On an unnamed mountain in the Zagria kingdom.
"Ugh… I will never surrender to a mere human such as yourself! Just kill me instead, you're wasting your time." The 'Greater dragon' with pink scales said, its body raged, one of its horns broken. It was lying in front of me, unable to stand.
"Three days… I whooped your ass for the entirety of three days and you still won't submit?" I asked, at this point not even angry, rather irritated. "Submit." I put my foot on its head and pushed down, breaking the cave floor under the 'Dragon's' head.
"Never! I am a proud 'Greater dragon', the 'Dragon of painfu…"
"Submit." I kicked its jaw up, the impact lifting the 'Dragon' up and landed a kick at its chest, sending it flying bat at the wall.
"Cough, cough, ah… Ah… I will never… To a mere human…" True to the nature of 'Dragons', it used the last of its strength to resist.
I sighed. "I didn't want to use this, but, it seems, I have no other choice…" My hair turned grey, an overwhelming amount of mana began surging from within my body.
"This… This is…" The dragon stammered.
"You said that you'd never submit to a mere human, right? Well, what about a god?"
"This mana… Are you 'Lord wrath'?"
"'Lord wrath'? Is that what you 'Dragons' call the 'Flame dragon'?" I asked. "Well, in a sense, you could call me that. I am the one that robbed the former 'Lord wrath' of his power, I am the one that succeeded him, I am Adam and you will kneel…"
The 'Dragon' thought for a second. "Very well, my lord." Its body began glowing pink and in an instant a humanoid figure appeared where the 'Dragon' stood. The figure was that of a woman with pink hair, completely naked. It took a knee. "I am the 'Greater dragon' that was created in the battle between 'Lord wrath' and 'Lady lust', my name is 'The dragon of painful dreams' and from now on you're my master." She raised her eyes to look at me. "Please give me my first command, lord."
I activated my dimensional ring and took out a robe. "Your first command, huh? Get dressed." I threw the robe at her. "Oh, and your name, it's too long, since you like getting hit so much, I'll just call you Pain instead."
She complied and put it on. "I was under the impression that humans preferred seeing this form naked… Are you into taking my clothes off yourself?"
"Do you wish to lose your remaining horn?"
"Please pardon me." The dragon said. "I've never served anyone before and my experience with humans was mostly their taste (similar to pork, but with a sweet after taste) and occasional glimpses into their dreams, so I'm at a loss of what to do and how to act."
"'Tis fine, I don't have high expectations for anything, but your combat prowess, that was the reason that I sought you out in the first place. Everything else can be done by others."
"I see, what now, 'Lord wrath's successor'?"
"Firstly, don't call me that ever again, it's edgy as fuck, secondly, I'm still searching for the 'Greater dragon' that came into the world when the 'Flame dragon' and the 'Dragon of light' fought for the last time. Do you know where that entity resides?"
"You must mean 'The dragon of the beginning and the end', the dragon bearing the name 'Alpha Omega'."
"Most likely."
"In that case, follow me, lord, I'll guide you to her cave." Pain said and started walking out of her cave. I followed.
There are three ranks of 'Dragons' in this world - the 'True dragons' - godly beings possessing absolute authority over their respective element are at the top - 'SSS' class. 'Lesser dragos' are the weakest of 'Dragons', just like the 'True dragons' they possess a single element, but unlike them, 'Lesser dragon's' control over the element is far inferior. 'Lesser dragons' are created from the 'Greater dragon's' mana fluctuations when they use their power, 'Lesser dragons' are essentially far inferior clones of 'True dragons', 'S' class.
The last rank is 'Greater dragons' are created when the mana of two 'True dragons' clashes during an intense battle. 'Greater dragons' inherit the power of both 'parent' 'Dragons' making them the only 'Dragons' that can utilize two elements - 'SS' class. While they aren't nearly as powerful as 'True dragons', they possess the ability to communicate and shapeshift - the abilities of 'True dragons' that 'Lesser dragons' lack.
I found all of this in one of the books that I 'borrowed' from the library of 'Babel'. In it was the creation story of the 'Greater dragon' that was born during the earth shaking battle during which the goddess (Dragon of light) defeated and sealed the 'Flame dragon'. The dragon described in the story, after seeing the destruction created during its birth, took a pity on humanity and rebuilt what it could. After that, the 'Greater dragon was celebrated as a reincarnation of the goddess and worshiped by all. The sick would bring offerings to it and prayed to be healed and the dragon healed them.
