Chapter 208: Dragon Floating Island

At the very center of the Floating Island stood a colossal castle so immense that even dragons had to crane their necks upward to see its summit.

Upon the throne within sat the Dragon King, Bahamut.

And kneeling beneath him were the Five Heavenly Dragons.

Incidentally, Bahamut had preferred taking human form since ancient times, which was why the throne itself had been built to human proportions.

At present, the Five Heavenly Dragons below him had likewise assumed human appearances.

The attribute governed by the Dragon King was, needless to say, lightning.

The Five Heavenly Dragons each embodied one of the following elements:

Fire.
Water.
Earth.
Light.
Darkness.

Originally, Ryoma—whose affinity was wind—had been destined to join them, elevating their number to the Six Heavenly Dragons.

Yet fate had intervened in an entirely unexpected way.

Ryoma had been picked up by Ryu instead.

And thus, without ever setting foot upon the Floating Island, he continued living quite happily on the surface world.

“If some problem arises, it would be troublesome. I shall go personally.”

Bahamut rose from his throne.

But before he could move, one of the dragons—an individual with blazing red hair—stepped forward and halted him.

“Please wait, my king. If the king himself must move, it would be nothing short of negligence on the part of us Five Heavenly Dragons. Leave this matter to me.”

“Hmm… Very well. I entrust it to you, Fifth Flame.”

“Yes, sir!!”

The dragon known as Fifth Flame bowed deeply, fiery crimson hair swaying behind him as he exited the castle.

◇◇◇

Ryu and Ryoma passed through the thundercloud zone and soon discovered the enormous Floating Island.

The first thing to steal one’s attention was naturally the gigantic castle at its center, however—

“Oh? I expected some kind of dragon metropolis, yet I can clearly see a city built for ordinary humans,” Ryoma observed.

“Proof they’re all living in human form,” Ryu replied. “Most likely… Dumbamut told everyone about evolution or something.”

“They seem surprisingly obedient… rather straightforward, even.”

“Well, let’s land in human form too.”

The two descended onto the island—

—or, more specifically, just outside the city itself.

As Ryu looked upon the sprawling streets before him, he felt an unexpected sense of emotion stir inside his chest.

The atmosphere resembled the surface world almost perfectly.

“This really hits differently,” he muttered. “To think Munechika is somewhere in this city…”

“Indeed,” Ryoma agreed quietly. “Even should we fail to recruit her, merely being able to thank her would make this journey worthwhile.”

“Yeah. Though before that, I want to give Bahamut the Flight Stones and hear more about how he connected dimensions with another world.”

“Then our destination is obvious. We head for the castle first.”

Once they returned to human form and stood on the ground, the scale of the castle became even more absurd.

It was no longer merely “large.”

Both its height and width surpassed even the great keeps of Edo several times over.

Just as they were about to step into the city—

A red-haired dragon appeared before them soundlessly.

“Stop right there.”

His sharp voice echoed through the quiet street.

“Only those who revere the dragons dwelling upon this island and swear loyalty to Dragon King Bahamut-sama possess the right to enter. …If either of you cannot agree to the latter, then leave immediately. We shall not pursue your backs.”

However—

“Speaking of which,” Ryu casually began, completely ignoring the threat, “Stingray’s gotten really into baking lately. The kitchen’s constantly filled with sweet smells.”

“Ahh, during our Federation journey, she was cooking together with you… could that have been the trigger?”

“Exactly. She used to think of cooking as just another task, but recently she realized it’s actually fun. Somehow that passion got redirected entirely toward sweets-making. Our candy-loving loli elf keeps getting lured into the kitchen by the smell.”

“Hahaha. Esther remains hopelessly addicted to sweets as ever.”

The two walked straight past the red-haired dragon without even acknowledging him.

“H-Hey! Stop right there, you two!”

The red-haired dragon shouted furiously.

Ryu turned around with an annoyed look.

“What now? I’m in the middle of bragging about my wife.”

“Did you properly hear what I said earlier!?”

“Yeah, yeah. Something about Dumbamut or whatever.”

“D-Dumbamut!?”

Veins bulged visibly across the dragon’s forehead.

“You insolent fool! Kneel this instant and bow your head toward the castle where our king resides! Otherwise—”

—In the next instant.

Ryu vanished.

And appeared directly before him.

“Otherwise… what exactly?”

“!?!?!?!?!?”

Ryu released only the faintest fraction of the magical power he had been suppressing.

