Hellmode ~A Hardcore Gamer Becomes Peerless in Another World with Retro Game Settings~
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chapter-464
The Green Dragon was returning to the village.
It was fully grown, its wingspan more than 100 meters long.
But then it saw something unbelievable. There was a flying object even bigger than the dragon.
The Green Dragon flew higher, getting closer to it.
'What's this? Why are there people living on a flying island? Hm? And who's that?'The dragon could see multiple cities built on the island, and then a white object flying up from it.
Hovering in place the Green Dragon allowed the white object to get closer quickly.
'Oh? A dragon! Same as me! Grahh!!'
Haku looked shocked to see the enormous Green Dragon, accidentally spitting flames as he still did not have full control over his fire breath.
'You're the White Dragon. What are you doing so far away from the Central Continent?'
'I fly too! Gyagyaa!!'
Haku flapped his wings happily, circling around the Green Dragon.'The Red Dragon was returned to an infant body by Doberg's sword, and I see the White Dragon is also an infant again. He must've been reborn not too many years ago.'
The Green Dragon looked at Haku, filled with emotion. There were other noises too.
The humans had noticed the Green Dragon and that was causing an uproar.
Many of them were armed too.
The Green Dragon circled the island one last time and left the White Dragon behind.
Then the Green Dragon headed back to the village and hovered above the closest city.
The dragonkin went into an uproar as well, but they looked at the Green Dragon with reverence.
"Hm? Is it looking at me?"
'So he came out as well…'
The Green Dragon looked at a young man with black hair and black eyes.
Then it turned around and went to the center of the village.
The center of the village was at the end of the spiraling peninsula, where the temple stood.
The building's columns were hundreds of meters tall, making it visible from far away.
The Green Dragon flew through them, careful to not hit anything, and ventured inside.
An aged dragon sat on a pedestal deep inside the building. Its body was too big for the pedestal, so its chin was resting on the floor., and a large gate stood behind the aged dragon.
The aged dragon noticed the Green Dragon's arrival.
'Enkero, I wasn't expecting you to be back so soon.'
The Green Dragon's name was Enkero.
'Yes. I believe I can't stay far from the holy village for long anymore, Dragon King Matildora.'
The Green Dragon landed and bowed, explaining why he returned ahead of schedule.
Dragonkin wearing priest robes also started to gather there, noticing the Green Dragon's arrival.
They bowed there, silently listening to the two dragons talking.
'Was it something curious? It seems the Demon King has been more active lately, that brat is really getting carried away.'
The Dragon King did not have a good impression of the Demon King.
'That's true. I've seen that about the Demon King as well, he even went to the bottom of the ocean.'
The Green Dragon mentioned what happened under the ocean, where he could not go.
'Hmph, it's all the same old.'
The Dragon King did not seem pleased.
'Also, I found a young White Dragon.'
The Dragon King was grumbling like always, so the Green Dragon mentioned the White Dragon he had seen earlier.
'Ohh, that must be the White Dragon that vanished a few years back. Hm? Find him? Where?'
The Dragon King found the Green Dragon's choice of words odd.
'It was right above the village earlier…'
He relayed what he had seen just before arriving there.
'Is that so? Does that mean Opholia's seal is gone?!!'
The Dragon King raised his head from the floor. It was so big that just his neck was tens of meters long. The priests nearby were shocked to see that reaction.
The Dragon King was more interested in the White Dragon than the floating island.
'Yes, he's past the Central Continent's mountain ride, and could move freely.'
'I see. So the time has finally come. It's been so long since the last time.'
The Dragon King closed his eyes, having waited for a long time.
'Yes, it might be an action of the Gods in response to the Demon King.'
'I don't care what the reason is. Finally the time has come for the Covenant Dragon's birth.'
The Dragon King's eyes were distant and filled with emotion, but the priests looked pale.
All the priests looked at one of them, who was elderly and their leader.
"P-please reconsider, Dragon King! The Colored Dragon is still an infant!! I doubt he can break past the gatekeeper in that state!!"
The dragonkin priest spoke so loudly that his voice was heard in the large building.
He felt this was a bad idea, as the White Dragon, which he called Colored Dragon, was small.
'Hm? I'm aware of that. I'm not saying we should act immediately.'
The Dragon King replied to the priest.
"That is good to hear. I hear the last time we lost an ancient dragon and more than ten thousand talented individuals. We don't have enough dragon knights at the moment, so we really aren't in a position to conquer the gate!!"
The priest reminded the Dragon King of past events, reminding him to not be uncautious.
