Primordial Awakening: Rise of the Legendary Dragon God

Aldric and Marthis, who weren't even supposed to be here, as the king hadn't allowed them to come here.

Of course, they knew that someone would be keeping an eye on them, so they had even prepared people to fill in their places.

They had left two people, who had a similar body structure to theirs, to pretend to be them.

However, they knew that those guys would be discovered soon, so they needed to hurry.

And so, instead of teleporting somewhere far from Vaelen to observe the situation first—as they had planned—they had gone straight to him.

The situation, however, was far from what they had expected.

Now, they stood surrounded by demihumans, and those who seemed like guards didn't lower their weapons, no matter how harmless they tried to appear.

If anything, their grips tightened.

"Do not move!" one of them barked, spear leveled straight at Aldric's chest. "Both of you—on your knees. Now."

Marthis's eyes swept the circle in a single glance. Efficient and assessing, counting exits, angles, and mana fluctuations.

His hand hovered near his side, not threatening—yet.

"Everyone," he said calmly, his voice smooth but carrying, "let us all take a breath. There is no need for—"

"Silence!" another guard snapped. "Human mage, you will comply!"

Aldric ignored them.

His gaze was fixed on Vaelen.

"You," he said, voice low, stern as iron. "Explain. Where are we? And why are you here?"

Vaelen opened his mouth—then stopped.

"…You're asking me?" He shot back incredulously. "You're the one who just tore space open in the middle of a demihuman town!"

Aldric's brow creased. "Answer."

Vaelen ran a hand through his hair, already stressed past his limit. "This place is… complicated. And why I'm here—" He hesitated, then frowned. "Wait. Why are you here? How did you even find me?"

Marthis answered smoothly, "I teleported us."

Vaelen stared. "That part I figured out!"

Aldric spoke then, his tone clipped. "We placed a tracking spell on you years ago."

The words landed like a hammer.

"…You what?" Vaelen whispered.

"A tracking spell," Aldric repeated evenly. "Dormant. Harmless."

"You put a tracking spell on your own child?" Vaelen snapped. "Do you think I'm some kind of animal that'll just run off?!"

Aldric's eyes hardened.

"That is precisely what you did," he said. "You entered Rugarda without permission. Violated a treaty that explicitly forbids anyone above B-rank from crossing its borders. Then you vanished for over a month."

Vaelen's mouth opened.

No words came out.

"And now," Aldric continued, quieter but heavier, "I find you here."

Vaelen looked away.

Around them, the guards shifted uneasily.

Marthis, still refusing to kneel, raised his hands slightly. "I urge you all to calm yourselves. Escalation would benefit no one."

While doing so, he was also circulating his mana to use teleportation again, as it wasn't a spell one could use at once.

To use teleportation, which covered so much distance, he had to prepare for at least some minutes, especially now, when he had just used the spell a few moments ago.

His words, however, didn't calm the demihumans in the surroundings. It did the opposite.

"Attack!" someone shouted.

Mana surged as all of them got ready to rush.

It was then that Marthis sighed.

Shadows peeled off the ground.

They rose like living chains—silent and precise—wrapping around spears, arms, and legs.

In the span of a breath, every guard froze, bound in place, shadows locking them mid-motion without crushing or cutting.

Vaelen's eyes went wide when he saw that scene.

"MARTHIS!" He yelled. "Release them! Now! Don't hurt anyone!"

Marthis paused, shadows trembling but obedient. "Young Master, they will attack—"

"Do it!" Vaelen snapped. "Please! Just listen to whatever they are saying!"

Aldric frowned, finally turning his attention outward. "If we are to listen to you and do as they say," he said coolly, "then tell me—do you want your father to kneel? To strangers?"

His voice sharpened. "I don't even kneel to kings, so why would I kneel here?"

Vaelen's panic spiked.

"This isn't about pride!" He shouted. "The mood here is already terrible! If something goes wrong—if he were to come here and see this—"

Aldric scoffed, cutting Vaelen off. "He?"

Vaelen grabbed his own head in frustration. "You don't get it! The one you're provoking—he's not someone a mere king can compare to! He could erase the capital city if he wanted to, so just—just listen to the guards!"

Aldric stared at him, incredulous.

"I am the strongest swordsman in this kingdom," he said flatly. "I have driven back nations. And you expect me to believe someone in this secluded town would defeat me? I'm disappointed to see how little confidence my son has in me."

Vaelen slapped his own forehead.

"PLEASE, we don't have time for this—!"

Before he could complete his words, the air changed.

Not exploded.

Not surged.

It tightened.

Mana across the street drew inward, as if the world itself had inhaled and forgotten how to breathe out.

Marthis stiffened first.

Aldric followed a heartbeat later.

Both of them looked up.

The sky above the street rippled—not torn, but parted—like clouds bowing.

A man hovered there.

Black hair stirred gently in the heated air.

Golden eyes looked down.

It was Kael, and he didn't radiate killing intent.

He didn't need to.