On the surface world, such overwhelming pressure had another name—

Haki.

“T-This is…”

The red-haired dragon’s eyes trembled violently.

(…This magical pressure… it resembles the Dragon King’s.)

Before he realized it, both knees and hands had slammed against the ground.

Ironically, it was the exact posture he himself had ordered Ryu and Ryoma to take moments earlier.

His soul felt as though it were being crushed beneath an immeasurable weight.

He could not raise his head.

His androgynous, beautiful face twisted in horror.

“Come on, quit hanging your head and get up already,” Ryu said casually. “Then guide us around. It’s our first time here.”

“We already intended to meet your king regardless,” Ryoma added calmly.

A dragon was still a dragon.

Though brief, a minimal sense of kinship had already formed within the two toward the red-haired dragon.

(Just as the king said… one of them truly is a “wind” equal to us…)

The red-haired dragon’s thoughts descended into chaos.

(W-What am I supposed to do now…?)

From the beginning, he had fully intended to prevent them from entering the city.

Now he had absolutely no idea how to proceed.

“If that idiot Bahamut complains, I’ll cover for you. So hurry it up.”

“Y-Yes…”

“Otherwise I’ll just destroy the city while heading to the castle.”

“T-That I absolutely cannot permit!”

Fueled purely by stubborn pride, the red-haired dragon forced himself back to his feet.

And so, muttering endlessly under his breath, he began guiding them.

“How am I supposed to face the king after this…”

“What’s this guy mumbling about?” Ryu asked.

“He likely boasted to the king, saying, ‘Leave it to me!’” Ryoma replied.

“Ahh, I see. But seriously, the moment the king himself considered moving, shouldn’t he have realized we weren’t ordinary?”

“Perhaps among the Five Heavenly Dragons, he is the eldest veteran. Excluding the Dragon King, he likely believed himself to be the second strongest being in existence.”

“And then he sensed our magic while we were suppressing it and thought, ‘Yeah, I can totally handle this!’ before charging out all excited, huh?”

Ryu snorted.

“What a hilarious guy.”

“Hahaha. Truly, one can never tire of dragonkind.”

“Ghh…”

The red-haired dragon clenched his fists in humiliation.

(I should have thought more deeply about the king’s words: ‘Lightning, the attribute of kings.’)

He had mistakenly assumed Ryu was merely an ordinary dragon who happened to possess lightning affinity.

What a catastrophic blunder.

Ryu grinned lazily.

“Maybe he’s one of those meathead dragons whose only redeeming feature is absurd combat strength.”

“A reverse Munechika, then.”

“Kukuku… that’s disturbingly accurate.”

(These bastards are saying whatever they please just because I’m staying silent…!)

Though pretending not to hear them, the red-haired dragon’s face had turned bright red.

The city built by the dragons possessed a strangely unique appearance.

It seemed each dragon had recreated buildings they once glimpsed while flying above the surface world.

Structures from all corners of the globe stood scattered throughout the city in no coherent order whatsoever.

And from windows, alleyways, and shadows—

Other dragons peeked out, whispering nervously among themselves while staring at the two newcomers.

Normally, whenever a new dragon arrived, everyone gathered immediately to celebrate and welcome them as kin.

But these two—

These two were different.

“Two dragons arriving together…?”

“And I cannot read their magical power at all.”

“If Lord Fifth Flame himself is personally guiding them…”

“…They are not ordinary. Best not provoke them for now.”

Ryu shot the red-haired dragon a dissatisfied look.

“See? Because of you, all the other dragons are on guard now. How exactly are you planning to take responsibility for this?”

“Aahh… Originally we were supposed to make friends with everyone before heading to the castle too…”

Then, in a tiny voice, the red-haired dragon muttered,

“T-That’s because you called the king an idiot…”

“Hm? Did you say something?”

“…I said nothing.”

“Thought so. This is all your fault after all. Reflect on your actions.”

“Dammit…”

◇◇◇

“They are here.”

At those words, the remaining four Heavenly Dragons stiffened.

With a thunderous groan, the enormous castle doors slowly opened.

“M-My deepest apologies, my king… I could not stop them.”

The mighty Fifth Flame entered looking utterly defeated—like a drenched cat dragged in from the rain.

The other Heavenly Dragons stared with wide eyes in disbelief.

And then—

Ryu stepped forward with an arrogant grin.

“Long time no see, you damn lizard. I came to pay you a visit. Bow your head.”

“You insolent brat…!!”