Although they had shared many intimate moments, their usual routine was to wash separately beforehand. The reason was simple: they feared that bathing together might lead to things escalating right there in the bathroom.
After Leon left, Rossweise smiled faintly and pulled the bathroom curtain shut, preparing to undress. However, before she could untie the sash of her dress, she noticed the previously calm water in the tub begin to ripple unnaturally. The queen frowned, leaning closer to observe. Indeed, concentric circles spread from the center of the water, pushing the rose petals toward the edges of the tub.
"What's going on…"
Before she could finish her sentence, a thunderous boom echoed from outside the Red Dragon Temple. The water in the tub sloshed violently in response.
The next moment, Leon burst back into the bathroom, his voice urgent. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. What was that outside?"
Leon shook his head. "I'm not sure. Let's check on the girls first."
"Okay."
The couple hurried to the room where Noah and the others were sleeping. The little dragon girls had been awakened by the sudden noise. Noah was holding Muen protectively. Leon swiftly bent down and scooped up Little Light.
"What happened, Dad?" Noah asked, her voice laced with sleep but clear.
"I don't know. But it doesn't sound good." He moved to the window and looked out. Beyond the temple, a dazzling pillar of fire rose from the ground, illuminating the night. Within the firelight, a colossal figure was slowly advancing. The crimson glow reflected in Leon's pupils, and he could make out the creature's face—or more precisely, its head.
"Con…stantine…"
.
.
.
The peaceful night was shattered by flames and chaos.
The Red Dragon guards immediately mobilized to intercept the suddenly appearing enemy.
"Is that… a Dragon King? Or… something else?" one guard stammered, staring at the massive creature.
The thing attacking the Red Dragon Temple was bizarre beyond belief. It exhibited characteristics of multiple S-rank and even super S-rank dangerous species—the Steel Mammoth, the Scaled Battle Rhinoceros, the Lava Hydra, and more. These were just the most obvious traits; other parts of its body were a complex, indistinguishable patchwork.
However, the creature's head was instantly recognizable, which was why the Red Dragon guard had initially mistaken it for a Dragon King. It was a dragon's head. The dark red, giant head seemed crudely grafted onto this "stitched-together" body. Its vicious dragon eyes glared down at the ground, and with each step it took, flames spread in its wake.
"It… It's the head of the Crimson Flame Dragon King!" another guard exclaimed, recognizing it.
"Crimson Flame Dragon King? But wasn't he killed by Prince Leon long ago? How could—"
BOOM!—
Before the guards could finish their stunned exchange, the 'reborn' Constantine attacked. The massive Steel Mammoth body only needed to stamp lightly to make the earth tremble. The guards quickly spread their dragon wings, planning to engage from the air. They had observed that although this stitched creature had numerous dangerous species traits, it notably lacked wings, meaning it couldn't fly. An aerial assault was their best option.
The Red Dragon guards simultaneously unleashed Dragon Fire at Constantine. Several fireballs struck its body but dissipated harmlessly.
"A Steel Mammoth's body… its defense is absurdly high," a guard muttered, sweat beading on his forehead. The Steel Mammoth was a super S-rank dangerous species that even dragons hunted only with extreme caution. Its defense was comparable to a Dragon King's. Even without actively defending, Constantine was completely unaffected by the guards' attacks.
It continued its relentless march toward the Red Dragon Temple, apparently its sole target for the night. The guards intensified their assaults, desperate to halt its advance, but it was futile. More and more guards gathered, their Dragon Fire lighting up the night sky, yet they couldn't slow Constantine by an inch.
Meanwhile, on a distant mountaintop, Scott and a dragon stood watching the scene unfold.
"I thought Mr. Nacho would be overseeing this operation," the dragon remarked.
"He won't be coming, Fael," Scott replied, his tone dripping with pride. "And he will never come again."
The Ironwing Dragon King, Fael, was the one who had stolen a portion of the Primordial Dragon King Noa's power during the Far North exploration project. With Ravi and the other conspirator Dragon Kings dead, Fael had no choice but to step forward and deal directly with the Empire. In Fael's mind, the man named Nacho Salamander had been quite an interesting character—he'd often heard Ravi complain about him. But now, the complained-about was gone, and the complainer was gone too. Ah, how times change, Fael thought with a trace of nostalgia.
"Lord Valerius seems very confident in the reborn Constantine. He only sent me, a single Dragon King, to assist in overseeing the battle," Fael commented.
"Of course," Scott said, squinting at the monster determined to burn everything in its path. "This is the ultimate creation the Empire has poured significant resources into. It is the final weapon designed specifically to hunt down Leon Cosmodeous."
"With the abilities and traits of so many dangerous species combined, it must have taken considerable effort," Fael acknowledged. "But I have one concern."
Scott glanced at him. "What is it?"
"Will the reborn Constantine truly obey the Empire? Has Constantine completely lost his independent will?"
At this, Scott snorted coldly. "Of course. What independent will could a dead dragon possibly have? Don't worry, Fael. Our Empire's Royal Sorcerer Corps is highly professional."
"Really? Then I shall rest easy," Fael said, a hint of a smirk in his voice. "After all, if the mad dragon Constantine could freely control this powerful body… Hehehe, I'm afraid he wouldn't just hunt Leon Cosmodeous. He could slaughter most of the living creatures on the Samuel Continent."
