"Little Saga, is flirting with your lover the first thing you do upon arriving at Thorn Isle, instead of seeing me?"
The Red Dragoness's voice rang out, tinged with teasing.
In that instant, it was as if Saga had been doused with a bucket of ice water in the dead of winter, sending a shock through him before he deflated on the spot.
"Mother, what are you talking about? I just wanted to adjust my state before seeing you, to properly show my respect and love for you."
Saga's defense was weak and unconvincing.
This king of Moon Bay, a powerful Outsider Dragon capable of effortlessly slaying two high-ranking Giant Crocturtles and dooming a mature Storm Giant, only showed his true Young Dragon side before the Red Dragoness. To other creatures, Saga was a figure of immense majesty and power, making it hard to believe he was still in his Young Dragon stage.
"Come to the summit of volcano."
The Red Dragoness paid no heed to Saga's excuses, nor did she press further, simply speaking in a calm and concise manner.
Saga nodded slightly, then turned to Iyeona and said:
"I'm going to see Mother."
With matters concerning the Hell Queen at stake, Iyeona unwound her tightly coiled body from around Saga and reverted to her serpent form, nodding, "Go ahead, seeing the Queen is more important."
After pinching the serpent's slender, boneless waist, Saga took off into the air under her gaze, flying directly towards the towering volcano.
But as he approached volcano, Saga noticed that things were different from when he had left.
A more intense heat permeated every inch of the air than before.
Looking down, his gaze swept over the mountain.
Saga could clearly see many new gorges and fissures on the surface of volcano.
Of course, the fissures that caught Saga's attention were not ordinary. Within the crisscrossing cracks, dark red and even black-red glows could be faintly seen, with oddly shaped fire elementals wandering around.
"The territory is irradiated with the aura of Dragon Kind, forming fissures that connect to the plane of fire elements, with fire elementals willingly following and pledging loyalty. This is a special ability that many ancient Red Dragons possess."
"A Red Dragoness in her prime already has the strength akin to an ancient Red Dragon?"
Saga pondered thoughtfully.
He looked up towards the peak.
An unabashedly powerful, malevolent, and domineering aura emanated from the summit, enveloping the entire majestic volcano.
This aura was both familiar and strange.
"There has indeed been a dramatic change in Mother that I'm unaware of. Her aura has changed significantly and has become even more domineering, like a towering, erupting volcano."
A chill went through Saga's heart.
After hesitating for a few seconds, he continued to fly towards the summit.
When Saga used to live on Thorn Isle, he was curious about what was at the summit of volcano. The Red Dragoness's followers had told him that there was a grand palace built for her there, and she initially resided within it.
However, for unknown reasons, the Red Dragoness later sealed the palace.
Previously, when Saga flew high into the sky, he couldn't see the conditions at the summit because it was always shrouded in thick smoke, making it difficult to approach. This was the blockade set by the Red Dragoness.
Now, the smoke had dissipated.
The summit of volcano was clearly visible in Saga's field of vision.
He adjusted his mood, focused his mind, and continued to ascend with the flapping of his dragon wings until he was above the summit.
Then, a magnificent golden palace came into view for the first time.
The palace, shrouded in a hazy mist, was golden and shimmered with the luster of wealth. It was grand and imposing, with the main gate alone being tens of meters high. The walls were engraved with murals depicting the legendary exploits of the Red Dragoness, and dragon scale-like textures, beloved by the Dragon Kind, were visible everywhere. However, there were patches on the palace walls where the surface had flaked off, revealing the brass color underneath.
Clearly—this was a gilded palace.
Although the Red Dragoness had some wealth, building a grand palace capable of accommodating legendary dragons out of massive amounts of gold was beyond her reach.
"Tsck, so the Red Dragoness also engages in such superficial acts."
Saga thought to himself, while also creating a mental shield with his Mind Warlock skills to prevent the Red Dragoness from hearing his internal criticism, especially since there was a precedent of a Blue Dragon who had spoken out of turn in her presence.
Whoosh!
With a flap of his dragon wings, Saga dispersed the thicker mist at the summit and approached the grand palace.
He was slightly taken aback to see two lifelike statues, each thirty meters tall, standing on either side of the palace's main entrance.
Their bodies were a grayish-white stone color, with fierce and solemn expressions, and a pair of folded bat-like wings on their backs. The statues' large hands rested on terrifyingly large axes, standing silently.
At the same time, Saga felt as if he was being watched and scrutinized.
Frowning, Saga looked towards the two imposing statues.
The feeling of being watched intensified as he made eye contact with them.
A shock ran through Saga's heart, triggering memories of his heritage.
"These are not ordinary statues."
"This form and stature, hiss, they're high-ranking demons, legendary giant stone golems!"
Giant stone golems, powerful demons that dwell in the first layer of the Ninefold Hell, Avernus, are common guards of demonic fortresses and can reach legendary status in their full form.
