Dragon Core: The Dragon-Girl Evolution & Princess-Collecting Dungeon Core Isekai LITRPG! (+ Comic!)

The mountain air was full of smoke and magical residue. Screams echoed down the steep incline as adventurers fled, their weapons abandoned, their formation broken. They tumbled over each other in their panic, rolling down the rocky slope in a desperate scramble for distance. Behind them, the dungeon entrance blazed with heat.

A world-shaking roar pursued them down the mountain.

The dragon Barjuchne burst from the obsidian gate, her scales catching the afternoon light and her wings half-spread in an aggressive display. She shook her fist after the fleeing figures, her chest heaving with exertion and frustration.

"And stay the hell out!"

Fire poured from her throat in a scorching arc that followed their trail, blackening stone and turning snow to steam. The adventurers screamed louder, their retreat becoming a full rout.

She stood there for a moment, watching them disappear into the ashen tree line far below, her tail lashing behind her with agitation.

"...Damn adventurers," she muttered, panting.

Movement caught her attention. She whipped her head around, eyes narrowing. A goblin patrolman stood frozen near the gate entrance, his spear trembling in his hands. The moment her gaze fixed on him, he went rigid.

"You!" she snapped.

He dropped to his knees immediately. "M-mercy, Great Queen!"

"How the hell did they get inside?"

"B-big people are clever, my queen." His voice shook badly enough that the words barely held together. "They have magic. Strange devices. They -" He pressed his face to the stone. "Mercy!"

Barjuchne rolled her eyes and turned away, grunting her dismissal. She stalked back toward the dungeon entrance, her clawed feet leaving scratches in the rock. The other goblins along the walls suddenly became very interested in their patrol duties, checking weapon racks and adjusting armour with exaggerated focus.

"Where's Rou-ya?" she asked, her voice carrying down the corridor.

Silence answered her.

Her eyes began to glow.

"ROU-YA!"

The mountain shook. Dust fell from the ceiling. Somewhere deeper in the dungeon, something cracked with a sharp report that echoed through the stone. She walked inside, her gaze sweeping across the activity. Goblins worked on trap repairs. Others hauled supplies toward storage chambers. Everything looked normal. Productive.

Then something moved in the corner of her vision.

Her head snapped toward it.

"Yes, my queen?"

Rou-ya emerged from a crowd of workers, her expression carefully composed despite the speed with which she'd appeared. She bowed slightly, her golden eyes watchful.

"Get these humans out of my dungeon!"

The goblin princess blinked. "Humans...?"

Barjuchne's head turned sharply, her senses catching something wrong. She stared, frozen, like an owl on a tree having seen a mouse down below. Immediately, she launched herself forward without thinking, her fist drawn back.

A voice shouted in terror. A figure dived from the shadows just as Barjuchne's flying claws crashed into the stone wall where they'd been standing. Rock exploded outward. The impact sent cracks spiderwebbing up toward the ceiling.

A dark-elven woman rolled as she hit the ground, her secretive garb making her nearly invisible in the dim light. She came up in a crouch, daggers already in her hands. Goblins rushed forward, surrounding her. Their spears formed a rough circle. The dark elf reached into her belt and threw something at her feet. Smoke erupted, thick and acrid. When it cleared, she was gone.

"It's a god-damned infestation!" Barjuchne snarled. "Where are they c-"

She stopped.

Her eyes narrowed, tracking something above.

"That was a dark-elf, my Queen," Rou-ya said carefully.

"They're all humans to me!" snarled the dragon, the irony not yet fully lost on her.

Heat built in her chest. She could feel it gathering, rising, the familiar pressure of fire wanting release. She tilted her head back and breathed a lash of flame toward the ceiling. The blast caught a massive metal chain hanging from the upper darkness. Fairies had been clinging to it. The fire dispelled their concealment instantly.

They screamed, high-pitched and panicked, their wings buzzing frantically as they fled toward exit vents too small for anything larger to follow.

Barjuchne's gaze swept across the assembled goblins, finally settling on Rou-ya. The goblin princess stiffened. The dragon's lips pulled back from her teeth in something that was not quite a smile. "If you all let in one more intruder," she said quietly, each word carrying weight, "I'm going to eat the first ten of you I can catch."

Her eyes fixed on three goblins she knew for a fact had been slacking when they thought she wasn't watching.

All three went pale.

"R-right away, my queen!" Rou-ya stammered, already turning to gather reinforcements. "Full inspection!" she called, the dragon-clan goblins scurrying in a panic all of a sudden. "Check every chamber! Check the vents!"

Barjuchne turned and stalked down the corridor, muttering to herself about inadequate security and incompetent guards and why she bothered with any of this in the first place.

"VELIAH!"

The corridor shook. Small stones fell from the ceiling.

A door opened further down the passage. Veliah's head emerged with a dry quill stabbed through her messy bun. Her violet eyes were wide but gentle, and she looked equal parts concerned and slightly afraid.

"Yes, Barjuchne? What are you yelling about out there?"

The dragon crossed the distance in three strides. She planted one hand on the wall beside Veliah's head, her claws digging into stone. The elf swallowed visibly. "...Y-yes?"

Barjuchne narrowed her eyes, then leant in and pressed her nose to Veliah's neck, inhaling deeply. "Ah, what are you -?"

