The Red Dragon Just Wants To Do As It Pleases

Even though he had grown into adolescence and was nearly the size of a young Green Dragon like Nifadora, a creature undoubtedly considered large, at this moment, standing next to his mother—half of her body steeped in volcanic lava—he still felt as if he were in the presence of a small volcano perpetually on the verge of eruption.

It was only after having witnessed the dominion of the Black Dragon Lord over the Doze Wetlands last year that David could fully appreciate how extraordinary, formidable, and terrifying his mother, the Red Dragon, truly was. So much so that he could not help but feel sympathy and pity for his father, Attilicia, who had once been reduced to little more than her 'plaything'.

However, David knew that this was not the time for admiration or pity. Feeling tremendous pressure and discomfort, he opened his mouth but dared not wake his mother directly. He feared that if she were startled awake from her slumber, she might inadvertently 'slay' him... and that would be egregiously unfair.

So, like a 'little kitten', he tiptoed through the bubbling magma and swam up to where his 'cat mother' Pafila's head lay. He gently patted her cheek with his front paw and then whispered softly into her ear, "Mom... Mommy, I have something important to discuss with you..."

There was no response. David smacked his lips, raised his voice slightly, and repeated the words twice more. Still nothing.

Ultimately, being a Red Dragon with limited patience and an urgent matter at hand, David bit Pafila's ear and yelled, "Mom!!!"

Now an adolescent dragon, David, in every sense of the term, could be considered 'sharp-toothed and quick-witted'.

The Dragon Mother visibly winced from the pain, her ear twitching and flinging David away. He crashed into the pool of lava, his face a picture of confusion.

She's still not awake?

After that exchange, the 'hearty and robust' David no longer felt as reserved as before. This time, he climbed directly onto his mother's head, literally overstepping his boundaries. With considerable effort, he used both claws to pry open one of Pafila's eyelids.

If those from the New Continent who saw her as the 'Crimson Calamity' had witnessed this scene, they would have been shocked beyond belief, probably for the next thirty years.

Yet before the struggling David could say anything, the tip of the Dragon Mother's sweeping tail sent him flying. He skimmed across the magma pool like a stone.

Having previously raised a cat, David knew all too well that his mother, Pafila, was most likely awake by now; she just didn't wish to acknowledge him. However, the urgency of the situation left no room for hesitation. He approached his mother once again, took a deep breath, and said, "Mother, I think I may have caused some trouble."

He immediately informed Pafila how he had unintentionally acquired a fragment of the War God's divinity connected to the Hall of Valor, and how his 'sleepwalking' might have brought about a 'divine descent'. "I don't know if this will attract the attention of the War God or cause you any unexpected trouble. I would like to hear your opinion on the matter."

Yet, Pafila, whom he perceived to be awake, remained silent. As a result, he didn't feel it was right to question her about the meaning behind her last action. What if she, like him, was merely 'groggy with sleep'? After all, that was something a Red Dragon was quite capable of.

"That's the situation, Mom. Sorry for disturbing your sleep. I will handle this matter properly," David said.

In David's view, there were two priorities. The first was to find the 'supplicant'. Although the prayers contained no information about the supplicant's name, the first words spoken had been 'Crimson Calamity'. Second, it now seemed his mother, for some unknown reason, also held divinity, or something related to it, in her claws. He didn't know if it was a gift from other deities, perhaps from the Chromatic Dragon Queen Tiamat. If not, this could potentially bring unnecessary trouble to his mother.

For existing gods within their divine domains, any being acquiring divinity through means not sanctioned by or related to them was a potential challenger and threat. Even if such threats were usually negligible, the precedent of Toriel's tumultuous 'Sanctuary Catastrophe' showed that demigods became the most significant threats during such critical periods. Heaven knew if such a catastrophe would happen again. Before truly igniting their divine fire, such beings were the most tempting prey in the eyes of the gods.

Another thing he could do was spread more versions of the story to confuse and mislead, hopefully before attracting the serious attention of the War God. This was something he was good at—at least better than 'killing all witnesses'. Since his mother hadn't managed to eliminate them all at the first opportunity, it was clear they couldn't all be killed now.

Just as David was stepping out of the cave, he failed to notice the sly smile that crept onto his mother Pafila's lips.

An unknown amount of time passed before a figure, even 'shorter' than David, carelessly approached the 'sleeping Pafila'. If David had been there, he would have cried out in surprise. The newcomer was none other than Redscale, the very supplicant David was planning to search for on the New Continent!

But this 'Redscale' spoke to Pafila with a familiarity that suggested a close relationship, "Why not tell him our plans directly, Pafila?"

Upon hearing this voice, one that dragons found grating for a multitude of reasons, Pafila's smile vanished. She slowly opened her bleary eyes and replied, "But even you thought the plan was too radical at first, didn't you, My Liege?"

'Redscale' chuckled. "Indeed, you gave me quite a fright, Pafila. Your audacity knows no bounds. But I must admit, it's a rare opportunity. If we can successfully take down 'War', I could use this to spearhead planar warfare. I wouldn't be confined to a corner of Barto Hell, endlessly fighting that eternal, profitless Blood War with those devils and demons."

Pafila's eyes closed again. "You see? Even a Dragon God such as yourself feels this way, and David Uthos is still just a child. So what am I supposed to tell him? That we plan to use the strand of divinity within him to lure and hunt a deity of great power?"

The Dragon God Tiamat, inhabiting 'Redscale', suddenly burst into laughter. "So, you're afraid you'll scare him off?"

"No! Based on what I know of him, he would definitely throw himself into the fray without hesitation, using himself as bait. In a certain sense, David Uthos is even crazier than I, his own mother. In the past, with just one of your 'divine marks,' he dared to provoke Rose in the Gloomy Region. He even ventured into the Pantheon to steal Tempas's divinity. Now, if he knew he had both you and me backing him, what wouldn't he dare to do?"

Even Tiamat couldn't help but find it amusing to recall David running wild in the Pantheon the moment he stole divinity. If he hadn't ended up in Her clutches, heaven knows what other troubles he would have caused.

Tiamat, however, grew puzzled by Pafila's last statement and asked, "Oh? So you're saying you didn't prepare to use him as bait?"

Pafila opened her eyes again, looked at her Dragon God, and retorted, "Of course not. I directly killed a praying follower of Tempas. Otherwise, wouldn't you be afraid the prey would slip away completely, My Liege?"

Tiamat looked deeply at Pafila and said with a smile, "But you know, what I fear more is losing you. You've always been looking for a chance to slip away from me, and now is the perfect opportunity, isn't it, my child?"

"Otherwise, you wouldn't have let me leave, would you, Dragon Queen Highness?"

"Oh, your cold-hearted manner will break my heart, child," Tiamat feigned, as if ready to shed the tears of Chromatic Dragons at any moment.

"Then I'm afraid your heart will be riddled with holes by me sooner or later," Pafila said.

"My heart is already shattered by you!"

"Don't disgust me. If you want to wound a heart, go find your 'fellow' Bahamut."

"You child..." Tiamat began.

"Tuck your 'big tail' away! The fish is about to bite!" Pafila exclaimed, her own tail giving a sharp, excited lash before falling still.