The Epic Battles and Adventures of Siegfried, the Dragon SlayerFollow the dangerous adventures of Siegfried, a fearless dragon slayer, in his epic battles and battles-hardened wisdom.
Siegfried pressed the tip of his blade into Kuperan's chin. He twisted it just enough so that the point punctured Kuperan's throat. When Kuperan, King of the Giants, felt it, he gasped.
Siegfried appeared scary. "Are you going to open the enchanted cave?" he inquired. "Or am I going to murder you? Kuperan, you have a choice."
There was no other option. Kuperan had no desire to die, especially not in front of Euglein, King of the Dwarfs. The dwarfs and giants despised one another. Now that Kuperan was at Seigfried's mercy, the Dwarf King grinned from ear to ear.
"Let me get up, and I'll retrieve the cave key," Kuperan hissed at Siegfried. Siegfried took away his sword. Kuperan rose to his feet, scowling.
"Such a shame! What a shame! "He grumbled to himself. "If I don't obtain my vengeance, the dwarfs will mock me forever."
The facts were indeed embarrassing for Kuperan. He carried the single key to the magical cave, where the dragon Fafnir guarded the most magnificent treasure on Earth. Fafnir was a massive beast. He used to be a blacksmith. He was transformed into a dragon after murdering his father, Reidmar, and stealing the treasure from him.
The dwarfs created the crystal, gold, silver, diamonds, and other treasures. The dwarfs would reclaim the riches if Kuperan let "Siegfried and Euglein" enter the cave. That was the very last thing Kuperan desired. As a result, he refused to hand over the key to Siegfried.
Nevertheless, things had gone horribly wrong.
Siegfried was far more powerful than Kuperan had thought. When they fought, Kuperan was defeated. Seigfried was now forcing the Giant King to do what he desired. It didn't make Kuperan feel any better to know that Siegfried, son of King Siegmund of the Rhine, was already a famed warrior and dragon slayer. The Huge King did not want to be conquered by anyone!
'How can I exact my vengeance?' Kuperan reflected as he hesitantly removed the cave key from its hiding place. 'Prince Siegfried is a tremendous fighter, but he is also human, and all humans have flaws.'
Then Kuperan remembered how, after killing his first dragon, Siegfried ate the dragon's flesh. The huge, scaly horn of the dragon had grown all over his body.
It was like a coat of armour. There was, however, one patch between Siegfried's shoulders where a leaf had landed that wasn't coated in horn.
'When I get the chance, I'll attack Siegfried there,' Kuperan resolved as he led the Prince and Euglein into the magical cave.
Siegfried followed Kuperan with caution. He had no faith in the Big King. Euglein stood close to Siegfried the entire journey, and the Dwarf King informed the Prince more about the treasure in the cave as they travelled.
"We dwarfs have cursed it," Euglein explained. "Anyone who has the treasure and conceals it from us will perish! But there is one major issue..."
"What exactly is that?" Siegfried inquired.
"The only way to kill Fafnir, who owns the riches, is with the magic sword he used to murder his father, Reidmar," Euglein said. "And the weapon is stashed somewhere in the cave. I'm not sure where that is."
Kuperan looked around when he heard this. Siegfried immediately pointed his sword at him in case Kuperan attacked. But Kuperan grinned and raised his hands to demonstrate that he meant no harm.
"I know where the magical weapon is, Prince Siegfried," declared the giant. "Since you saved my life, I will reveal to you where it is hidden."
Siegfried was overjoyed to learn this.
"Excellent!" he said. "Then I'll be able to kill Fafnir."
Kuperan laughed quietly to himself. 'Oh, no, young Siegfried, you won't,' he thought. 'I will murder you first, and I know exactly how I will do it.'
They finally arrived at the cave. It was concealed behind a waterfall. Kuperan used his key to unlock the door. A long, meandering tunnel stood behind the door.
A peculiar light was shining there. The light became stronger and brighter as Kuperan led Siegfried and Euglein along it.
