HPDBC Chapter 126, Section 125: Riding the Dragon, the King's Edge
Chapter 126, Section 125: Riding the Dragon, the King's Edge
Chapter 126, Section 125: Riding the Dragon, the King's Edge
The sky remained as gloomy as ever.
Towering towers and city walls cast long shadows under the gray sky. The dragon that had roared earlier lay prostrate on the earth, its enormous black body shimmering with ever-changing crimson patterns.
The interlocking patterns resembled some kind of magical script born from natural extension, and their vibrancy changed noticeably with the breathing of the dragon as it stirred the surrounding air.
"A magical life form created by the wonders of nature?" Ian's gaze was drawn to the mysterious runes on the dragon's body, but before he could observe it further, the witch blew a breath of air and sent him flying against the wall—and countless vines suddenly grew from the cracks in the wall, binding him tightly within them.
"A witch's roar?"
Ms. Morgan's expression was very displeased. Her small frame looked extremely tiny next to the dragon.
However, the crouching dragon didn't even dare to breathe heavily, because judging from the way countless chains were strangling its neck, it had already paid a terrible price for its previous roar.
"What I mean is, it's a call of love from the teacher." Ian quickly changed his original meaning, but this forced attempt to salvage the situation did not satisfy the witch Morgan.
"ah."
She let out a cold laugh, her eyes filled with danger. Ian knew that if he didn't do something soon, he would surely become the target of this legendary witch's vicious punishment.
"I brought you lots of candy! A lot, lots!" Ian noticed that the vines binding his right hand had loosened considerably, so he quickly took out his purse and shook out all the snacks.
The Christmas candies Ian had secretly hoarded in the auditorium this afternoon didn't stay in his hands for long. All the profits that Commissioner Prince had worked so hard to obtain ended up in Congressman Morgan's possession.
Although this legendary witch was not a gluttonous person and had complained about Ian always carrying a lot of snacks, she never refused any snacks that Ian offered her.
This is not.
After seeing Ian explode with "candy" all over the ground, Morgan's sneer softened slightly.
The vines binding Ian retreated back into the crack in the wall.
"Is this your new pet, teacher?" Ian moved his arms, which were feeling a bit stiff, and quickly looked at the giant dragon crawling on the ground, trying to change the subject of the inappropriate wording.
The witch didn't seem inclined to dwell on the matter. She turned her head with some disdain and glanced at the dragon on the ground. "It's the so-called compensation from your friend who was a conman."
.
"What use would I have for such a cumbersome guard?" Morgan raised his hand and gently twisted it, and the chain that had been digging into the dragon's flesh slowly loosened.
"Kill it and eat it?"
Ian swallowed hard; he hadn't forgotten about the dragon meat hotpot. The dragon seemed to understand human language, its eyes, even larger than those of a venomous horned beast, filled with terror.
"Human wizard, I am merely a dragon soul; I have no flesh for you to eat."
Not only could it understand human speech, but it could even utter modern languages from its nasal cavity.
Yes.
Sounds emanating from the nasal cavity may be speech produced by compressing airflow through the nasal cavity.
"It can actually talk! I dare not eat it now!" Ian stared wide-eyed in surprise; it was the first time he had ever heard of a dragon being able to do such a thing.
Is it because I'm in a soul state?
Just as Ian was filled with astonishment, the witch Morgan simply snorted, "It seems that there are quite a few gaps in the records of ancient history from your time."
"These creatures are more intelligent than most humans and are quite strong. Since fairies can learn human languages, it is only natural for them."
Morgan the witch's words did indeed make some sense.
Ian hadn't responded yet.
The dragon, lying prostrate on the ground, couldn't help but retort, "We are superior beings. Don't compare us to lowly fairies. At least we once ruled the human world for many years."
Its tone was full of arrogance.
"The Age of Dragons?"
Ian thought of Ravenclaw's message in the Hogwarts dungeon. To be honest, he still felt that the idea of dragons ruling the land was a bit too far-fetched.
