How…? How did pure physical attacks shatter a guardian barrier at the level of a Grand Magic spell in just two hits, while ignoring both the defensive enchantments on my robe and the self-triggering protective alchemical item?
His vision slowly darkened from the massive blood loss. Only now did the blood spraying from his chest bring the pain flooding back. Domingo Sen strained to raise a finger and cast a basic healing spell, trying to stop the wound—which had probably pierced his lung—from bleeding any more.
A spherical barrier lit up around him. Could the Golden Dragon’s terrifying speed really delay even a protective spell that should’ve been instantaneous by this much?
His mind was still racing. Domingo Sen’s gaze remained fixed on the giant dragon looking down at him from above.
No, that’s impossible. Even if it was moving that fast, there should’ve been more than enough time for the barrier to activate between the moment I was struck and the moment I fell here… Unless…
“Time…?”
The healing spell took effect, slowing the bleeding considerably. But a basic healing spell couldn’t fully heal the wound. He’d have to wait until he’d escaped safely to deal with the rest.
But could he even escape?
As expected of a Golden Dragon, a creature known as the king of the Dragon race. This really wasn’t something a team like theirs could take on easily.
Domingo Sen sighed inwardly and silently waited for his end.
But to his surprise, the Golden Dragon didn’t chase after him to deliver the final blow.
The last thing he saw before disappearing into the clouds was a pair of blazing golden slit pupils.
…
“He fell.”
“Yeah. He should still be alive, right?”
Tiran breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down on Uncle Antikas’s back. She hadn’t had much to do with them, but they were still people she knew. If Antikas had killed them just like that, she would’ve felt a little guilty.
“Miss Tiran, I spared them this time for your sake. If they don’t want to die, they’d better pray they never cross my path again.”
Antikas’s voice rumbled, with a trace of anger still lingering in it.
“Dad, do you… really hate them that much?”
“Heh. Isn’t it only natural for the Dragon race to despise dragon slayers?”
Antikas let out a disdainful laugh. “Calling themselves dragon slayers when they’re only this strong… They’re making their predecessors look bad.”
By ordinary standards, the Dragon Slayer adventuring party was already top-tier. All five members were above level nine, and they could even take down siege-class monsters without much trouble.
But with strength like that, taking on the Dragon race wasn’t entirely impossible—though facing a genuine adult dragon would still mean taking an enormous risk.
In Antikas’s memory, those who’d dared call themselves dragon slayers in the past had either been Holy Rank themselves or possessed the means to stand against Holy Rank fighters. Without at least that much, facing a true dragon was just throwing their lives away.
Over the long ages of the past, battles between dragon slayers and giant dragons had broken out all over the world. Some became heroic epics sung by poets; far more were lost in forgotten corners of the world.
“Doris’s parents were killed by dragon slayers.”
Antikas sighed. “Her parents were my friends. But when I found them, all I saw were the brutal traces of a battle—and an egg they’d hidden away.”
Aya instinctively glanced over at Doris. The girl, who until quite recently had been plotting how to eat her, now wore a hint of sadness.
“Doris, you…”
“That’s right! Doris’s mommy and daddy are both gone! So I have to hurry up and have children with Big Brother to carry on the Red Dragon bloodline!”
“Hey! I was just about to comfort you! Don’t suddenly pounce on me!”
“Doris doesn’t need that kind of comfort! If you want to comfort me, give Doris your big XX!”
“What the hell are you saying, you little brat?!”
The princess rolled up her sleeves and punched the girl on the head.
…
A blood-red setting sun hung on the horizon, staining the cloudless sky crimson.
Among the desolate ranges of rocky mountains, a hunt had reached its end. The crimson dragon roared again and again, beating her wings to stay aloft as she turned to fight back. But her weakening Dragon Breath could no longer hurt the swordsman in full-body heavy armor. His pursuit didn’t even slow; her attacks brushed him like a breeze.
“You attacked me out of nowhere, without even asking questions… Who are you people?!”
Dragon-language Magic activated. Two enormous ice spears fell from the sky, crashing down toward the swordsman who was following her at an unhurried pace, keeping his distance.
The swordsman’s face was hidden behind a fully enclosed helmet. No emotion showed, and his presence never wavered. He was like a machine that knew nothing but killing.
He slowly placed his right hand on the hilt at his waist. Then, faster than the eye could follow, he struck several times, shattering both ice spears. The fragments clinked against his helmet as they fell, like bells tolling death.
His sword swept from left to right, then turned upward the instant its tip touched the ground. An invisible blade of sword energy shot out, carving another deep wound into the Red Dragon in the sky.
Blood mingled with crimson scales. Broken scales rained down, and with a long, unwilling cry, the Red Dragon crashed to the ground with a heavy thud.
“This ends now.”
For the first time, the heavily armored swordsman spoke to the Red Dragon. His voice was unexpectedly gentle, yet its cold, emotionless edge felt jarringly out of place.
Though clad in heavy armor, the swordsman didn’t look like a burly warrior capable of bearing its weight. Beside the giant dragon, he seemed even smaller. But as he raised his sword high, no one could doubt that a single strike would end the Red Dragon’s life.
Her magic was nearly spent, and the gold that had always burned in her eyes had grown extraordinarily dim. As her eyelids closed, the image that came to mind was the dragon egg still lying in darkness inside a seaside cave not far away.
No. I can’t end here!
Her ragged breathing, which had been weakening, suddenly grew harsher. Her drooping wings rose again, beating with all her strength to lift her body and carry her toward the distance.
“You’re not getting away.”
The swordsman faltered too, surprised that the dragon he’d pursued and wounded all this way still had the strength to flee. But he quickly gave chase. Running on two legs, he was somehow no slower than the dragon flying with all her might.
One rocky mountain after another swept past below them. The coastline was already close.
But then, a piercing whistle through the air and a sharp burst of pain struck her lower abdomen at the same time.
The scales on a dragon’s belly were the softest on her entire body. A skilled swordsman with a sharp blade could pierce them easily, and she was already utterly spent.
At last, even her remaining strength to fly gave out. Her massive body crashed down, collapsing a seaside cave below.
