Majesty

Following Kaia into the Core Room, Cairn raised his gaze from her ass to take in his surroundings. The structure of the Core Room was a half dome with a pattern reminiscent of glowing computer circuitry running along the floor, walls, and ceiling. The Core was a glowing blue sphere roughly 3m across that hovered above a stone dais covered in runes, but what caught Cairn's attention was the grotesque, tentacled entity floating within.

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Name: Nue'kelegastra

Species: Astragora

Gender: Male

Age: 38 days

Title: Abyss-touched(Vit increased by 50%, Cha decreased by 50%)

Class: Dungeon Master(Epic)

[Attributes]

Level: 35/100[Ancient Dragon Whelp(-), Dungeon Core(35)]

HP: 115,008/1,196/160

MP: 1,777,494/2,129,365

Str: 190+142(Suppressed)

Agi: 143+107(Suppressed)

Vit: 1,050+2,310

Int: 419+314(Suppressed)

Dex: 73+55(Suppressed)

Cha: 211-26(Suppressed)

Talent(s): [Blessing of Darkness(35/100)], [Dragon Heart(35/100)], [Ancient Dragon's Constitution(35/100)], [Administration(35/100)], [Corrupted(42/-)], [Mental Decay(39/-)], [Territorial(27/66)], [Adamantine Bones(24/59)], [Dragon's True Sight(18/50)], [Hyper Regeneration(17/25)]

Skill(s): [Restructuring(MAX)], [Create Monster(MAX)], [Create Trap(MAX)], [Whelp's Roar(7/10)], [Darkness Dragon's Breath(4/10)], [Claw of Destruction(1/10)]

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"This is the Dungeon Core...?" asked Cairn, furrowing his brows as he read the eldritch entity's detailed information.

"Congratulations, you have eyes," quipped Zarah. "Now, tell me what your Insight was able to uncover."

"A please would be nice..." said Cairn.

"You keep me waiting for half a day to wet your dick and expect me to ask nicely?" questioned Zarah. "Did the blood coursing to your dick cause you to turn stupid?"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry for keeping you waiting," said Cairn, adopting a wry

smile as he raised his hands in mock surrender. He did feel at least a little guilty about how long he and Kaia were inside the Interspatial Pouch, and it cost him nothing to apologize.

Snorting through her nose, Zarah crossed her arms and asserted, "I don't want your apology. I want the information you were able to gather using your Insight. I tried using Analyze, but the Core's membrane functions like a powerful magical barrier. And with direct tampering risking an Efflux, it's too dangerous to attempt a bypass."

"Mmm...sounds reasonable," Cairn replied, approaching the Core until he was directly to Zarah's left. The irate lioness followed him with her eyes, but before she could flare up again, Cairn explained what his Insight had exposed. That was enough to appease most of her frustration, at least for the time being, but his explanation ultimately left her with more questions than answers.

"You're saying this...mass of tentacles is an Astragora?" asked Zarah, her expression marred with disbelief.

"What about it...?" asked Cairn.

Shaking her head, Zarah's expression became deathly serious as she explained, "Astragora is the name of the most ancient lineage of Black Dragons. They're effectively Dragon nobility, so it's difficult to imagine one being here, much less turned into this...thing."

Raising his brows, Cairn felt a cold sweat break across his body as he asked, "Is there a chance its parents will come looking for it?"

Spreading her arms and shrugging, Zarah replied, "I honestly have no clue. Free-roaming Dragons give birth every couple of centuries and take hundreds of years to mature, so it doesn't make sense for their kidnapped brood to be the cause of the recent outbreaks. We'll only know for certain after investigating other Dungeons."

"Then, is there nothing else we can do here...?" asked Cairn, staring at the pulsating Dungeon Core and the whelp within with a deep, contemplative frown. Its HP was currently below 10%, so there was a possibility he could use Domination to claim it. However, as he had no idea what kind of effect that would have on the Core, the risk was-

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Quest Name: Save and Purify the Astragora

Quest Rank: C

Description: Though Astragoras are attuned to the Element of Darkness, they are not inherently evil. And no child deserves to suffer such a cruel fate.

