Chapter 19: The Dragon's Shadow

Isao's words were a prophecy. A week later, a missive arrived at the Adventurer's Guild from the capital. It wasn't a quest; it was a summons. An ancient dragon, Ignis the Inferno, had awoken from its slumber in the volcanic mountains to the north and was threatening the kingdom. The king was calling for all able-bodied adventurers to join the army and march north.

"A dragon," Rina said, her eyes wide. "A real, city-burning, treasure-hoarding dragon."

"How exciting!" Chloe chirped. "I've always wanted to study the chemical composition of dragon fire!"

"This is it!" Kenta declared, striking a heroic pose. "Our chance to become real heroes! The legends of the Dragon Slayers of Beginner's ville will be sung for generations!"

"We're going to die," the Grimoire stated flatly from Luna's bag.

Isao, who had been reading the summons over Kenta's shoulder, looked bored. "Ignis? Oh, he's a bore. All fire and brimstone, very little witty banter. I reaped his soul back in the Second Era. He got better, obviously."

We joined the throng of adventurers and soldiers heading north. It was a strange sight: our bizarre little party marching alongside columns of disciplined knights. Isao, of course, came with us, still playing the part of the detached tourist.

The journey was tense. We were heading towards a battle that could decide the fate of the kingdom. One evening, as we camped on the foothills of the volcanic mountains, a scout returned to the camp, pale and terrified.

"It's not just the dragon!" he stammered to the knight-commander. "There's an army with it! Goblins, orcs, even giants! They're marching under the dragon's command!"

Panic began to ripple through the camp. They were prepared for a dragon, not a full-scale war.

Just then, a roar echoed from the mountains, shaking the very ground we stood on. A wave of demonic-looking creatures, smaller than orcs but faster and more vicious, came pouring down the hills, a vanguard for the main army. They fell upon the camp's perimeter with surprising ferocity.

The knights were caught off guard. A group of the creatures broke through the lines, heading straight for the command tent where we were standing. They were fast, a whirlwind of claws and teeth.

Before any of us could react, Isao sighed. It was a sigh of profound boredom. "This is getting tedious," he said.

He stepped forward, casually taking his scythe off his shoulder. He didn't swing it. He just held it. The air around him dropped to absolute zero. The demonic creatures froze, not in time, but in a literal sense. They were instantly encased in black, jagged ice.

Isao tapped one of the frozen creatures with the butt of his scythe. It shattered into a million pieces, dissolving into dust before it even hit the ground.

The entire camp fell silent. Everyone—knights, adventurers, and the remaining creatures—stared at him in utter, terrified awe. He had just annihilated a threat that had overwhelmed the royal knights without even moving his feet.

He put the scythe back on his shoulder and turned to me, his charming smile back in place as if nothing had happened.

"Appetizers," he said with a wink. "As I said." He looked at the shocked faces of my friends and the knight-commander. "Well, don't just stand there. You have a dragon to slay, don't you?"

The message was clear. He could end this entire conflict in a second if he wanted to. But he wouldn't. This was our fight. He was just here to watch.