MADWD 48

Chapter 48

After hearing how the hatchling came to be under temporary protection here, Kaliserd still asked questions.

He even placed a barrier so no sound would leak outside.

“Dragons forget nothing, not even the smallest things. Hatchling without a name, will you tell me? Everything you have seen, heard, and experienced so far.”

Ariella narrowed her eyes.

‘So he wants to verify the contents of my letter?’

Kaliserd was likely checking if this incident—an abandoned hatchling found late—was somehow connected to this Demon Lord Territory.

‘If his words don’t match my letter, I’ll be in huge trouble.’

For dragons, the words of their own kind carried unmatched weight.

“Really, is it okay if I say it?”

The hatchling hesitated, but Ariella stroked its head gently as if to reassure it.

Encouraged by her touch, it began to speak.

It explained everything slowly.

Although it had spent happy days in the Demon Lord Castle recently, the hatred toward the Pedwick Merchant Guild could not disappear so easily.

In a trembling but clear voice, the hatchling told its story:

How the moment it hatched, shackles were placed on its body, chains bound it, and even before it opened its eyes, a thick blindfold covered them.

Kaliserd’s face twisted in fury.

Rumble!

As the dragon’s expression darkened, the air itself shook violently. Down below, the demons gasped and trembled.

Kaliserd growled in a low, heavy voice.

“…Vermin, daring to treat a dragon so! It is hard to contain my rage at such words.”

“Right? They were so mean!”

Happy to be understood, the hatchling’s words grew quicker.

The faster it spoke, the fiercer Kaliserd’s expression became. His Dragon Fear shook the watchtower floor with each breath.

Rumble!

Every sentence from the hatchling made his eyes roll with fury, his head about to explode.

It was natural. Dragons prided themselves not only on strength but also on their unmatched pride.

“A hatchling… imprisoned and abused by mere demons?”

It was unforgivable.

“And then you know what happened!”

The hatchling spoke of “the kindest, warmest Ariella in the world” and “the Demon Lord who just follows her around,” who came to the secret hideout and saved it.

After venting everything, the hatchling smiled with satisfaction.

But then—

“Huh? Why is your face like that?”

It only now noticed Kaliserd’s stiff, frozen expression.

The red dragon stayed silent for a moment.

Finally—

“Ariella Kapelle Oinos.”

The heavy voice struck like thunder. Ariella answered calmly.

“Yes.”

“On behalf of the entire Dragonkind, I offer you thanks.”

His voice carried sincerity.

“To protect a hatchling is a sacred duty beyond all else. If not for you, we might never have known of this young one’s existence.”

A mighty Red Dragon bowing to a human.

“As I said, dragons do not know forgetfulness. What is etched in memory remains forever. A promise made cannot be broken. On behalf of my race that forgets neither favor nor grudge, I declare this will last until all dragon souls fade.”

His voice resounded with deep power.

“Ariella Kapelle Oinos. Dragonkind is indebted to you. From now on, whatever you desire—speak it once, and no matter what it is, it shall be granted. This is a vow and oath shared by all dragons once they reach maturity.”

“…!”

Ariella almost grinned ear to ear.

‘This, I didn’t even expect!’

If she understood correctly, Kaliserd had just sworn a Dragon Oath—not just as one dragon, but binding the whole race.

She had not saved the hatchling expecting this reward. But now her heart pounded with excitement at the unexpected boon.

Whoooom—

The barrier around them vanished. Kaliserd had released it.

Now everyone in the territory could hear his voice.

“And I also declare this!”

The earlier vow had been a private promise of gratitude to Ariella.

But this next one carried sharp hostility, his voice deliberately amplified to spread far and wide.

“As of this moment, with the hatchling’s testimony, Bagis Fedwick and his Merchant Guild are declared enemies of all Dragonkind!”

Crackle!

The air resonated sharply with his Dragon Words.

The people of the Demon Lord Territory felt as if their breath was being crushed by the sheer sound.

“Any who cooperate with Bagis Fedwick, shelter him, or trade with his Guild, must be ready for war with the dragons. This is a vow and oath shared by all dragonkind.”

His voice boomed, echoing across the land.

‘…I can hear it.’

Ariella thought she heard more than Kaliserd’s words.

‘The sound of that worm Fedwick being utterly destroyed.’

Meanwhile, deep in a remote mountain range at the edge of the Demon Realm.

In a hidden hut within the wilderness—

“Damn it!”

Bagis Fedwick felt like his blood was drying up.

No one knew he had escaped here except for a handful of guards.

‘Who stole it?’

The stolen hatchling was still missing.

Somewhere, information had leaked. There must have been a traitor.

Grinding his teeth so hard he drew blood, Fedwick was filled with both despair and rage.

“I’ll repay them all—the one who leaked the info, the one who stole it. I’ll tear them apart alive!”

His eyes were bloodshot, his body shaking with fear and fury.

“To throw me into this pit… whoever you are, you won’t die peacefully. If I just survive this crisis…”

But for now, survival came before revenge.

‘What if the dragons already know?’

He had hidden here out of fear of their wrath.

If the brainwashing plan had worked, this would never have happened. At worst, he had planned to secretly kill the hatchling if it failed, to remove the risk.

But things had gone terribly wrong.

“I must find a way—”

Then—

BOOOOM!

“Arghhh!”

“Kuugh!”

Rumble!

Fedwick was blown away like a leaf in a storm, rolling across the ground.

When he managed to open his eyes—

“H-huh?”

The hut was already shattered to pieces.

Above, in the blue sky, wings spread wide—

A nightmare he feared most.

“A dragon…?”

This one had black scales.

“You are Bagis Fedwick?”

The Black Dragon spoke, its voice dripping with malice, cutting into his spine.

“W-wait! Please! This is all a misunderstanding! I can explain—”

But the dragon allowed no excuses. Its jaws opened. The air rushed inward.

KAAAAAH!

A flood of highly acidic breath poured out.

The mountainside melted—trees, earth, even stone bubbling and dissolving into sludge. The guards perished instantly.

“Cough! Cough!”

Choking in the poisonous fumes, Fedwick barely survived.

A strong gust soon blew the smoke away.

And then—his heart sank again.

The peaceful forest was gone. Now it was a swamp, bubbling with melted sludge. The stench was unbearable. He realized his soldiers’ remains were part of it.

He nearly vomited.

‘Why… why am I the only one left alive?’

A terrible premonition.

“…Kuhuhuhuhu!”

The dragon laughed with twisted cruelty.

It was the Black Dragon, infamous among dragons for its brutality.

Now Fedwick realized why it had come for him.