RISE OF EROS

Salomon saw his fellow demigods and with a small smile responded, "That's Grandmaster Sohei," to which they all responded angrily, "We've heard his name before, what we want to know is who or what is he?"

Salomon did not answer them immediately, as he was considering whether he should tell them who Grandmaster Sohei was or not, but at that moment a crack appeared near them and elder Sohei appeared from it saying, "I am a simple elder of the dragon race".

"Dragon race?!" Everyone couldn't help but exclaim since this race was considered extinct. According to the records of many countries, dragons had been extinct centuries ago, so for the old man Sohei to say that he was a dragon was a shock.

The old man Sohei, seeing everyone's surprised expressions, was amused, because he never got tired of this reaction to his identity. When he met Salomon, it was the same and somehow this old dragon liked to see how others were surprised by his presentation.

"Excuse me, Grandmaster Sohei, but weren't the dragons extinct?" asked one of the elven demigods. Elves are one of the many long-lived races in this world, and also one of the most academic.

For this reason, they had large libraries and documentation of all areas, which is why they were the most surprised to hear that the dragon race was not extinct and that is why they could not retain their curiosity.

Elder Sohei obviously knew about this characteristic of the elves, so he was not offended when he heard the elf say that his race was considered extinct, in fact, he thought that meant that they had done a good job of hiding.

Dragons are considered the most powerful and longest-lived race in the world. In fact, in ancient times they were revered as gods, but according to the continent's records, dragons were the ones that received the most damage from the abysmals 1,000 years ago, so they gradually disappeared.

Many speculated that the dragons were cursed by the abysmals and had all perished, but that was not the reality. The dragons along with the gods were indeed the first line of battle against the fallen god of war and the abysmals of him.

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However, they were not eliminated, nor cursed as everyone said. They suffered heavy losses, but were far from extinct; however, the fact that they had weakened considerably was a reality.

Dragons are very wise and intelligent beings. Furthermore, their longevity has allowed them to experience more things than any other individual in this world, so they knew well that when a powerful race falls from grace, they will always be oppressed.

The dragons had saved everyone, but they knew that now that they were weak, they would probably not be treated with respect, but rather as a threat, and they were not wrong, so the wise dragons decided to hide and fake their death, to regain their strength.

Unlike what is said in many of the novels and mangas on Earth, the dragons of this world are not arrogant at all, despite being so powerful and having all the conditions to be so.

It is for this reason that they have managed to survive to date and regain their strength, however, the old man Sohei would not tell them this, as the dragons had not yet decided to reveal their location to the world.

"I understand the young elf's curiosity, but I can't give you details. I will tell you that there are some dragons still alive, but we live in tranquility away from the problems of the world," said the old man Sohei with a smile, but suddenly he became serious and added.

"However, the abysmals are karma for our race, so I couldn't stay calm." Everyone present believed his words because they all knew the story of the dragons and the war against the abyssals more than 1,000 years ago.

Obviously, Salomon did not fully agree, since he knew some additional details, but he did not say anything, because if the elder Sohei did not want to tell them, he had no right to reveal them.

Seeing that Elder Sohei did not intend to say anything more related to dragons, none of the demigods asked. They had just survived certain death, so they simply rejoiced and thanked the old dragon for saving them.

However, against all odds, the elder Sohei said, "Thanks are not necessary. The abysmals are an evil that must be eliminated and I fear that many escaped."

"What?", they couldn't all avoid to express again at the same time. This time Salomon was included, as he had been paying close attention to what was happening, so that no abysmals escaped, so the fact that Elder Sohei told him that several abysmals escaped was a shock to him.

"Grandmaster, are you sure?" Salomon couldn't help but ask. Seeing Salomon's seriousness, Sohei understood the reason for the question, but he still responded, "I'm afraid so. When the first abysmals escaped with great boasting, others went away in hiding."

"I didn't notice at all," Salomon said regretfully, but he instantly asked, "Grandmaster, if you noticed them, why did you let them escape?", to which the elder Sohei responded with a laugh, " Why should I?".

Those words surprised everyone and seeing their disbelief, Sohei continued saying, "Until a few moments ago, you didn't know that dragons still lived, so this is your problem, not ours. When our race sacrificed so much for you and became weak, you only took advantage, so tell me, why should I help you more than I already did?"

Although Elder Sohei was smiling, everyone could feel his anger. It is true that dragons, unlike stories and legends, are kind and wise beings, but also powerful, and like any other race they condemn crimes against them.

A millennium ago, they sacrificed themselves for the survival of the world, but instead of being praised as heroes, they were persecuted as criminals, which led them to go into hiding, so they held a grudge.

Although they held grudges, that did not make them irrational. They knew that destroying the world out of revenge was stupid, but making others suffer a little was not out of bounds and the abysmals were perfect for that.

Everyone present, including Salomon, wrinkled their faces with regret. Although they were not present at the time of the war, they did know the damage their ancestors had done to the dragons, so they could not reply.

"'Grandmaster, I could at least request your help by identifying the number of abysmals who fled and in what direction," asked Salomon again, who seemed to have an extraordinary relationship with the old dragon.

While the dragons wanted to annoy all the other races a bit, the abysmals were dangerous, so Elder Sohei was not uncompromising and replied, "11 humanoid abysmals escaped heading north."

"Thank you, Grandmaster", everyone responded at the same time, bowing slightly. Then they turned and looked at the lake where the abysmals combined to create the monster that almost killed them.

The demigod of demons asked, "What do we do with that?", to which the demigod of beastmen responded with another question, "More like, what the hell is that?"

No one present knew what that was, but Sohei was different and said, "That is a lake that was mixed with the blood of a fallen god." At these words, everyone turned to look at the old man with surprise and desire to ask the details.

Sohei was not mean and he told them everything that happened 1,000 years ago. For an elf or a demon, living a millennium is an extremely long life, but for a dragon, it really wasn't.

Sohei is a dragon that is more than 2,000 years old, so he had lived through the last war against the abysmals and knew the details of what happened, so he told them that he was a fallen god, how the abysmals were born and how they defeated them with help of the gods.

Everyone was surprised by this story, as it seemed too fanciful, but seeing Sohei's serious expression when telling it, they had no doubt that it was true, and that only made it more surprising.

After understanding all this, the other elf demigod asked, "Then what do we do with it?" She paused and added, "According to what the grandmaster said, if we touch it we will become corrupted or die, so how do we get rid of that?".

While the power it contains is tempting, these men and women are demigods. Their thoughts and wisdom are not at the level of being fooled by the benefits, without measuring the consequences, so the first thought they have is to destroy this place.

The problem was that they had no way and then Elder Sohei spoke again, "I am afraid that only a god can eliminate this, so until one appears, this place must be sealed."

Without even waiting for the others to tell him something, the old man Sohei expelled an unimaginable force and with a slight movement of his hand, strange runes appeared around the lake and little by little it was covered in fog.

In less than 5 minutes the lake had completely disappeared, in the fog that was so thick that even the demigods could only see 2 meters in front of them and even with their auras, they could only sense what was happening 5 meters around them.

Simply put, unless you were someone more powerful than Sohei or had special abilities, if you enter this fog you will go around in a lost circle, ending up in the same place you entered.