A Cliché Multiverse story - Chapter 550: One-Eyed Black Dragon

Leaves and grass sway in the wind, a myriad of greens painting the landscape with a rich palate. The 199th floor was a verdant forest that spread out wide and far, with beautiful trees, grasses, and wooden houses dotting the scenery. A wide range of colorful crystals hung over the ceiling, their refraction casting lights similar to a sun.

The place reminded Asahi of the first safe floor of the dungeon, the 18th floor Rivira. The only difference was the beautiful green barrier enveloping the floor like a dome.

He couldn’t sense any Arcanum in the surroundings. The only Arcanum here was mixed with life force — owing to the presence of a spirit in Ais’s mother, Aria. The other cluster of life force was even more vital. It was on par with Ddraig when he first met her, when she fought against the Three Factions.

‘One-Eyed Black Dragon is fucking strong for a dungeon monster.’

The strongest adventurer, Albert Waldstein, gave away his life to blind the dragon’s right eye.

(It had a thousand-year period to develop its strength.)

‘I hope Aria isn’t a broken mess.’

A millennium of isolation could shatter even the strongest minds and rob them of their sanity. Aria could be an entirely different person, not the kind mother Ais had in her mind. He had to ascertain Aria’s mental condition before revealing anything to Ais, lest he ended up giving her false hope.

Thinking again, he couldn’t help but find similarities between the old trope of dragon stealing the princess and Aria’s story. Both ended with the dragon taking a beautiful woman hostage, even though Aria was a married woman with a daughter.

‘Who is supposed to be the original knight in shining armor? Bell? Ais?’

(Maybe both?)

Suddenly, a thunderous roar shook the forest as a dragon flew out of the forest, its vast body casting a shadow over his surroundings. It was covered in scales as deep and black as the abyss.

A red eye brimming with rationality stared down at Asahi. The wound it suffered a thousand years ago had yet to heal. “You’re powerful, human. You may be more powerful than Albert. Why is it that I can’t muster any killing intent for you?”

The One-Eyed Black Dragon showed genuine curiosity in Asahi’s Mythus Noblesse skill that weakened the will of hostile monsters and comforted the allied monsters.

“Think of it as my divinity.” He shrugged off the dragon with a vague answer. “How did you learn to talk, though? Did Medusa also start language classes for her children?”

“Wisdom comes with age. I am one of the ancient monsters around,” the Dragon said proudly. “You said you have divinity? Are you a god?”

“I am Asahi Marikawa, a god from another world.”

The dragon nodded its giant head. “That would explain Medusa’s tolerance to your aura. It is a little late, but allow me to introduce myself. I am Fafnir. My purpose is to protect the gate of the abyss.”

“You are Fafnir?”

“Yes.”

Asahi pointed at Fafnir in a dramatic pose. “I came to bathe in your evil dragon blood to achieve immortality. Prepare to die!”

Fafnir landed before Asahi and curiously looked at him. “You’re mistaking me for a divine beast. My blood is like any other monster in the dungeon. That said, I haven’t seen anyone since I began living here. Would you accompany me for some talk?”

The black dragon remained friendly in the face of his provocations, showing maturity one would typically not expect from a dungeon monster.

He sighed. “You’re way too calm for a dragon.”

Fafnir tilted its head. “You’ve seen Medusa and her sisters and survived. Which means they are on good terms with you or they don’t have means to defeat you. A fight with you will accomplish nothing.”

He applauded Fafnir’s calm reasoning. “Did you see a blonde spirit around here? She goes by the name Aria.”

“Aria? She is my friend.”

“…What?”

“I said Aria and I are good friends.”

“You killed Aria’s husband, kidnapped her, and she befriended you? Did you brainwash her or what?”

Fafnir shook its head. “It’s a little complicated… To put it simply, Aria doesn’t hate me for killing her husband and taking her away from her daughter. Speaking of her daughter…”

Fafnir approached Asahi and sniffed his clothes. He patted the dragon out of reflex. Fafnir closed its single eye and released low, content rumbles. Small heart floated as he caressed the dragon’s snout. It didn’t make much effort to make Fafnir a fan of his handiwork.

“Your pats are better than Aria,” Fafnir said between purrs. “Seven hundred times better.”

“Ahhhh. Not another dragon!” Ddraig wasn’t happy with his meeting with Fafnir. “Klyscha, let me out. I’ll kill her before this stray falls for him.”

‘Her?’

He didn’t dally on what could have been a slip up from Ddraig. “My wives call me the God of Headpats for a reason. I can even make you climax–wait.” His eyes widened, and he shoved Fafnir with a hand. “Get away from me. I don’t do this to men.”

“You’re once again mistaken, my human friend. I am neither a man nor a woman…” Fafnir took a long pause and blinked its one eye innocently. “Us monsters aren’t given the ability to reproduce. Attaching a gender to disposable soldiers is meaningless, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Why, though? Reproduction will grow a bigger monster army.”

“I don’t know. I’ll add this question to my list of unanswered mysteries. Before you ask, this list exists in my memories, where I collect mysteries to unravel. I’ll not be without a purpose once I retire from this duty.”

“I know someone who can create a new body for you. She is an expert in this craft.”

Fafnir’s red eye glittered with hope. “Really? You’ll do that for me? You’re so kind, human Asahi. Having you and Aria as friends is a blessing from the world.”

Asahi’s expectations were completely flipped. Rather than finding an evil dragon, he met a curious and gullible black dragon, who had no bloodlust to speak of.

‘Is this really the fierce black dragon who destroyed Ais’s family?’

(I don’t know…)

***

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