"That's right! We were once the masters of the earth and the sky!" Upon hearing this, the dragon became extremely excited. Its voice was so loud that the witch frowned and tightened the chains a little more.
"roar··..-·
The dragon cried out in pain, but dared not be as loud as before. Seeing the scene before him, Ian roughly understood what the dragon's roar he had heard earlier was all about.
"Did your era have Black Kings and White Kings who used Word of Power? Did it have the World Tree?" Ian didn't mind seamlessly transitioning from Hogwarts to Kassel College to study both magic and martial arts.
He had just stumbled upon a remnant of the dragon age and was quite curious about the history of dragons. This dragon was very different from the ones he had seen in the magical world.
"What are you talking about?"
A look of bewilderment appeared in the dragon's eyes. It could understand each syllable Ian spoke, but when all the syllables were strung together, it felt as if it were listening to gibberish.
"Okay, it seems not." Ian finally breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that he was still living in a pure magical world, without any unwanted intrusions.
"Anyway, we once ruled the entire world and left countless descendants in this world. In those days, there were no humans or other small creatures."
The dragon reiterated this point with unwavering conviction.
Ian was slightly taken aback.
The next moment, it all became clear.
"I see! I get it! You're dinosaurs!" He seemed to have pieced together all the information.
The most suitable explanation has been found for the so-called Age of Dragons.
"??????"
The dragon remained completely bewildered.
It looked pleadingly at the tiny witch beside it.
"You're half right," the witch sighed and said softly. "From what I understand, the dragon age it mentioned should indeed be traced back to the dinosaur age you mentioned. No one knows how they came into being, but they were indeed among the earliest advanced magical life forms."
obviously.
The witch also knew about the Dragon Age.
It understood her even better than the soul of the giant dragon beside her.
"Yes, that's right, that's exactly it." The dragon looked completely bewildered, but insisted on acting as if it knew everything and solemnly echoed the statement.
"You actually know about dinosaurs!" Ian knew very well that the concept of dinosaurs originated in the early 19th century, and the Morgan Witch probably couldn't have lived to this point in time, so close to modernity.
"I've only become a soul, it doesn't mean I've stopped learning." Morgan's expression was full of speechlessness. She rolled her eyes at Ian and then added.
"The dinosaurs you mentioned have also been discovered in our time. They were not only a food source for prehistoric dragons, but also, at times, their companions."
This is a knowledge empowerment from the teacher.
Ian immediately seemed to be deep in thought.
After a moment of contemplation, he asked curiously, "So, the dragons of our time are truly related to these pure-blooded dragons, right?"
"They look much weaker than pure-blooded dragons." The young wizard already had a guess in his mind, but he still needed to ask his learned teacher for confirmation.
"Mixed blood weakens the power within the bloodline. This is not a misconception of wizards, but a conclusion they reached after observing the evolution of these magical creatures."
The witch Morgan answered Ian's question indirectly.
"I know how to do this problem."
The dragon raised its claws, which were as big as a giant truck. "As the last pure-blooded dragon in the world, when I was born, the human world was already full of those hybrids with weak bloodlines."
"The glorious era of dragons was long gone before I even witnessed it."
The sounds emanating from its nasal cavity could even change tone, filled with a sense of melancholy and wistfulness, and the words it uttered made Ian stare wide-eyed in astonishment.
The last dragons will rest here, and the era of the dragons will come to a complete end.
The message in the Hogwarts crypt resurfaced in the young wizard's mind. He truly hadn't expected the world to be so vast, that he would actually encounter a coincidence that could only happen in the Great Cold Nether Kingdom.
"You're the dragon from Hogwarts' motto, 'Do not disturb a sleeping dragon!' I've seen your remains!"
Ian connected the dragon bones in the underground palace with the giant dragon in front of him. He hadn't really realized this before, since the giant dragon in front of him was much larger than the dragon bones in the underground palace.
Perhaps it was because his soul was fully fleshed out, but "I am the first student of Hogwarts! And the only pure-blooded dragon to have ever attended school!" the prostrate dragon retorted to Ian's words with unparalleled pride.
