MTLNOVEL Chapter 70: Bait
David awoke from his "nightmare" with an unnerving sensation. Even after repeatedly assuring himself that he was indeed in his Dragon Nest, a sense of absurdity persisted: No way! Why would I dream about Mom? Could it be that I haven't seen her for seven or eight years and I'm missing her?
This bizarre thought sent a shiver down David's spine, causing his scales to bristle, and he quickly discarded the unsettling idea.
He was grateful for the Dragon Mother's protection over the years. However, facing his mother—such a domineering and irascible Red Dragon—instilled a sense of unreality in him. This, combined with the secret he harbored within, meant he couldn't express the same pure emotion towards his mother as Tania, the Silver Dragon, did with hers. For this reason, David had not the slightest intention of immediately seeking out his mother to "solve his puzzle" or ask about the old Green Dragon's issues. This was the most significant difference in the way he, a Red Dragon, interacted with his mother compared to Tania, a Silver Dragon, with hers.
However, as he was about to satiate his growling stomach, he suddenly froze. I don't feel as hungry as I imagined. My body feels as if it's gained something, become 'heavier.' How should I describe it? It's like not having showered for several days, feeling a film of oil enveloping my entire body.
So, David plunged into a pool of lava for a couple of rounds of washing, but to no avail. Several days passed before he grew accustomed to this peculiar sensation.
Until one day, Drow Hiatt, returning from a trading voyage along the new route, reported to him a wealth of information from the New Continent. This was a routine procedure whenever David was already awake, or when he had just awoken from a deep slumber. It was a "privilege" that many Nobles spent large sums of money and manpower to obtain, but for David, it was more like a habit carried over from before he transmigrated—browsing web news upon reaching his work desk, a legitimate way to slack off.
But this time, upon hearing a certain piece of the report, David froze.
"Say that again, the last part."
Hiatt was taken aback. Before reporting her experiences and observations to David, she always sequenced them by their importance to the Dragon Lord, his known interests, and what might potentially capture his attention. This was to prevent her impatient lord from skipping over anything. Lately, numerous rumors had come from the New Continent, so much so that something like a "demon sighting" had become relatively trivial news.
But since her Dragon Lord was interested, Hiatt obligingly repeated, "Just two weeks before we were scheduled to return, an incident resembling demonic possession occurred near the capital of the Valden Kingdom, resulting in the annihilation of the Valden Kingdom's Fourth Guard Corps. For some reason, the Demon itself failed to manifest successfully. Since we were close to returning, I'm not aware of the specific details of the incident. If you're interested, Master, I can order someone..."
She was only halfway through her sentence when she saw David, looking utterly bewildered, rise from his Dragon Nest.
"Damn it all!" he exclaimed. He then pressed urgently, "How did you come to know of this event?"
Even Hiatt, who hadn't intentionally investigated, knows about it! This means there were eyewitnesses—and quite a few of them!
Sure enough, Drow answered, "At that time, a band of serf rebels being hunted by Valden forces was nearby and collectively witnessed the event. They claimed that it was a Red Dragonkin who could spit fresh blood that annihilated the descending Demon and saved them. Some said it was a Half-Dragon, but because the descriptions were so fantastical, not many people believed it. Instead, some opportunistic Bards exaggerated the story and spread it far and wide."
"..." After hearing about the 'Red Dragonkin who could spit fresh blood,' despite how incredible it sounded, David had to accept the absurd truth: his dream had somehow 'intruded' into reality! Clearly, his name or title hadn't been mentioned. What was even more outrageous was that his mother, Pafila, had 'intruded' into this 'dream' of his and further distorted reality!
Just because of the mention of 'Crimson Calamity'? How could this be?
This was tantamount to a 'divine visitation'! He knew that his situation was most likely due to the 'divinity' he hadn't yet managed to control.
But isn't Mom just a newcomer to the legendary realm? More importantly, because Mom, Pafila, suddenly interfered, the situation seems to have gotten quite out of hand! Even if Mom hadn't intruded, my own chaotic brawl with that 'Blood Demon' in the 'dream' would probably have caused big trouble. But at least public attention would have focused more on the 'Demon' rather than the 'Red Dragon.' After all, my actions in the 'dream' were so chaotic, there wasn't much difference between me and the 'Blood Demon.' The one thing I can't figure out is, since Mom already 'took over' that mess halfway, why would she leave such a significant 'loose end'?
At this point, David couldn't afford to dwell on it. Watched by his perplexed retainers—Nifadora, Hiatt, and others—he unfurled his wings and took to the sky, speeding towards the Catergat volcano.
Half an hour later, upon reaching the entrance to the volcano, David took a deep breath and made his way deeper to the lava pool where his mother, Pafila, resided.
This was a place filled with fire and smoke, where temperatures were high enough to melt the hardiest of rocks, a habitat suitable only for Red Dragons or legendary creatures like Balrog Flame Demons.