"...Move aside."

Black Steel's voice was deep, and he took a few steps forward.

"Stop him!"

The High Priest shouted angrily, and the Shade Priests immediately sprang into action. As the Crimson Queen's Personal Guard, they needed no magical creatures, as the trees and vegetation of the forest were their companions. In an instant, thorny vines broke through the earth and tightly entwined Black Steel at its center.

The rustling of leaves seemed to be nature's own roar.

"This is the Crimson Queen's dwelling, only those summoned by the Queen have the right to set foot in the Forbidden Zone!"

The High Priest raised his arms high, "Now you must pay for your wicked deeds!"

With his command, the thorny vines tore at Black Steel's body, forcibly dragging him into the earth.

They had used this method to punish many who had trespassed in the Forbidden Zone, imprisoning them deep within the soil, leaving them unable to move even a finger. The punishment would last until the day they were finally forgiven. The Shade Priests believed only such a method could make evildoers confront their own hearts, purifying the evil within them.

Yet the Crimson Queen was merciful, granting even sinners an equal chance to reform.

However, this time, the High Priest felt uneasy.

The gaze of Black Steel, burning with azure flames, did not reveal desire and wickedness, but rather a more pure and intense emotion.

Even in the last moment when the body was reconstructed or turned into a monster driven by instinct, his emotions persisted.

The High Priest stared fixedly at the spot where Black Steel was dragged down by the vines, as the earth was replenished and grass sprouted once more.

He did not know how long a villain like Black Steel should be imprisoned.

But his thoughts were interrupted by a violent shake beneath his feet.

Something emerged from under the soil, dark, massive, and sharp.

It should be the claw of a dragon.

An adult flying dragon, with black scales, covered in a metallic membrane, and surging blue energy flowing from the gaps in the scales.

This was the last sight seen by the High Priest, as the dragon's claw reached for him and performed a crushing motion.

"High Priest——!"

The Shade Priests cried out urgently, their eyes wide in disbelief at the scene before them.

When the dragon's claw released, there was not a fainted High Priest before them, but a mass of flesh, deformed from the pressure. The Black Dragon casually tossed the lifeless object away.

The Queen's rules had been broken.

"Death" was enacted vividly before their eyes.

Immediately after, the Shade Priests witnessed an even more horrific sight — they saw the thorny vines cutting through Black Steel's scales, being corroded by blue blood. They twisted and writhed, transforming into tubular creatures, detaching from the trees and vegetation, and growing abnormally.

Outside the village, there was a series of loud noises, the ground shaking violently with sounds approaching from afar.

It was a mammoth.

It had completed its transformation, with no trace of flesh anywhere on its body, its eyes burning with the same azure energy, charging relentlessly towards the Divine Tree like a moving battleground.

The priests also heard sharp cries from the clouds, as a giant bird, several dozen meters long, flew over their heads — more and more magical creatures appeared, born from different areas, now sharing the same characteristics, flesh and bones replaced by metal and machinery, their blood blue.

Not long ago, the "Cuckoo Bird Daily" brought news from across the Kingdom, mechanical creatures were moving towards the Divine Tree simultaneously.

No one expected them to arrive so quickly.

In the next moment, a bluish-black figure tore the ground apart, when its enormous wingspan extended, the whole village appeared insignificant before it, the eyes surging with blue flames didn't linger on the priests, the dragon's tail swept through the village's treehouses, and those bearing loyalty and honor, which had existed for a thousand years, crumbled entirely.

"Welcome to the true world."

The Black Dragon spoke in human language, its eyes no longer clouded, now mingled with a hint of mockery.

Shade Priests were blown away by the wind pressure from its flapping wings, the Black Dragon did not strike the final blow, but it was far from mercy, they were thrown into the center of the mechanical creatures' gathering, blocking their path.

No one could stop the King of Black Dragons anymore.

The Black Dragon flew towards the top of the Divine Tree.

Ignatius, that was its name.

When the thorny vines dragged Black Steel beneath the earth, as he lost his senses, suppressed under the soil of the forest, he recalled his name and... that familiar, bloodline-etched sense of humiliation.

Along with it, older memories were awakened.

He had once been in the true world, flowing with noble Black Dragon blood from the moment of birth, they were the strongest and oldest magical creatures in the world, at the top of the food chain, until one day, a red-haired human woman appeared in their territory.

The red-haired woman scripted the fate of the Black Dragon clan.

Bow down to humans, become their companions... but the term "companion" was merely a beautified term, magical creatures for humans were closer to pets and owners, her contract was never equal, under its influence, they couldn't harm humans truly, but humans could boldly invade their territory, stealing what was rightfully theirs.

And the name Ignatius was also given by a human.

A poacher broke into the Black Dragon's nest, relying on the contract's protection, stole a Black Dragon egg.

This Black Dragon egg circulated at a high price in the black market, eventually auctioned to a great noble.

Those long-forgotten memories awoke one by one in his mind, he recalled the whip of the "master" that brought heart-pounding pain before the scales fully formed, and the feeling of hunger — the human's punishment for disobedient magical creatures.

Starve for a week, even dragons will bow their noble heads.

The Beast Tamer always said.

But because of that, he learned a lot.

Learned how humans dealt with things, realizing human methods were more effective than contract restrictions, even in a world without the concept of "death," humans knew how to bring suffering to others.

He remembered the "master" subjected to royal judgment, becoming the target of all, his properties confiscated, everything he once had was gone.

Valuable possessions taken by others, he had to endure hunger, experiencing his dignity being trampled on the ground.

But that was far from enough!

The end of the Divine Tree was close at hand, Black Steel could already see the treehouse nestled among the lush leaves.

Here lay the dwelling of the red-haired woman, she was the source of all evil.

The Black Dragon hovered before the treehouse, and in an instant, blue flames spread with a burning intensity.

Ignatius had a meaning of "hero" and "freedom" in the Kingdom's language, when that noble bought him, hoping it would extend their family's honor.

The obsession in his heart awakened his consciousness, letting him adapt to the body reshaped by the "Blue Lake," he could feel the power of the Old Gods surging in his bloodstream at this moment.

And he intended to tear apart the Crimson Queen's forged contract, bringing an end to this fraudulent world.

"You've come."

He saw the red-haired woman again, standing amidst the blue flames, seemingly unsurprised by his arrival.

The red-haired woman wore the same insincere smile as in his memories.

But she spoke words that made no sense.

"Ignatius, welcome home."