Chapter 116: Terrifying Ambitions

Louis was genuinely surprised to see the fellow so full of life.

Although Louis had held back, choosing not to channel his full power directly into Aaron’s skull, he had still used a technique from the Heavenly Armament to blast him into the ceiling. Even with restraint, the impact was far heavier than any swipe from a fire dragon.

He had expected the fellow to be bedridden for weeks, yet after some healing from Storge’s wizards, he was already back on his feet.

Just as Louis was about to strike up a conversation, Aaron uttered a remark that made Louis’s face darken; he turned away and sat down immediately.

The others had yet to take their seats. The four mages, having spotted acquaintances in a distant hall, had excused themselves to pay a visit. Once Helen, Kate, and the little Yodels were seated, they slowly began their meal amidst casual chatter.

Helen and the little Yodels’ eyes lit up at the sight of the sumptuous dinner, clearly impressed by the chef’s craft.

Louis spent a moment peeling shrimp for Helen before turning to talk with Archie, while Kate busied herself attending to everyone at the table.

"Louis, my Aaron has personally hammered a fire dragon to death! He even took the dragon’s place and went on to defeat fourteen adventure groups," Archie said, unable to contain his excitement. He hopped onto the table and addressed everyone: "He is the fifteen-time champion! A legend of the Dragon Arena!"

With that, Archie snapped his fingers, and two pure-white dragon-kin maidens quickly lined up a series of massive photographs.

In the pictures, Aaron was clad in a striking blood-red suit of armor, gripping two giant battle-axes, his body bristling with swords and spears. He stood atop a pile of corpses, roaring toward the heavens. The eyes behind his visor burned with a crimson intensity, like raging flames.

One could see that the pile of bodies included many wizards—at least a hundred of them in total. Yet, none had been able to slay Mr. Aaron.

Louis nodded. He could tell that the armor was no ordinary piece of equipment; it was a rare treasure. Clad in that suit, Aaron was enough to make a wizard of Harold’s caliber break into a cold sweat, unwilling to cross blades with such a magic-resistant monster. To them, compared to the armored Aaron, a fire dragon—which could not wear such gear—was actually easier to handle.

In the subsequent photos, the group saw the scene of Aaron versus the fire dragon. In those images, Aaron, wielding two warhammers, leaped into the sky to clash head-on with the massive dragon’s head—the result being the dragon was hammered to death.

Helen blinked as she looked at the photo, suddenly feeling a bit frightened. It reminded her of the fire dragon that had been eaten at the academy—a mystery that remained unsolved to this day. According to the night watchmen, many of the fire dragons in the Dragon District had been terrified, and Mr. Brockhol, the great dragon, had cursed incessantly, claiming that the ugly monster was nearly as long as he was.

Mr. Brockhol was over eighty meters long! He was a true adult dragon, capable of swallowing a fire dragon in a single gulp.

That thing seemed capable of it, too.

It was said that the hideous monster had taken several blasts of dragon fire from Brockhol. Though it hadn't defeated him and eventually fled, it had taken all those hits and seemed to feel nothing more than a bit of pain, walking away unscathed. It even warned Mr. Brockhol to stop meddling in its affairs, or else it would finish him off later.

They said Mr. Brockhol had been furious that day and still swore to tear it to shreds to protect the academy’s peace. However, he had never been able to find the great monster.

Helen stared at the photos, lost in memory, while Kate watched, dumbfounded.

"Are these oil paintings? That dragon is drawn so realistically!"
"Wait, why are they moving? What kind of oil painting is this?"

The mages had returned by now, marveling at the photos. They had some knowledge of such things; they knew that decades ago, their predecessors in the Mage Association had frequently dealt with such creatures. But the mages had vanished, and these magical beings had disappeared with them. They wondered if they would ever see such things again—or even a mermaid—in their lifetimes.

"Back at sea, Aaron once led sailors to help me repel a sea demon snake! If he were to lead a team of wizards, he could challenge a real dragon!" Archie took a puff of his cigar, looking somewhat melancholy. "But against this opponent, I’m afraid he has no hope of winning."

*As expected, nothing involving Belif is ever a small matter...*
*Choosing A or B is likely not as simple as it seems.*

"After all, he cannot board the 'Son of Lant,'" Archie sighed. "And even the Son of Lant might not be able to hammer that thing down."

Louis raised an eyebrow. "What exactly is this 'Mr. Gundam'?"

"Mr. Gundam?" Archie shook his head. "A big fellow that was never meant to perform in the arena."

Archie snapped his fingers, sealing the sound around them so no one else could hear. Clearly, this goblin was a highly skilled wizard himself, capable of casting spells without incantations or a wand.

After scanning his surroundings, Archie began to explain the sequence of events.

"I assume Mr. Jerry told you about the King’s birthday banquet. At the beginning, no one knew the Ministry of Magic would be involved. At that time, Her Majesty Delphinia made a wager with me, saying we should put on a performance for the King’s birthday—you tell me, am I afraid of her?"

"The Muggle world wouldn't release any magical creatures. My champion, my dear Aaron, is invincible! Besides—"

"The result was that I was damn well played!" Archie cursed. "This was a gamble between the King and the Ministry of Magic! They didn't just bring in that terrifying 'two-headed Goron'; they had hundreds of wizards secretly helping the Goron cheat!"

"So, the Witch Queen was betting on the wizards, and I was betting on the Muggles—this time, the Muggles are doomed to lose! With so many wizards helping that terrifying dragon-slayer Gundam—never mind the Son of Lant, even a real dragon would be finished if it were put in that arena!"

Louis was a bit stunned. "Isn't Delphinia a reformist? Why would she bet on the wizards?"

"Hedging her bets!" Archie replied. "No matter who wins, she doesn't lose!"

Louis sank into deep thought.

Perhaps the Witch Queen was neither a reformist nor a traditionalist. And it was certainly not as simple as just hedging her bets—that was merely a disguise she had fashioned for herself.

Her true hope was for the wizards to win, so that certain high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Magic could enter the Capitol and step into the view of Muggle society. And then, when the time was right, she would wipe them all out in one fell swoop?

Was she not afraid of starting a war? What exactly was she aiming for? Why did she possess such ambition and confidence? Could it be that she had already formed an alliance with a certain clan of dragons?

And how did this relate to the 'Red Queen' mentioned in the storybook? According to the book, the Red Queen had once killed the Dark Lord—that is, she had killed Francesco!

The Magic Mirror had been shattered six times in total.