The dragon's head turned sharply. She sniffed the air, her expression shifting. “Why do you smell like people?" She looked at the wall opposite Veliah's chamber. "No, wait… it’s not you.”

“I am people,” replied the elf, confused.

"Was that wall always there?"

Veliah followed her gaze. "Huh? Uh... no. I thought you changed it."

The wall the two of them were staring at shimmered. The illusion flickered and died, revealing open space where solid stone should have been. A wizard stood in the gap, his wide-brimmed hat casting shadows over his face.

"HAT MAN!" a goblin patrolman screamed from down the corridor.

Barjuchne launched herself forward. The wizard vanished with a soft pop of displaced air, teleporting deeper into the passages before she could reach him. The goblins streamed past, shouting and waving weapons.

"Damn it!" Barjuchne slammed her fist into the floor. "They're like rats!"

A hand settled on her waist. Veliah having stepped close after her, the elf's expression was sympathetic. "Well, it's to be expected," she said gently, trying to be reassuring. "As wealthy as we are now, that attracts a lot of attention from the outside world. Everyone wants some."

Barjuchne sighed, some of the tension leaving her shoulders as Veliah rubbed her back consolingly with a flat palm. Barjuchne turned her head, looking at the merchant's daughter. "...It was easier when it was just you and me."

Veliah smiled. She rose on her toes and kissed Barjuchne's cheek, soft and quick. "You ate my fiance," the elf pointed out. "I don't know if that was easier than this."

"Oh, one time," Barjuchne replied, rolling her eyes as she turned around fully back toward Veliah again.

Veliah laughed, the sound bright in the dim corridor. "I suspect word of this place has got out well into the distant nations now. There will be adventurers coming from across the world at this point." Her expression grew more serious. "I wouldn't be surprised if neighbouring kingdoms aren't asking to send their armies this way too. Because of the whole dragon thing."

"Is that realistic?"

Veliah thought for a moment, then shrugged. "It depends. Right now, maybe not just yet. The king would look very weak if he had to let other nations into his domain to fight you."

"There's a king?" Barjuchne blinked, the information settling slowly. Her eyes began to wander. "Does he happen to have a daughter?"

"Hey. Hey." Veliah snapped her fingers in front of Barjuchne's distantly wandering face. "Can you not daydream about a strange princess right in front of me? I have feelings, you know." She turned away, crossing her arms, her eyes closed. "...Seriously. As if I don't feel insecure enough all day with you dragging home someone else every week past my nose. As if I weren't good enough for you."

Barjuchne looked at her for a moment. Then she pulled the elf into her arms, holding her close.

"You're the heart of my empire, Veliah," she said quietly. "Nobody could ever take that from you. I just can't help what I am."

Veliah opened one eye tentatively. "...Really?"

The dragon leaned in, cupping Veliah's face. She kissed her, slow and possessive, and the elf froze before melting into it. Barjuchne pushed her back against the wall, one hand settling around her throat with careful pressure.

They kissed deeper. Barjuchne's other hand moved to Veliah's waist.

Something tapped her shoulder, breaking the spell.

The dragon opened her eyes, side-glancing at the hand tapping her shoulder. Veliah pointed upward without breaking the kiss.

Barjuchne looked up.

An adventurer clung to the ceiling directly above them, hanging from a rope in the shadows. His eyes met hers. Terror crossed his face.

"GET OUT!"

The dungeon shook. The adventurer scrambled, his rope swinging wildly as he fled down the corridor with impressive speed.

Veliah laughed, breathless and stepped back. "Anyway... you should probably go handle those two."

"But -" Barjuchne turned back to her.

"This is your punishment for hurting my feelings, you monster." Veliah winked and stepped back into her chamber, closing the door with a soft click. "Suffer."

The air shimmered with heat, making distant walls waver and distort. Sweat formed immediately on any exposed skin foolish enough to enter this place without preparation. The stone itself radiated warmth, and in the lowest sections, magma flowed through carved channels.

Barjuchne descended into the depths, her scales absorbing the heat without discomfort. This was her element. Her nature thrived in this place.

She entered the holding chamber and stopped.

Two golden-haired figures hung shackled to the walls, their wrists and necks bound by heavy chains anchored deep into stone. Sweat ran down their bodies in rivulets; their robes clinging, soaked through. Their identical faces turned toward her as she entered, their expressions eerily similar despite everything.

"Let's talk," Barjuchne said.

"Let me go and keep me instead, dragon." The first priestess lifted her chin, her voice steady despite the heat. "I'll give you whatever you need in spirit and body."

"What? No!" The second priestess jerked against her chains, not from distress at being held, but from clear jealousy. "Keep me, dragon. Let myself go, and I'll submit totally to you without resistance."

Barjuchne rolled her eyes. She crossed the chamber and grabbed both of their chains, yanking them free from the wall with casual strength that sent dust cascading from the ceiling.

"You're both coming with me," the dragon said, pulling them toward the exit.

Behind her, the twin priestesses exchanged glances.

Then they both almost seemed to approximate the hint of a smile. Even just a tiny crack of the corners of their lips was odd enough on its own, seeing anything at all change on their glassy, blank expressions for a change.

"Oh no," said the two of them at the same time, without any real emotion behind it at all, despite their predicament.

Nonetheless, it didn't sound very serious.