Dragon King: Throne of Demons and Gods-Chapter 86: Terms of Release

The silence in the guild hall was so thick every heartbeat could be heard.

No one moved. No one spoke. Airi blinked slowly, her arms still folded as her eyes shifted to the figure who had just spoken.

Bel stood behind them, relaxed, his hands crossed behind his back, lips curled into a faint smirk.

"Oh, don’t stop, by all means," he said lightly. "A man like that isn’t worth restraining on the words. Don’t we have every reason to just burry him?"

No one laughed.

He took a step forward, and the room tensed. Eyes looked away, chairs creaked. Even the background noise of the guild seemed to hush.

Bel tilted his head.

"A disaster? A pain in the ass? You forgot ’narcissistic monster’ and ’arrogant freak.’ I mean, to be fair, there’s so much more words in the glossary, but I’ve lived such a long life that I couldn’t remember all of them."

Ronan stared at the table. Arkel clenched his jaw. Crest lowered his eyes. Cassandra opened her mouth, hesitated.

"Bel... it’s not... it’s not like that," she said quietly.

"Cassandra," Bel cut her off, his voice casual. "No need to explain. Calling a cat a cat isn’t a crime. They’re right. I made the deal. I kept the bosses. You all stood outside. If you have a problem with that... maybe the real issue is your silence. If it had been me, I would have refused this ridiculous deal."

Airi remained still, her eyes locked on him. So this was him. Bel. The one they had spent half an hour talking about.

She could feel the tension in the air, the way everyone seemed to hold their breath around him.

He didn’t act like a villain, he even looked exactly the opposite, but there was something ominous in his presence.

When did he approach? He had appeared out of nowhere without her noticing.

Cassandra opened her mouth again, fumbling for a thread of defense.

"It wasn’t... we didn’t mean all of that. We were just—"

"Relax," Bel interrupted with a calm smile. "Everyone has opinions. You were just being honest. I appreciate honesty more than fake loyalty."

"Well... You made it impossible for us to grow," Arkel said suddenly, standing up.

"You think just because you’re strong, we should accept being background characters? We joined dungeons just to carry the name? That’s not a team. That’s just you using us."

Bel turned to him and smiled.

"You’re right."

Arkel froze.

"To you, it was certainly a pact to grow stronger. To me, you were just a key to access dungeons," Bel said simply.

"Wait a second," Cassandra interjected. "It wasn’t like that, Arkel, he never said we couldn’t fight. He just took the bosses."

"He admit it himself. But that’s worse actually," Ronan finally spoke, shaking his head. "Remember that raids before? We were waiting for him like we were his groupies. We didn’t even step into the dungeon. I felt like a spectator."

Bel nodded slowly.

"I remember. I told you not to enter."

Cassandra looked between them, visibly trying to smooth over the cracks.

"Maybe we—"

"Cassandra," Bel cut her off flatly. "Let’s get this straight. I asked you to let me solo the dungeon’s because it benefited me. Not the party. Not the people. Everything I did, I did it for myself. They’re right to be angry and you’re very wrong defending me."

"I think we should stop right here," Crest said, rising slowly.

Everyone turned.

His hands were clenched. His voice was calm, but his words carried weight.

"You know, I didn’t want to say anything. I really didn’t. But I can’t keep holding it in."

He looked directly at Bel.

"You broke us."

The silence deepened.

"You came in with your power, your mystery, your silence, and everyone acted like if you were some kind of god. And we let it happen. Because yeah, you’re strong. Insanely strong. But you didn’t lift us. You used us. We were tools. A stepping stone. And the worst part? You didn’t even pretend to care."

Crest took a shaky breath.

"Sienna started to change after she met you. She used to have her goal, her personality. Now she walks like she’s chasing your shadow. Dusteria? I thought you didn’t like her. Why don’t you tell her to not follow you? And remember Will... Will was my best friend. He trained every day, he was very confident. Until the day you beat him. Now he feels inferior to everyone. You took their hearts, Bel. Their pride."

Everyone was staring at Crest now. Even Airi looked unsettled.

But he wasn’t finished.

"You call yourself part of this clan, but you never sit with us. Never laugh. Never eat with us. You don’t train, you don’t teach, you don’t even pretend. We give everything. You give nothing. And now we’re here, begging a stranger to join us so we can feel like a real party again. That’s what you left behind."

His voice cracked.

"You ruined this place. And we let you."

A heavy silence fell over the group.

Crest stood trembling, breathing heavily. His outburst had turned raw, personal. Too personal.

Cassandra stood abruptly, her chair scraping loudly.

"Crest, that’s enough!" she snapped, voice sharp and commanding. "Sit down."

Everyone froze.

Even Bel stopped smiling. He opened his mouth to speak.

"You’re right..."

But Crest didn’t let him finish.

Crest stepped forward, his voice cracking but louder than before.

"Stop saying we’re right like you’re some martyr! You made us your shadows! Don’t act like this is some noble confession!"

He shouted with everything he had, and for a moment, his voice echoed through the hall.

"Crest—ENOUGH!" Cassandra snapped, stepping forward and raising her voice.

