Suddenly, in that moment, a small bitter smile formed on the monarch's face. His eyes narrowed as he looked down at the beast pacing in slow circles below them and said:
"That one…" Dracos said quietly, "was once a Frost Dragon. One of ours. It fell long ago during the last siege."
He paused, letting the words sink in. "And yet it lives. Half mind. Half madness."
Nox glanced down again, taking in the creature—the corrupted armor, the ragged breath, the barely restrained violence in its twitching limbs. Its body still carried hints of its old form—ice-blue scales buried under the corruption spread by the Scourge Alpha itself.
"How many more are like it?" Nox asked quietly, his eyes still on the beast.
"Too many," Dracos said. "Hundreds. Maybe more. But only a few remain this strong. The rest are broken in mind and body."
Nox looked at him and said with a trace of anger in his eyes, "And the Court? They know all this?"
Dracos nodded. "They've always known."
There was another silence. Then Nox spoke.
"What does the Supreme Court even want?" Nox couldn't help but ask, his frustration palpable in his voice.
He had tried not to think too much about it before. He assumed they were just another layer of authority—more elders, more politics. But now, with everything that had happened—the Scourge attacks, the Court's sudden obsession with him—it was impossible to ignore.
Their priorities made no sense.
Why were they focusing on him when there was a powerful threat like the corrupted dragons and the Marked Zone?
Dracos didn't answer right away. The wind pushed snow across the frozen trees below. Mist curled in the valleys. The Scourge beast paced again, turning its head suddenly, as if hearing something invisible.
"They're not preparing to protect the realm anymore," Dracos said finally. His voice was cold and firm. "They're preparing to use the Scourge."
Nox turned sharply, his eyes wide in shock.
That didn't make sense.
"Use them? Why would they—" he started to say, but stopped himself.
He needed a better question.
So he waited, and then quietly, he asked, "…How?"
Dracos's eyes moved slightly, turning to meet his, and he said slowly, "The Court believes the Alpha Scourge is not just a threat… but a tool. A force they could point at enemies. At rebellions. At kingdoms that refuse to obey."
Nox felt something cold settle in his chest. "They're trying to control it?" he asked.
"No," Dracos said. "They're trying to bargain with it."
That word landed like a stone. Bargain with a mindless creature? That was laughable. Nox would have believed it if Dracos had said "control," as he would have assumed they had someone with a Beast Tamer or related class on their side—but to bargain?
"You're not serious."
Dracos's face didn't change. "They've already sent envoys. Low-ranking ones, with twisted minds and no morals left. Disposables. To test if the Scourge responds to communication. Sacrifices."
"Some were killed," Dracos said with no trace of emotion on his face, like a cold mechanical robot. "Some… came back. Different."
"Infected by the Alpha."
Nox's heartbeat quickened. "Like the beast below?"
"And that's not all. The Court's been studying the infection in secret, away from the public and even the other monarchs—except me and Thomas—trying to replicate it. Make it controllable. Weaken it. Even infuse it into captured dragons to turn them into weapons."
Nox shook his head in pity and muttered under his breath, "They're gambling with something they don't even understand."
Dracos gave a short nod.
"They're desperate," he said. "The Eight Kingdoms—especially the monarchs—have grown very powerful. Once upon a time, the elders of the Court were the strongest entities in the Dragon Realm, but in the past decades, their strength has been waning, and the monarchs have caught up to them, with some even surpassing them.
The balance is slipping. They think the Scourge can be used as a threat. A leash. A reminder of who really controls the realm."
Nox looked down again at the beast.
"And if it gets out of control?"
"Then the realm burns," Dracos said simply.
Nox stared at the frozen land—the dark trees, the red mist curling around broken stone. If the realm burned down, how would he further his goal of becoming the ultimate emperor of this realm?
Moreover, he suddenly understood something else.
Why the Court watched him.
Why they had suddenly taken interest in him.
They were scared he would disrupt the current balance even more.
I don't serve the Court or anyone, Nox thought, his eyes shining brightly with determination as he locked his gaze with the monster. And right now… I need to get rid of this thing before it kills more of my spirits.
Nox's initial plan for coming here was to get rid of the beast and add it to his army—before Dracos had stopped him at the nick of time.
Dracos easily read through his thoughts and spoke again.
Nox blinked in confusion. "Why not?"
"You attack that creature, and Frostpire could fall within the hour."
Nox frowned, confused. "Why? It's alone."
Dracos didn't respond immediately. His gaze stayed fixed on the Scourge Dragon—observing the way it moved, how it sniffed the air, how it slashed randomly as if responding to things unseen.
"That one," he finally said, voice calm, "isn't just a corrupted beast. It's one of the Alpha's marked lackeys—a champion."
Nox's eyes narrowed. "Marked? You mean like elite units?"
"Yes. It was once a powerful dragon—a close relative to me. But now it serves the Alpha. And the Alpha does not let go of its pets so easily."
"So?" Nox said, stepping forward slightly. "We kill it like the others."
Dracos shook his head slowly. "No. You don't understand."
He took a breath, eyes cold and serious. "The Alpha has a skill. A forbidden one. It's called Exchange."
Nox paused. That was new.
Dracos explained further. "It works —if the Alpha senses one of its marked soldiers is about to die, it can swap places with them instantly. No cost. No delay. Wherever the lackey is… the Alpha takes their place."
Nox's mind began to race. "So you're saying—"
"Yes," Dracos said. "If you injure it too much, or if it senses it's about to be destroyed, the Alpha might appear right here. Not just in spirit or aura. In person. Physically."
Nox stared at the Scourge Champion again. Its body was massive, twisted. But if what Dracos said was true, the monster behind it was on another level.
"And if the Alpha comes here…" Dracos said slowly, "…Frostpire won't survive."