After the brief commotion caused by Snowman nearly fainting from Lil' Amon's words, the remaining introductions continued smoothly.
Once everyone was acquainted, Mobet Zoroast asked his companions whether they preferred to leave the book world immediately or to defeat the King of the North, bringing their story to a close before departing.
Unsurprisingly, everyone trapped in the book chose to face the King of the North. They'd been entangled with the dragon for too long. Even Frunziar, a relatively recent arrival, had clashed with the frost dragon for over a century. Leaving without resolution was unthinkable.
"Since we're all agreed, let's go slay the dragon!" Alaric declared decisively, sensing something and glancing in a certain direction with a smile. "Oh, it's here."
As in any dragon-slaying tale, the final battle between heroes and the beast was inevitable. With the outsiders joining the camp's residents, some mechanism in the book's events had clearly been triggered, drawing the King of the North, the story's ultimate boss, right to them.
A massive frost dragon, its icy blue scales gleaming, soared in from the distance amid a raging blizzard.
"What a beautiful dragon. I love its scales!" Lil' Amon gazed up at the descending creature, eyes sparkling, though he added with a hint of regret, "Shame it's not real."
"Indeed, a bit of a pity," Alaric said, studying the dragon and nodding in agreement with Lil' Amon's assessment.
In terms of aesthetics, the dragon's scales were undeniably stunning.
As the two critiqued the dragon's appearance, the King of the North landed, unleashing a torrent of icy blue flames.
Klein dove to the side, swiftly dodging the freezing flames that seemed capable of halting all life. Preparing for battle, he glanced at his companions' positions.
Neither Lil' Amon nor Jack were pushovers. Lil' Amon had somehow appeared behind the dragon's flank, dramatically clutching his chest as if startled. Alaric, still in place, summoned crimson flames that clashed with the dragon's icy blue ones. The red flames ignited the dragon's breath, racing back along its path.
The King of the North moved to stop its flame, but before it could, Lil' Amon snapped his fingers. The dragon froze, momentarily forgetting its intent, allowing the crimson flames to engulf it.
The flames were ferocious, scorching the King of the North as it thrashed and tried every method to extinguish them, to no avail. The air began to carry the scent of roasted flesh.
"Whoops, can't let it burn to death!" Alaric said, casually touching a pendant around his neck... a mystical item imbued with Medici's power. With his gesture, the flames consuming the near-cooked dragon vanished.
The King of the North, once majestic, was now a wretched sight, its aura feeble.
The rapid turn of events stunned the onlookers. Alaric glanced at them, grinning. "It's weakened now. Are you all just going to stand there?"
The others exchanged looks, then charged without hesitation. The giant Groselle drew his massive sword, Siatas's arrows crackled with lightning, and the rest rushed forward, unleashing a relentless assault on the King of the North.
Alaric didn't join the fray. As an ordinary mortal, his combat abilities were limited. Instead, he stepped back, monitoring the battle while holding an icy blue scale in his hand.
The scale, clearly from the King of the North, wasn't just a trophy. While roasting the dragon, Alaric had probed its essence.
He'd always been curious about the King of the North's role as the story's sole boss. Was it a mere prop like the others, or did it hold some unique significance?
His probing confirmed the dragon's distinct nature... it was deeply tied to the world's core.
Alaric even suspected it might symbolize the Dragon of Imagination itself.
"Crafting a divine kingdom into a book, luring people to adventure within, and setting a dragon as the final boss to be slain…" Alaric glanced at the besieged King of the North, narrowing his eyes as he mused silently. "Part of a resurrection ritual, perhaps?"
The Dragon of Imagination had perished, felled by The Ancient Sun God's crusade.
The King of the North was about to die, defeated by "adventurers."
If the King of the North were revived someday, could it affect the Dragon of Imagination?
Alaric knew the Dragon of Imagination's contingency in Groselle's Travels was linked to Quill of Alzuhod. In theory, if the quill met the book, the dragon could resurrect through it, using its sealed negative persona to control the Chaos Sea and rival Adam.
But as a Visionary, who said the dragon's resurrection plans were limited to one?
"This scale…" Lil' Amon, having slipped away from the fight, sidled up to Alaric. Frowning at the scale in his palm, he said hesitantly, "It feels a bit dangerous."
"It's a key... to the true secret of this world," Alaric said, not hiding anything. "I'll give it to my teacher. It might bring us some surprises."
Lil' Amon looked thoughtful, then whispered, "Related to Father's resurrection?"
"Mm." Alaric nodded, smiling at Lil' Amon. "It'll have some reference value, at least."
Lil' Amon's expression visibly brightened.
As they spoke, the boss battle neared its end. Even in the original story, the King of the North fell to Klein and his allies. Now, half-cooked by Alaric, it stood no chance against Klein's group.
Just as Klein prepared to use his abilities to turn the King of the North into a marionette, he heard "Jack's" voice.
"Wait, Gehrman."
Klein paused, puzzled but halting the transformation. He turned to Alaric, who had approached, and asked, "What's wrong?"
"There's been a change. It's best not to kill it," Alaric explained briefly. Looking at the dying dragon, he pulled a charm from his pocket and activated it against the creature.
"Seal!"
Crafted by Bethel, the charm took effect instantly. The King of the North transformed into a statue, as if time and space had frozen around it.
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Hi guys! If you're into Marvel stories and want a different from the usual stuff and aren't full of clichés, feel free to give this new Marvel story a try:
[A Survival Guide to the Marvel Universe]
Synopsis:
Marvel.
A cursed superhero world that even the craziest person alive wouldn't want to visit.
How could they? There's basically an apocalypse every Tuesday.
Only the craziest of the crazy would choose to stay in a place like this.
And Ludwig isn't one of them.
The only way for him to return to his original world is to die.
In this cursed world, dying should be the easiest thing to do.
But there's just one problem standing in his way...
Why the hell do these idiots keep stopping him from dying?!
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