The Dragon God's Village had already suffered many losses in the past.
'That's true. So how much time do you believe we should wait before challenging the gate?'
The Dragon King asked how long preparations would take.
"At least 100 years I'd say, otherwise we won't be able to get past the gatekeeper even."
The priests nodded, they all believed it would take 100 years to prepare everything.
'100 years…let's hope my life lasts that long. Hm? And you, what do you need?'
Another priest arrived there. He had been waiting for an opportunity to talk, not wanting to interrupt the current conversation.
"We just received news that the Spirit King Fabre and the Dark Elf King Arbus' son have arrived at the village. They're seeking an audience with you."
There was a magic communications device in the city near the border.
The priest who had been waiting to talk was the operator of the device in the temple.
'Arbus' son at a time like this? Hm…I believe the Spirit God was traveling with a human…'
The Dragon King recalled something.
'You must be thinking of Allen. I saw him there as well.'
The Green Dragon aided the Dragon King to remember.
The Green Dragon had also seen that boy with black hair and black eyes.
'A floating island, an infant White Dragon, Arbus' son…everything seems to be connected. Did you see anything else, Enkero?'
Everything he reported seemed to be connected. The priests also started murmuring.
The Dragon King asked if the Green Dragon had seen anything else.
'I'll investigate right now.'
Saying that, a powerful gust of wind enveloped the Green Dragon.
'It seems Allen is an accomplished human, who managed to conquer the S Rank Dungeon. He also has influence on the Five Continents' Alliance…and all that in a really short time…'
"That somehow sounds hard to believe."
The Green Dragon's words sounded too much like rumors. The Dragon King wasd listening to him, but felt like they were still lacking too many details.
'It may not be the best information, but at least we know he's powerful. Many countries claim he saved them. Maybe he's here to attempt opening the Gate of Judgement.'
The Green Dragon apologized for not being able to obtain more concrete information.
But he concluded that Allen was there to open the Gate of Judgement.
'I see. It seems luck has finally turned our way, but we still need more information. Priests, go investigate more about Allen.'
The Dragon King sounded reinvigorated after that.
"Yessir! We'll contact Rameciel immediately!!"
Rameciel was their neighboring country, which was their best source of information as the Dragon God's Village was not part of the Five Continents' Alliance.
That was their only way to learn more about Allen.
'We have their Sacred Bird in our land, tell them to give us all the information they have unless they want to see it end like the Sacred Beetle did.'
The Dragon King insisted, telling the priests to use any means necessary.
The Dragon King would not hesitate to threaten a neighboring country for that information.
"Yessir!!"
The priests replied vigorously and quickly left that place.
'Hmph, Bildiga really made a foolish decision, letting the Demon King control him. But he's always been thick headed. Still, the gate will open then…'
The Dragon King looked back at the large gate behind him.
His eyes were filled with a strong desire, which seemed to belie his age.
***
Back at the entrance of the village, Allen's group split into two.
One team would head to the Dragon King's temple, and the other would gather materials.
-Team Allen: Allen, Rosalina, Luck
-Team Sophie: Sophie, Cecile, Ignomas
That was Allen's decision after a lot of deliberation.
Allen was heading to the temple, so it was best for Luck and Fabre to go with him.
If they got into any trouble, Fabre would help.
After that, he separated the two mermen, putting one into each team.
Ignomas went with Sophie as a deterrent if negotiations fell through, and as a bodyguard.
Sophie also agreed that it was better to have Ignomas with her, rather than trying to negotiate with the dragonkin as a group of three girls.
Everyone in Allen's party looked young, so just having Ignomas nearby was a great help.
"Growth should reach Level 9 in a few days, so try to avoid danger until then."
"Yes, I know. We're just going to negotiate a bit with merchants, that's all."
Cecile looked bothered, this was the first time she was in a different team to Allen's.
But having her become violent and ruin their chances at opening the gate would also be bad.
Allen's team climbed on a Bird B summon and flew through the Dragon God's Village.
It could be tricky to get across checkpoints without issue otherwise.
The peninsula was shaped like a spiral, so there was no direct path leading to the temple.
"What's that over there!"
"Hm? Some sort of ruins?"
Rosalina had spotted something. It looked like a large ruin in the middle of the wastelands.
They checked the perimeter on the Bird E summon, but there was nothing other than an entrance onto the box shaped ruins.
Going inside, they found a large gate.
"It seems there's only this gate inside."
"Huh? What even is this thing?"
There was a large gate standing inside the ruins.