[Mortal. Are you sure about what you are about to do?]
The thundering voice of the dying dragon spoke to the person aiming a sword at its throat, after all the sacrifices that were necessary to take down the Divine Dragon, the greatest calamity known to humanity is about to meet its end at the blade of the strongest warrior, Eric Meldinger.
"Are you really going to ask me even after coming all the way here? Have you not already realized that? Oh~ Great Divine Dragon~?"
The great dragon did not succumb to Eric's taunt and just closed its eyes, finally accepting its death at the hands of a mortal, a human at that.
[I mean not to persuade you, mortal. You may have already known this, but I will say it again. I have lived for a long time, long before you humans have existed, and I have seen how greedy your race is. Chose who you trust, for those who you trust right now might be the ones to end you.]
Eric did not mind the wisdom of the great divine dragon and thrusts his blade into its throat, finally ending its suffering. The destruction brought by their fight has significantly changed the terrain. The mountains surrounding the entire cavern are completely destroyed as if meteors rained down from the sky.
"Even in death, you are still graceful as you are alive. You really are the divine dragon." Eric said as he stares at the magnificent figure of the greatest dragon in front of him. To make sure that he is the one that brought down the mystical beast, Eric takes out the dragon's heart.
Just as he takes out the dragon's heart, a beautiful white gem fell on the ground which catches Eric's attention. He inspects the gem for a moment and is quite baffled by the appearance of such a gem and the reason behind its appearance.
"A gemstone inside a dragon's body? What in the world is thi-?!" Eric suddenly felt dizzy and struggles to stand upright. He still has a little energy to spare, and he is aware of his own body, so it is impossible for him to lose consciousness, and he knows it himself.
"What is this? Why so suddenly-"
THUD!
Eric fainted after just a few steps with the gemstone in his hand and the heart beside him.
At the same time, he woke up in a place completely covered in darkness. Not a single light in sight, this gave him a bad feeling about what is happening, amidst the pitch black surroundings, he can see himself clearly which confuses him more.
"I knew I fainted and now this? I was certain that I still have the energy to go back. What in the world is happening?" he asks himself this and looks around for some other signs of life aside from him but nothing turned up.
Just as he was about to give up, he starts to hear a voice calling out to him.
[Eric Meldinger. You have// the divine// dragon's//. You are no// a //.]
This voice keeps speaking without revealing the speaker himself. Eric tried to take a step to find the one speaking those words and to his surprise, the floor was flat without a single uneven surface. This gave him the idea that if he moved as far away as he can from that place, he might be able to escape whatever illusion it is.
"This might work." He said to himself enthusiastically and starts running in the direction in front of him, sometime later, what Eric thought and did was pointless, he is still in the same darkness-covered world which made him question if he is stuck inside an illusion.
"This feels so surreal to be an illusion. What the hell is happening-!"
His eyes widened when he saw the first light in a while, and he is overjoyed. He immediately ran towards the light feeling happy that he can now see something different and even find a way to go back but what he saw is something that he was not expecting at all.
The Bishop as well as the Princess that he was serving are gathered in what looks like a ritual gathering like cults do. He then saw them cut open the heart and drained its blood to a grail and what happens next shocked Eric, the Bishop, and the princess took turns and drank the blood of the dragon. Though he cannot hear what they are talking about, he can see how delighted they are to have done that.
"What is this? What am I looking at?" Eric could not believe what he was seeing and refused to accept it as well, the Bishop is the one that bestowed upon them the blessings of god and the princess is the one that he loves after all.
What happens next made him speechless. After drinking the dragon's blood, the two stripped down every clothing they had and starts to have sex.
It is something that made Eric unable to think of anything else and forces himself to think that it was all an illusion.
"This is not true- this is all a lie! STOP THIS!"
GASP!
Eric suddenly woke up on his bed in the palace covered in sweat, no one is inside the room. He touched the chair next to him and finds out that it is still warm, hinting that someone was there not too long ago. He quickly looks for his clothes and dressed up. The pain all over his body after the fight with the divine dragon still lingered, but it was tolerable enough to move around.
A few minutes later and an attendant went inside his room only to find him already dressed up. "Sir Eric! You have gained consciousness!" her voice attracts the people outside and to his surprise, they are people that he knows well.
"HAIL THE HERO!"
The people congratulate him for his conquest and not long after, the princess, the one that he loves arrived after hearing that he has awakened from his slumber.
"Eric!"
"Tiana!"
They both embraced each other and then the king also arrived, and he greets his king befitting of a king.
"I greet your majesty, the king." Eric kneels before the king. "Rise, Head Warrior Eric Meldinger."
Eric was surprised that a celebration for successfully subjugating the Divine Dragon had already started, a week-long celebration that the king and the entire kingdom had prepared for him. Eric is greeted by all the noble families and amidst the celebration, he saw a fair young lady his age, and they both lock gazes with each other. The crowd slowly dispersed and revealed to him her entire body, a horn protruding from her forehead, suggesting that it is not human by nature.
And with a blink of an eye, the young lady disappeared from his sight and as he looked around for her, he noticed something warm sliding down his neck, he wiped it with a handkerchief and to his surprise, it was blood. He has been poisoned.
"Huh?"