Her sudden yell made everyone flinch.

Ronan and Arkel stood quickly, moving between them, trying to calm the growing storm.

Before anything more could be said.

Airi let out a loud sigh. Her leg tapped rapidly under the table. She uncrossed her arms, leaned forward and frowned.

"Okay. This is seriously messed up," she said.

Everyone turned to her.

"You’re all acting like you’re in some kind of tragic play, but this? This is really on you. What the hell is wrong with this group?"

She pointed at the table, then waved her hand at everyone.

"You let a stronger person walk in, take everything, and now that someone else strong shows up, suddenly you’re mad? Cry me a river. You let it happen. You accepted his conditions. You were fine riding letting him fight for some reason. But now that he has competition, you’re turning against him?"

Crest opened his mouth to protest, but Airi didn’t give him the chance.

"Don’t say he didn’t act like a party member. From what I see, none of you treated him like one either. You made him a king and knelt the second he showed power. And now you’re shocked he didn’t sit at your table? Seriously? That’s not how you treat party members."

The silence was sharp.

Bel, in this tense moment, finally spoke different words.

"Oh no, you’re mistaken," he said calmly. "I never was part of a party."

Everyone blinked. Bel continued, slow and casual.

"Our agreement was a negotiation. A business deal. I wanted to enter dungeons, They wanted to win raids. It worked out. They got their missions. I got my challenge. I never said I’d be their teammate. And I never felt the need to pretend."

He looked around the table, gaze even.

"That’s why I never sat with you, never trained with you. We weren’t a party. You weren’t companions. You were... facilitators. Gateways. Nothing personal. It’s just how I see things."

He shrugged, completely relaxed.

"So yeah... if you want to cut ties, that’s fine. I came today just to let you know that I’ll be out again for a while. You should stick to category E dungeons in the meantime. But it looks like you’ve found another Iron-ranked member. So maybe you’ll be fine without me. I hope so."

The silence that followed was heavy. Even Airi didn’t know what to say.

Ronan exhaled loudly.

"Well, at least now it’s clear," he muttered. "No more wondering where we stand."

Arkel gave a small nod.

"Yeah. Honestly, I’m fine with Airi joining. Better someone who wants to fight beside us than someone who sees us like tools."

Crest didn’t smile. He just let out a long breath and leaned on the table.

The rest of the party glanced at each other, uncertain.

Airi shifted in her seat, her smirk gone. She glanced toward Bel.

"Tch... seriously, that’s the kind of guy you followed?"

But not everyone was alright with this outcome.

"You haven’t even seen her fight," Cassandra muttered. "And you’re already deciding? What if she’s not exactly fit to replace Bel? You think it’s that easy?"

"Do we really need to?" Arkel asked. "She already acts more like a teammate than Bel ever did. At this point I wouldn’t mind hiring even a brat."

Bel turned on his heel, giving the group one last look.

"Well then. I’ll take my leave. This went better than expected."

He walked off, boots tapping against the stone floor.

"Bel!" Cassandra called.

He turned his head slightly.

"I’m sorry," she said.

But he waved her off with a casual flick of the wrist.

"No need. I told you it’s fine. No hard feeling."

He left, the guild’s gazes following him like shadows, silent and cold.

All eyes were fixed on New Horizons, the team everyone had just watched implode in slow motion.

Nobody dared speak.

Airi sighed deeply and rubbed the bridge of her nose, exhaling slightly.

"...That was one hell of a welcome party," she muttered.

Outside the guild, as soon as the door shut behind him, Bel’s calm expression broke like a dam.

He clenched his fist, pumping it into the air.

"YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!"

He didn’t care who heard. He didn’t care if the whole capital saw.

He was out.

He was free.

No more compromises. No more waiting at the dungeon gate. No more acting like he was part of something he had zero interest in.

He spun around once like a kid let out of school for the year.

"I’m free. I’M FREE!!" he said under his breath, giddy.

His eyes burned with joy. His chest was so light he could fly.

He didn’t hate them, not really. They were useful. They gave him access to the guild’s system.

But now that he could create his own dungeons... What was the point?

He wanted to have more time for himself, but it would have been hard to manage it with them around all day long.

But today, that last string had been cut. Guilt-free. Smooth exit. No drama... Or maybe drama, but good results.

Even better, they were the ones who did the cutting.

He didn’t even need to fake a reason.

This was perfect.

He stopped walking just outside a quiet alley and opened his storage.

The usual slots flicked into view, neatly arranged and glowing faintly.

He opened the bottom row.

[Void Gate Key – Category C]

[Rarity: Rare+]

[Function: Allows user to generate a dungeon gate of Category C. The user must imagine a door and insert the key virtually to initiate dungeon access. Usable once.]

[Reward: Void Gate Key - Category C] [Bonus: Elemental Core - Unbound Type] [Rarity: Epic]

The key sat inside like a prize. He stared at it for a second. Now, there was only one path.

"Alright... Let’s get to work."

This chapter is updat𝙚d by f(r)eew𝒆bn(o)vel.com