"I don't like to cause trouble! But I'm not afraid of trouble either! If human wizards disturb my sleep, of course I'll teach them a lesson!" Its answer left Ian speechless, not knowing how to respond.
all the time.
Perhaps it wasn't just Ian, but also a host of outstanding graduates like Dumbledore, who felt that the motto "Do not disturb a sleeping dragon" was a motto with profound philosophical meaning.
Who would have thought that it really meant exactly what it said? Ian could even imagine that a thousand years ago, someone was seriously injured for choosing a sleeping dragon, and the four founders had no choice but to hang a warning sign where the dragon slept. However, as time went by, it gradually became a cultural symbol used to educate students.
In this day and age.
Everyone believes that this motto conveys a wise and cautious attitude, reminding people to be vigilant when facing unknown or potential dangers, and not to easily provoke or disturb things that seem calm but may actually be potentially threatening. Even Snape once quoted this motto to warn Ian not to be too impulsive.
"Is everyone overdoing their reading comprehension?"
The more Ian thought about it, the more he felt he had discovered the truth.
To know.
The original text of the school motto, "Dracodormiensnunquam," is "Sleeping Dragon, Do Not Disturb."
"tillandus" literally means "Never tease a sleeping dragon" in Latin!
It makes perfect sense to view this as a warning!
Surely many wizards overestimated themselves and challenged the dragon, only to be maimed or crippled by its morning grumpiness! Ian recalled the magic resistance of the dragon bones and silently mourned for his former seniors.
"If it were me—well, I definitely wouldn't be able to beat it either, but who wouldn't want to give it a try?" Ian understood the mindset of those wizards who challenged dragons.
"Your expression reminds me of those wicked Gryffindor students," the dragon said next, revealing to Ian which house had the most students challenging it.
"Is there anyone who can beat you?"
Ian looked up curiously and asked.
"Aside from a few professors working together, of course no other wizard could defeat me. I died of old age," the dragon boasted smugly, showing off his peaceful passing.
however.
At this moment, Morgan the Witch suddenly spoke up, "Their extinction has its own reasons, as well as our human understanding over a long period of time. Because of the powerful meaning that dragons represent, they once served as whetstones for many heroes of our time to prove themselves."
Her words displeased the dragon, but it dared not utter a word of rebuttal. The witch wasn't actually lying; in her time, dragon slayers were indeed a mainstream ideal.
This story is extensively covered in Merlin and many medieval biographies, and even in Ian's favorite Lord of the Rings, several dragons appear.
"It seems that we humans are still more powerful."
Ian expressed his heartfelt feelings.
The dragon exhaled a powerful breath.
They expressed their dissatisfaction.
"It is extremely difficult for all magical creatures to retain the strength of their bloodline during the process of reproduction. We humans are the most special exception, which is also the biggest trump card of mankind in the primitive era."
Morgan the witch's words could be considered a trampling of the current wizarding world's theory of pure-blood supremacy, and Ian deeply agreed with this. After all, the information and assignments left by this teacher in the [Love Potion] had already revealed to him the essence of human wizards—that every human actually has the potential to become a wizard.
In such a situation.
Naturally, there will be no blood dilution.
Ian has been researching the Resurrection Stone these days, so his research on potions and wizard bloodlines has been temporarily put on hold. However, he has already touched on the lessons that Professor Morgan really taught in "Love Potion".
"Can I turn this dragon into my guardian spirit?" As soon as Ian thought of the resurrection stone, he immediately took out his own creation, a ring that shone with a divine radiance and looked extremely appealing.
Originally, he intended to find a small animal to conduct experiments in this dreamlike realm, and the difference between a large animal and a small animal is only one word!
"You can even choose your own guardian angel?"
The dragon didn't seem to be furious at all; it was just that the dragon, which had supposedly gone to school, seemed to have been exposed to a blind spot in its knowledge. It stared at the little wizard in front of it with a puzzled look on its face for a long time.
"You're actually alive!"
It turns out that a large head may affect the transmission of nerve signals, and brain size does not represent intelligence. The belatedly realized dragon let out a horrified scream.
