Debuff Master

An unexpected situation happened upon their arrival at the Proatine Kingdom, and it put Siegfried in agony.

‘Ah… What if Master really kills this dragon…?’

He had invited Vulcanus to the Proatine Kingdom for the sake of the inheritance that the dragon would inevitably leave behind.

A dragon’s lair or grave was bound to have all sorts of gold, jewels, and treasures, as they were a race that loved to hoard expensive and shiny things.

In other words, Siegfried was trying to curry favor with the dragon in hopes of inheriting the latter's treasures. What was the use of hoarding all of those treasures when his body would turn into dust and return to nature, right?

However, Siegfried could not help but regret inviting the Ancient Red Dragon to the Proatine Kingdom.

What if Deus and Vulcanus got into a disagreement and fought each other? There was a very high chance that the entire Proatine Kingdom could get razed to the ground or even get wiped off the face of the continent.

‘Maybe I shouldn’t have invited him…’ Siegfried regretted.

It was then.

“Yes, Mighty and Majestic One,” Siegfried replied with a bow.

“Hmm… This place is so small it’s the size of a booger.”

“I-I apologize for that, my lord…”

“Keke! But I’ll be understanding since you seem to have good intentions,” Vulcanus said with a haughty shrug.

“Thank you, my lord!”

“Also, you don’t have to call me 'Lord' or 'Mighty and Majestic One' from now on. Just call me Elder from now on.”

“Yes, Elder-nim!”

“Anyway, I’m starting to feel hungry.”

“I will prepare a grand feast for you shortly.”

“Really? Then I will wait for that.”

“Would you like to enjoy some tea and biscuits while waiting for the feast, Elder-nim?”

“Sure, that sounds great.”

“I will prepare it at once.”

Siegfried hurriedly ran to the chamberlain and whispered, “Chamberlain.”

“Yes, Your Majesty?”

“That Elder-nim over there is an Ancient Red Dragon.”

“Pardon me, sire…?”

The chamberlain doubted both of his ears.

What did he mean by an Ancient Red Dragon? What kind of grass-eating vegetarian dog’s dogshit nonsense was this?

“It’s as I told you. He is Vulcanus-nim, an Ancient Red Dragon.”

“Y-Yes, sire.”

“Have you heard of him? Vulcanus-nim? The God of Blacksmiths? The one who was born with this universe?”

“S-Sire, are you certain…?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Wow…”

“So make sure that you treat him with utmost respect while serving him tea and biscuits. If you make a mistake then…” Siegfried trailed off.

It was then.

The chamberlain felt a chill shoot down his spine. He had no idea if Siegfried was telling the truth or not, but the sheer thought of the entire castle getting hit by a dragon’s breath and burning to the ground just because he had made a mistake while serving tea and biscuits was too much for him to handle.

No, the entire kingdom could actually get razed to the ground.

The Proatine Kingdom was so small an ancient dragon could make quick work of it.

“So you got what I mean? Make sure there’s not a single mistake while serving him.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will serve him as if my life—no, with my life on the line.”

The chamberlain vowed to put his life on the line to serve Vulcanus.

After leaving Vulcanus in the trusty hands of the chamberlain, Siegfried headed to the kitchen and ordered the chefs to prepare a feast worthy of an Ancient Red Dragon.

It was then.

“Your Majesty! What in the world did you bring this time?”

Michele’s voice resounded from the corridor, and it was obvious that he was pissed.

“Oh, t-that is…”

“Are you out of your mind? A dragon?! Why would you bring a dragon to the castle?! I know you might get something out of this, but don’t you think protecting what you already have is much more important?! A single mistake could end up in the annihilation of our entire kingdom! Have you forgotten about that already?!”

“S-Sorry…”

Siegfried had no other choice but to immediately apologize, as every single word Michele said was right. A dragon was a fickle creature known to be extremely hard to please that even those considered to be their close companions could end up getting burnt to ashes from a small mistake.

In addition, they were known to devour even the humans they regarded as their close friends in a fit of rage.

