Inside a cave where darkness had completely settled.

A massive black creature gasped heavily for breath.

He was the Dragon Lord, Ranos Alvranth, leader of the dragons who were called the strongest beings on earth.

While letting out rough breaths, he opened his mouth.

“Looks like the time has finally come.”

The light in the eyes of the massive creature whose life was fading still shone vividly.

“Lord, do you have any last words to leave behind?”

The human standing before him was of a size that could easily be blown away just by the dragon’s breath.

“It truly was a long, long, tiresome dragon life.”

“Is that so…….”

“Yes. Five thousand years, exactly five thousand years and one more. There hasn’t been a dragon who’s lived longer than I, has there? I suppose that makes me the longest-lived dragon.”

A faint smile spread across the massive creature’s face, showing sharp teeth between its jaws.

“That’s right.”

“You must be glad. That wretched, stubborn old dragon is finally dying.”

“…Honestly?”

When the man gave him a sideways glance, Ranos snorted and shook his head slightly.

He nearly cursed out of habit, but swallowed it down and suppressed the urge.

He didn’t want to be remembered as a foul-mouthed ancient dragon even in his final moments, and looking into Hassel’s large, earnest eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

“You’ll be the next Lord, won’t you?”

“That’s not certain yet. If there’s someone who desires the seat of the Lord, I’d yield it without… ugh!”

Before he could even finish, Ranos let out a small burst of flame to cut him off.

“Tch, yield it, you say. The dragons that remain now are all reckless fools with nothing reliable about them. You’ll do it.”

“…….”

“This lair, I’ll leave to you.”

“Pardon?”

“Why are you surprised? I have no offspring to give it to. I can’t exactly pack it up and take it with me when I die.”

“…….”

“If you don’t want it, I can just blow it to pieces right now…”

“No, no! Thank you, Lord.”

Even a mere human left things behind when they died, things their children would covet. All the more, how could one refuse an entire dragon’s lair?

And not just any lair—it was the Dragon Lord’s own lair! From gems to rare artifacts, the most precious treasures of the world would surely be within.

“Guess I really must go now.”

Where Ranos’s eyes fell, a white beam of light was descending.

“So it seems.”

“Life goes round and round. Surely, one day, we shall meet again.”

When a fleeting sadness crossed the man’s eyes, Ranos spoke kindly to comfort him.

“I leave the rest of our kin in your hands, Hassel Teridier.”

“I shall await the day we meet again.”

The descending white radiance vanished, leaving behind two figures.

They were angels with pure white wings.

“Hello there!”

At the angel’s bright smile as he approached, Ranos chuckled and transformed into human form.

“Well now. Greeting a dying dragon with a cheerful ‘hello,’ you haven’t changed.”

“Haha! You’ve lived long, haven’t you! Every time you saw me, you grumbled you were tired of it all and begged me to take you away, remember?”

Ranos waved his hand dismissively at the boisterously laughing angel and began walking beside him.

“Yes. At last, my wish is being fulfilled.”

“Indeed! Then shall we go?”

One of the angels smiled gently and extended a hand, opening a gate toward the heavens.

“Yes.”

After answering, Ranos turned once toward Hassel.

“I don’t know when that day will come, but until we meet again, live well.”

He finished speaking with a faint smile.

The gate to the heavens closed behind him, and the three figures vanished without a trace.

Left alone in the vast empty cave, tears welled in Hassel’s eyes.

“The day, the day we meet again……”

Following the angel’s guidance into the heavens, Ranos’s expression was one of utter ease.

For someone who had just died, his face looked almost relieved.

“It was a long life, wasn’t it?”

The angel serving tea with a mischievous tone wore a relaxed expression as well.

“Yes, far too long, it made me shudder.”

Ranos wrapped his arms around himself and shivered exaggeratedly, drawing a small laugh from the angel, Kirita, who pulled a small vial from his robes.

The vial, glowing faintly with a purple sheen, looked mystical just by sight alone.

“Have you ever heard it said that dragons are but apprentices before they become gods?”

“I know.”

The moment he calmly sipped his tea, his eyes suddenly sharpened.

“Are you telling me to become a god now?”

“Um… well, yes, in fact.”

Kirita gave a sheepish laugh, fidgeted, and carefully set the vial down on the table.

“I understand well how tedious such a long life must have been for you.”

“Why don’t you just get to the point?”

Ranos set down his cup with a sharp clink and crossed his arms, as if to say, “Speak if you’ve got something to say.”

“Well… you did live an unusually long life and……”

“The point.”

“Haha… so what I mean is… before you become a god, you’d be free to—ugh!”

-Bang!

Before Kirita could finish, Ranos shot up, seized him by the collar, and lifted him.

“God!? Do you think I endured five thousand years because I wanted eternal life!?”

“Goodness! Lord Ranos, please let go!!!”

Flan, a trainee angel who had been silently watching, rushed forward to pry Ranos off him.

But Ranos’s voice only grew louder.

“Do you think I want to spend eternity in endless boredom, buried under piles of paperwork, unable even to die!?”

“Ugh… let go, let go……”

Kirita writhed helplessly in his grip.

Of course, grabbing an angel by the collar in heaven solved nothing. He was but a soul now; he could never harm an angel.

But the angels knew well what Ranos’s wrath meant.

They had heard all their lives about the five thousand years he endured. Whenever angels came to guide dragon souls, Ranos always muttered, “Don’t take that one, take me instead.”

And now they dared tell him to live for eternity? That was nothing but torture.

But dragons were beings forged from the purest, most refined souls. There was a reason they lived through countless ages.

Great power always came with responsibility—that was the will of the Supreme God.