They entered a massive hall, and Siegfried noticed that the light had emanated from the gold covering its walls and the magnificent diamonds that adorned it.
"No wonder it's called the most exquisite treasure in the world!" exclaimed Siegfried, gazing at him in awe.
A heavy rumbling could be heard not far away. The floor of the cave shook. Siegfried heard a swishing, howling sound as the rumble turned into a roar. Euglein, terrified, jumped behind a nearby rock and hid himself. "This is Fafnir!" Kuperan spoke in hushed tones. "The dragon is approaching, breathing fire and flames. Get the magical sword, Prince Siegfried!"
Kuperan dashed across the room, pulling back a heavy drape on one side. There was a sword behind it. It was set in a huge stone.
"If you can bring it out of the stone, this is the magical blade that can kill Fafnir," Kuperan said to Siegfried.
Siegfried dashed over to the sword and took hold of the hilt. He began pulling and heaving at it, but the blade remained immovable.
A piercing shriek erupted all at once. "Siegfried, Prince! Take caution!" Euglein was the name. When Siegfried turned around, he saw the small Dwarf King leap across the hall and collide with Kuperan's hand. Kuperan exclaimed in amazement as his dagger was knocked to the ground. He was going to stab the blade into the vulnerable area on Siegfried's back. Kuperan leaned down and grabbed the dagger, but Siegfried outpaced him. He drew the blade from the stone and thrust it into Kuperan with one final great effort. Kuperan collapsed to the floor, lifeless.
"A blade strong enough to kill a monster can also kill a traitor!" Siegfried was furious.
The roaring was becoming increasingly deafening. Euglein screamed angrily, "He's arrived! Fafnir has arrived!" The Dwarf King returned to his hiding spot and dropped down out of sight.
The hall suddenly grew extremely hot, and Fafnir appeared.
He was a massive beast, coated in thick scales all over. A swarm of flames shot from his mouth with each loud roar. The heat was so intense that Siegfried's shield turned red hot.
Fafnir was charging right at Siegfried. His eyes were massive pools of fire with a fierce look in them.
Siegfried looked for a place to hide. He spotted a narrow opening between the boulders that Fafnir couldn't follow and dashed into it. Siegfried picked up a large rock while Fafnir bellowed and marched outside. He snuck to the passageway's entrance and hurled the stone at Fafnir with all his might. Siegfried's aim was excellent. The boulder landed in Fafnir's mouth and became lodged in his throat.
The flames stopped shooting out of Fafnir's throat suddenly. As Siegfried saw this, he dashed forward and began slashing at the dragon's scales with his magical sword. To his horror, he discovered that even this magnificent weapon couldn't puncture the thick scales.
Then, from the other side of the cave, a voice called out.
"Fafnir! Fafnir! Fafnir, get over here!" Euglein's voice was heard.
The dragon turned to see who had spoken. Siegfried noticed a gap between his thick scales as he did so. He pushed forward, thrusting the magical blade into the chasm. That quickly became ingrained. Siegfried drew it out, ready to strike Fafnir again, but he was pushed aside by a massive flame of fire that spilled from the wound.
Fafnir became enraged and began thrashing around with his massive tail. However, Siegfried sprang forward once again and sank the magical blade between two of Fafnir's scales. This time it went straight to his heart. The dragon's throat made a terrifying gurgling sound before collapsing to the floor with a thundering smash. The last of the flames died away, and the brightness in his frightening eyes dimmed. Fafnir had died.
King Euglein emerged from his hiding place, dancing and laughing. He leapt to his feet and embraced Siegfried.
"Finally, finally!" Euglein sobbed.
"The treasure the dwarfs made is now again theirs."
Euglein rewarded Siegfried with one of the most exquisite jewels in the magical cave. Siegfried wore it on his shield to let his adversaries know he was the strong Rhine Prince who killed the King of Giants and the King of Dragons in one day.