Why would they do that?

It was all because they did not see humans as their equals.

“I was blinded by greed for a second so…” Siegfried muttered, sounding extremely guilty.

“Sigh… What can we do when the water’s already spilled? I will support Your Majesty to the best of my abilities, as that is what a subject should do,” Michele said, letting out a sigh before grimacing.

“Thanks…”

“We have to do our best, as this is my life and the kingdom’s future at stake.”

“...”

“I have requested urgent help from the Marchioni Empire.”

“Huh? Why?”

“They have the best chefs on the continent, so I ordered delicacies from them.”

“Oh! Really?!”

“It will be arriving shortly, so please try to buy us more time.”

“As expected of you, Michele!” Siegfried exclaimed with a thumbs up.

“Please go and focus on currying favors with the ancient dragon while I procure the best delicacies from all over the continent.”

“Leave that to me! I’m very good at that! I’m the most despicable treacherous retainer out there!”

“What? Why are you suddenly claiming to be a treacherous retainer…?”

“N-Nothing, don’t mind that.”

“...”

“Anyway! I’ll leave the feast to you then!”

“As you command, sire.”

Siegfried headed straight back to Vulcanus after leaving Michele in charge of the feast.

***

Meanwhile, Deus was fishing at the lake as he usually did while the entire castle was in an uproar to prepare a grand feast for Vulcanus.

“Hmm? Hoho! It seems some lizard decided to crawl into this great being’s house.”

Surprisingly, Deus had already started calling the Proatine Kingdom his house.

“Is something the matter, Sir Elder?”

Metatron was standing next to Deus.

Metatron was carrying the bait container and net for Deus.

Metatron was a demon lord’s son, but he was nothing more than a servant assisting Deus’ fishing hobby here in the Proatine Kingdom.

“Did you see a lizard somewhere?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Where is the lizard, sir? I will catch it and twist its neck—Ack!”

Deus flicked Metatron's forehead, eliciting a scream from the latter. The flick felt more like a smite rather than a mere flick.

“Argh! S-Sir Elder?!”

“You fool.”

“W-Why…?”

“How will you catch the lizard when you’re not even a demon lord?” Deus snarked. Then, he added, “Even your father will find it difficult to catch this lizard.”

“Huh? Does a lizard like that even exist—aaack!”

Metatron was struck once again after daring to talk back to Deus.

“Tsk… I feel bad for your old man. How could he have such a stupid son? I bet he’s very frustrated with you,” Deus said, clicking his tongue and shaking his head.

“W-Why are you bringing my father up all of a sudden—ack!”

“Your father is the Demon Lord of Vengeance, Vernas, right?”

“H-How did you–”

“When you get the chance, ask your father later who beat him up four hundred fifty years ago when he descended into this world.”

“P-Pardon me?”

“Make sure to send my regards, too.”

“N-No way?!” Metatron gasped in horror upon recalling something.

His father, the Demon Lord of Vengeance, Vernas, had stolen a dark mage's body and descended into the continent four hundred fifty years ago.

Unfortunately, he was defeated by a hero and even his real body back in the demon world had suffered a backlash from the defeat. The backlash was so severe that he was still recovering from it today.

“The human hero who forced father back to the demon world was…?” Metatron muttered, looking mortified.

“Enough chatter. Let’s go and see what that lizard looks like,” Deus said as he stood up and walked toward the castle.

***

The appearance of Vulcanus at the Geyser of Life caused the Death Crafters to run all the way to their hideout.

Avant was in an utter state of confusion even after making it all the way to the hideout.

The fact that a colossal red dragon had emerged from the place that was supposed to be the ruins of the God of Blacksmiths, Vulcanus, was already shocking enough, but what shocked Avant the most was the Adventurer, Siegfried van Proa.

“T-That weapon he was holding… That was without a doubt the main frame of the Rod of God… Why is Hertber’s masterpiece in the hands of some Adventurer?” Avant's shock and confusion slowly turned into anger. “Quandt…! You bastard! You dare put our workshop’s lifelong dream in the hands of a mere Adventurer?! You! You bastaaard!”