Though Constantine had been the first Dragon King soloed by Leon in the Empire's "plan," no one doubted his brutality and ferocity. He was the most typical of dragons, embodying all the worst traits of his kind. Now, returned from hell, he was even more fitting of his temperament in life.
"To be unable to rest even in death… Constantine," Fael murmured quietly, his eyes fixed on the distant battlefield.
Outside the temple, the battle was entirely one-sided. None of the guards' attacks could harm Constantine, who was shielded by the body of a Steel Mammoth.
"What do we do… This thing is terrifying."
"Our attacks are useless… What can we do…"
"..."
Just as despair began to set in among the guards, a clear, commanding female voice rang out from behind them.
"Everyone, retreat!"
The guards turned. Isha, accompanied by Leon and Rossweise, was striding toward them.
"The Queen is taking over… It seems this enemy is truly beyond us." The guards made way. As Leon and the others reached the center of the front courtyard, a guard stepped forward to report.
"Your Majesty, after a brief engagement, we could not confirm the species or type of the opponent. However, we can confirm that its head… belongs to the Crimson Flame Dragon King, Constantine."
Isha's expression turned grim. "Mm, I understand. Evacuate the nearby tribespeople to the underground shelters. Ensure the three princesses are well protected. Nothing can happen to them."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The guards evacuated in an orderly fashion, shepherding the other tribespeople to safety. Soon, the large courtyard held only Leon, Rossweise, Isha, and the vengeful abomination.
"I swear, I'll never joke about Zombie Constantine again," Leon said, staring at the enormous creature. "He really can win the resurrection contest."
"Resurrection… There are many methods," Rossweise said, her voice tight. "But the question is, how did he get so close to the Red Dragon Temple without detection? A body this large should cause tremors with every step, yet it appeared just outside the perimeter. And from its structure, it can't fly. It's as if… it just materialized out of nowhere."
"Well, maybe it just crawled out of a grave, so there was no sound—"
"ROAR!!—"
"Alright, alright! I'll never crack another hell joke about you! No need to rush me!"
Rossweise spread her dragon wings and assumed an attacking stance. "Time to get serious, Leon."
"Alright."
Leon took a step forward, opening his right hand. A brilliant blue light erupted, and the next second, the piercing shriek of his Chidori technique tore through the night sky.
.
.
.
The battle horn had sounded.
The massive, brutal monster seemed to have its memory jolted by the sharp sound of Leon's Chidori. Its initial advance had been almost leisurely, but at that piercing, explosive cry, Constantine erupted into a frenzy.
His cumbersome Steel Mammoth body shot forward like a giant cannonball, heading straight for Leon and the others. Flames consumed everything in his path, and the dried, half-decayed dragon head let out a bone-chilling roar.
Isha bent her knees slightly, her brow furrowed. She looked at the garden that had been destroyed in an instant by Constantine's charge and gritted her teeth. "Do you have any idea how much those flower beds and lawns cost me, you bastard?!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, the Red Dragon Queen immediately transformed into her dragon form and charged head-on at Constantine.
The two gigantic creatures collided with a roar that shook the heavens. Red Dragons were far superior to Silver Dragons in both offense and defense, capable of executing such a primitive, wild dragon-body slam. However, the outcome of the clash was less than ideal. Isha was forced back, staggering.
Transforming back into her human form, she gathered Dragon Fire in her hands and hurled it forward. A Dragon King-level Dragon Fire attack was many times more powerful than the guards' previous efforts. This was a standard dragon attack method, its strength dependent entirely on the user's base power.
Yet, against Isha's assault, Constantine didn't even attempt to dodge. Instead, he accelerated, continuing his charge toward the trio. The Dragon Fire struck his enormous body, instantly kicking up a thick cloud of smoke and dust. But even through the dust, the heavy, war-drum-like footsteps did not cease.
The next second, Constantine burst through the smoke, spreading his arms wide—
As he drew closer, Leon could see that Constantine's arms were also sourced from different dangerous species. The left arm was dark and robust, with five distinct, flexible fingers, as if stitched from the super S-rank humanoid dangerous species, the 'Hellfire Titan.' The right arm was slightly more slender, but the magical circuits beneath the skin were visible, resembling veins flowing with magma, indicating it came from a powerful fire-element species.
Before Leon could observe further, Constantine attacked. He suddenly slammed his open arms together, whipping up a violent gust of wind. As the wind swept across the battlefield, Constantine's seemingly burning right arm released a massive wave of fire. The wind fanned the flames, creating a colossal inferno.
This was a simple yet devastating elemental magic combo. When fighting the Star Flame Dragon King, Star, Rossweise had used a similar technique called 'Dragonfire Extinguishment.' While a classic combo, 'Dragonfire Extinguishment' was limited by the fact that Rossweise used it alone, so its power and scale weren't top-tier, compounded by her less-than-masterful control of the wind element involved.
This was the inherent weakness of most combination techniques—to perfectly unleash their power, one needed to master at least two different elemental magics. However, Constantine's wind-fire combo seemed to have completely overcome this drawback. Both the wind and fire elements were terrifyingly, absurdly powerful.
The wall of flame rushed toward them. Rossweise and Isha both beat their dragon wings, resisting the intense wind pressure as they faced the oncoming cataclysm.