Objective(s): Use your Dominate Skill on Nue'kelegastra and escort him safely to the Grand Cathedral of Light(0/1)

Optional Objective(s): Adopt Nue'kelegastra and help him reach his full potential(0/1)

Rewards: You receive an Astragora as a familiar, and Solosaxian will feel indebted to you.

Failure Condition(s): I won't force you to adopt him, but I would feel bad if you left him with that androgynous old fart. If nothing else, you could give him to the Saintess to act as her Guardian. An Astragora that receives the Blessing of Light can evolve into a rare subspecies.

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Not expecting a Quest to appear, Cain found himself at a momentary loss as he read its description. Zarah noticed this, so instead of answering his question, she asked, "What happened?"

Regaining his senses, Cairn shook his head and revealed, "I just received an 'oracle' asking me to save the Astragora by using my Dominate Skill to subdue it..."

"Seriously?" asked Zarah, staring at Cairn as if he had just grown a second head. Things would probably work out since Restia was encouraging them to act, but a single mistake could imperil the lives of thousands.

"If that is Lady Restia's will, we shouldn't waver," expressed Kaia, a fiery, borderline zealous glimmer in her eyes. She had been devoted to Restia even before she became a Neophyte, but now that she had been on the receiving end of a number of blessings, her faith was stronger than ever.

"Just don't fuck up..." muttered Zarah, her expression paling slightly at the thought of what could go wrong. She wasn't very religious, but as she had already thrown her lot in with Cairn, she had little choice but to trust in his ability and Restia's judgment.

"It should be fine," said Cairn, forcing a smile as he extended his hand and placed it against the Dungeon Core's surface. He expected it to be cold, but while it 'felt' cool to the touch, his body began to heat up as the energy within flowed through him, kind of like microwave radiation. His HP and MP began to plummet, but before things became too treacherous, he calmly yet firmly stated, "Dominate," in a resolute tone.

As she was observing him closely, Zarah was able to see Cairn's eyes shift from grey-blue to vibrant gold as a feeling of 'profundity' washed over her and pervaded the Core Room. Neither she, Kaia, nor Tarou were the targets of Cairn's Dominate, but they felt a sensation similar to being in the presence of a predator as a golden rune appeared at the center of the Astragora's head, sizzling like a recently applied brand.

Contrasting the Skill's description, Cairn needed considerably more than 100 MP to Dominate the Astragora. His 3,460 immediately became zero, but before he could pass out, the Mana within the Dungeon Core started to flow into him, accompanied by a feeling of connection. He saw himself, Kaia, Zarah, and Tarou through the eyes of the Astragora, felt its fear, and something...more.

"Genetic legacy..." muttered Cairn, his pupils dilating as pitch-black blood leaked from his nose. Zarah yanked him away from the Dungeon Core by his collar, but while Cairn's connection with the Astragora was severed, it didn't erase the image that had appeared in his mind, massive yellow eyes burning like stars against a backdrop of infinite darkness...

...

..

.

At the same time that Cairn collapsed, far to the south of Cliabhaan, a woman with ash-brown skin and bluish-black hair that extended past her waist opened her eyes, revealing glowing yellow irises and abyssal-black pupils.

"So, Restia has finally appointed a new Champion..." the woman mused, a faint smile developing across her face as she rose from what appeared to be a pool of inky black liquid. In reality, it was trillions of Mana-devouring mites, their deaths creating a bioluminescent blue shimmer as the woman waded through them, ascending the stairs beneath the mass's surface to reveal a tall, voluptuous body adorned with well-defined muscles and a thick, nearly two-and-a-half-meter-long tail covered in sharp spines and black scales.

Though she didn't particularly care about being seen naked, the woman materialized a scant, green-and-black outfit formed from scales as she walked through a massive pair of stone doors, pulled open by two black-skinned, six-armed giants covered in countless scars. If Cairn had been present, he would have seen that the two giants were over Level 90, but they had been reduced to mere stewards by the woman, none other than the Queen of all Dragons, Leviastra Andromaleus.