The pressure alone was enough to make Marthis's throat go dry, shadows quivering uncontrollably as if afraid of being noticed.

Aldric's hand drifted toward his sword—then stopped.

For the first time in a decade, his instincts screamed danger.

He felt a life threat from a being who wasn't even attacking them yet—after all, Kael was merely staring at them.

Vaelen, seeing Kael, groaned, covering his face.

"…I told you to stop."

Kael hovered for a moment longer, golden eyes sweeping over the scene below.

He had come here because he had felt two unfamiliar mana signatures—dense, refined, unmistakably S-rank—that stood out like thorns inside the village's barrier.

They hadn't walked in. They hadn't announced themselves. They had appeared.

That alone was enough to pull him away from Selene's bedside.

His jaw tightened.

'I should already be back,' he thought, irritation flickering beneath exhaustion.

Selene was stable, her wounds closed, but her consciousness hadn't returned. Leaving her, even for this, grated on him.

He exhaled once.

And descended.

His boots touched the stone street without a sound.

The instant his feet met the ground, Kael clenched his fists.

Mana didn't erupt.

It compressed.

The pressure collapsed inward, dense and absolute, like gravity deciding to become personal.

Marthis's eyes widened.

The shadows binding the demihuman guards trembled—then shattered, dissolving into harmless wisps that evaporated before they could touch the ground.

Spears clattered. Arms dropped. Bodies stumbled free, sudden and unhurt.

For a heartbeat, there was silence.

Then—

"Lord Kael!"

"These humans suddenly appeared, my lord!"

"Thank you for saving us, Lord Kael!"

"You came even though you're exhausted…!"

Voices overlapped, raw with relief and gratitude.

Kael didn't respond. He didn't even look at them. His gaze remained fixed on the two humans ahead.

But Aldric felt it.

'If this is him while tired—'

He didn't even need to complete his words, as the chill running down his spine spoke volumes.

Marthis swallowed hard. His shadow affinity was still reeling, his control sluggish, like his element itself was wary of reaching out again.

They exchanged a glance.

'A chance,' Aldric thought.

'The only chance,' Marthis agreed silently.

If Kael truly was fatigued, this was the best—and last—opening they would ever get.

"STOP—!" Vaelen shouted as if sensing their intentions, panic tearing through his voice as he saw their stances shift. "Don't—don't make it worse!"

Too late.

Marthis moved first.

Shadows exploded outward, not binding this time but flooding the street, rising like a black tide meant to drown vision itself.

Darkness swallowed Kael's outline entirely, covering his field of vision and giving Aldric, who surged forward right that instant, an opening.

Aura ignited around his blade, white-hot and roaring, with fire entwining the edge as his unique swordsmanship unfolded—steps precise, breath controlled, every movement honed by decades of war.

A killing strike.

The shadow veil dispersed—

And Kael was still there.

Unmoved.

Unfazed.

He hadn't even shifted his stance.

Aldric's sword descended—

And black scales bloomed beneath Kael's clothes, spreading across his torso in an instant, layered and flawless.

Over them flared a translucent barrier, tinted deep red, humming with terrifying density.

The blade struck Kael's chest, tearing his clothes made of shadow away, but was stopped by the scales, making Aldric's eyes go wide.

But before he could even understand what happened, the recoil of the failed attack hit.

BOOM!

The muffled sound echoed as Aldric was thrown back like a broken doll, his body spinning through the air before crashing into the street hard enough to shatter stone.

Marthis froze.

His mind couldn't process it.

There was no crater. No shockwave was tearing the town apart, nor was there any collateral destruction.

A clash between two S-rankers—and the ground hadn't even cracked.

'What… is he…?'

Instinct screamed.

Marthis attacked again.

Shadows surged—

And Kael vanished.

He reappeared directly in front of Marthis.

No teleportation flare. No mana surge.

He was merely there.

The next instant, Kael's fist drove into Marthis's abdomen.

The impact detonated.

BAAM!

Blood sprayed from Marthis's mouth as a shockwave burst from his back, flattening the air behind him. His eyes rolled back before his body hit the ground, unconscious before it landed.

Aldric forced himself upright, teeth clenched, aura flaring again—

Then stopped.

His body lifted.

Invisible force wrapped around him, crushing and compressing. His limbs twisted against his will, joints screaming as pressure mounted from every direction.

Kael's golden eyes finally shifted to him.

Cold.

Measured.

Unimpressed.

Aldric couldn't breathe.

Then—

"PLEASE!" Vaelen screamed, throwing himself forward, dropping to his knees. "Stop! Please, Lord Kael—stop! They didn't come here to hurt anyone! I swear it!"

Kael paused.

Vaelen bowed his head to the stone, voice shaking. "I'll explain everything. Please—just don't kill them."

The crushing force halted.

Aldric gasped, suspended midair, trembling.

Kael studied Vaelen for a long moment.

Then, slowly—

He loosened his grip.

Just enough.

"Speak," Kael said at last.

One word.

And Vaelen had never been more grateful to hear a voice.