At this moment, Genasar turned his head and saw the scene outside the door.
A boundless snowy plain stretched before him, and the Crystal Palace stood atop a towering mountain that pierced the clouds.
“Master, you’re finally back. Earlier, something was knocking…”
Just as he was about to report the knocking on the door, a sudden blinding golden light nearly dazzled his dragon eyes.
If Genasar’s eyes hadn’t been strengthened, this flash alone might have left him blind.
He hurriedly shielded himself from the dazzling golden light. Once he adapted, Genasar finally saw who it was.
A golden dragon, shining all over, with two pairs of peculiar, winding horns atop its head, vaguely circling to form a crown.
Its massive body radiated an overwhelming sense of oppression, making it hard to breathe.
It raised its head and puffed out its chest, looking down at Genasar with an arrogant, imperious gaze.
“Hm? Another evil little red dragon brat, huh?”
A deep, resounding voice filled with authority rumbled from its throat, sending waves of pressure targeted straight at Genasar.
Luckily, Geli quickly shielded him, helping him resist.
“I’ve told you many times—you have no right to interfere in my affairs.”
For a moment, the atmosphere grew tense, as if a fight might break out at any second.
However, the golden dragon soon relented, changing the subject.
“When I came to visit just now, he should have been here. Why did no one greet me?”
At these words, Genasar realized that the one knocking earlier had been this guy—here to see Geli.
Did he not leave after that? Just squatted at the door the whole time? What a creep.
Yet he still had the nerve to take a reproachful tone, provoking Genasar.
Genasar immediately raised a middle claw, snapping back without any respect:
“Didn’t your mom ever teach you not to open the door for strangers when you’re home alone?”
With a thunderous boom, visible flames of rage erupted from the golden dragon’s body.
Golden light surged into fire, like a wild beast on the verge of going berserk.
“Evil little red dragon brat, I’ll teach you a lesson with my own hands…”
“Bartek! You are not allowed to be so insolent here!”
Geli’s roar, in dragon form, was just as imposing and unyielding.
At her voice, the golden dragon—Bartek—instantly fell silent.
“Fine, I’ll let it go for your sake. But next time he dares to offend me, I won’t let him off, remember that, brat.”
Listening to his warning and that haughty gaze, Genasar stuck out his tongue and replied mockingly.
“I won’t be let off~ Bleh—”
With a face that said “What can you do about it?”, he pissed Bartek off even more.
“You!”
“Hm?”
Geli glared at him with wide eyes, forcing him to suppress his anger again and ignore Genasar.
“This is what you needed.”
With that, he produced a ball of golden liquid, floating in the air like a sphere.
After Geli took it, she didn’t bother to look at him again.
“You may leave now.”
Issuing a clear order to leave, she walked toward the alchemy cauldron. Bartek, however, had no intention of leaving.
“It’s fine, I’ve got some other matters. I’ll wait outside.”
He left for the door, but not before giving Genasar one last glare.
Which was promptly met with a counter-glare.
“Tch, evil little red dragon brat.”
With a bang, the door shut again. Genasar, a little annoyed, walked over to Geli’s side.
“Who was that guy? He’s so damn annoying, acting like I owe him money or something.”
Geli tossed materials into the cauldron as she replied carelessly:
“Him? He really is a pain. Even though he already has descendants, he’s still chasing after me. What does he take me for, seriously.”
“Hah? That cocky? Heh, just wait—next time I get a chance, I’ll mess with him good.”
Just as he finished speaking, Geli seemed to think of something. A mischievous, almost human-like smile appeared on her dragon face as she turned to look at Genasar.
“Heh heh~ Once I throw in these materials, I’ve got something to tell you. Just a sec.”
“Huh? What is it?”
Genasar watched in confusion as Geli tossed a few more ingredients into the cauldron.
Then, mysteriously, she shifted into human form and led Genasar toward his incubation chamber.
But their target was actually the room next door, which was a similar incubation chamber.
She unlocked the ward at the door, and the door opened automatically.
“What’s in here? There’s even a ward?”
“Just watch.”
As the door opened, another burst of dazzling golden light shone into their eyes.
What came into view was an incubation chamber identical to Genasar’s—except it was lined with golden magic crystals.
On the platform inside rested a golden dragon egg.
“A dragon egg? And a golden one at that? Master, you even dare steal a golden dragon’s egg? Isn’t he going to come after you for that? Weren’t we a bit too harsh to him just now? Maybe we should kill him to silence him.”
At this, Geli smacked him on the head, annoyed.
“What are you thinking? Am I that kind of dragon? That’s just that guy’s offspring. Something went wrong, so he asked me to take care of it.”
“Ah? So that’s it? Scared me for a second, I was wondering about that.”
Genasar let out a sigh of relief, still a bit shaken.
If Geli had really stolen it, things would have been bad.
The golden dragon’s social structure is similar to humans, but their concepts of race and family are especially strong.
If you hurt the young, the adults come; if you hurt the adults, the elders come; hurt the elders, and seven aunts and eight uncles show up.
If that’s not enough, they call everyone they know; if that’s not enough, they call the whole clan.
And if that still doesn’t work, they call the neighboring silver dragons, bronze, copper, brass dragons—everyone—until they get payback.
You could say they all love meddling, or rather, have an overwhelming sense of justice and will go to any length to protect the weak and their kin.
That’s why Genasar was wary of them—if you really offend them, better to silence them.
“No worries, don’t panic. Right now, they’re all begging me to look after his child. This egg was cursed right after it was laid. At first, they could suppress it, but eventually they had no choice but to come to me.”
“Cursed? That sounds tough.”
A curse that not even the mighty golden dragons could handle had to be something serious.
Yet, Geli, who could solve what they could not, surprised Genasar a bit.
He’d always known she was strong—just not this strong.
“What kind of curse is it, exactly? Can I know?”
Curious, Genasar looked up to ask. But Geli didn’t look at him, her face darkening as she gritted her teeth.
“It’s nothing much—just the Godfall Curse. Back in the mythic era, during the Twilight of the Gods, the ancestors of the golden dragon clan joined the god wars. When they killed a god, the god laid down a curse. Every so often, it randomly falls upon a golden dragon descendant. And as luck would have it, this little one here is one of the unlucky ones.”
“God…”
That word set Genasar’s mind spinning.
He’d wondered, too, if his being summoned to this world had something to do with the gods—but later found out that most gods had died during the Twilight.
In the mythic age, gods abounded, but when there were too many, a war broke out among them, shattering all godhoods.
Now, at best, a few pseudo-gods with divine-level power but no true godhood appear from time to time.
“God… hmm…”
“All right, don’t overthink it. Let’s just handle what’s in front of us first.”
As if seeing through Genasar’s thoughts, Geli brought his attention back.
She suddenly turned, crouched down, and put a hand on his shoulder, her face full of encouraging smiles:
“This little one is about to hatch. I checked—it’s a little sister. Just in time for you to charm that annoying guy’s daughter and help your master get back at him.”
“Huh?”