Chapter 3

The name "Abyss of Dragon's Despair" sounds terrifyingly ominous.

But to yours truly, it was nothing more than a backwater dump with a terrible environment and a pungent stench of sulfur.

The Church had classified this place as a supreme-level forbidden zone of life, and even went out of their way to set up layer upon layer of complex Holy Light barriers around the perimeter. Legend had it that even a demonic fly trying to cross it would be instantly shredded into ash.

But unfortunately for them, to a completely ordinary little cat who grew up on the Holy Mountain like me, these flashy barriers were essentially just air.

Strolling perfectly with my elegant catwalk, I swaggered right through that glowing golden shield. Bzzzt. Didn't even lose a single strand of fur.

Following the winding, scorching rocks upward, and utterly despising the idea of burning my toe beans on the hot ground, I simply unleashed my feline ancestral climbing skills. I scaled right up the steep, jagged cliffs until I was perching on the highest, coolest, and most panoramic rocky outcropping.

I looked down from my high vantage point.

Well, well. The bottom of the crater below was practically a block party.

Coiled beside a boiling magma pool was a massive, pitch-black, elongated creature exuding a deeply ominous aura.

Even from this distance, I could smell the rich, mouth-watering scent of Abyssal magic wafting off of it.

No mistaking it. That was the Abyssal Demonic Dragon Sophia mentioned. It was also the "mega-sized limited-edition cat treat" I had my heart set on.

But right now, it seemed my cat treat was in a bit of trouble.

Surrounding the Demonic Dragon was a dense swarm of Temple Knights clad in silver armor.

And the young man standing at the very front was actually wearing the Radiant Gold Armor that was supposed to belong to Arthur—armor meant only for the "Chief Paladin."

He was holding a knight's longsword, frantically barking orders at his subordinates with a maniacal look on his face.

I narrowed my gold-green cat eyes, carefully examining that young face dripping with sinister ambition—

Oh, Cyril.

Arthur's former deputy, the guy who used to follow right behind his behind, constantly chanting "I pledge my life to the Lord."

If I recalled correctly, when that crazy woman Elena was screaming in the shack earlier, she said this was the guy who sold Arthur out, turning my long-term meal ticket into a paralyzed piece of trash.

No wonder. Knock off the boss, and this eternal number-two could rightfully slip into the golden armor and take the top spot.

Right now, this young backstabber was directing his elite knights to establish some sort of blindingly bright "Demon Annihilation Array" around the crater.

Hundreds of thick chains condensed from pure Holy Light formed a massive net, ruthlessly binding the enormous Demonic Dragon and temporarily suppressing it in the center of the glowing magical array.

"Roar—!"

The Demonic Dragon let out a deafening bellow, violently struggling and sending loose rocks tumbling down, but the net of light only tightened further.

"Hahaha! Struggle! Keep struggling!"

Standing at the edge of the array, Cyril's handsome face warped with extreme elation. Pointing Arthur’s former holy sword straight at the dragon, he laughed uproariously, completely losing himself in the moment.

"The legendary, invincible Abyssal Demonic Dragon must bow to my sword today! As long as I drain this dragon's power and obtain the Dragonblood Crystal, at tomorrow's coronation ceremony, I will rightfully become the Church's new Chief Paladin! And perhaps even the future Supreme Commander!"

He spat viciously, his eyes brimming with years of repressed jealousy and madness. "As for that hypocritically righteous fool Arthur, he hogged this seat for too long! He didn't know his place, so he deserved to be turned into a puddle of mud! After tonight, who will even remember who Arthur Pendragon is? I, Cyril, am the Church's strongest light!"

He just kept yapping and posturing, practically spraying spit into the magma.

Up on the cliff, I rolled my eyes so hard it hurt.

So noisy.

Whenever humans do something crooked, they always feel the need to broadcast the entire backstory at the top of their lungs, as if terrified someone might not realize exactly how despicable they are.

But wait—who did he just call a puddle of mud?

I sharpened my claws against the stone.

So you’re the idiot who put my two-legged servant out of commission and made me miss out on salmon for days? And now you want to hog the mega-sized cat treat I already called dibs on?

You stole my meal ticket, and now you want my cat food.

If yours truly doesn't settle this tab today, how am I ever going to show my face in the feline circles of this continent?

I tilted my head, my gaze dropping to the edge of the rock I was perching on. There sat an absolutely gargantuan, perfectly round boulder.

The stone was crimson red and emitted a bizarre fragrance similar to premium catnip. Cyril's men had clearly busted a gut hauling this thing up to this vantage point.

I had heard the knights below calling this thing the "Array Core Beast-Luring Stone." Apparently, it was a crucial prop used to draw the dragon's aura and keep the flashy array running.

But none of that mattered.

What mattered was—at this very moment, a full one-third of this gigantic round stone was hanging off the edge of the cliff.

Cliff.

Edge.

Round stone.

In that singular moment, the feline DNA in my veins let out a deafening, primal roar.

Who could possibly resist this?!

It was like putting a crooked painting in front of someone with severe OCD! Or placing a delicate block tower in front of a destructive toddler!

If a thing is hanging off an edge, and you don’t push it off, what is even the point of its existence?!

