First Peak, Dragon Summit
The ninth dragon lord and the Witch Mother arrived on the small floating island hidden among the clouds above First Peak, where the dragon lords usually hold their meetings.
"You've come with the black witch, Lord Narvim," another Rank 5 True Dragon calmly greeted before urging him, "Take your seat. The meeting will begin right away."
"Alright, Lord Kemun," Lord Narvim acknowledged.
Shortly after, the ninth dragon lord left the Witch Mother's side and took his seat on the leftmost dragon throne made of igneous stones.
There were eight other dragon thrones of the same design and material, but they were all occupied by the other dragon lords.
Together, the nine dragon thrones formed an arc with a round platform in front of them.
After the ninth dragon lord took his seat, he glanced over to the dragon throne next to him. However, the eighth dragon lord, a female dragon, snorted and gave him cold shoulders.
'As expected,' Lord Narvim thought with a sad sigh.
"Step into the center, black witch," the first dragon lord seated in the middle dragon throne ordered in a strict tone shortly after.
Ophelia immediately frowned with a more serious look.
It wasn't hard to guess that the meeting mainly concerned her, and the way dragon lords glanced at her also made it look like they were conducting an interrogation.
Nevertheless, she didn't want to cause trouble in the presence of nine Rank 5 beings. Thus, she complied despite being inwardly discontent.
Shortly after Ophelia stepped into the center before the nine dragon lords, the first dragon lord raised his first question.
However, it wasn't directed at her.
"Do you know what you've done, Lord Narvim?" the first dragon lord asked before saying, "Humans may come and stay if they overcome the challenge of the mountains. However, you not only had visitors that escaped unpunished, but you also willingly brought in a black witch from the outside."
"You better have a good reason for this, Lord Narvim," the first dragon lord added with a stern look.
"Naturally, I understand the rules, Lord Astarot," Lord Narvim calmly replied before saying, "However, the black witch before you is someone this Lord has deemed worthy of befriending and has already entered an alliance with."
"As for who she is, it is better if she introduces herself. However, this Lord can vouch that she will be a valuable ally against the threats of Gehenna," Lord Narvim stated.
"Is that so?" Lord Astarot hummed before glancing at the Witch Mother curiously, along with the other seven dragon lords present. "Go on then, black witch. Who are you? Why does Lord Narvim speak so highly of you?"
"Greetings, Your Excellencies," the Witch Mother greeted the dragon lords before introducing herself, "I am Ophelia Tempest, one of the Storm Calamity Witch's close retainers back in the Nightmare Realm. Or should I say I was since I've been reincarnated?"
"Is that enough for an introduction, Your Excellency?" Ophelia asked shortly after with a sly and mischievous smile.
Lord Astarot and the other dragon lords were all silenced with stiffened expressions when they heard she was a close retainer of the Storm Calamity Witch.
Considering Lord Narvim knew what that entailed, they were also naturally aware.
"Let's skip the formalities, Lady Ophelia. I wouldn't dare accept such push my weight in front of an ex-Rank 6 being such as yourself," Lord Astarot stated before asking, "Is Nightmare at war with another great realm?"
"No, Lord Astarot. I willingly ended my own life and entered the cycle of reincarnation," Ophelia calmly replied before adding, "Of course, there was no telling that I would succeed reincarnating after death, nor which era and place I would end up in."
"Thus, it was quite the risk to take," Ophelia added.
Lord Astarot and the dragon lords immediately frowned with doubt, except for Lord Narvim, who had already heard the answer from her.
"Why would you give up everything you have and take such a risk, Lady Ophelia? Many denizens of Chaos would envy your status and power as the Storm Calamity Witch's close retainer," Lord Astarot wondered.
"Indeed, becoming a Rank 6 being that serves a Rank 7 being might be the dream for many. But for me, it's not enough," Lady Ophelia coolly stated before mentioning, "However, I was doomed to be stuck at Rank 6 forever, never achieving anything greater."
"That's why I took a great risk to enter the cycle of reincarnation to be reborn with different talents and a new starting point. And by the looks of it, I succeeded," Ophelia stated. "Not only was I reborn with better talents; I also landed the jackpot of reincarnating in the material world."
"Why is reincarnating in the material world considered a jackpot?" Lord Astarot inquired with a frown.
"According to Lady Ophelia, beings born in Chaos have fixed potential while those born in the material have no limits. Even if they have low talents, as long as they have luck and opportunities, they can still achieve greater heights than a denizen of Chaos," Lord Narvim explained.
"And where did Lady Ophelia obtain such information?" the fifth dragon lord asked.
"Where? Well, that's a secret I don't want to share," Ophelia casually stated before saying, "You're free to believe it or not."
"Well then, Lady Ophelia. Let me ask you another question. Do you have any means of contacting the Storm Calamity Witch in Nightmare?" Lord Astarot asked.
"No, I don't, Lord Astarot. Since I've reincarnated, I've lost all my abilities and artifacts as a Rank 6 being. You should have expected that, Lord Astarot," Ophelia replied.
"I see." Lord Astarot acknowledged with a nod before turning to the ninth dragon lord. "Well then, Lord Narvim. I fail to see how this alliance with Lady Ophelia will help us against Gehenna's Great Devils."
"Lady Ophelia has no means of contacting the Calamity Witches of Nightmare. And even if Lady Ophelia returns to her former peak power, we will only have one Rank 6 on our side. It's not enough to repel all the Great Devils when they descend."
"I did say Lady Ophelia can help us, not that she can resolve our problem," Lord Narvim responded with a bit of speechlessness.
"I see…" Lord Astarot scratched his head awkwardly before changing the topic. "Ahem. Anyhow, welcome to our Fire Dragon Tribe, Lady Ophelia. Now, onto our next agenda…"