Dragons were but apprentices on the path to godhood, and only those who endured the process well could stand at the pinnacle of the heavens as gods.

“Please calm yourself!!!”

When Ranos showed no sign of calming, Flan finally used force to pull him away from Kirita.

“God!? God!? Call one of those smug gods here right now! Let them come and tell me if they’re happy in that seat!”

Ranos’s body trembled with rage as the angel held him back.

“Just erase me! I have no lingering regrets for life!!!”

“Keuk… keuk….”

Kirita rubbed at his throat and approached him again.

“So please, hear me out!!!”

At last, unable to endure any longer, Kirita shouted, and a gust of wind blew forth.

The wind he stirred sent Ranos’s long hair flying back, and though he had been thrashing and roaring, he ended up panting heavily before collapsing into his seat.

No matter what, this was still the heavens. However wildly he raged, it remained true that he could inflict no harm on the angels before him.

“Fine. Throwing a fit at you won’t solve anything. Hoo… speak.”

Kirita, who sat across from him, steadied his breath before opening his mouth.

“You cannot refuse becoming a god.”

“…Why not?”

Ranos drew in a deep breath, his brows furrowing tightly.

“Because it is the will of the Supreme God.”

“The will of the Supreme God, is it… ha ha……”

At those words, Ranos let out a dry laugh.

“The almighty Supreme God never once shows his face, yet his ‘will’ shines all over the place, eh?”

“…Mind your words.”

Kirita’s expression chilled, displeased that his lord had been insulted.

“Why? You think I’d fear death again when I’m already dead?”

“Enough. Let us continue.”

Ranos snorted dismissively and crossed his legs.

“The Supreme God has granted you a special opportunity—to live one more life. You would live anew with all memories of your past erased, starting fresh. The race does not matter. Elf, if you wish, or even dragon once again……”

But Ranos cut him off sharply.

“You really do spin nonsense so convincingly. To become a dragon again, you say.”

“Otherwise, I’ll choose the race myself. But I warn you in advance—it cannot be an inanimate object, a lesser beast, or a monster.”

“Ha! This sounds more like a threat than an offer.”

“I shall give you time to decide.”

Kirita began to rise from his seat, realizing that reasoning was futile.

“Human. Make me human.”

He had expected Ranos to take time, yet the answer came before he could even stand.

“…Are you certain?”

“Yes. If I must endure this regardless, then I refuse long-lived races like elves or dragons. Humans don’t even live a hundred years—that would be best.”

Having lived a life so long, Ranos quickly resigned himself and made his choice.

“Very well. That is your decision, then?”

“Damn it……!”

At last, the curse he had been holding back burst from his lips.

Regardless, Kirita hurriedly conjured the gate to reincarnation, fearing he might change his mind.

“Here, then. Drink this.”

-Pop!

Snatching up the vial from the table, he pulled off the stopper and pressed it into Ranos’s hand.

“Damn that Supreme God.”

“Come now, cursing is useless. Drink it down quickly.”

At Kirita’s urging, Ranos raised the vial to his lips. The moment he gulped it down, a blue light spread around his body.

“Urgh……!”

The fishy taste filled his mouth, making him gag.

“Ah, ah!!!”

The instant Kirita saw the potion go down his throat, he shoved Ranos hard from behind.

Caught off guard, Ranos couldn’t even resist—he let out a brief cry as he was sucked straight into the gate.

As he vanished beyond the portal, Flan hurried to Kirita, his voice full of concern.

“Shouldn’t you have checked that the Waters of Forgetfulness worked properly?”

“It’ll be fine. I used a dose five times stronger than usual.”

An uneasy feeling lingered, but what could be done? He was already beyond their reach, on the path of reincarnation. They couldn’t drag him back now and ask, “Do you remember who you are?”

“I only hope he truly understands the Supreme God’s will….”

“What do you mean by that?”

Flan asked at Kirita’s mutter as he turned from the gate.

“You don’t need to know.”

Kirita gave a faint smile, though his expression carried a trace of bitterness.

It felt like being submerged in warm, comfortable water.

It seemed he was breathing, yet not breathing at the same time.

But the more he thought of it, the more wretched the feeling of being sucked into the reincarnation gate seemed.

“Kirita, one day when I become a god, I’ll make you pay dearly.”

He did not know how much time had passed when a pure white light appeared before his eyes.

“Congratulations, madam. It’s a healthy baby boy!”

“You’ve done so well, my dear.”

A man, his eyes brimming with tears, clutched his wife’s hand tightly as he gazed lovingly at his wife and newborn son.

The newborn’s face was wrinkled, yet his jet-black eyes and hair were strangely mysterious.

His sharp eyes and defined nose already hinted at the fine man he would grow into.

The mother, still catching her breath after childbirth, took the child into her arms and held him close.

“My baby… it’s Mama….”

She lovingly brushed back the damp hair on her baby’s head, her eyes filling with tears.

But the eyes of the child in her arms were unusually piercing.

They darted about, almost unsettlingly, though none of the family, overwhelmed with emotion, noticed.

Cradling him, she pressed her lips to his forehead and whispered softly.

“Mama will protect you.”

The declining House of Count Rodrigo.

For this couple, who had long despaired at being childless, the boy was nothing short of a miracle.

Once, the family had prospered, but they chose the wrong side in the struggle for the throne and had been all but exiled to a small, remote fief for years.

Yet the couple was happier than ever, with nothing more to wish for.

They had prayed and prayed at the temple, begging the gods to grant them a child.

Now that their wish had been granted, they were filled with joy.

But for the baby in his mother’s arms, things were somewhat different.

“What the hell is this mess?”

He was Ranos Alvranth—the Black Dragon, reincarnated.

(End of Chapter)