the Chromatic Dragons of Skanis. Dragons like him, on the verge of youth, increasingly had to serve as camp laborers or act like older brothers, making it difficult to cling to Kraidian and act cute as freely as before.

Had I known, I would’ve rushed in to take a beating too! Alfonse thought resentfully.

Perhaps he could have even demonstrated his loyalty to his adoptive father, David. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Besides, those crazed Blue Dragons wouldn’t dare to injure them too severely.

Even so, Brule, who instigated the trouble, was still being punished with the ’dunking cage’ in the sea.

The more Alfonse pondered, the more resentful he became. As his eyes darted wildly, he spotted a giant hermit crab laying eggs on the shore. An idea struck him. Steeling his heart, he snatched it and clamped it onto his own claw, then burst into exaggerated wails, shoving Mofei, who was still acting spoiled, aside as he cried out:

"Mom! Look at my claw! That heartless maniac Mofei actually hid a hermit crab in my Dragon Food bowl to ambush me!"

"I didn’t! You sly, black-scaled creature!"

God knows how many times he’d been framed over the years; Mofei felt he was about to snarl in anger.

But Alfonse, seizing the opportunity, was relentless, "Mom, look! Mofei is discriminating against my scale color right in front of you, even though Alfonse and you, Mom, both have black scales!"

"...OH! Screw you!" Finally unable to win the argument and even more unable to contain his fury, Mofei lunged and bit Alfonse’s tail, which was swaying smugly from his successful scheme.

"OW!!!" This time, Alfonse was truly hurt.

Viola, who was preparing to give her ’foster mother’ Kraidian a Winter Feast gift, happened to witness the black and white dragons squabbling and wrestling for favor. She turned her head and flew away, speechless.

It was simply unbearable to watch!

She sighed, wondering when this pair of feuding Giant Dragons would ever truly grow up.

As Viola turned and flew away, she failed to notice a young Blue Dragon patrolling the coast silently fall from the sky.

Just as it was about to hit the sea and create a huge splash, it was caught by several blurry, humanoid shadows and gently submerged into the water.

Then a second, and a third, met the same fate.

「 」

Meanwhile, in the night sky over Kutaro Ore Town, more shadows were rapidly constructing a Teleportation Gate.

A portal to Kanya, the Eighth Hell of Barto, a realm with a frigid ice ocean.

The intricate and complex Teleportation Circle began to glow, cold, silvery-white light spreading from its center, as if to draw everything around it into the deep and icy otherworld.

Yet, this monumental and turbulent event unfolded unnoticed by any dragon, as the invaders executed their plan with near-perfect precision.

「 」

On the coast, Kraidian, having finally separated the two ’child’ dragons, had initially intended to give each of them twenty lashes, as usual, to teach these seemingly eternally juvenile dragon offspring a lesson.

However, she also knew that these two were now thick-skinned and tough, so she decided against ’rewarding’ them further.

Perhaps suddenly recalling something important, she gently supported one large head with one hand. Then, she took out two magical items woven from Drow bodily fluids from her robes, tying them to their dragon horns. Only then did she smile with satisfaction and say,

"Mofei, Alfonse, in two more years, you’ll reach your youth.

"You also know that your Aunt Hiatt holds an important position, and I, your mother, haven’t accumulated much treasure over these years to avoid suspicion. These are woven from my Drow spider silk; consider them advance gifts for your coming-of-age.

"They can release a Shadow Step when you face mortal danger, and within a certain distance, they will also let you sense each other’s location. That’s the limit of their usefulness; don’t disdain them, you two."

Just as Mofei and Alfonse were about to speak, Kraidian stopped them with a raised hand and continued softly,

"Although you are not from the same brood, you are dragons raised by me, Kraidian. So in my eyes, you may not be brothers, but you are better than brothers, just like your Aunt Hiatt and I. Therefore, even though you always fight, I know that you always trust and rely on each other."

"Ah?... Hmph!" The two giant dragons immediately glared at each other, then contemptuously turned their heads away, as if another glance would defile their very souls.

Yet, Kraidian paid no mind to this, smiling with great satisfaction.

Only the more perceptive and intelligent Black Dragon, Alfonse, suddenly sensed that something was amiss.

Isn’t this a coming-of-age gift? Why then would Mother Kraidian give it to us in advance?

