"Mephistopheles, how do you even have connections in the Second Empire?!"
Faust discovered that the fairy he was contracted with was becoming increasingly mysterious, possessing all sorts of networks and resources. It was truly a case of having an elder at home being like having a treasure.
"I remember the Empire has a guardian fairy, but that shouldn't be you, right?"
【Of course it's not me. However, I happen to be well-acquainted with them.】
Faust opened the letter to take a look. The wording inside was very formal and quite sincere; it was impossible to tell it was sent from an empire to a small kingdom.
【Faust, do you remember my purpose?】
The prince of Qingxi widened his eyes slightly and immediately guessed the reason. He said gravely:
"I know. You plan to... undergo dragonfall, right?"
In this world, various strange and endless monsters and spirits were active, including many with the suffix 【dragon】.
There were iron-eating dragons, azure-stream dragons, tiger-headed spine-backed dragons...
But regardless, they were only "false dragons" or "dragon-beasts." Most of them weren't even the same species, being named as such simply because they possessed a few dragon-like traits.
The only 【true dragon】 known to the world was a single kind—one that struck terror into hearts and silenced all voices. The faint-hearted would be too terrified to speak just at the mention of them.
They did not originate from any magical beast; a dragon was a fairy that had fallen from the heavens.
Another name for a fallen fairy was a 【dragon】.
【We have no physical bodies. If we are to walk the world personally, we must transform into dragons.】
Mephistopheles spoke slowly:
【This is something I cannot do alone. Faust, you must treat this as an official task.】
Faust let out a light laugh. "Ha, this is truly... you're making me a villain of history."
There was naturally a reason why true dragons were a taboo. In historical records, fallen fairies had once brought indelible, agonizing disasters to the world.
They had exterminated thousands of nations, slaughtered billions of living beings, crushed mountains, burned the seas to nothing, and struck down the sky until civilization itself was fractured. This left a gene of fear permanently inscribed in the bloodlines of mortals.
Even though Faust was a transmigrator and didn't care much about dragons conceptually, his body couldn't help but tremble when talking about them.
An evil dragon was the ultimate, top-tier demon king of this world.
If Faust dared to declare that he was helping a fairy undergo dragonfall, he would truly be making an enemy of the entire world.
【How cruel. I won't deny that some fairies indeed transformed into dragons harboring intense hatred and resentment. They once ravaged the world, but not all who transformed into dragons were like that. It's just that the existence of those good dragons has been distorted and erased, to the point where you turn pale at the mere mention of a dragon.】
Mephistopheles defended himself, even shifting the blame:
【If you really want to put it that way, if it weren't for you Sons of Man, how could we have fallen into dragons? There's really no reason for us to be blamed.】
What a great shift of blame! This style of avoiding internal conflict almost matched his own skill level.
Faust couldn't help but offer a word of praise for how shameless Mephistopheles was!
【I am not joking. The reason fairies fall is indeed because of the son of man.】
Mephistopheles's ethereal voice echoed in the prince's mind:
【If you were simple lifeforms like the Sons of the Sea or Sons of the Beast of the past, we would not feel the passage of time. Even if the cycle of growth and decay, the rising and setting of the sun and moon, repeated for ten million years, we could face it with equanimity.】
【However, O son of man, you are so special. The scripts woven for you by the wheel of destiny are so dazzling. The extreme love and extreme hate of the son of man are communicated to the executors of fate. How could we not be moved by it?】
【When we are no longer satisfied with being mere bystanders, a fairy will fall into a dragon.】
Faust suddenly understood. "I see. I thought a fairy's dragonfall was also an arrangement of fate?"
【Haha, how could that be? A fairy who undergoes dragonfall is the greatest defiance against fate. The wheel of destiny will surely strangle the defiant ones.】
No wonder Mephistopheles insisted on finding a madman who didn't fear fate; anyone with even a shred of reverence for fate wouldn't be able to help him.
Having understood the key point, Faust asked an important question:
"Mephistopheles, will you be a good dragon?"
The prince of Qingxi didn't think a fallen fairy was some kind of taboo; just as Mephistopheles said, he was truly audacious.
But if Mephistopheles was going to become a natural disaster to destroy the world, then Faust wouldn't be happy about it.
If you burn the world to the ground, what will I, the 【overlord】, rule over? Rule over ashes?
【Faust, will you be a good boy?】
Faust replied without thinking, "I definitely am. Even though I drink red wine, eat steak, live in a palace, play cards, and throw parties, I know I'm a good boy."
【Then I am also a good dragon.】
Mephistopheles's ethereal and pleasant laughter echoed in the prince's mind:
【Rest assured, those dragons that brought calamity to the world were all fragile young juniors. All they saw in their eyes were the ugliness and lies of the human world, all they heard in their ears were indignation and injustice, and all they felt was every kind of pain and sorrow. Therefore, they despaired of the son of man and were filled with hatred.】
【But I am not that radical. I won't treat the son of man with simple love or hate... well, you are the only exception. I love you, Faust.】
"...I won't say a word until you show me what you look like."
Whether the fairy's confession was a joke or contained a bit of sincerity, the prince didn't dare respond easily. Who knew what Mephistopheles actually looked like?
Faust rubbed his chin, thought for a moment, and nodded:
"In that case, there's no problem. According to the contract, you help me become an 【overlord】, and I help you transform into a dragon."
"That being said, I still don't know how to go about it."
Dragonfall certainly wasn't something that happened just by getting angry. Otherwise, Mephistopheles, who already had the desire, wouldn't have needed a mortal's help; he would have done it long ago.
In the legends that were passed down, evil dragons seemed to be summoned through extremely blasphemous and terrifying rituals.
【That's why I had Lian send someone over to guide you with successful experience.】
Faust's gaze sharpened. "Lian?"
"Are you talking about... that dragon of the Second Empire?"
【Precisely. As for information about her, I don't think I need to introduce her further.】
"Ah, of course. I'm the prince of the Qingxi Kingdom. How could I not know about the incident that happened in the Empire?"
Faust wore a playful smile. After Mephistopheles mentioned it, he couldn't help but recall the history of the Qingxi Kingdom.
As everyone knew, the Qingxi Kingdom had only been established for a few decades. Before this, this land was a province of the Empire. Under the leadership of Faust's expensive adoptive father, it had broken away from the Empire's tyranny.
And the reason they were able to succeed in their independence—or rather, the reason they chose to launch a bold uprising at that time—was because the Empire had fallen into unprecedented chaos.
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