Zoro-Agruga

Zoro-Agruga (《》ゾロ・アグルーガ), also known as the Dark Dragon of Ruination (廃都の暗黒竜), was a dragon-like Cryptid that appeared in Erebonia during the Dark Ages. It is said to have the power to shake space itself.

Appearance
Zoro-Agruga is described as the 'greatest cryptid in existence' by Roselia. Taking the form of a colossal purple and black dragon, its mere presence is enough to inspire fear and intimidation. Large horns and spikes adorn its body and wings, each glowing with incandescent miasma. The dragon's limbs are bent backwards and it drags its abdomen on the floor. Its wings are covered in flowing violet patterns which light up with an eerie glow.

Background
Zoro-Agruga is called the 'kin of the cursed holy beast' and according to Dominion, Wazy Hemisphere, Zoro-Agruga is a part of what was once one of the seven Holy Beasts, Argres before manifesting as a result of the Erebonian Curse.

Perhaps one of its most fearsome abilities, the dragon is able to produce a dark miasma which curses its victims, turning them into night-touched or reanimating the corpses of the dead to carry out its will. This same substance is spread out upon the defeat of the cryptid, resulting in dealing with it being a formidable endeavour.

The Dark Dragon Zoro-Agruga occupied the Erebonian city of Heimdallr from S.371 to ca. S.470, devastating the city and claiming any lives during its reign. Its dark breath, also known as miasma, turned the capital into the 'city of the dead' where it took control of corpses and used them to attack the living. Zoro-Agruga's reign ended with the counter-attack of the Imperial family, led by Emperor Hector I. Wielding the Vermillion Divine Knight Testa-Rossa which he found within the depths of what would become Valflame palace. Upon the successful victory of the Vermillion Knight and the Dark Dragon's death, its cursed blood claimed Hector's life and in turn, placed a curse on the Divine Knight, transforming it into the 'Demon who wields a thousand weapons': the Vermillion Apocalypse or the 'Crimson Calamity'.

Its remains were locked away below the newly built Heimdallr within its catacombs, becoming only a skeleton after a few hundred years. The dragon would come to be known as folk tale in Erebonia, featuring in the Erebonian Folklore/Volume 3 with the following entry:

"An evil dragon said to have emerged from beneath the earth in Heimdallr during the early Dark Ages. It is said that the miasma it exhaled turned the capital into a city of the dead, resulting in Erebonia's center being temporarily moved to Saint-Arkh to the south. Though no hard evidence exists to verify these claims, according to the legends, it was eventually vanquished by the emperor and his knights."

In S.1204, Zoro-Agruga's skeletal remains were brought back to life by Michael Gideon of the Imperial Liberation Front, through the means of an artifact, referred to as the Demonic Flute which was capable of holding the reanimated skeleton in its thrall. Class VII managed to hold off the reanimated Zoro-Agruga until Gideon's flute was destroyed and the dragon's remains returned to their eternal slumber once again.

The disturbance in the Septium veins in the empire lead to a scenario where the Dark Dragon almost fully revived. Zoro-Agruga is encountered and fought in his sanctuary, with the gateway to his phase space "The realm of the Dark Dragon" appearing underneath the Imperial Museum. Guarded by fiends and obstacles, the Dark Dragon was reconstituted in its depths. Fortunately, with the assistance of Roselia, he is defeated once again with Class VII taking measures to avoid the same miasma that cursed the Vermillion Knight. Roselia describes the dragon as being the greatest Cryptid.

Later on, in one of the Fake Salt Pillars, a copy of Zoro-Agruga is made to defend the pillar from the invading Special Support Section who manage to defeat it. Unlike the original, the copy is a pale white colour and doesn't make use of the miasma. This version is named Pale Dragon of Ruination, Belis-Agruga.

Trivia

 * Zoro-Agruga and True Zoro-Agruga also appear in the game Dragon Star: Varnir as part of a cross over with the Kiseki series.