Right when the dragon"s trial had concluded, the powers of [Time] were activated.
Considering the size of the arena, Dan had to enlist the help of his most elite force, the [Chronos Knights].
Like that, a large magical array shone brightly and hummed.
I had seen such a spectacle before.
It was back when Stolas and I had an exhibition war as part of a side show during the Creator"s Evening Party. Back then, Dan had received support from the Creator and was able to rewind the time for the temporary dungeons Stolas and I made.
To reiterate, Dan had to rewind time for a total of 6 dungeon rooms and an area of more than 20 kilometers squared.
Needless to say, that was amazing.
I wonder, if ever I am supplied power by the Creator, just how much could I do with my [Creation]?
While toying with that idea in my head, the destroyed portions of the ring were slowly being repaired through the powers of [Time]. Moreover, Caesar who had perished after being impaled by Duke was brought back to life and was healing alongside the previously near-death Duke and Enlil.
When it was all clear, Stolas and I rushed toward our dragons.
"Duke!"
"Enlil!"
We each called out to our respective dragons.
Duke was now in his dragonewt form and Enlil was currently the size of a kitten.
"My lord, we"ve somehow managed to pull off a win."
"Gaugau!"
The two were fairly fatigued.
It seemed that even though the power of [Time] could heal their wounds, their mental state remained as it was.
And it was one intense fight. It only lasted for a few minutes, but even I was mentally exhausted.
A little later, Ast appeared as well.
He looked at Caesar, smiled, and exchanged two to three words with his dragon.
After that, he laughed.
Caesar still had a rather intimidating presence, but his facial expression became somewhat softer. The two shared a faith cultivated over a very long period of time.
And then, Ast walked toward us.
"I wanted you guys to defeat Caesar, but to be honest, I didn"t imagine at all we would lose. Well done, you guys have bested me and Caesar. Thanks to this, I can rest easy knowing my dragons will have a place after I"m gone."
After Ast said so, he extended a hand to me.
I firmly grasped and shook it.
Ast then shook hands with Stolas.
Now that I think about it, I"ve been forgetting about something important.
"In the end, which between Duke and Enlil became a true [Dragon Emperor]?"
By defeating Caesar, one of our dragons should have inherited his [Dragon Emperor] which had been made strong after absorbing the strength of tens of thousands of souls.
When I asked the question, Duke and Enlil had a complicated expression on their faces.
…Considering the immense power that the two both had after the fight, I was able to form a guess, but I thought it was infinitely better to ask and confirm.
The one to answer my question was Ast.
"This is the first time I"ve encountered a case like this. It seems Caesar"s [Dragon Emperor] has been split exactly in half. Apparently, Caesar has acc.u.mulated so much power that even when split in half, each half would still be enough to make a true [Dragon Emperor]. As to why that happened, my guess is that it"s because Caesar thinks he didn"t lose to either Duke or Enlil, but to Duke and Enlil."
At that, I unintentionally smiled.
To think that the supreme leader of dragons was being pedantic over such things.
"Caesar doesn"t like losing, does he?"
"Neither do I. I mean, I"m glad you were able to beat Caesar, but being the one on losing side leaves a sour taste in my mouth. So much so that I want a rematch right now."
…please stop kidding.
Our tactic composed of surprise attacks worked this time, but given that we had exposed a lot of our hand already, we likely wouldn"t win another time.
While I was thinking of how to refuse, help came from somewhere unexpected.
"Spare me and my [Chronos Knights], Ast. We just did an absurd time rewind. We"re far too tired for another one."
"I"m pretty much on the same boat. If you fight again so soon, I might not be able to maintain the barrier."
The two dead-tired, unsung heroes of this battle approached and said so.
If it was not for Dan, Caesar would have stayed dead while Duke and Enlil would be wounded beyond any hope of recovery.
Similarly, if it was not for Marcho, the audience monsters and us Demon Lords would have been hurt by the dragons" attacks.
"Don"t worry, I was just kidding. I wouldn"t do anything to soil this great battle. Well, moving on, now that we have two dragons capable of leading my True Dragon Squadron… one half can go to Stolas and the other to Procell. What do you two say?"
The original plan was for the one to inherit Caesar"s [Dragon Emperor] to be the one to take care of the strongest dragon army there was.
However, because both Duke and Enlil both qualified for that, the issue of which dragon to lead the squadron arose.
Fortunately, I had a solution to that.
"I think Stolas should inherit them all. She is Ast"s successor, after all."
I had decided that it should be as it should have been from the start.
I would be lying if I said I didn"t want the True Dragon Squadron, but even so, I firmly believed this to be the correct choice.
"Wait a minute. Wouldn"t that be too unfair to you, Procell?"
"It"s fine. The fact that Duke became a true [Dragon Emperor] is more than enough for me. Besides, if I accept them, I feel like Avalon would be too different too quickly. It’s like it won’t even be Avalon anymore."
"Even so, are you sure it"s ok?"
"Absolutely."
"Alright then. But I"ll only be borrowing them. I"ll give them back someday."
