Chapter 164

Thanks to everyone moving quickly, the wedding was set to take place that very night.

The ceremony would be held in the temple, omitting all unnecessary formalities and proceeding only with the important part of announcing the dragon's marriage to the gods.

The selected bride was Ilya, the tailed tribe's bride candidate. He was adorned splendidly, befitting one who would become the dragon's bride, but a closer look revealed signs of hasty preparation, such as mismatched colors in his clothes and ornaments.

"Is this a wedding ceremony or a funeral..."

Fei, the leader of the tailed tribe, looked around the interior of the temple with a gloomy face.

A dragon's wedding was supposed to be a joyous occasion. However, not a trace of happiness could be found on the faces of the mere three guests.

Especially Kor...

Turning his gaze away from the winged tribe leader's bloodshot eyes, Fei approached Ilya.

"Ilya, are you really all right with this?"

"Don't worry. This is what I wanted."

Dressed in wedding attire, Ilya was beautiful, but his face was so full of worries that he looked more like a mourner than a bride about to marry.

In reality, Ilya felt similar to the latter. But surely everyone watching this wedding ceremony was feeling the same emotions as Ilya.

Boom!

Just then, the closed door opened with a loud noise. The three leaders instinctively tensed their bodies.

What entered through the door was the dragon. But no one recognized it immediately. This was because nothing of his former appearance could be found anywhere on the dragon. The leaders unknowingly tensed their bodies at the cold and ominous energy flowing from him.

The dragon didn't even give a glance to such leaders. He merely approached Ilya slowly. Though he wasn't walking particularly carefully, it felt strange that his footsteps made no sound.

"...!"

When the dragon finally stood beside him, Ilya was shocked almost to the point of fainting at the sight of his face, completely covered in black scales. Though he miraculously didn't scream, he couldn't properly hide the fear and disgust that appeared on his face.

The dragon looked at such an Ilya expressionlessly and opened his mouth.

"I will proceed with the wedding."

At that moment, Ilya realized that even if he had screamed, the dragon wouldn't have cared at all. His voice was so emotionless and dry.

"I, Asad, hereby announce to the gods that I have found the last scale of the dragon by taking a mate in this place."

Though it was deep night outside, the inside of the temple was as bright as day with hundreds of lit candles. In the light, statues modeled after the gods looked down upon them. Since the gods loved the dragon, they would surely be watching this situation, just like these statues.

"...I dedicate the first magic to my mate."

And finally, the awaited moment arrived.

"Mate, make your wish..."

"W-wait a moment."

Ilya took a step back from Asad, who was reaching out to him.

"......"

Asad's eyes sank into an even deeper and thicker darkness.

The tailed tribe's excellent sense of smell detected that the ominous scent flowing from the dragon was intensifying.

Though he was frightened, Ilya didn't run away. Instead, he clenched his fists tightly and looked at Asad.

"Lord Asad, if you're thinking of using magic on me, there's no need."

"......"

"Nine saved my life. He... Nine is my dear friend. That's why I volunteered for this wedding."

While everyone was focused solely on the dragon that had become a magical beast, Ilya had inquired about the human corpse that the dragon had been holding.

But in truth, he had known the answer without being told. He had thought that if the dragon was holding someone so preciously, it must be Kinaine.

Ilya, who had noticed the special feelings the dragon harbored for Kinaine before anyone else, was the only one who understood the loss the dragon had experienced.

Sympathy lingered in Ilya's eyes as he looked at the dragon. To Ilya, the dragon was as distant as a star in the sky, but at this moment, he felt they were sharing the same sorrow.

"Lord Asad is not the only one who mourns Nine's death, who wishes for his return."

Ilya spoke what he desired.

"Dragon."

"......"

"I wish for Nine's resurrection."

Whoosh—

At that moment, a strong wind from somewhere extinguished all the lights illuminating the temple.

The temple was instantly plunged into deep darkness.

