Chương 121: Chapter : 121

Ryu's head snapped up. His golden, slit-like eyes widened in absolute, pure outrage. The dark red dragon scales on his arms seemed to bristle, and the air around him grew instantly hot.

"Sacrilege!" Ryu hissed, jumping to his feet and pointing a massive, furious finger directly at Leviathan.

"How dare you speak to the Supreme One with such casual, disrespectful filth! Our master is a being of unparalleled perfection! He would never, ever lower his glorious self to share a bed with a manipulative, deceitful snake like you!" Leviathan didn't even flinch. She just let out another soft, elegant laugh and began casually inspecting her perfectly manicured fingernails.

"Don't be so jealous, Ryu," Leviathan mocked lazily, completely ignoring his anger.

"Just because you have the personality of a brick wall does not mean our master wants to spend his evening discussing battle tactics. Sometimes a ruler just wants to relax. Isn't that right, darling?" Ken stood in the middle of the room, looking back and forth between the giant, angry dragon-man and the lounging, flirting serpent queen. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He just wanted to eat his grilled cheese sandwich and go to sleep.

"You insolent, venomous reptile!" Ryu growled, taking a heavy, threatening step toward the bed. Small, angry wisps of smoke actually began to puff out of Ryu's nose. He was completely losing his temper.

"You bring nothing but shame to this summoning! Get off the master's bed this instant, or I will throw you out the window myself!" Leviathan finally looked up from her nails. Her beautiful, violet eyes narrowed, and a sudden, dangerous sharpness cut through her playful demeanor. The temperature in the room instantly dropped, turning freezing cold to combat Ryu's burning heat.

"You can certainly try to move me, you oversized lizard," Leviathan challenged softly. A thin, incredibly sharp whip made of pure, high-pressure water materialized out of thin air, coiling around her wrist like a living snake.

"But I promise you, if you take one more step, I will wash those ugly red scales right off your arms."

"I will burn you to a crisp!" Ryu roared back, his fists igniting with deep, crimson dragon fire. Ken opened his eyes. The two mythic, legendary spirits were literally seconds away from throwing highly destructive elemental magic at each other right inside his tiny, twelve-by-twelve-foot bedroom. If they actually fought, his bed, his desk, and his entire wardrobe would be instantly vaporized.

"Okay, that is enough," Ken said. He didn't yell. He didn't raise his voice. He just spoke in a completely calm, entirely flat tone. But the moment the words left his mouth, Ken dropped the "lazy slacker" act entirely. The goofy boy vanished. The cold, terrifying, absolute presence of 'The Sovereign' filled the tiny bedroom. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. The invisible pressure in the room became unimaginably heavy.

It felt like the gravity had suddenly multiplied by a hundred. The air grew perfectly still. It was an aura of absolute command, a silent promise that reality itself would bow to his will. Ryu and Leviathan completely froze. The crimson dragon fire on Ryu's fists snuffed out instantly, completely erased by the sheer authority of Ken's voice. The deadly water whip coiled around Leviathan's wrist dissolved into harmless mist and vanished. The bickering stopped immediately.

The intense, terrifying rivalry between the Dragon and the Serpent was instantly swallowed up by their mutual, absolute respect for the boy standing in front of them. Ryu dropped to his knee again, bowing his head so low his forehead almost touched the floorboards. Leviathan quickly slid off the bed. The seductive, playful teasing vanished from her face. She knelt gracefully onto the floor right next to Ryu, bowing her head in perfect, deadly seriousness. They were no longer acting like annoying roommates.

They were weapons waiting for an order. Ken walked over to his wooden desk chair and sat down. He leaned back, resting his hands on the armrests. He looked down at his two most powerful servants with a cold, focused expression.

"I did not summon you two here to listen to you argue," Ken stated, his voice quiet but carrying a heavy, echoing weight that left absolutely no room for negotiation.

"There is a situation developing in the capital. Strange, highly organized movements are happening in the shadows of this Empire, and they are starting to interfere with my daily routine." Ryu kept his head bowed, but his voice was full of strict military discipline.

"What is your command, my Lord? Tell us who has offended you."

"Earlier today, my unit was participating in a race inside the Blood Fault Dungeon," Ken explained casually, leaning his head back.

"We secured the target artifact. But right before the mission ended, an unknown fourth party dropped from the ceiling. They wore black stealth gear and dark masks. They used high-level smoke bombs and vanished with the item." Leviathan looked up slightly, her violet eyes sharp and attentive.

"A third-party interference during a Royal mission? That is highly unusual, Master. The gangs and street thugs of this city are not organized enough to execute a flawless heist against three Royal vanguards at the same time."

"Exactly," Ken nodded, his dark eyes narrowing.

"They were not random thugs. They were highly trained, incredibly coordinated, and they knew exactly when to strike. Someone with a lot of money and a lot of intelligence is pulling their strings." Ken leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"I want to know who they are," Ken demanded.

"I want to know where they took the fake artifact. Even though I replaced it with a rock, I still want to know the name of the organization they work for, and exactly which arrogant politician is signing their paychecks." Ryu slammed his fist against his chest again.

"It shall be done, Supreme One! We will tear this city apart stone by stone! We will drag the thieves before you so you may pass judgment!"

"No," Ken corrected him immediately, his voice freezing cold.

"You will not tear anything apart. You will not engage them. You will not start a fight." Ryu blinked, looking slightly confused, but he didn't dare argue.

"As you command, my Lord."

"I don't need a massive, fiery battle in the middle of the city," Ken continued, explaining his logic.

"If you two start blowing up buildings, it will draw the attention of the Imperial Police and the Upper Council. That causes paperwork, investigations, and noise. I hate noise. You are going to act as my shadows." Ken looked at Leviathan.

"You two will track them down quietly. Gather the intelligence. Find out everything there is to know about this masked group and report directly back to me. Once I know who is pulling the strings, I will decide how to handle the situation." Leviathan offered a stunning, deadly smile.

"A silent hunt. It sounds wonderfully entertaining, Master. We will slip through the cracks of this city. They will never even know they are being watched."

"See that you do," Ken said, waving his hand lazily to dismiss them.

"Now, get out of here. I have a grilled cheese sandwich getting cold on my desk, and I am very tired."