"Damn it…!Is this really all that's left—just this worthless rock?!"
Marei Rhein's fury surged uncontrollably. The aura of destruction billowing from her body intensified, warping the surrounding air until it trembled violently, as if the space itself were on the verge of collapse.
"Then I'll be taking that 'worthless rock.'"
Kurose Akira appeared beside Marei Rhein without making a sound and calmly took the rainbow-colored crystal from her hand.
"Human! That is the last remaining piece of my treasury—!"
Marei Rhein was just about to erupt when Akira extended his hand and placed a cyan-blue dragon scale fragment in front of her.
The instant her gaze fell upon the fragment, all the rage in her eyes vanished.
Her crimson pupils locked onto the azure-blue scale, unmoving.
Then—in the very next second, her fury reignited, even more violently than before.
"MIRA OREI!"
Marei Rhein roared the name, her voice shaking the entire underground space.
Mira Orei?
Akira silently committed the name to memory. For reasons he couldn't quite articulate, he sensed that the relationship between these two dragons was far more complicated than that of mere mortal enemies.
"Despicable wretch! One day I will devour your flesh, grind your bones to ash, and erase you from existence!"
Marei Rhein's wrath erupted like a volcano. The flames of vengeance toward that dragon had reached their absolute peak.
Akira understood her feelings completely.
Her life had been ended by that being. The treasure she had accumulated over thousands of years had been completely plundered. If it were him, his anger would likely be even more intense than Marei Rhein's.
"Marei Rhein—Crimson Dragon."
Akira stepped closer and spoke evenly.
"As long as you are willing to submit to me, I will grant you power. Power enough to take your revenge on her.What do you say?"
"Hmph~"
Marei Rhein crossed her arms over her chest and let out a disdainful snort.
"Pathetic human. Your power is insignificant before me."
Yet at that very moment, a subtle change passed through her gaze.
She knew—perfectly well—that the human before her was not lying. He truly possessed the ability to grant her power beyond imagination… power that even transcended the laws themselves.
"If you're unwilling, then…"
Akira smiled and shrugged lightly.
Naturally, he had no intention of letting Marei Rhein go so easily. Still, he preferred to deal with every guild member in the gentlest way possible.
But if Marei Rhein continued to hold such an openly hostile attitude, he would have no choice but to keep using more forceful measures.
Before Akira could finish his sentence, however, Marei Rhein gave her answer.
"Human, we are partners—nothing more," she said firmly."Letting you ride on me is already my absolute limit. Don't even think about making me call you 'Master' or anything like that.Understood?"
Her tone carried undeniable resolve, but compared to her earlier arrogance and fury, it had clearly softened.
Akira did not respond directly.
Instead, he said calmly, "Since there's nothing of value left here, let's head back."
With that, he unfolded a teleportation array, preparing to return to the guild.
Before leaving, Marei Rhein was still growling in anger.
"Damn that Mira…!"
"I will settle this debt with you one day!"
Just as Akira was about to step into the teleportation array, he suddenly sensed an unusual magical fluctuation and sharply turned his head.
For an instant, he had the eerie feeling that a pair of enormous eyes was watching him.
But when he turned around, that sensation vanished completely.
"…Was that just my imagination?"
Akira frowned slightly. Finding nothing else out of the ordinary, he stepped into the teleportation array together with Ivsha and the others.
—
When they returned to the guild, Lucia and the rest had already come back from their mission.
"This is…?"
The moment Marei Rhein entered the guild hall, Lucia's attention snapped to her.
As the Pope of the Holy Church, how could Lucia fail to recognize how abnormal the aura of destruction radiating from Marei Rhein was?
Even though it was extremely faint, the sheer intensity of that soul-deep presence was enough to shock even Lucia herself.
"Hm?"
Marei Rhein also noticed Lucia.
The powerful aura emanating from Lucia made Marei Rhein's dragon tail sway slightly as her crimson eyes locked onto the woman.
She couldn't discern Lucia's true identity—only that she was likely affiliated with the Holy Church. After all, when Marei Rhein had died, Lucia hadn't even been born yet.
And yet, whatever Lucia carried within her caused even a dragon that embodied destruction to feel a trace of fear.
More importantly, this woman was far too young to possess such overwhelming power.
Since when did the Magic Continent have demi-god–level powerhouses under the age of one hundred?
"Guild Master, who is she?"
At that moment, the elf sisters Fuli and Floro approached Marei Rhein with obvious curiosity and asked Akira.
"She's Marei Rhein, our guild's newest member," Akira said with a smile as he introduced her."And yes—as you can see, she's a dragon."
"A dragon?!"
The moment they heard that Marei Rhein was a true dragon, Fuli and Floro's beautiful eyes lit up with excitement, and they exclaimed in unison.
"Hello! I'm Fuli!"
"I-I'm Floro~!"
"Nice to meet you~!"
"..."
The elf sisters were clearly fascinated by dragons, especially Fuli, who enthusiastically circled around Marei Rhein.
Watching the guild members bond with one another, Akira—standing as the guild master—felt deeply satisfied.
At that moment, Lucia walked over to him.
"She is… the Crimson Dragon?" Lucia asked, immediately recognizing Marei Rhein's identity.
"Yes,"Akira nodded."That's her. Though she's a little different now—this is the reborn Crimson Dragon."
"Reborn…"
Lucia murmured softly. Beneath the veil, her eyes remained fixed on Marei Rhein in the distance, a hint of astonishment flickering within them.
She never would have imagined that her guild master would recruit the very dragon that symbolized destruction—reviving an existence that had lain dormant for over a thousand years and bringing her into the guild.
"Did today's mission go smoothly?" Akira asked.
"Mm," Lucia replied simply.
"That's good."Akira nodded, then submitted several completed quest commissions.
Lucia's group had completed a total of four D-rank commissions, earning five gold coins and 50,000 experience points.
At present, only eight D-rank commissions remained, and their difficulty was relatively high. Even so, for Akira's guild, they were still quite manageable.
After turning in the quests, Akira's attention shifted to the rainbow crystal he had obtained from Marei Rhein.
The [Seven-Colored Radiance] trait…
He felt a spark of curiosity. After all, this was an ultra-rare trait.
At the moment, his trait inventory contained only [Seven-Colored Radiance]. As for the [Vampire] trait, he had no idea when he would finally collect all three portraits needed for the exchange.
More importantly—
Would [Seven-Colored Radiance] and [Vampire] even be a good combination?
…A vampire that emits seven-colored radiant light?
...…
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