The Return of the Dragon of Despair

The moment the Holy Grail disappeared, Arkhan regained his ability to move. Simultaneously, he could sense the confinement that once blocked the outside of the Norse Realms had vanished without a trace. 

Staring at the dark and ominous dark sky, Arkhan sighed helplessly.

"I was still too careless..."

Upon closer thought, he should have known better. After fifteen years of preparation, Vortigern wouldn't have easily revealed himself unless he had gained significant control over the Holy Grail.

The phrase 'establish a connection' was probably just a ploy to deceive him. To still retain composure in such a situation, Vortigern proved to be a powerful enemy.

"Teacher."

"My Lord."

Artoria and Thrud approached.

Arkhan looked at Artoria and hesitated for a moment.

"Lily, what's going on with you?"

"Is something wrong, Teacher?" Artoria with her amber eyes looked at Arkhan in confusion.

"No, what I mean is..." Arkhan paused momentarily, then continued, "How do you feel right now?"

"I feel great!" Artoria responded without hesitation, even showing a hint of a pleased smile. "Better than ever!"

'This is actually the worst thing...' Arkhan sighed inwardly.

He put his arm on Artoria's shoulder, using the power of Abyss Flower to examine her body thoroughly, and finally found the real cause.

Netherflower.

This plant, contaminated by the aura of the underworld, subtly stirs the dark side of the eater's heart. If consumed excessively in one go, it can bring about significant trouble.

'Things of unknown origin should not be consumed casually, huh...' Arkhan shook his head in resignation in his heart.

Artoria's Red Dragon Body helped her counteract a large part of the Netherflower's influence. Plus, her past experiences hadn't tainted her soul, so the actual impact of the Netherflower on her was not that significant.

It was more or less equivalent to revealing another side that was usually suppressed.

If the subject was Artoria, that didn't sound too bad, right? Arkhan became curious instead. Thus, he immediately dismissed the idea of using Fenghuang Down to restore her.

The three walked together under Yggdrasil, gazing at the black dragon that lay like a small mountain across the land.

Nidhogg's body, as if cast in molten iron, ancient and majestic even in slumber, conveyed a transcendent divine aura. The extreme contrasts of reality and illusion, the sublime and the sinful, all contradictory features converged in the colossal beast before them.

This was the Dragon of Despair who devoured the world.

"Nidhogg..."

Thrud's gaze was incredibly complex, a myriad of thoughts entwined in her mind, forming a tangled mess.

Undoubtedly, Nidhogg was the instigator of Ragnarok, the one who devoured the roots of Yggdrasil, leading to the impending apocalypse.

However, on the battlefield, Nidhogg weirdly did not attack the gods or kill anyone.

Recalling the Giants on Bifrost, their eyes filled with anger and hatred, a strange thought suddenly surfaced in Thrud's mind. 'Was Ragnarok really caused by Nidhogg?'

Artoria glanced at the black dragon in front of her, then at her teacher beside her.

'Black dragon and red dragon should be different, right?' Artoria said inwardly with a contemplating tone.

Arkhan stared at Nidhogg's massive dragon body and sighed. After all the commotion, it was finally over.

He stepped forward, placing his hand on the black dragon's cold scales.

"Alright, let's begin, Nidhogg."

"No problem!"

Nidhogg excitedly responded, and then Arkhan felt as if something had detached from his consciousness.

*Rumble—!*

The mountainous black dragon trembled slightly, and then, the silent black dragon eyes that had been dormant for thousands of years suddenly opened wide!

*ROARRR—!!!*

The colossal body stood on the earth, the chaotic wings unfolded again, and the Dragon of Despair let out an excited roar, celebrating her return!

Somehow, in what should have been a scene of a king returning, Arkhan inexplicably felt like a lost husky finally found by its owner and brought back home.

"As expected, my own body feels comfortable!" Nidhogg exclaimed with a happy tone. "How is it? Are you captivated by my magnificent body? Feel like you can't take your eyes off me? It's okay, whether in praise or admiration, even though you all are just uncivilized monkeys, considering the hardships you've endured on this journey, I'll reluctantly accept your compliments."

"..." Everyone except Arkhan had a wide eyes.

"Teacher, is Nidhogg always like this?" Artoria turned to Arkhan.

"No, this is called a taste of success." Arkhan replied emotionlessly.

"I suggest you don't get too happy too soon." He looked up at Nidhogg and said in a calm tone. "Don't forget what just happened."

Nidhogg, as if awakening from a dream, quickly checked her power within her. Half a minute later, she screamed.

"No! My power—!!!"

Although the dragon form made it difficult for her to express rich emotions through facial expressions, Arkhan still sensed a mournful expression on her face.

"My power is around sixty percent left..."

"Which means Vortigern took almost half?" Arkhan frowned.

He felt an inexplicable sense of crisis. Vortigern had gone to great lengths to seize Nidhogg's power, probably with an extraordinary purpose.

He once again used the power of Fenghuang Down to enter a state of absolute rationality, but still couldn't come to any useful conclusions.

The Holy Grail was too unpredictable, and he couldn't analyze Vortigern's true goal.

'With things at this point, we can only take it step by step.' Arkhan shook his head to himself. 'But fortunately, I am not without resistance.'

With the Divine Keys in hand, as long as Vortigern hadn't completely mastered the Holy Grail, he was fearless. If it weren't for the lack of information, he wouldn't have been in such a sorry state.

"The next time I see that damn white dragon, I'll make him pay!" Nidhogg gritted her teeth.

"Let's discuss that after we get out of here." Arkhan surveyed Nidhogg's dragon body and furrowed his brow. "By the way, are you really planning to go out like this?"

Nidhogg remained silent for a moment. Suddenly, her body radiated a black light.

When the light dissipated, the massive dragon body had disappeared, replaced by a black-haired beauty about the same age as Artoria. She had delicate and beautiful features, long black hair to the knee, fair and smooth skin, and wore a plain black knee-length dress with no adornments, revealing two slender and fair legs.

"The human body is really troublesome, especially these two bulges in front. It always feels a bit uncomfortable. Honestly, why do I have these useless things?"

Nidhogg complained as she looked at the well-formed peaks in her chest, then turned to Arkhan.

"Is this okay now? Hey, why are you all looking at me with such strange eyes?"