The volcanic winds grew heavier across the shattered arena.
Above the draconic capital, the crimson heavens burned endlessly while ancient clouds drifted slowly beyond towering obsidian structures carved into the mountainsides. Distant dragons crossed the skies like moving shadows while magma rivers illuminated the city beneath with infernal light.
Yet within the training grounds—
The atmosphere had frozen completely.
Several noble dragons stood surrounding the broken arena while tension spread heavily through the cracked stone floor itself. Mana pressure lingered sharply in the air after Kel openly mocked them moments earlier.
No one expected interruption.
Especially not from an outsider.
And certainly not from a black dragon who stood so calmly before noble bloodlines.
The crimson-haired youth remained leaning against shattered stone nearby, blood still dripping slowly from his mouth while bruises spread across his battered body. His breathing sounded uneven.
Yet his burning crimson eyes remained locked upon Kel now.
Carefully.
Silently.
Because the strange black dragon before him made no sense.
None at all.
Meanwhile—
The surrounding noble heirs looked visibly irritated.
One gold-scaled noble dragon stepped forward aggressively, molten mana flickering faintly around his claws.
"You're interfering in noble matters."
Kel calmly glanced toward him.
"Am I?"
The noble's expression darkened.
"This trash belongs to a fallen bloodline."
Another silver-scaled dragon sneered coldly.
"No outsider has the right to involve themselves here."
The volcanic winds swept through the arena again while broken dust drifted across the shattered ground.
Kel quietly looked around at them all.
Then softly laughed beneath his breath.
And somehow—
That laugh sounded more insulting than open mockery.
One noble dragon snarled immediately.
"What's so funny?"
Kel's golden slit eyes reflected the burning skies calmly.
"You."
Silence.
The surrounding nobles visibly stiffened.
Kel tilted his head slightly.
"You keep calling him trash."
His gaze slowly shifted toward the crimson-haired youth nearby.
"But from what I see…"
A faint pause followed.
"…none of you dared challenge him alone."
The insult struck directly again.
Because it was true.
Even beaten.
Even isolated.
Even abandoned by his bloodline—
The crimson heir remained dangerous enough that they attacked together.
Meanwhile—
The crimson-haired youth silently watched Kel from behind.
Those burning crimson eyes narrowed faintly now.
Not from hostility.
From confusion.
Because no one had spoken for him like this before.
Not sincerely.
Not publicly.
Not while risking angering noble bloodlines.
The future Dragon Emperor quietly observed the black dragon standing before him beneath the burning heavens.
And for the first time—
Curiosity appeared faintly beneath his hatred.
Sairen softly whispered through the soul-link.
"…You're pushing too far."
Kel calmly ignored her.
Because he already understood something important.
This moment mattered.
Not politically.
Not strategically.
Emotionally.
The future Crimson Dragon King trusted no one.
Expected betrayal from everyone.
Viewed the world itself as hostile.
And honestly—
His hatred was justified.
So if Kel intended placing chains upon a future emperor…
Those chains could never be fear.
Never dominance.
Only understanding.
Only recognition.
Meanwhile—
One gold-scaled noble finally lost patience entirely.
"Enough."
Mana surged violently around his body.
"Outsider or not…"
He pointed toward Kel coldly.
"…if you continue insulting noble bloodlines, I'll crush you beside him."
Several surrounding dragons immediately released mana pressure too.
The atmosphere darkened sharply.
And yet—
Kel remained completely calm.
Too calm.
The black-haired man slowly turned away from the nobles afterward.
Then—
For the first time—
He fully faced the crimson-haired youth directly.
Silence spread.
The future Dragon Emperor looked battered beneath the burning sky.
Blood stained his crimson scales.
His body trembled faintly from accumulated injuries.
Yet those crimson eyes still burned like restrained wildfire.
Hatred.
Loneliness.
Rage.
Kel quietly stared at him for several moments.
And internally—
He remembered the countless late-game massacres this man would eventually cause.
Entire dragon clans annihilated.
Cities burned.
Bloodlines erased.
Not because he enjoyed slaughter.
Because somewhere along the way—
He stopped viewing dragons as his own kind.
The world taught him hatred first.
So hatred became the only language he answered with.
Kel softly exhaled beneath the volcanic winds.
Then calmly—
He spoke.
"Tell me something."
The crimson-haired youth narrowed his eyes slightly.
Kel's voice remained quiet.
Steady.
"Do you want them dead?"
Silence.
The question struck the entire arena strangely.
Several noble dragons frowned immediately.
The crimson-haired youth himself looked momentarily stunned.
Kel slowly stepped closer toward him.
Then quietly—
Almost casually—
He spoke words that froze the atmosphere completely.
"Just tell me you want them dead…"
The volcanic winds moved softly through the shattered arena.
"…and they'll be dead within seconds."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Even the noble dragons froze.
Then—
Laughter erupted.
One silver-scaled noble burst into mocking laughter instantly.
"You?"
Another noble dragon sneered openly.
"A border trash threatening noble heirs?"
Several others laughed harshly throughout the arena.
But amidst that laughter—
One person did not laugh.
The crimson-haired youth.
Because unlike the others—
He instinctively understood something terrifying.
The black dragon standing before him…
Was not joking.
Those calm golden eyes held no arrogance.
No dramatic anger.
No emotional instability.
Only certainty.
And somehow—
That certainty felt genuinely dangerous.
The future Dragon Emperor quietly stared at Kel beneath the burning heavens while blood dripped slowly from his chin onto shattered stone.
Then softly—
For the first time—
He spoke directly.
"…Why?"
The surrounding arena gradually quieted afterward.
Kel looked toward him calmly.
The crimson-haired youth's voice sounded rough from injuries and restrained rage.
"Why would you help me?"
There it was.
The question hidden beneath all his hatred.
Why?
Why kindness?
Why interference?
Why protection?
Because a world that abandoned someone completely eventually makes compassion feel suspicious.
Kel quietly looked toward the battered future emperor.
Then softly smiled.
Not mockingly.
Not arrogantly.
Simply quietly.
"Because…"
A faint pause followed.
"…I hate watching cowards gather in groups."
The surrounding noble dragons instantly reacted angrily again.
But the crimson-haired youth—
Remained staring silently.
Because for some reason—
That answer felt strangely believable.
Meanwhile—
Sairen quietly whispered inside the soul-link.
"…You're dangerous."
Kel calmly watched the future Dragon Emperor beneath the burning sky.
"Yes."
Because for the first time in this world—
Someone had stepped beside the dragon who would someday burn kingdoms.
And offered him understanding before destiny offered him hatred instead.