Could it be?!

Suddenly alert, Alfonse’s tail coiled around Kraidian’s waist.

"Mother Kraidian... Are you leaving us?"

Realizing she had given herself away, Kraidian didn’t hide it. Instead, she praised him while stroking the Black Dragon’s large head,

"Yes, my Alfonse is the smartest."

"Don’t go!" / "Why?!" The two giant dragons were utterly perplexed.

Kraidian, however, responded with a sense of helplessness,

"Because, ultimately, I am just a Drow."

Alfonse and Mofei immediately fell silent.

Because, as Kraidian, their mother, had said.

No matter what, in the end, she was just a Drow.

A Drow whose faith and soul were not her own.

And with the war against the Elves about to erupt.

A Drow like her, who could be ’used’ at any time, was destined to never gain David’s trust.

Just as with the other deity she worshiped, the Lady of Gloom; even though she had developed her own sect, she still couldn’t escape the net laid by her mother, Rose.

So, rather than becoming a puppet bomb on Rose’s strings, it was better to leave early.

That way, perhaps there would still be a chance for a reunion in the future.

"MOTHER!" Alfonse and Mofei finally stopped arguing, their heads nestled sorrowfully into the slender Drow’s embrace.

Kraidian was about to say something as she stroked the two large dragon heads, but she only felt the gentle sea breeze lulling her into drowsiness. Then, suddenly, she experienced a piercing pain in her chest, as if bitten by an insect.

The Drow looked down in shock, only to see a blood-stained arrow piercing through her heart.

Instinctively wanting to warn her two giant dragon children, another arrow penetrated her throat, breaking her spine. This forced her head to twist upwards, allowing her to see the magnificent scene above Montero Ore Town:

From the twisted Teleportation Gate, the silhouettes of dozens, even hundreds, of vast and indistinct figures were being siphoned out from behind the gate by raging waves, falling from the sky.

They were the archenemies of dragons, the blood descendants of the Frost Titans, born from the interference of the god of the Giants.

These descendants of the Titans, forced to leave Toriel after their defeat in the ’Eternal War,’ had their endless hatred nurtured by generations in the endless cold. Accompanied by the silent roar of the frigid wind, they plummeted like icy meteors toward David’s domain.

One of them, witnessed by Kraidian herself, struck the Tokamak Fortress—which had nearly become the iconic landmark of Kutaro Desert. As the Titan roared to the sky, the fortress collapsed silently.

More ’ice meteors’ showered down toward Montero Ore Town in the distance.

And one was falling directly towards her position, where her two giant dragons were.

The Elves’ retaliation had come in a manner that no one, including David, could have anticipated...

In that moment, Kraidian, already fatally wounded, felt surprisingly little fear, as if opening her heart to embrace her Drow destiny.

Sister Hiatt, it seems we are unable to escape the Elven curse bestowed upon us after all.

After acceptance came a tremendous relief.

Relief that she had given the gifts she had woven herself to the two children she was most proud of in her life, ahead of time.

Before danger struck, she used her own magic power as its creator to forcefully activate the Drow silk items, and shadows spread.

Alfonse and Mofei, sensing the approaching danger, had barely lifted their heads in astonishment when they felt a tightening on their dragon horns.

The next moment, they were two miles away.

Then, they saw the scene that would haunt them for the rest of their lives:

Kraidian, her neck twisted at an unnatural angle, smiled at them silently, as if bidding farewell.

An ’ashen meteorite’ crashed down from above.

CRACK! The intense shockwave split the nearby rocks and soil, vast fissures cut through the land, and the released chill covered everything around in thick frost and snow.

It was like a piercing storm.

"AH!!!" The Frost Titan, descending like a pale inferno, roared towards the heavens.

Although it didn’t understand why it had come here, the hatred for dragons ingrained in its bloodline fueled its rage, making it want to destroy everything, to slaughter everything.

But its roar was quickly drowned out by two even more heart-wrenching cries.

"MOTHER!!!"

"ROAR!!!!!"

In that moment, as their hearts tore apart, they finally... grew up.

Like vanguard sentries of a camp, completely ignoring the difference in their strength, they spread their wings and charged head-on.

It was just like the Eternal War between dragons and giants thirty thousand years ago, unfolding once more in reality.