"W-what's happening? Has the wish been granted?"

Ilya shouted toward the pitch-black void.

Soon, the dragon's voice was heard from the darkness.

"No..."

It was a voice that sounded like sobbing.

"Why... give His Highness back to me..."

"L-Lord Asad?"

With an uneasy feeling, Ilya unconsciously took a step toward where the voice came from.

At that moment, a strong force grabbed the back of his neck.

"Ilya, run! We must escape from here!"

"Lord Fei?"

Fei began to run with surprising strength, pulling Ilya out of the temple.

Only after standing under the moonlight did Ilya realize that the inside of the temple had been abnormally dark.

Looking back, he saw the temple enveloped in pitch-black fog. Ilya realized that the identity of that fog was demonic energy and got the chills. If he hadn't escaped, he would have been instantly contaminated by the demonic energy.

Ilya asked with a pale face.

"What exactly happened?"

"The wedding was not consummated."

It was Kor who answered. The other leaders had also immediately left the temple as soon as they sensed something was wrong. All had dark shadows cast over their faces.

"W-why? Was it because we omitted the formalities?"

"It's not that kind of problem. The gods denied this wedding. There's only one thing that implies. That the established order has been violated."

"What does that mean?"

The three leaders looked at each other in silence. When Ilya demanded an explanation again, Kor finally answered.

"A dragon meets only one mate in its lifetime. There are no exceptions. Because there cannot be multiple 'final scales of the dragon.'"

"Then..."

"It means the dragon's mate has already been determined."

Ilya finally realized why the leaders were wearing such dark expressions.

"It's Nine, isn't it."

The dragon's mate was Nine.

But since Nine was already dead, a wedding ceremony couldn't be held.

That meant the dragon could never become full-grown, and could never use the first magic.

Boom!

It was then. After a thunderous roar, the temple began to crumble.

What destroyed the temple was a giant serpent covered in black scales.

Everyone tensed, but the serpent paid no attention to them and howled in a terrible voice, looking up at the sky.

"Ugh."

When those who were covering their ears in pain removed their hands, no one was there.

* * *

When he realized that the wedding had been denied, the dragon spewed fiery anger toward the gods.

"Give him back! If you don't return him, I'll stake everything I have and kill all of you!"

But the gods did not respond.

"Please..."

When neither anger, nor curses, nor resentment worked, the dragon finally knelt down. He bowed his head before the statues looking down on him and pleaded.

"Please give him back to me. Didn't you say you loved me?"

But the statues merely looked down at the dragon indifferently. The gods do not interfere with the dragon's fate. Because they love even the tragedies and misfortunes the dragon experiences.

"......"

The dragon stared vacantly into the void, as if dazed. When he suddenly reached out his arm, a sharp sword was somehow gripped in his hand.

Without any hesitation, the dragon stabbed his own chest with the blade. Red blood poured from the mercilessly torn wound, and the smell of blood stung his nose. But no matter how many times he repeated this, the death he desired did not come.

The immortality gifted by the gods prevented him from following his lover.

Was this why he couldn't die?

The dragon belatedly recalled Basar, the previous dragon he had killed with his own hands. His father who had gone mad after losing his mate.

At that time, he had not understood the pain Basar had experienced. He had only thought it was pathetic that a being who could do anything and have anything had lost his mind over losing a mere omega.

So he had been spiteful and revealed the truth that Basar had been forcibly ignoring.

'That woman can never come back to life. You actually know this better, don't you?'

'With the first wish...'

'The dragon's first wish fulfills what the mate desires, not what the dragon wants. How will you make her wish for something when she's already dead?'

A terribly contorted expression, a scream that could tear one's ears, pain that makes one beg for death instead.

These had now become his own.

'You too will certainly come to hate yourself because of your mate.'

Asad realized that the previous dragon's curse had been fulfilled.

And also that he didn't even have someone who could end this pain for him.