It's hard to imagine that a dragon's facial expressions could be so rich.
Morgan was utterly speechless at the dragon's foolishness.
"Oh! I see! You are Merlin reincarnated! It must be! I read your story at Hogwarts! Only you possess such power—."
The dragon's exclamation lasted only a short while; it couldn't even finish its awe-inspiring words.
The witch, who had raised her hand, tightened the chains wrapped around its neck.
This time it was even tighter than the first time, it felt like half of the dragon's head was about to fall off---not only could it not roar, but even rolling around on the ground in pain seemed to have lost its strength.
"It must not be a Ravenclaw dragon." Ian mourned for the dragon that didn't know when to speak, and didn't even dare to plead with Morgan on its behalf.
"Let me see your work."
Morgan maintained the tight chains around the dragon's neck, reached out and took the knock-off resurrection stone ring Ian offered. After examining it for a moment, she slowly frowned.
"Once it's put into real-world application, it will completely disappear from our sight?" Morgan seemed quite dissatisfied with this characteristic of the Death Rune.
"I see it very clearly—"
Ian didn't really know what was going on with the others. Whether it was Grindelwald or Morgan, they all seemed convinced that the Death Runes couldn't be seen by ordinary people.
They could see the runes that Ian had copied, but they couldn't analyze the finished product of the Death Runes as directly as Ian could, something he had already verified with Grindelwald a few days ago.
"You are not like us."
Morgan returned the counterfeit Resurrection Stone ring to Ian, who often made similar remarks.
Yet he remained silent despite Ian's repeated questioning.
"I call it the Guardian Ring."
Despite being a knock-off product, Ian still gave it a name with great seriousness. After all, a copy isn't really a copy, and he made some minor adjustments to the design. Its light-dazzling effect is much stronger than the original Resurrection Stone Ring; it's clearly the kind of treasure you can't get without spending more than ten 648-yuan gacha pulls.
"You can call it whatever you want. I only care about the note you mentioned that solved your doubts and appeared out of nowhere in your pocket." The witch Morgan's meaning was clear: she had imbued Ian's note with magic the last time Ian entered the illusionary realm.
now.
She wanted to know if Ian had found the mysterious person who gave her the note—the witch's expression clearly showed her dissatisfaction; the question she couldn't answer had been easily solved by someone else.
"Wasn't that just a prank?"
Ian found Morgan's serious expression quite strange. He held the note up to almost everyone, but the note did not elicit any response.
"Looks like you couldn't find the person who gave you the note—"
Morgan understood the answer from Ian's reaction. Her brows furrowed even more, and her delicate face, which was almost distorted, prompted Ian to respond.
"Perhaps that person has already left Hogwarts, or perhaps that person made some preparations to avoid being tracked in advance." This was the most reasonable explanation Ian could think of.
however.
His judgment was based solely on logical reasoning, yet it made Morgan's gaze towards him become dangerous once again.
His furrowed brows transformed into a slightly sneer.
"Do you think there's a wizard more powerful than me in your little school where kids play house?" Morgan demonstrated just how fast a woman's mood can change.
Ian quickly shook his head.
"Of course not, that person must have already run away. Yes, that's right. He ran out of the school after giving me the note, which is why I was unable to find him with your help."
The young wizard's resounding and determined words softened Morgan's expression slightly, though his furrowed brows still betrayed his confusion.
"Perhaps—after all, what I gave that note was my understanding of magic, and it will have an effect in the mortal world. I don't believe there are wizards in your time who surpass me."
"Even Albus Dumbledore, whom you speak highly of, was only half a step away. But that half a step is the difference between an ant and the heavens."
Morgan's tone carried a hint of arrogance, and she certainly had the right to make such a judgment. Human wizards' magical power might have its limits, but their ability to create and understand magic was limitless.
"My suggestion is that you fight Dumbledore!" Ian immediately handed over the Patronus Ring with great anticipation. He had been pestering this legendary witch for a long time.
Who wouldn't want a legendary hero as their guardian spirit?