Avant screamed at the top of his lungs; his cries were filled with rage and anguish.

“This cannot be happening!”

“How can our workshop’s lifelong dream be in the hands of some Adventurer?!”

“He has to be impeached for this!”

The Death Crafters raised their voices in support of Avant.

“I can’t let this slide,” Avant growled in anger. Then, he commanded, “Cease all missions at once. From now on, we will focus on retrieving Herbert’s masterpiece from that lowly Adventurer. Got it?!”

“Yes, Head Blacksmith!”

The Death Crafters’ voices reverberated throughout the hideout.

***

‘Oh right! I forgot to tell Master!’

Siegfried hurriedly ran to inform Deus of Vulcanus visiting the Proatine Kingdom.

However, Deus was not at the lake and only the demon lord’s son, Metatron, was sitting there with two large bumps on his head.

“Huh? What happened to you?”

“I… I talked back to the Elder and got hit…”

“Tsk… Tsk… Hey, you claim to be a demon lord’s son, so why do you keep making the same mistake? Are you so stupid you can’t pick up new things?” Siegfried clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“That's—”

“Shut up. Where did Master go?”

Siegfried was not interested in the likes of Metatron, so he immediately went straight to the point.

“He said he's going to see what that lizard looks like and went back to the castle–”

“What?! Lizard?! Damn it!”

Siegfried rushed back to the castle upon hearing Metatron's words.

‘I really hope that he won't kill Vulcanus!’ Siegfried thought, imagining the scene of Deus beating up the Ancient Red Dragon.

“Oh? You’re quite sturdy for the progenitor of red dragons. Hohoho! I love the feedback that I get whenever I hit you! Kekeke!”

Deus was most likely going to treat Vulcanus like a sandbag.

‘Damn it! I want to see Master's reaction upon seeing Vulcanus, but my entire kingdom will disappear if they fight here!’

A battle between the Level 999 Hidden NPC and a Level 998 Ancient Red Dragon would devastate the entire continent, so the fate of the Proatine Kingdom if such beings were to fight in close proximity to it was obvious.

Meanwhile, Vulcanus was enjoying the cup of red tea—which was worth more than its weight in gold—served by the servants.

“Oh! It’s been a long time since I last had tea, but this is really good! The human world seems to have made great progress to make tea this good! Let’s see… I wonder what biscuit is this. It looks good but being a perfect circle makes it look even more appetizing—hmm?”

Vulcanus suddenly stopped and grimaced after spotting an old man walking toward him.

“Oh? What do we have here? Did the human race advance this much while I was asleep? How can an insignificant creature be so strong?”

Vulcanus was really surprised. The old man walking toward him was exuding an extremely powerful aura. In the end, he couldn't contain his curiosity and decided to ask the old man.

“What are you, old human? How can you exude such a powerful aura when you’re nothing more than an insignificant human?” Vulcanus asked.

“Insignificant human? Powerful?” Deus muttered before smirking out of disbelief. Then, he replied, “I came to see which lizard dared to come into my house, but I didn’t expect it to be a disrespectful one.”

Deus flashed an icy smile that would send chills down anyone’s spine. His response was understandable, as Vulcanus suddenly started calling Deus "insignificant," picking a fight with him out of the blue.

However, this was nothing out of the ordinary for Vulcanus, as he regarded humans to be an inferior species. Thus, it had never occurred to him that he was being rude or picking a fight with a human.

“What did you say just now? Lizard? Did you call me a lizard?” Vulcanus asked, doubting his ears. His logic stated that there was no way a mere human would call him a lizard.

“Do you know who you’re talking to, you insignificant human—”

It was then.

Deus suddenly appeared right in front of Vulcanus’ face and smirked.

“Who else can you be if not a lizard that has aged nicely for one hundred thousand years?”

“...!”

“It’s time to teach you some manners.”

Rumble!

The Barrier of Victory manifested, swallowing both Deus and Vulcanus.

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