Walking between two columns of neatly arranged Black Dragons, each bowing their heads as they remained still as statues, Leviastra stopped in front of one whose sole eye was nearly as large as she was tall, stating, "Raise your head, Drak," in a tone that left no room for argument.

Rising to a seated height of nearly forty meters, the colossal, one-eyed dragon, recorded in history as Drakastra the Destroyer, asked, "How may I be of service...?"

"The big chicken in the sky has appointed a new Champion," revealed Leviastra, eliciting silent but surprised reactions from the more than six thousand dragons gathered in the hall, their Levels ranging from 30 to 100.

Pointing at Drak and staring up at him in a manner that paradoxically made it seem like she was looking down on him, Leviastra added, "I'm going to have you play the part of the villain this time around. Assemble your brood and go take over The Abyss. Afterward, start spreading your forces north. You know the drill."

Adopting a very human expression of discontent, Drak pointed out, "But, my Queen...the current Lord of the Abyss has been our ally for nearly a thousand years. I will slaughter him if that's your will, but would it not be better to employ his forces as a vanguard...?"

"Hoooo~? And here I thought I ripped your balls off after you kidnapped and knocked up the daughter of the Sea God," mused Leviastra, her tone casual but causing every dragon in the hall to shudder.

Bowing his head, Drak's voice quivered as he appended, "The Lord of the Abyss's flesh and blood shall pave the way for our conquest..."

"Yeah, that's what I thought," said Leviastra, flicking her tail in what seemed like a casual manner, but it shattered several of Drak's scales and sent his massive figure flying through the air, crashing through the nearly indestructible walls forming the Dragon Queen's private 'gallery.'

Shifting her gaze to a dragon near the end of the formation, Leviastra called out, "One of Drak's wives, come forth. You have seven seconds before I have the entire lot of you line up."

As they had prepared themselves for such an eventuality, Drak's second wife, a Fire Dragon named Teanova, stepped forward in her human form and bowed so low that her forehead left an indentation in the floor as she said, "Teanova presents herself before the Majesty of the Endless Night..."

"How many are your brood...?" asked Leviastra, sending a shiver through Teanova's body.

"I am blessed with seven sons and eleven daughters..." replied Teanova, her voice trembling.

"Mmm...that should be enough..." said Leviastra, causing Teanova's lava-like blood to run cold. Just as she was about to try and make a last stand, however, Leviastra surprised everyone present, none more so than Drak and his remaining wives, by decreeing, "Your brood shall be spared. The rest of Drak's wives shall pit their children against one another and fight amongst themselves until only three remain."

"Please, Your Majesty, have mercy...!" exclaimed Drak, transforming into the form of a sharply dressed middle-aged man with raven black hair that flowed away from his scalp and draped past his shoulders.

"I 'am' being merciful..." said Leviastra, her voice casual and devoid of emotion as her stare sent Drak skidding backward several tens of meters, black blood leaking from his mouth and various cracks forming across his body.

'Damned beast...' thought Drak, clenching his teeth as his fury threatened to overtake his reason. Leviastra may be his mother, but at that moment, he wanted nothing more than to push her down and force her to give him the respect he deserved. He knew it was impossible, but someone had to put her in her place...

"I think I'll make you eat them this time," mused Leviastra, raising her right hand and transforming it into a dragon's claw as Drak opened his mouth and released a laser-like beam of black energy, an attack with the power to erase anything it came into contact with. Well, almost anything...

'Grasping' the laser as if it were a solid object, Leviastra flicked her hand, sending a ripple through the beam that eventually caused it to shatter like glass. Less than a fraction of a second later, with speed comparable to teleportation, she appeared right behind Drak, the latter pale and wide-eyed at the realization of what he had just done. Unfortunately, before his mind had time to process feelings like regret, Leviastra slipped her scaled hand between his thighs, a too-wide grin adorning her face as she closed it into a fist...

...

..

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