The Kingmaker System Chapter 741 - 740. The Dragon’s Bargain (1)

Every eye turned toward the sky as two figures slowly descended through the drifting snow.

Leading the descent was a woman clad in flowing blue robes and long snowy white hair, a pair of pure white translucent Dragon wings spread gracefully behind her. They resembled sculpted ice more than living flesh, shimmering softly as tiny crystals drifted from their edges and disappeared into the frozen wind.

Beside her descended a young man wearing a long black coat with its hood resting over his shoulders, the blue insignia of a flying Dragon embroidered across the back swaying gently behind him. His long blue hair flowed freely while his hands remained tucked inside his coat pockets, no wings visible on his back it was like the wind carried him.

As the woman stepped onto the ice, her crystalline wings dissolved into countless specks of frost that scattered into the air before vanishing completely, but unlike the woman, her companion made no attempt to land.

The young Dragon came to a halt beside her, his calm gaze resting upon the lone figure standing amidst the sea of black miasma without the slightest hint of urgency, as though the chaos surrounding Yggdrasil was of little consequence to him. The tips of his boots hovered just above the frozen roots of Yggdrasil.

The battlefield had fallen completely silent. Zale was the first to react, the tension leaving his shoulders as he released a long breath and smiled faintly.

"You finally came, Master."

Not far away, Erisgrirlum simply sighed, the relief in his eyes unmistakable after carrying the burden of the battle for so long. Aelfric, however, stood rooted to the spot, unable to tear his eyes away from the two figures before him. Dragons had always been little more than legends recorded in ancient scriptures and passed down through generations of Elf Kings, yet now two Supreme Dragons stood before him. Even the battle raging around Yggdrasil seemed distant as he watched them in silent disbelief.

Issyrha’s eyes swept across the frozen battlefield, a faint scowl settling over her face. Freezing the island had been a tremendous risk, especially with Yggdrasil at its heart, and when the young Dragon had asked her to spare only a handful of people while encasing everything else in ice, she had dismissed the idea outright.

"As if a few minutes are enough," she had scoffed.

He had merely smiled and asked her to stand back and watch.

Reluctantly, she had agreed.

A short distance away, the Dominus studied the two Dragons in silence, his brows furrowing for the first time that night. At the same moment, countless translucent notifications sprang up before Ocean’s eyes. Warnings, emergency quests and the opened notification of a completed quest crowded his vision until they obscured nearly half the battlefield.

Ocean let out a quiet sigh.

"Hey, System," he thought. "Hide those notifications for now."

The floating screens flickered once before disappearing.

Only then did Ocean properly met the Dominus’s gaze.

"So... we finally meet, Dominus."

Ocean’s eyes briefly swept over the translucent screen before him, quietly reading through the Dominus’s information before his gaze returned to the man himself.

"So, you’re the rumoured Supreme Aqua Dragon," the Dominus said, studying the young Dragon with an unreadable expression.

"Indeed," Ocean replied with an easy smile.

His eyes shifted past the Dominus and settled upon the Domina lying on the frozen ground, black blood staining the ice beneath her. "Oh? What happened to her? I thought she managed to escape."

The Dominus’s brows twitched ever so slightly.

"Hey!" Issyrha snapped impatiently. "Why are you talking to him like he’s an old acquaintance? Kill him already! I can’t keep Yggdrasil frozen for more than a few minutes."

Ocean paid no attention to her protest. Keeping his hands inside the pockets of his coat, he calmly drifted forward until he stood only a few steps away from the Dominus. The thick black miasma still shrouded the Dominus, suspended within the Dragon’s ice like a tide that had been forced to stand still, yet Ocean walked through it as though it were nothing more than an ordinary morning mist.

"I’ve been wanting to meet you for quite some time," he said.

"Me?" The Dominus asked, watching him carefully. There was something unusual about this Dragon. He couldn’t quite tell what it was, but the young man before him didn’t behave the way Dragons were supposed to not was his mana flow normal.

