The Dark Dragon’s Conspiracy

Karina held a magic lantern as she walked slowly through the pitch-dark forest.

This was the Dark Forest, about three hundred kilometers from the homeland of the Dragon God.

Sunlight never reached this place — even at noon, it remained shrouded in shadow.

The trees had black leaves, crows cried endlessly in the distance, and cold winds blew through the woods.

Few dared to take even a single step inside.

Karina walked across the dark grass, hearing its faint rustle.

A few hundred meters ahead, she found the ground scattered with irregular stones carved with strange symbols — remnants of an ancient temple long collapsed into ruin.

“So this is where Selma lives, isn’t it?”

Karina sighed helplessly.

If not for delivering a wedding invitation, she would never have come here.

Why did Selma insist on living in such a gloomy forest, hidden among ruins?

She stopped before a magical barrier and tapped on it as if knocking on a door.

The barrier shimmered for a moment, then vanished.

Selma must have sensed her arrival and used remote magic to deactivate the ward surrounding the ruins.

Karina searched carefully until she found the entrance to an underground passage.

She descended the staircase.

At the bottom stood a pair of massive black stone doors, carved with two female figures facing each other.

Before she could touch them, the doors slowly opened on their own.

Outside, the ruins looked desolate, but the interior remained remarkably intact — dimly lit yet grand and imposing.

At the far end of the vast hall stood a worn statue of a goddess.

Beside it lay a dark dragon, resting idly on the stone floor.

It glanced at Karina with dull eyes.

Dragons didn’t need beds or furniture.

As long as they had wide open space, they were content.

When Letia had left home, she too had chosen a large cave lined with colorful magical crystals — comfort mattered little compared to space and light.

“Selma, it’s been fifty years, hasn’t it?”

“Lady Karina,” Selma’s voice echoed, calm and cold. “What brings you here?”

“My daughter is getting married,” Karina replied. “I came to deliver an invitation.”

Selma froze for a moment, surprise flickering across her massive draconic face.

“Letia? I thought she had run away.”

“I found her,” Karina said with a warm smile. “And she has a daughter of her own now. I’ve already held my granddaughter — she’s absolutely adorable.”

Selma watched her silently for a long while.

Then she closed her eyes, gathering energy.

Her body began to glow softly.

In a flash, she took human form — a woman in a black robe, with long dark hair and cold black eyes.

Her presence radiated both elegance and authority.

Selma was the Dark Dragon Empress, ruler of more than two hundred dragons and their followers — second in strength only to Karina’s clan.

The Dragon God Clan and the Dark Dragon Clan often clashed.

Only through Karina’s mediation had open conflict been avoided.

If compared to human realms, they were like a kingdom and an empire — now at peace, though their history was full of wars.

In truth, Karina had hesitated about inviting Selma.

But after thinking it over, she decided she shouldn’t appear fearful or petty in front of her kin.

It was better to be open than to seem small-minded.

Selma opened the invitation and examined the date.

“Half a month from now? That’s rather soon.”

“Can’t be helped,” Karina replied. “A good day is as good as any other. In about a week, I’ll take Letia and her young bride back to our homeland. We also plan to visit Grandmother Mona.”

“You mean Lady Mona of the Misty Forest?”

“That’s right — the very same.”

Every dragon knew of Grandmother Mona, whose lineage and wisdom stretched back centuries.

Dragons could have only one child, so they placed immense value on marriage.

Unwed couples would seek Mona’s blessing to see if their union was destined.

If the match was unsuitable, Mona would say so plainly.

Still, the final choice was always the couple’s to make — Mona never forced them apart.

She could also foresee dangers and advise how to avoid them.

Without Mona’s guidance, Karina’s own marriage might never have endured.

Now, to ensure that Letia and Lily would live happily together, Karina planned to bring them to Mona for her blessing — a long-standing dragon custom.

Selma sat on the steps, rereading the invitation.

“So, the information you gave me was correct after all.”

As she spoke, the shadow in the corner twisted, and a woman in a black cloak emerged.

Her green eyes gleamed with malice, and a sinister smile curved her lips.

“Lady Selma,” the stranger said, her voice cold, “you should act now. While the Dragon God’s line remains weak, strike them down completely.”

Dragons could bear only one daughter.

If Letia’s child were killed, Karina’s bloodline would end.

When Letia herself passed away, the Dark Dragon Clan could reclaim dominance — ruling all dragons once more, and reigniting their ancient hatred against humankind.

The age of dragon supremacy would return.

“Don’t think I don’t know who you are,” Selma said flatly. “Your so-called Holy Order has another name here — the Dragon Slayer Cult, doesn’t it?”

The Holy Order had risen within the past two centuries.

They wielded mysterious weapons capable of harming dragons, though such weapons consumed the user’s life in return.

Even so, the cultists fought without hesitation.

“‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend’? How laughable.”

“If I worked with you, I’d still have to guard my back. After all, the bounty you’ve placed on my head is, what, three thousand gold coins now?”

Three thousand gold was no small fortune.

Among humans, five copper coins could buy a steamed bun, ten could buy a loaf of bread, and fifty could pay for a night at a cheap inn.

Three thousand gold equaled thirty million copper — enough to tempt any assassin.

“Lady Selma…” the woman stammered. “I only wish to cooperate. Our goal has always been the Dragon God Clan—”

Before she could finish, Selma vanished from sight.

When the woman realized what had happened, a hand had already pierced through her chest.

She looked down at the blood, then back at Selma in disbelief.

“I have no need for your schemes,” Selma said coldly. “I will deal with the Dragon God’s bloodline myself — without your cult’s interference.”

She withdrew her hand.

The woman fell, lifeless, as blood spread across the floor.

Selma turned to leave — then stopped.

The corpse was glowing red, pulsing with unstable energy.

Sensing danger, Selma immediately raised a barrier.

A moment later, a deafening explosion rocked the ruins, engulfing everything in fire.

Flames swallowed her silhouette — and then she was gone.

A heartbeat later, Selma appeared two hundred meters in the air.

Below her, the ruins burned fiercely.

With a single wave of her hand, she swept the fire away.

“So, a soul-sacrifice spell to trigger a magic surge?” she muttered. “I’ll give you credit for your resolve — selling your soul just to take a dragon down with you.”

If it had been any other dragon, they might have perished.

But their target was Selma — and they had gravely underestimated her.