I stood up elegantly and sauntered slowly over to the colossal Beast-Luring Stone.

Then, I raised that exact same fluffy, pitch-black right paw that had performed wonders earlier. I even flicked a speck of dust off it in disgust before applying the absolute bare minimum of force to give the edge of the boulder a wonderfully obnoxious, gentle tap.

The force was genuinely no more than accidentally bumping a water glass on a table.

Yours truly swears to the heavens: I was purely following my instincts, just playing around.

If anyone is to blame, blame Earth's unforgiving gravity.

Crack... crumble...

Because the gigantic stone was already resting on an extremely delicate threshold of balance, my tiny tap was the final cat hair that broke the camel's back.

The massive Beast-Luring Stone wobbled slightly, its center of gravity shifting instantly. It cleared the lip of the cliff and plummeted down the near-vertical rock face, dropping straight toward the unsuspecting humans who were currently at peak arrogance!

"BOOOOOOM———!!!"

A dull, terrifying explosion ripped through the air above the crater like the sky itself was collapsing.

Carrying apocalyptic kinetic energy, the hill-sized Beast-Luring Stone crashed down with the force of a falling mountain, smashing directly into the dead center of Cyril's array with zero margin of error!

Crash!

Time seemed to freeze for a split second.

Then, the magnificent golden barrier of the "Demon Annihilation Array" shattered like a cheap glass lampshade, violently blasted into a million floating fragments of light!

Spurt—

With the array forcibly destroyed, the horrifying magical backlash rushed back like a tsunami.

The hundred or so elite Temple Knights below, who had been pouring their all into maintaining the formation, didn't even have time to scream. They collectively vomited mouthfuls of blood and tipped over backward like bowling pins, ending up in unknown states of being alive or dead.

Archbishop Cyril, who had just been roaring with laughter at the sky, had the sound forcefully choked back down his throat.

He was blown away by the shockwave of the ruptured array, tumbling pathetically through the boiling ash a dozen times. His magnificent robes were burned full of holes, and his meticulously styled hair was now a charred bald spot.

"The core?! My Beast-Luring Stone! Why did the array collapse?! Who?! What son of a bitch did this!!!"

Cyril scrambled up from the ground, looking around in utter exasperation. His eyes were bloodshot, looking exactly like a rabid dog. He couldn't wrap his head around how his flawless, sure-kill setup had suddenly been ruined by a random rock falling from the sky.

Of course, he couldn't find the culprit.

Because at this moment, yours truly was lying perfectly chill at the top of the cliff, stretching lazily, showing only half my face to watch the farce below while mentally rolling my eyes to the back of my head.

So incredibly weak.

And this guy wants to be the Pope? He can't even handle a basic scam.

However, without the array's restraints, something much more fatal occurred.

The shattered Beast-Luring Stone released a bizarre fragrance (catnip scent) a hundred times stronger than before, instantly flooding the Demonic Dragon's nostrils. To the dragon, this scent was like highly volatile adrenaline.

"ROOAARRR!!!"

The colossal dragon, previously suppressed to the brink of death, violently snapped open its crimson, tyrannical slit-pupils.

Spreading wings that blocked out the sky, it let out an eardrum-shattering howl and entered a state of absolute berserk rage!

Lowering its massive head, it locked its gaze onto Cyril, who had just spent the last half hour torturing it.

That look... was exactly like someone staring at a perfectly roasted luxury kebab.

"No... No! Block it! Form up!!!"

Seeing the berserk dragon descending like a demon god, Cyril’s soul nearly left his body. His prior boundless arrogance evaporated into the stratosphere.

Screaming at the top of his lungs, he dropped his staff and scrambled wildly toward the edge of the Abyss, running for his life on all fours.

Boom!

The dragon spat out a blast of black breath, instantly vaporizing a few knights who tried to block its path.

Then, it violently flapped its wings, carrying monstrous rage and killing intent. Like a runaway heavy-armored train, it roared and chased straight after Cyril.

One man and one dragon, one fleeing and one pursuing. Before long, they vanished from the crater, leaving only a trail of chaotic shrieks.

I squatted on the cliff, looking at the now empty, flattened crater, and contentedly licked my paw.

That's more like it. Cat treats are supposed to run around a bit; a little exercise keeps the meat tender.

Standing up, my gaze shifted to the deepest part of the crater, finally exposed now that the dragon was gone—the enormous, gloomy dragon's nest.

At the edge of the nest shimmered a cluster of translucent, ethereal blue lights, like a frozen starry sky.

Even from this far away, the dense life aura radiating from it made me feel refreshed.

That was the "Dragonblood Crystal" needed to save my meal ticket.

"Foolish humans."

I leaped lightly off the cliff, landing as smoothly as a black feather at the entrance to the nest.

Aside from the unconscious, blood-spitting knights on the ground, there wasn't a single living creature around.

Right now, the entire dragon nest was basically an all-you-can-eat luxury seafood buffet with the security system down and the front doors wide open.

I stared at those sparkling Dragonblood Crystals, then at an even larger glowing object further inside, and couldn't help but lick my lips.

Well, since the owner isn't home...

It's time for this kitty to go on a five-finger discount spree.