Ocean walked past him without the slightest hesitation and stopped beside the wounded Domina. She instinctively shrank back, her trembling pupils fixed upon him as though she were looking at something far more frightening than the battlefield itself.

"Stay away from me," she hissed.

Ocean merely smiled before looking back at the Dominus.

"You know," he began casually, "I was summoned to protect this world...and protecting Yggdrasil is part of the job... I’ve spent years running around trying to keep everything from falling apart." His smile softened just a little. "Somewhere along the way, there were a handful of people who made all of that worthwhile."

The Dominus regarded him silently.

"And why are you telling me this?"

Ocean gave a small shrug.

"No particular reason."

"Are you expecting sympathy?" The Dominus asked.

A quiet chuckle escaped Ocean.

"I’m not that delusional."

Silence settled briefly between them. Neither looked away, while behind Ocean the wounded Domina coughed violently, black blood staining the ice beneath her.

"D-Don’t listen to him... Dominus," she muttered weakly.

The Dominus never took his eyes off Ocean.

"It doesn’t matter what you say or do," he replied calmly. "Everything is already in place. The outcome of this battle was decided long before you arrived."

Ocean simply hummed, the confidence in the Dominus’s voice failing to disturb the relaxed expression on his face.

"Then..." he said after a moment, "would you be interested in making a deal with me?"

The words left the battlefield in stunned silence.

Not only the Kings and Xeveris, but even Issyrha turned to stare at him in disbelief.

"A deal?" The Dominus repeated.

Ocean nodded.

"Yes."

The Dominus studied him for another long moment before speaking again.

"Since when do Dragons make deals with the Dark Forces?"

Issyrha could no longer contain her anger.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" she shouted, glaring at Ocean. "You’re supposed to kill him, not make a damn deal, you brat-"

Ocean slowly turned his head toward her.

"Be quiet."

The words were spoken without the slightest hint of anger, yet the moment they reached Issyrha’s ears, an overwhelming force descended upon her. Her body slammed onto one knee, the frozen ground cracking beneath the impact as an invisible pressure forced her head lower and lower. Every muscle in her body screamed in protest, but she couldn’t even muster the strength to lift a finger.

The sudden change didn’t escape the others either. Aelfric, Zale, Erisgrirlum and even the Dominus all looked toward Issyrha in surprise, but unlike the others, the Dominus immediately recognized what had just happened. It wasn’t the overwhelming presence Dragons naturally possessed, nor was it killing intent.

It was authority.

The authority of the Dragon God.

His gaze returned to Ocean, lingering on the young Dragon far longer than before.

"You..." he spoke slowly. "Who are you?"

Ocean met his eyes calmly.

"The new Dragon God."

For the first time since appearing on Edrisyl, genuine confusion surfaced on the Dominus’s face. He knew the Dragon God, and this young one before him was not the same Dragon. So, then how on earth did he get the authority?

"Wondering how I obtained this authority?" Ocean asked with a faint smile. "The answer isn’t important. What matters is that I need you to accept my proposal. In exchange, I’ll grant you anything you desire."

The Dominus regarded him silently, curiosity gradually replacing his confusion. Never before had a Dragon offered to bargain with the Dark Forces, much less promise to fulfill any wish in return. Every instinct told him it was a trap, yet he found himself wanting to hear what this unusual Dragon intended.

Behind Ocean, the wounded Domina forced herself onto one elbow, coughing as black blood stained the ice beneath her.

"Don’t listen to him... Dominus."

Neither of them spared her a glance.

"And what," the Dominus finally asked, "could possibly make a Dragon lower himself to such an extent?"

Ocean’s smile faded.

"You placed a curse on someone. I want you to remove it."

The Dominus tilted his head. He already had a faint suspicion of whom the young Dragon was referring to.

Who else could it be but the real Dragon God?

Solcarion had been the Dragon God for countless ages, and he himself had taken part in reducing that existence to a powerless shell through his curse that reinforced another layer placed by the Demon King at the end of the Great War. There shouldn’t have been another Dragon capable of wielding that authority, yet the sensation he had just felt left no room for doubt.

