"Hmm. A visitor, huh? Interesting."
Anastrus put down the book he had been reading next to him on the stone floor, which also served as his bed. He looked toward the entrance of his lair.
It had been a good decision to keep the floor clear of bookshelves between himself and the entrance.
He had been curled up like a croissant while reading, so Anastrus slowly raised his head and sat up, fully revealing his majestic body, the black-tinted golden scales shining in the light from the windows high up on the walls and the entrance. Anastrus' large, golden, reptilian eyes fixed on the staff-carrying, robed visitor.
"State your business, human."
Anastrus' deep voice, filled with power befitting his position as Dragon King, rang out and drowned his lair. He didn't speak loudly or with a threatening tone. Anastrus' reputation as a benign dragon wasn't without basis. And the most likely reason behind this person's visit would be to exchange knowledge for a favor. There was no need for hostility.
Maybe this visitor would possess new and interesting knowledge. Anastrus was hopeful. It had been a while since he had refreshed his library, after all, and he had considered going out to look for news.
If the visitor's strength were anything to go by, it should be valuable or impressive knowledge.
Anastrus thought about it.
'When was the last time a human this powerful visited me?'
For all the knowledge he had stored in his mind, Anastrus wasn't the greatest at retrieving memories about unimportant things.
"Sorry, Anastrus. I don't have time to talk."
The visitor stopped in front of Anastrus and raised his staff to begin casting a spell.
'This bastard…?'
Not only did the human mage address him improperly. He used his name and only his name. Right as Anastrus was about to reprimand the human, who had obviously gotten insanely cocky or cockily insane with his strength, he noticed that the mage's spell was incredible.
Not only that, it gave off a familiar feeling, but Anastrus couldn't put his finger on it.
Out of curiosity and to show the mage that regardless of his strength, he couldn't measure up to the Dragon King of Knowledge, Anastrus, he let him cast until completion, which took a surprisingly short time, considering the power and mana in the spell.
'Is it stored in the staff? It's a branch of the World Tree, so it's certainly possible.'
Anastrus tilted his head thoughtfully as he analyzed the human mage and the spell, trying to figure it out. It was much more advanced than he would have expected of any human or intelligent society in this era.
The Dragon King's eyes shone with a golden radiance as he infused them with enough mana to decipher the spell.
'This isn't human magic? Hmm. Most interesting. It even seems tailored for me?'
"Human. I'm curious. Have I been sleeping so long that the human race craves extinction?"
The robed man shook his head, his hood blown off by the wind pressure generated by the sphere of light in front of his staff.
"Nothing of the sort. I'm doing this so we can live."
"Hmph."
Anastrus snorted. He was attacking the King of dragons to live? It was ludicrous. But he still hadn't seen the entire spell, so Anastrus held off on killing the mage. After all, it was his first time seeing such an advanced spell. It would be a shame if he didn't let it bloom so he could learn it for himself.
But in addition to the spell itself, Anastrus was also curious about who had created it. It was even beyond what he could do at the moment, and as far as he knew, he was one of the greatest, if not the greatest, magical beings in the world.
However, he could find that out later by sparing and questioning the magician. And if he wouldn't be willing, some good old-fashioned soul-search should do the trick.
'Or maybe not. The one who put the mage up to this is bound to have protected him. Hmm.'
The silvery whitish-blue sphere continued growing until it reached the size of a human head.
"Hmm?!"
Anastrus sensed something was off as the light concentrated, and the sphere of pure magic stopped emitting light or force. The mage's beard stopped blowing in the wind. His eyes were almost blank as he was lost in concentration so that he didn't lose control over the impossibly dense ball of mana.
Anastrus quickly identified the type of magic directed at him.
It was soul magic.
'Since my body is indestructible, are they aiming for my soul? It's a good idea. Almost.'
Anastrus raised a thick, muscular arm and pointed his clawed hand in the direction of the spell. Although he had identified the type of magic used, he still didn't know what it was supposed to do or how it worked, so he waited with counterattacking.
His curiosity and desire for knowledge got the better of Anastrus as he pulled a river of mana out of his dragon heart and guided it through his raised arm and to his paw in one smooth motion. Since he wasn't stopping the attack, he should at least make sure his defenses were sturdy enough to defend against it. So, he layered the golden scales of his palm with a defensive structure of mana that would disperse, interfere, and block any foreign magical or physical attack.
The technique was one of his masterpieces, albeit a costly one. So, he only added a thin layer to the rest of his body, but he still covered his hill-like head, his horns, his wings, his two legs, the other arm, and his mountainous frame. Not even the tip of his tail, which was as long as himself, went unprotected.
