Chapter 478: A Full House

Knees already trembling, foreheads pressed flush against the ground, and bodies outright refusing to defy the unspoken command of those standing above them—

That was the current landscape of Wyrmfall.

At that point, they genuinely didn’t know how much more terrified they could get.

And yet, when the black dragon continued from his own rhetorical question, they discovered it was apparently still possible to feel the exact moment their blood began to burn.

As though they were being slowly incinerated from the inside out, everyone listened as Riley Hale spoke.

"Ah... a full house of spectators, allies, criminals, and definitely opportunists." Riley’s gaze leisurely swept across the battlefield. "With all of you gracing us with your presence, I’d hate to think we went on to announce we’d have a party only to forget about it..."

His brows slowly furrowed as though he were genuinely trying to remember.

"But somehow..." He tilted his head. "I really don’t recall doing such a thing...?"

Riley looked genuinely troubled as he turned toward Kael.

"Do you?"

The golden dragon, meanwhile, maintained his absolute stare, as though intent on catching anyone who dared to so much as flinch.

His hand automatically settled against the small of Riley’s back.

"No. Nothing of that sort."

Kael turned toward his mate as he answered, his expression noticeably softening for that brief moment before he faced everyone else again.

Unfortunately, the unreadable look he gave them afterward was somehow far worse than outright rage.

At least if the dragon lord were obviously furious, they would know exactly what they were dealing with.

But when neither of those two seemed willing to show what they were truly thinking?

That uncertainty was considerably more terrifying.

"Right." Riley nodded slowly. "Because from what I recall, the last invitation was met with such scorn that we simply decided to take care of most things ourselves."

He paused, his brows drawing together as though something had only just occurred to him.

"Why was that again?" His expression brightened a moment later. "Ah, I remember now. Not a lot of factions could be asked to help because most of you suggested I deal with it by myself."

He said it so nonchalantly, practically bringing the matter up like some minor detail he’d only just remembered before casually shrugging it off.

Unfortunately, quite a few of those still forced toward the ground widened their eyes in distress.

Everyone knew exactly what he was talking about.

Riley Hale was referring to those who had called for his surrender to the wyverns.

Those capable of sweating were suddenly doing so profusely. Perhaps they should’ve known that receiving no harsh rebuke back then didn’t necessarily mean the matter had been forgotten.

Apparently, it had simply been saved for later.

At that point, it almost felt as though the silent plop of a single bead of sweat hitting the dirt would immediately expose anyone who’d once been part of the crowd condemning the MBE for protecting one measly human.

But how could they have known?!

They’d simply weighed the odds based on the information available to them!

Had they known that the supposedly powerless mortal was actually a black dragon, then...

Well, they probably would’ve decided very differently.

Moreover, hadn’t they still sent people to assist the MBE in the end?

Of course, they hadn’t sent everyone. They’d needed to protect their own people and territories, after all.

But they’d still sent someone!

That had to count for something. At the very least, it was better than the merfolk, who’d become outright enemies, or the dwarves, who’d completely washed their hands of the entire matter.

Following that train of thought, several of the beings present were already scrambling to put together explanations for how they’d eventually managed to show up despite not personally participating in the earlier fighting.

But their frantic internal deliberations were cut short when the black dragon spoke again.

"Still, after all that fuss and insistence on being neutral, we’re simply surprised that you all came running over with such intensity that it became impossible for us to get a good night’s sleep."

"..."

"..."

Riley calmly looked over the gathered crowd.

"So we want to hear it. What was so important that you were suddenly willing to tear down everything and everyone just to come over when everything’s already been taken care of?"

No one answered.

"I figured you wanted us on our own for the most part, so again..."

The air suddenly changed.

Concentrated mana suddenly flared across Wyrmfall with such terrifying intensity that many immediately squeezed their eyes shut, desperately wishing they could simply disappear from where they lay.

Riley’s voice remained perfectly calm.

"To what do we owe this pleasure?"

__

See, Riley Hale was many things.

A filial son.

A caring brother.

A devoted mate.

Coincidentally, he also happened to be the last black dragon to inherit the Primordial Dragon’s will, which had fortunately allowed him to pull both himself and his mate back from the brink of death.

But aside from being an upstanding citizen and diligent office worker, if there was one thing he wished everyone understood, it was that Riley Hale was also a seriously petty man.

And right about now, said petty man was more than a wee bit angry.

Because in front of him were beings upon beings practically reeking of such dark miasma that he didn’t even need to see the faces behind them to understand the gravity of the atrocities they’d committed over the years.

Yes.

For those currently forced against the ground, the memory that would probably stick with them after today would be the absolute powerlessness they’d felt beneath the authority of the Primordial Dragon.

But for Riley and Kael?

What they saw was a sea of darkness.

Cores shrouded by greed, malice, and the consequences of repeatedly acting upon them.

To be fair, it wasn’t everyone.

Some had genuinely come because they were curious. Others had simply followed orders or rushed over after seeing practically everyone else flocking toward the same place.

Unfortunately, whatever light came from those relatively innocent cores was being thoroughly drowned out by the ones that had been all too eager to reach the tree.

And had those beings actually succeeded?

Had they managed to reach the tree, or worse, Riley and Kael themselves, they would’ve devoured power never meant for them in the first place.

Power that would’ve corrupted not only those foolish enough to take it, but potentially everyone who simply happened to exist on Eryndra.

For a brief moment, Riley found himself wondering if this was what the Primordial Dragon had experienced while he was still alive.

Admittedly, being able to look at someone and immediately see something so deeply rooted within them would probably be useful.

But having to constantly navigate a world filled with people carrying that kind of taint?

Riley could almost understand how someone might eventually be driven to desperation.

If anything, maybe that was why Khan knew there was simply no coming back from what Rhazira had become, forcing him to finally accept that even his own other half could be too far gone to save.

And while Riley would’ve loved nothing more than to discover that he was wrong about the people currently kneeling before him, what exactly was he supposed to do when all they seemed willing to spew were lies instead of accountability?