But humans underestimated the dragon's lineage for it was a 'Dragon' capable of both creation and destruction. With time, after using only one side of its powers and suppressing the other, the 'Dragon' became plagued with an overwhelming desire to destroy that grew with every passing day. One day, after enduring the torment for hundreds of years, the 'Dragon' snapped, destroying everything that it saw and left, never to be seen again.
Moral of the story - never trust a 'Dragon'. No matter how benevolent it is, it's still a 'Dragon'. I found another moral in this story - no matter what, don't suppress what you are, or the ones that you care about will suffer.
This 'Greater dragon' of creation and destruction had popped into my mind as soon as I started looking for a way to protect the cat girls. Since the goddess is fairly passive, it's rare to find a 'Dragon' that has a 'light' element that has the ability to heal. Since it also shared my blood line, it was a perfect protector for them. The problem was that the 'Dragon' hadn't been seen in ages and I had no idea where to find it.
After searching the archives and employing the information guilds for help, I gave up and went with plan B - the 'Greater dragon' that was spotted near where I was and had an affinity for fire. Finding out that Pain actually knew the 'Dragon' I was after was a great surprise.
We traveled for half a day by air with the 'Pain international airlines' and landed near a desolate canyon. "We're here, lord." Pain said while taking her human form.
I looked around, there was no life for as far as the eye could see - no humans, animals or even trees. "Is this really the place?" I asked.
"Affirmative, she's down there." Pain pointed to the bottom of the canyon. "She prefers staying away from everyone and everything, fearing that her power might run rampant once again, I'm probably the only one that has been keeping her company…"
"What a reliable friend you are." I jested. "What do you 'Dragons' do together anyway? Plan world domination and laugh at the weak and pathetic humans while drinking tea made out of our blood?"
"I sense that you don't really like 'Dragons', do you?"
"The 'Flame dragon' was a major ass, you two are his descendants, why would I treat you any different?"
"You inherited his power, what does that make you?"
"I never denied being an asshole." I said. "Well, let's go, I still have stuff to do." I jumped into the canyon. Pain followed suit. We landed with a bang, creating a dust cloud around.
"Who dares to enter my domain?" A powerful voice filled the air. "Leave now or I can't guarantee your safety."
"It's me, 'The dragon of painful dreams'..." Pain shouted.
"Who's the one beside you?"
"That is the 'Lord wrath's successor', my new master. He wishes to speak to you."
"That name… That accursed bloodline that doomed me to solitude… I should destroy it now that I have the chance." The voice echoed.
"'The flame dragon' is dead, I killed it and took its power for myself, but I want more, I want you as well." I said. "Serve me and I'll grant you your wish, what do you say?"
"Leave now, while I'm still giving you a chance, human, or I won't be able to control myself anymore."
"Do you want to see the world once again?" I asked. "Do you wish to see how much it has changed over the years? If you follow me, you will be able to interact with those that you care about, you will be able to help them once again, isn't that what you want?"
"How?! Do you think that there's a way for someone like me, someone that can't even control its wrath to coexist with beings so weak that they would die from a single sneeze of mine? Do you think that it's possible?!"
I smiled. "I am 'Lord wrath's successor' - someone that rains over destruction itself! If you follow me, I'll seal your flames, seal your bloodlust and anger, I'll seal it all since it's all within my domain. Kneel to me, swear your loyalty and come out into the world!"
After some time a "Dragon' with red scales and a golden underside and horns stepped out into view. The dragon began glowing and a humanoid form appeared in its place - naked girl with golden hair and red eyes. She took a knee. "I am the 'Greater dragon of the beginning and the end', the one born during the fight between 'Lord wrath' and 'Lady love', my name is 'Alpha Omega'. I greet my new master."
"Too long, I'll just call you Alpha."
_________________________________________________________________________
Back at the inn.
"Sir Adam, who are these girls?" Elizabeth asked, looking at the two 'Dragons'.
"Your new body guards. Congratulations, you can now shed that armor of yours."
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