"Come in."
The Red Dragoness's somewhat lazy voice rang out directly.
At the same time, the massive doors slowly opened, revealing a vast space inside with columns over a hundred meters tall and a majestic dome, all glittering with gold. The space inside seemed even more spacious than it appeared from the outside, arranged with corresponding spatial arrays.
The two legendary giant stone golems remained as still as statues, but their oppressive presence was not diminished in the slightest.
"Where did these two legendary giant stone golems come from? Did the Red Dragoness summon them from Avernus?"
"The Hell Queen, also a legend, has giant stone golems as gatekeepers. This is not something ordinary legends can achieve. How powerful has the Red Dragoness, now revered as the Hell Queen, become?"
Saga marveled in thought.
At the same time, with curiosity about the current Red Dragoness, the golden young dragon flapped his wings and flew through the now-open palace doors, entering the grand interior.
For Saga, whose body was ten meters long with a wingspan of over twenty meters, ordinary buildings would definitely feel cramped.
But inside the Red Dragoness's grand palace, Saga felt exceptionally small, as everything around him was built on a scale suitable for legendary dragons.
As he surveyed the Red Dragoness's palace, Saga followed her guidance deeper inside.
Eventually, he crossed the most spacious main hall and entered a room of extreme luxury, made of real gold, silver, and other precious metals.
Amidst the beautiful glow of gold and silver.
The large, strong, beautiful, and noble Hell Queen was perched in the center of the room, in a pool of lava that was not naturally formed.
Saga was not distracted by the materials that made up the room.
His gaze immediately fell on the Red Dragoness, filled with shock.
The nearly sixty-meter-long colossal Red Dragon looked calm, like a dormant volcano, gazing quietly at the golden young dragon with a faint smile at the corner of her mouth.
"Mother, you've become even stronger."
"Ordinary legendary creatures must seem like mere ants before you."
Saga stepped forward, closely examining the now Red Dragoness, and exclaimed in admiration.
Even though he was now capable of contending with high-ranking creatures, Saga still felt a heavy, mountainous pressure in the presence of the Red Dragoness, whose body length was nearly sixty meters. Her mere breathing stirred up gusts of wind, and her scales were as red as fire. The surrounding air seemed to be tinged with a layer of flame, as if all were subservient to her. The oppressive aura emanating from the Red Dragoness was incomparable to that of the two legendary giant stone golems guarding the palace outside.
The Red Dragoness extended a huge dragon claw, lifting the comparatively tiny golden young dragon.
Bringing Saga close to her face, the Red Dragoness said with a smile:
"Little Saga, your flattery is quite pleasing to me."
Saga could feel that the Red Dragoness was in a very good mood.
With a plop, the Red Dragoness's claw loosened, and Saga fell into the lava pool.
A sensation of intense heat, yet strangely comforting, washed over him as endless warmth nourished his body. Saga let out a low hum, then spread his wings and settled on the edge of the lava pool, with only half his head sticking out, bubbling in the magma.
Both Red Dragons and Golden Dragons are powerful fire-attribute True Dragons. With the bloodlines of both Red and Golden Dragons, Saga had an extremely strong resistance to high temperatures.
Soaking in a lava pool felt almost like a human enjoying a hot spring.
Lifting his head, Saga saw the scales on the Red Dragoness's chest.
Dark red, dull glimmers of light seeped through the gaps in the Red Dragoness's scales, the black-red luster appearing and disappearing, faintly forming a pattern reminiscent of a deep hellish demon, giving off a sense of evil and power.
"The Red Dragoness didn't have this tattoo pattern before."
"Deep Hellish Demon. The most well-known demonic image among mortals is that of the Deep Hellish Demon, said to be a powerful demon created by the lord of the Ninefold Hell, and almost the highest rank among demon species."
"Is the Red Dragoness's strength related to this?"
On the Red Dragoness, Saga indeed smelled a scent from hell.
Noticing Saga's gaze, the Red Dragoness chuckled and said, "Little Saga, you're very perceptive."
While Saga marveled at the Red Dragoness's growth.
The Red Dragoness's heart was equally surprised by Saga's development.
It had only been a short time since Saga left Thorn Isle and the protection of the Red Dragoness to survive on his own. Saga had just entered the Young Dragon stage.
But Saga, now in his Young Dragon stage, already had a size not inferior to that of an average adolescent dragon.
Moreover, the Red Dragoness could sense a spirited confidence in Saga's demeanor, a spirit forged through numerous battles and victories.
"My little son has indeed experienced quite a lot on his own," the Red Dragoness thought to herself.
"Little Saga, what have you encountered since leaving Thorn Isle? Tell me about it."
The golden young dragon nodded and began to recount some of his experiences. The colossal Red Dragon listened quietly, occasionally interjecting a few words, as time passed peacefully.
Proofreader & Editor: Lotas