It was inside a cave located directly in the center of Northground. Striding down a passage far too massive for ordinary humans was a brawny, heavily muscled man standing two meters tall. He wore a striped dark blue outfit beneath a black coat trimmed with pure white feathers. His face was less wild and more outright beastly, covered entirely from sideburns to chin in a thick crimson beard.
At the spot where the red-bearded man stopped, a giant blue dragon measuring ten meters in length lay sprawled across the stone floor.
"Oh? A rare visitor, indeed."
The giant blue dragon raised its head like a striking serpent, muttering as it eyed the red-bearded man with curious interest.
"Indeed it is. Not since the battle with Deboa, I'd say."
At the red-bearded man's mention of "Deboa," the blue dragon deftly twisted its features into a grimace.
"Perished, so I hear."
It gave a bitter reply.
"Ah, wiped out, so they say. And according to the rumors, by humans, no less."
"Is that the truth? I find it exceedingly hard to believe mankind could triumph over such a beast."
As the blue dragon shook its head from side to side, the red-bearded man gave an enigmatic response.
"It is the truth. Only in the singular point that humans were victorious, mind you."
"Can you not do something about those roundabout turns of phrase of yours?"
To the blue dragon muttering in annoyance, the man replied:
"Oops, my apologies if that rubbed you the wrong way. Truly sorry, truly sorry."
He pressed his hands together, offering an apology that anyone could see was completely insincere.
"Enough of that—spit it out already!"
Urged on by the blue dragon, the red-bearded man shrugged and delivered his conclusion.
"It seems the Earth Spirit King Titan, a contract spirit to a human, was the one who claimed victory."
"Titan? Ridiculous! There is no way a mere Spirit King could ever defeat that evil dragon!"
Assuming it was being deceived, the blue dragon lashed out with words laced with fury.
"No, no, it's the absolute truth. Isn't that right, staff officer of Ashmedia?"
The bearded man's cheeks slackened into a greasy smirk as he sought agreement from the blonde woman clad in black robes behind him.
"Yes. There is no doubt about it."
"Why can you state that with such certainty? Did you personally witness Titan slaughtering Deboa?"
"No, it is not as though we saw it with our own eyes."
"Then there is nothing to discuss!"
As the blue dragon snorted in disgust, the blonde woman offered a faint smile.
"Information obtained from a human broker indicates that Princess Felice Loto Amelia of the Holy Amelia Kingdom commanded Titan, teaming up with several elements from the human underworld to subjugate the evil dragon Deboa."
She spoke with resolute firmness.
"Do not mock me! No matter how many mere humans gather, there is no way they could ever stand against Deboa! You wretched dog of Ashmedia—if you attempt to deceive me any further, I will incinerate you until not a shard of bone remains!!"
Its eyes shot through with blood, sparks crackling and scattering from its gaping maw, the dragon roared at the blonde woman in black robes.
"Though the reports are convoluted, the high echelons of both the Holy Amelia Kingdom and Babel share nearly the exact same assessment. There is no error in this intelligence. Most likely, after such an enduring seal, even the legendary evil dragon Deboa was considerably weakened."
Even before the blue dragon's roar that shook the very air, the blonde woman did not so much as twitch an eyebrow, answering with pure composure.
"Even if it were weakened, that was Deboa! There is no reason why a mere gnat commanded by a human could ever prevail!"
At the blue dragon's words, the blonde woman merely shrugged.
"That is a difference in perspective. With Heroes, Sages, and holy knights, the humans of today are more powerful than ever before. If Princess Felice utilized some special Gift to empower Titan and defeat a weakened Deboa, it wouldn't be strange in the slightest."
She countered in a firm tone.
"I agree with that as well. Cetus, the situation is already becoming inescapable. If we sit idly by with our arms folded, nine times out of ten, we'll be exterminated by humans."
The red-bearded man spoke as though trying to reason with the blue dragon, Cetus.
"Ha! Gifts! Gifts! Gifts! Gifts, you say?! So in the end, it is the work of that so-called god whom the humans revere! Truly a most vile and insidious entity, doting only upon the weakest of races!"
As the blue dragon spat out its venomous words, the blonde woman sought agreement from the red-bearded man, Aldebaran.
"Against a god, one uses a god. Against a Gift, one uses 'divine protection.' Isn't that right, Lord Aldebaran?"
Aldebaran nodded deeply.
"Precisely so. Following the teachings of the oracle, I have already obtained our god's 'divine protection' through the ritual, you see."
He spread both arms wide and looked up to the ceiling of the cavern.
"Our god's 'divine protection,' you say?"
As the blue dragon Cetus narrowed its right eye in utter suspicion, Aldebaran's smile deepened even further, and he snapped his fingers.
The red-bearded man's attendants standing nearby bowed their heads and disappeared into the depths of the cave.
After a short while, two individuals—a man and a woman—emerged. The man carried a squirming cloth sack on his shoulder, while the woman led a certain humanoid figure beside her.
That humanoid figure had both wrists tightly bound by iron manacles and wore a deep black hood over its head.
"What is that?"
To the blue dragon asking in an uncharacteristically tense voice, the red-bearded man replied with a second snap of his fingers.
The demon man carrying the cloth sack threw it onto the ground and untied the cord. Emerging from the bag was a bird-folk—a young man of the Garuda tribe.
Then, as the female attendant pulled off the hood, a dog-faced man with thick veins bulging across his flesh was revealed.
"Deformed as it is, is that a kobold?"
To the blue dragon Cetus muttering with narrowed eyes, the man immediately issued a denial.
"No, this is one of my citizens who failed to pay their taxes."
"This thing is of the demon race? No matter how one looks at it, it appears to be nothing but a kobold."
"Well, just watch."
The red-bearded man gave a subtle nod to his male attendant. The attendant pushed the dog-headed figure closer to the Garuda youth, who was already trembling uncontrollably.
Then, the jaw of the dog-headed man unhinged, opening impossibly wide—
CHOMP!
It bit off the Garuda youth's head in a single mouthful. From the severed neck, blood sprayed outward like a fountain.
The dog-headed man munched and chewed, and suddenly his back swelled up, sprouting a pair of pure white wings. They were unmistakably those of the Garuda tribe.
"What in the world is that?"
To Cetus, who forced out a question at the sight of such an abhorrent spectacle, the red-bearded man gestured toward the dog-faced man.
"This is precisely the divine protection I have obtained—the 'Sacrifice of Gluttony'!"
He declared proudly.
"'Sacrifice of Gluttony'?"
To Cetus parroting the term back in disbelief, Aldebaran supplemented his explanation with smug satisfaction.
"It's a power that allows you to forcibly turn others into your kin, and by feeding them, they grow steadily stronger, you see."
While the blonde woman grimaced in disgust at the grotesque sight, Cetus leaned its massive body forward, both eyes brimming with pure greed.
"How does one obtain that so-called divine protection?!"
"Cetus, you are a compatriot chosen alongside me by the oracle. There's no need to rush; you have both the right and the obligation to receive it, you see."
At Aldebaran's words, which sounded almost like those of a preacher, Cetus shouted in a voice trembling with excitement to move the conversation along.
"Spare me the preachiness! Hurry and tell me of this oracle!"
Amidst this, a squirrel nestled in the breast pocket of the blonde woman chimed in with a buoyant, cheerful voice:
"I love it! Actions so entirely loyal to your own desires, paired with a complete absence of ethics! You guys are seriously the best! It's making my heart throb!"
It was at this moment that the Great Eclipse Festival, which would dye the entire Northground region in blood and slaughter, quietly began.