It can't be that they actually enjoy watching bad women fight with old men, can it?
"Haven't you given up on this delusion yet?" Morgan didn't let Ian have his way. She just sighed helplessly and finally gave an explanation after rejecting Ian for who knows how many times.
"Your magic can't even sustain the manifestation of that small town, so what makes you think it can support my return to the mortal world?" The legendary witch's tone was tinged with helplessness.
This response surprised Ian.
"I feel like my magic is almost at the wizarding limit you mentioned," Ian said, trying to justify himself. He frowned slightly, his small face showing confusion. "Besides, didn't you say you've lost your magic and powers? Logically, you should be able to manifest in the mortal world more easily with the Patronus Charm than this dragon, right?"
The young wizard was indeed somewhat unwilling to give up.
He looked at the enormous dragon beside him, whose eyes were rolling back in its head and it was twitching on the ground. Fortunately, since it was only a soul, it wouldn't die again.
"I'm curious, why do you think a lazy, gluttonous dragon is harder to summon to the mortal world than a wizard like me?"
To completely dispel Ian's idea, Morgan took the Guardian Ring back from Ian and slowly put it on her finger.
"This hasn't been tested yet."
Ian wants to stop Morgan's risky actions.
"Then treat this moment as the experiment you are going to conduct." Morgan, however, was not worried at all about the alchemical creation having a negative impact on him.
Thanks to Ian's special design, the ring automatically shrinks and fits snugly, radiating light pollution, making it exceptionally eye-catching and dazzling on the legendary witch's finger.
"No need to cross the line between life and death. Come, my foolish, pig-like apprentice, feel the weight of your teacher." The witch revealed a mocking smile.
She created a magic wand for Ian.
"Protect the Gods!"
Ian was a skeptical man. He picked up his wand and immediately began to cast a spell. Silver light burst forth, and the Guardian Charm, cast with all its might, looked incredibly powerful.
at the same time.
Silver threads also continuously spilled from the Guardian Ring that Morgan wore.
This ring is an alchemical artifact created by Ian using inspiration from the Resurrection Stone. It contains powerful magical energy and resonates perfectly with the Guardian Charm that Ian casts.
The threads on the ring seemed to come alive, wrapping around Morgan, who was wearing the ring, as if trying to bring her to Ian, but they appeared utterly weak and ineffective.
All I saw was...
The magic within Ian was surging wildly, but the silver threads were merely cycling between collapsing and rebuilding, unable to fulfill their intended purpose.
"It's my skill that's lacking; the ring I made didn't work well." Ian's face was flushed red, but even though he gave up on continuing the spell, he still seemed somewhat unwilling to give up and was still being stubborn.
This might be the result of a wizard's lifelong strong sense of pride, even if it means admitting his alchemy skills are lacking.
This guy didn't want to admit that his magic power wasn't strong enough.
"If you want your teacher to be your guardian angel, you have to become a legend yourself first." Morgan smiled and took off the guardian ring, tossing it back to Ian.
The little wizard quickly caught the treasure he had painstakingly created.
"And it?"
Ian looked at the dragon, its belly twisted up from being strangled, and it appeared that most of its head had been severed.
Even Nick, who was almost headless, would probably have to admit that this dragon is the real expert.
"That would require your magic to reach the limits of a wizard." The legendary witch's answer made Ian seem to age eighteen years in an instant, and the young wizard's face was filled with disappointment and distress.
"Actually, dragon guardians aren't that cool. Even pure-blooded dragons are just like that—big doesn't necessarily mean strong." He seemed to be comforting himself or perhaps hypnotizing himself.
"You said you saw the skeleton of this dragon, right?"
suddenly.
Morgan the witch's question suddenly rang out.
"Yes, it's lying right below our school, just bones." Ian quickly looked up, and sure enough, the witch Morgan was tearing her dress apart again.
"You learned the [Soul Seizing] technique from your senior sister. I've said before that's just her narrow understanding. The knowledge she learned was originally for exploring the realm of the soul."