But instead of answering immediately, he chose to test him first.

"I’ve cursed hundreds of people," he scoffed lightly. "Which one are you talking about?"

"Solcarion."

If the thought of a Dragon proposing a deal with the Dark Forces hadn’t already been enough to shake everyone present, Ocean’s answer sent an even greater chill through the battlefield. Every unfrozen warrior, whether Elf, Dwarf or Merfolk, stared at the two in disbelief. None of them had imagined that the Dragon God himself had fallen victim to the Dominus’s curse.

The Dominus remained silent for a moment before a faint, mocking smile tugged at his lips.

"Do you really believe," he asked, "that I would remove the curse placed upon the Dragon God?"

He let out another quiet scoff. "How naive."

Ocean released a slow breath, his expression gradually hardening as his hands curled into fists inside the pockets of his coat.

"You and I both have our priorities," he said calmly. "Yours is anarchy. Mine is protecting the people I hold dear."

His eyes never left the Dominus. "Sol... is important to me. Lift the curse, and I give you my word that I’ll fulfill any condition you ask of me. If you believe the curse is what keeps you safe..." He paused briefly before continuing without the slightest hesitation. "Transfer it to me instead."

Not far away, Zale’s brows slowly drew together. He still remembered the frail child they had met in Denril and the unbound affection Ocean had always shown him. Back then he had never imagined that child was the Dragon God himself, yet looking at Ocean now, there was no mistaking the resolve in his voice. He wasn’t negotiating for the sake of the world. He was bargaining for someone he loved like his own son.

Issyrha finally managed to lift her head against the crushing authority bearing down upon her.

"Have you completely lost your mind, Ocean?!" she shouted. "Do you even hear yourself? You’re willing to make a deal with this scum just to save Kin Solcarion? Do you think he’ll thank you after learning you traded your own life for his?"

Ocean slowly turned toward her.

The warmth that usually lingered in his blue eyes had vanished.

"Nothing in this world is worth more to me than Sol," he answered quietly. "I need that curse removed, and for that..." He drew a steady breath. "I’ll do anything."

His gaze drifted back to the Dominus.

"Even if it means selling my soul to the Devil."

The words left everyone speechless.

"He... he’ll sell his soul to the Devil?" Aelfric muttered, unable to believe what he had just heard.

Zale frowned deeply, his eyes never leaving Ocean.

"What is Master thinking...?"

Erisgrirlum remained silent, his lips pressed into a thin line, his first expression of the Dragon was just how how he was behaving right now. Reckless but somehow even behind the stormbringer, Erisgrirlum had seen the wisdom and intelligence so, he was at a loss for what he should make of this scene in front of him.

Xeveris could no longer stand still. Ignoring the lingering dead miasma around the Dominus, he staggered forward until he stood only a short distance behind Ocean.

"L-Lord Dragon..." he called out uncertainly. "What are you saying? Didn’t you come here to save us?"

Ocean glanced back at him, and when he spoke again, his voice had become noticeably softer.

"Tell me, Xeveris... how does it feel to watch your child suffer so much that even drawing a single breath becomes painful?"

Xeveris’s lips parted, yet no words came.

"When I found Sol, he looked no older than a child." A faint smile crossed Ocean’s face before disappearing just as quickly. "At first I had no idea he was the Dragon God, so I simply kept him by my side as my son. I tried everything I could think of..." He lowered his eyes for a brief moment. "But nothing I did could free him from that curse."

Ocean lifted his head once more and looked directly at the Dominus.

"He’s already sacrificed enough for this world, and what has this world given him in return?" His voice remained calm, yet every word carried a quiet conviction that echoed across the frozen battlefield. "More suffering."

He slowly turned back toward Xeveris.

"I don’t care about this world." His icy gaze never wavered. "I care about the people I love... and I will save Sol..."

A brief silence followed.

"...even if I have to stand against the heavens themselves."