That was how threatened Anastrus felt by the mage's spell.
Thankfully, the original creator wasn't here to cast it, and it was only a human who had yet to reach the zenith doing it.
The mana in the silvery blue sphere expanded within without increasing the sphere's size before folding in on itself uncountable times in a matter of milliseconds.
The power of the spell multiplied explosively, and Anastrus' pupils shrank to the size of needles as he glared at the mage.
The spell was intentionally created to deceive the target by giving off a false sense of power.
Anastrus had felt a tingle of danger prick the tips of the crown of horns on his head, which was why he even bothered to raise his defenses. But it seemed like the creator had known he would do that since it was abundantly clear from the magic structure that its target was him.
Anastrus even recognized parts of the spell as using his mana signature to guarantee it would land and to increase the damage. But before he could even think about why, the spell started moving.
The spell didn't appear to be fast, but Anastrus only had time to flood his body with the mana in his heart to try and defend against the spell with brute force. He didn't even have time to think about who could have set him up or made such a spell. Confused, offended, and angry, Anastrus blocked the sphere with his palm.
The spell was powerful and more advanced than anything he had seen before. It also gave off a familiar scent in a way he couldn't understand.
But he was the Strongest Dragon King, the Keeper of Knowledge. He was Anastrus, uncontested since birth. No one had defeated him. His pride was through the roof, and rightly so. No one could humble him.
But he was smart enough to acknowledge the power behind the spell. However, that was it. It was an incredible spell beyond what he had seen before, but it wasn't beyond his understanding.
Even as he used mana to speed up his time and decipher the spell as it came into contact with his defensive barrier, Anastrus had no doubt in his mind that it would, at most, leave a mark on his unblemished golden scales and their black edges.
He growled as he gave the human sage a glare for daring to put him on the defensive like this. It was unforgivable, even if the knowledge of the spell was invaluable.
"Anastrus, you must grow stronger! Whatever…—do! Stronger!"
As he looked at him, Anastrus saw the human mage begin to flicker, and his voice cut out after Anastrus barely heard him.
"I…!...soon…!...again…!Stronger!"
The mage's shouts were practically indecipherable, and the only thing Anastrus could make out was the fact that he wanted Anastrus to become stronger.
'Nonsense.'
Anastrus retrieved the part of his mind that paid attention to the mage and focused wholeheartedly on analyzing the silvery blue ball as it pushed against his barrier.
His eyes widened like window-sized saucers.
The spell didn't collide with his barrier. It passed right through. It even phased through his hand and flew toward his head, unhindered by any amount of mana he threw at it. It even seemed like it fed on his mana.
Anastrus clenched his jaws shut as he stared at the sphere. It might not be beyond his understanding. But it wasn't something he could decipher and counteract in the short amount of time left.
'Sorry, books.'
There weren't any options left, and since the sphere was headed to his head, Anastrus didn't hold back. He opened his maw, which was already glowing and dying his pearly white teeth in a mix of gold and black light.
A torrent of mana, compressed until enough gravity to make the book on his bed fly toward Anastrus, poured out of his throat and toward the sphere.
The sheer power of Anastrus' Dragon Breath as it welled out of his mouth was enough to turn the book over his bed and the bookshelves around him and in the Breath's direction into dust. Even the ground, the thormite mountain he had found to make his lair within, couldn't withstand the essence of Anastrus' power and melted in the path of his Breath.
Yet, the sphere of soul magic, the target of an attack powerful enough to change the continent's weather, was unscathed, as if Anastrus had merely blown at it. It even seemed to have been tempered and grown stronger by Anastrus' Dragon Breath.
Anastrus couldn't believe it.
But he couldn't not believe it, either, since it was right in front of him. And, in less time than it took to blink, the sphere touched his snout.
Immediately, Anastrus felt an overpowering force wrap itself around him just below his skin as the sphere melted into him. It was unpleasant, like bugs crawling in his brain but all over his body. He reflexively shook his massive body, and his claws dug into the ground, tearing deep trenches. But he couldn't get rid of the feeling, even by pushing his mana against it.
"Impossible!"
Anastrus felt the connection between his mind—his soul—and his body loosen. It was like his body had suddenly become too large for him. Or like his soul had been compressed.
Anastrus fought like he had claustrophobia to free himself from the spell clinging to his soul. He didn't know if the spell's goal was to weaken him by compressing his soul or if it was to kill him.
But whatever it was, he wouldn't let it happen.
However, he couldn't do it. He couldn't resist the unstoppable force taking his soul and scrunching it up like a piece of paper. And, before he knew it, Anastrus lost consciousness.