"I call its advanced magic 'Spirit Binding and Soul Control.' If you can thoroughly understand the knowledge on this page of mine, and then combine it with your often-showy 'Corpse Control Spell,' you might achieve a result that will please you even more than the Guardian Dragon." The witch Morgan handed the fragment of her dress to Ian once again.
She had clearly figured out the little wizard's interests and hobbies long ago.
"Praise be to you! My dear teacher! You are the greatest wizard!" Ian, who had just been saying that big doesn't mean strong, suddenly had an incredibly excited look in his eyes.
"Big doesn't mean strong! It means extremely strong!"
Holding fragments of Morgan's dress.
The young wizard displayed a speed at which he could change his expression, no less than that of his teacher.
The sky over the town is completely different from the sky over the castle.
Sunlight, like fine threads, pierced through the thin mist and gently fell upon the ancient stone path, casting a soft golden glow over this tranquil place in the almost eternal, dreamlike realm.
Surrounded by distant mountains, the peaks appear even more majestic and magnificent under the morning light. The air is filled with the faint fragrance of flowers and the scent of earth, which is truly refreshing.
Amidst picturesque scenery, the town is filled with blooming flowers in vibrant colors, wisps of smoke rising from chimneys, and in front of the houses, a young girl is practicing her daily swordsmanship under the supervision of a young boy.
"Pandro, we've defeated the evil dragon, can't we rest for a couple of days?" The girl's long hair swayed gently in the wind, and as she spoke, the sword moves she was practicing were still fluid and powerful, as if they had long been ingrained in her mind and become instinctive. Each swing of the sword was accompanied by the subtle sound of the tip of the sword cutting through the air.
Time flows differently in the dreamlike realm than in the mortal world. No one knows how many days of practice it took for the girl to transform from a complete novice with no experience in swordsmanship into the dashing and heroic figure she is today.
"Ariana, in swordsmanship, you always reap what you sow." The boy stood to the side with his hands on his hips, his eyes following the girl's every move.
"You said that defeating the dragon would save the princess and bring her treasure, but there wasn't even a single fruit in that dragon's lair." The girl sighed but didn't stop practicing.
"Uh, I remember there used to be a princess and gold coins in this situation." The boy touched his nose, looking somewhat embarrassed and awkward. However, this mood didn't last long; a sly smile appeared on his face. "Are you satisfied just by slaying a dragon?"
"Don't you want to chop down some creatures even more powerful than dragons?"
obviously.
The temptation offered by the boy did not excite the girl.
"But the dragon we killed was huge! I've never heard of such a large dragon before. It must have been an extremely powerful magical creature when it was alive."
The girl expressed her feelings during halftime.
"There are actually quite a few creatures even more powerful than those dragons. I hope you can broaden your horizons and look to myths and legends!"
The boy's voice carried a sense of fervor and passion.
"So, the one I should be cutting is you?"
The girl blinked.
Her tone finally became somewhat eager.
The boy opened his mouth, speechless. He glanced at the longsword the girl had placed beside him, then looked up into the distance, his eyes reflecting the image of the gloomy castle.
"Looks like today is the day!"
suddenly.
The boy walked up to the girl.
"Could you please kneel down? Just one knee will do?"
His somewhat embarrassed words left the girl completely bewildered.
"What are you going to do?"
Despite her bewildered expression, the girl put down her water glass and did as she was told—the straightforward Ariana knelt on one knee before Pendro.
"Although I don't know magic, I can do other things." Pandro placed his hand on Ariana's forehead, and his voice became somewhat serious.
"I will bless you, Ariana. I will grant you permission to wield my blade and break through all obstacles in your path." Pandro paused for a moment, as if pondering something.
at last.
The boy seemed to have made some kind of decision.
"Spellbreaker Ariana, don't you think the title I gave you is pretty impressive?" After saying this smugly, Pandro withdrew his hand.
There was no intense light, nor anything magical. The wind and clouds around him remained gentle. However, when his hand left Ariana's forehead, a mark appeared and then disappeared.
Just as Ariana once gave Ian a gift.
She also received a gift from a friend.