"And when that day comes, come and stay a while in Avalon, ok?"
Like that, Stolas and I laughed.
As Ast"s successor, I had no doubt she would use the True Dragon Squadron masterfully.
I didn"t say it out loud, but this decision of mine was a bit more calculating.
When the rule protecting us new Demon Lords have expired, I was of the opinion that it would be better for us as a faction to have an even spread of our strength than just me having incredible power.
With the True Dragon Squadron, Stolas wouldn"t be defeated so easily by most threats, thus eliminating the need for me to back her up in a lot of situations.
And then, somebody hugged me from behind.
"That was really astonishing, Procell. That"s the first time I"ve seen Ast"s Caesar get defeated. As expected of my ward!"
It was Marcho.
Her chest pressed against my back, I felt strange.
"Stop hugging me, please"
"Woah, how mean. You"re so cold to me and yet so happy when Stolas hugged you."
Marcho said so in an effort to tease me.
Meanwhile, Stolas"s face grew bright red.
"That was just a spur of the moment thing."
"Fufufu. You and Stolas really are obstinate, huh. It"s fine for Demon Lords to practice concubinage or bigamy, you know. It"s just my own opinion, but I think that it"s a crime for an excellent man to make only one person happy. If you can make a lot of people happy, then you should make a lot of people happy."
"…what an absolutely absurd opinion"
I didn"t understand what Marcho was thinking.
In any case, I broke free from Marcho"s embrace.
At the moment, there was something more important. As such, Duke and I stood opposite one another.
"You did great Duke, my prized monster."
"It makes me happy to hear I fought befitting a monster under your command."
"It is my hope you continue supporting me and Avalon."
Duke smiled and kneeled in place.
"So long as you have need of me, I shall follow you anywhere, my lord. I hope this new power of mine will help you be even stronger."
Duke"s stylish gestures and words really suited him well.
We might not have gained the True Dragon Squadron, but his [Dragon Emperor] maturing this much was already a great boon.
In fact, it wouldn"t be such a bad idea to mix my next [Creation] medal with another A rank medal and an imitation of the [Dragon] medal. The resultant monster wouldn"t have [Berserk], but the strengthening effects of Duke’s [Dragon Emperor] was plenty enough.
Moreover, we would have another kind of B rank dragon added to our war potential.
Like that, Duke"s role would be greater than ever before.
Meanwhile, Stolas was giving Enlil plenty of petting. Enlil was purring.
But then, for some reason, he looked at me and acted all haughty.
"Well then, it"s time to declare the dragon"s trial officially over. Stolas and Enlil, I"ll introduce each of the members of the True Dragon Squadron to you two later. Their strengths, personalities, all that. I have no doubts that you"ll be able to employ these children skillfully."
"Yes, Astaroth-sama."
After all was said and done, it looked like Ast was really glad that the one he would be entrusting his dragons to was Stolas, his daughter.
It was proof that I made the right decision.
"Hmm, it"s a bit lonely if we all go home now, right? So, Dan, go whip up another of your parties."
"As ever, you say the most ridiculous of things. I"ve used up my magic power and I"m tired. Even staying awake is an effort now. I want to go lie down and sleep as soon as possible. Not to mention, because I prioritized the preparations for the dragon"s trial, there"s also all the work that has piled up to worry about."
"Don"t be so uptight. Come on, just do it already."
"…Geez, what a stubborn fellow you are. Alright, alright. I"ll do it if I must."
While looking exasperated, Dan still replied with a voice full of affection.
He might seem aloof, but deep down, he"s really a compa.s.sionate guy. Anyway, maybe there"s something I could do to help.
While I was thinking that, an Abyss Howl appeared from my shadow.
An Abyss Howl was a blue, giant dog monster that could use Transfer as well as travel to the other dimension.
In case of an emergency, I had instructed it to come to me via Transfer. Originally, without a Transfer array at a targeted location that"s outside of one"s dungeon, one couldn"t use Transfer to go to that location. However, the necklace—or more specifically, the jewel in the necklace—that Rorono made acted the role of a Transfer array. Through it, Abyss Howls could contact me or bring someone to me anytime regardless of wherever I was.
Once used, the jewel would break, but it was undoubtedly an extremely useful device.
On the collar the Abyss Howl wore was a blue gem that could project moving images with sound into the air. The one being projected right now was Kuina.
"Oto-san, Avalon"s been attacked, Rorono-chan, she, she"s in danger! Come back quickly!"
Rorono"s in danger? To the point that Kuina"s panicking? No way, can she have been kidnapped?
"Sorry, everyone, it"s possible that one of my monsters has been kidnapped. I have to go back to Avalon right away."
Everyone approved of my early departure.
They all understood how serious of a matter an emergency about one"s [Monster of the Covenant] was.
Did they really get past our tight defenses? No, I don"t want to believe it. But it seems to be the case. Whatever it is, we have to save Rorono. No matter what.
I was sure my monsters wanted to do the same.
We had insurances put into place too, but returning immediately was still the best course of action to protect my beloved daughter.