The more he thought of Furibon, the more it vexed Vainqueur.

The dragon knew, deep within his bones, that the lich was the secret mastermind behind everything wrong in his life. The planet Moon could never have turned to lead on its own, and Wotan would not have assaulted V&V, had Vainqueur remained safe at home instead of chasing the lich. Ergo, all the lich's protestations of innocence didn’t add up.

This was just a trick! Yes, a trick to avoid his just punishment!

But then… why did he accept Vainqueur’s challenge, to settle their war once and for all? Why did adventurers come to defend him out of their own free will? Why did they call him their teammate, with the same care Manling Victor showed to his master?

Could he… could he have friends?

Of course not! Furibon couldn’t have friends, or else he wouldn’t be Furibon!

And yet...

“A class system you say?” Grandrake frowned at Jolie. “Is it anything like that cultivation Jade keeps prattling on about?”

“The System is no scam!” Jolie defended her livelihood. “It grants power over life and death, gold and lead! Even wizardry!”

Grandrake tried to access the System, blinking repeatedly. “[Princess Hunter]?” he said, having tapped into the ancient power of dragonkind. “What a strange device... this must certainly be ancient dragon magic, but I never heard of anything like this before. Odd, very odd.”

“Dragons can do magic on their own?” Jolie asked, her eyes glittering with curiosity.

“Jolie, who else but dragons could invent something so advanced?” Vainqueur replied, before making a joke. “Manlings?”

Grandrake exploded into laughter, before answering Jolie’s question. “Our Elder Wyrm progenitor and the first generations of dragons used magic to grant souls to the first minions, or so the tales said. But since they were already perfect and invincible without it, our ancestors never bothered to train new generations in sorcery. Instead, we focused on what truly mattered: getting richer!”

“This only confirms what I always thought,” Vainqueur replied proudly. “That this ancient System was created by dragons, for dragons.”

“Indeed, although it is vexing that minions rediscovered it first,” Grandrake replied. “Maybe I will study it in-depth after I have my soon-to-be minion Furibon lift my curse of forgetfulness.”

“You do not need the lich for that!” Vainqueur protested. “I can lift it myself!”

“You can?” Grandrake asked.

Of course Vainqueur could! He hesitated to test his [Malleus Maleficarum], for that would hurt the older dragon. Better to try the simpler option. “[Spell Purge]!” Vainqueur’s magnificent power washed over Grandrake, lifting negative effects from the older dragon.

Or so he thought.

You could not lift Grandrake’s [Grand Hex of the Forgetful Otaku].

Once applied, curses of the [Grand Hex] series can only be lifted through the exit clause detailed in their original wording.