Demon Prince 41.2

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Chapter 41.2. Dragon King Crest

The dragon’s movements stopped.

But it wasn’t dead yet. Was it preparing something?

[—Magic! Cast defensive spells! Those who can’t use magic, get into my shadow!]

"! Ai, stay close to me! Noella and Sebast, into Fenrir’s shadow! Yuu, protect Lily and Hati!"

The moment I finished giving orders, the dragon’s magic activated.

Lightning rained down all around it. That was "Thunderstorm," the highest tier of lightning magic. After it ended, there were cone-shaped scorch marks spread over a vast area.

"Is everyone okay?!"

"We’re fine, Jun-sama! Thanks to Fenrir!"

"We’re okay too, onii-chan!"

Everyone seemed unharmed. But as expected of a divine beast like this dragon, its magic power was incredible.

[As expected from a dragon with the Dragon King Crest. Its strength doesn’t match its near-death state. But it looks like it’s reaching its limit.]

That last attack must have been its final desperate attempt.

It didn’t seem like it could move properly anymore.

[I’ll stop its movement. You take its head and end this.]

"Understood!"

We all launched an attack at the same time. Ai and I from the right, Sebast and Noella from the left. Yuu and Lily unleashed continuous attacks from long-range.

The dragon roared in pain and lifted its head. That’s when Fenrir sank his teeth into its throat.

[Now! Do it!]

"Here I go!"

I activated the Crest of the Demon God, leaping up, and sliced the dragon’s head clean off at the base.

[Did we get it?]

Thud.

The dragon’s body collapsed. Its head, still clenched in Fenrir’s fangs, dropped shortly after.

It wasn’t moving at all. It should be over.

"It’s over, I think."

[It seems so. Hati, are you alright?]

"Woof!"

Fenrir rushed over to check on Hati.

Everyone else seemed to be unharmed as well.

"Ai, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I’m fine. How about you, Jun?"

We confirmed each other’s safety as everyone gathered.

"Jun-sama, are you injured?"

"I’m fine. What about you, Noella?"

"We’re okay. Yuu and Lady Ai are fine as well, yes?"

"I’m alright. I’m glad everyone’s safe."

"Lily’s fine too!"

Even though the dragon was already wounded, we managed to come out of this without any injuries. If it weren’t for Fenrir, things could have been much worse, but we got lucky.

"Still, who did this to the dragon, and where did it come from?"

I touched the dragon’s severed head. It was still warm.

Suddenly, the crest on the dragon’s forehead began to glow again.

"! It’s still alive?!"

"Jun!"

"onii-chan, get back!"

[No, it’s not that. This is—]

Before Fenrir could finish, the crest vanished, along with the glow.

"What was that just now? Do you know?"

[That was likely a crest inheritance. You know that some crests can be passed on to others, right? The Dragon King Crest is one of them.]

"Wait, so that means—"

[It’s probably been passed to you, since you were the closest. How do you feel?]

I focused, and a crest appeared on my forehead.

[As I thought. That’s definitely the Dragon King Crest. I didn’t know it could be inherited by a demon, though.]

"This... feels like it could be bad."

[It’s bound to cause trouble. But for now, let’s deal with the dragon’s corpse and head back to the city. If we leave it here, it’ll turn into an undead. Plus, dragon materials are valuable, and they’ll serve as proof of what happened here.]

Taking Fenrir’s advice, I stored the dragon’s body in a magic bag. Even though the body was larger than the bag’s opening, it was effortlessly sucked inside.

Magic bags are really convenient in situations like this.

"Alright, let’s teleport back to the royal capital. Everyone ready?"

And so, the disturbance in the forest was resolved, at least for now. However, a new problem had arisen…