Having instilled terror and sealed the mouths of the Terenbeti delegation, Katroi hardened his expression and
looked at Damon.
“Interesting. On what grounds do you regard me as a dragon?”
“There’s no need for wordplay, dragon. I have already seen through your identity clearly.”
“………”
“There is likely no one who knows dragons as well as I do. Because to me,
the race known as dragons is……”
Damon slowly raised his hand and pointed at Katroi.
“Nothing more than prey to be killed on sight.”
At those words, arrogant to the point of madness, the people listening gaped. To think there was someone who bore such deep
resentment toward dragons……
Though they did not know whether the white-haired knight was truly a dragon or not, the words that had come from the old man’s mouth alone
were enough to leave them unable to hide their astonishment. After all, those who endlessly
hated the mighty beings known as dragons were not easily found. But for Katroi, who was listening, this was no ordinary
matter…… Glaring at Damon with eyes gone cold, Katroi gave a bitter
smile.
“Let me ask you one thing. Just what makes you hate dragons so much?”
“Because……”
As he continued speaking, Damon slowly began rearranging the mana around him.
“I am a man of Truvenia. Truvenia was destroyed by the hands of dragons.
I remember the horrific scene of that time clearly. For that reason,
I have resolved to kill every dragon in the world.”
At Damon’s words that he was from Truvenia, the mercenaries were startled. They had guessed he must have
an unusual past, but to think he was a man of old Truvenia…… If he had witnessed
Truvenia’s destruction, then he had to have lived for at least more than five hundred years, so they could not help but be
shocked. Having heard the circumstances, Katroi let out a long sigh.
“How absurd. For a mere reason like that, you resolved to hunt all dragons? I
had absolutely nothing to do with Truvenia’s destruction. That means I am entirely separate from them.”
The moment his words ended, everyone in the hall felt as though they had frozen solid.
The white-haired knight’s words were an admission that he was a dragon. In particular, the Terenbeti
delegation had gone completely pale. They thought that now that the dragon’s identity had been revealed, they could not possibly remain unharmed.
‘It’s o-over.’
‘Now we’re dead for sure.’
Ignoring the reactions of those around him, Damon continued saying what he had to say.
“Of course, it doesn’t matter whether you were involved in Truvenia’s destruction or not. The single reason
that you are a dragon is enough cause for you to die.”
“How absurd.”
Katroi began to chuckle, grumbling. A lowly human dared claim he would punish a dragon;
it was impossible not to be dumbfounded. From a dragon’s perspective, humans were like insignificant
insects. For such a worthless race to say it would kill him was simply
ridiculous.
“Fine. By what method do you intend to kill me?”
“………”
“Words like that are only spoken when one has the ability. But from what I can see, you seem to have
no such ability at all.”
“Do you truly think I do not?”
Katroi subtly raised his killing intent and nodded.
“I do. Of course, I pay respect to the fact that you reached the realm of the Ninth Circle in a human body. For a human with a
short lifespan, that is truly astonishing. But I mastered the Tenth Circle long ago.
Due to the nature of magic, there is no way you can harm me no matter what you do.”
At the statement that Damon was a master of the Ninth Circle, everyone except the mercenaries gaped.
If a dragon acknowledged it, then it had to be regarded as an unquestionable fact. A shabby old man who looked utterly
wretched was a master of the Ninth Circle, of whom not a single one had ever appeared in the history of Arcadia……
But Damon, on the contrary, was wearing a satisfied smile. Since ancient times, the core of strategy had been that one could win only by
knowing the enemy and knowing oneself. Yet his opponent now knew nothing about him and was endlessly
looking down on him, while Damon had already experienced fighting a dragon.
And against an Ancient-class black dragon, no less. From that perspective, a white dragon who appeared to be only at the Wyrm
class could not possibly be a match. Of course,
the fledgling dragon would never know that in his wildest dreams.
“It seems you doubt my ability.”
A thick killing intent was spreading around Katroi’s eyes.
“To be honest, I do. I respect reckless courage, but you do not have even
a hair’s breadth of a chance of defeating me. Of course, I will make it clear that it is useless to beg for your life now.
For the crime of insulting a dragon, I will turn you into a lump of ice.”
“You have rather vile tastes.”
Katroi slowly began rearranging mana. As a master of the Tenth Circle, the level at which mana was
being rearranged far surpassed Damon’s. Seeing that, a strange light flashed across Damon’s
eyes.
“You intend to fight in that state?”
“Of course. Someone like you can be dealt with sufficiently even while I am polymorphed as a human.”
“You’ll regret it……”
“No, there will be no regret. The result will not change.”
Looking at the fledgling dragon who was looking down on him without limit, Damon shook his head.
Of course, for the sake of dragon hunting, now, while he was in human form, was the best opportunity. One had to aim for the time
when he could not bring all of his power to bear.
But that was not what Damon, who had once been a martial artist, desired. Moreover, there was also the problem that if he ended his life in
human form, they would be unable to obtain the corpse. Once dead,
he would not return to his original form.
‘First, I must make him return to his true form.’
Having thought it through, he opened Increcia. Glancing at Katroi, who was staring in puzzlement
at the magical treasure he had never seen before, Damon shouted loudly.
“Hey, Helbertron. Would you come out for a moment?”
A little later, a thick voice burst out from within Increcia.
“What is it? Must I spar with that fellow Mitchell again?”
“No. Just come out for now.”
“Very well.”
A moment later, Helbertron sprang out of Increcia.
“Hah.”
Katroi, who had been staring blankly at the crack in space, was startled. He had been pondering deeply over what sort of object it was,
only for a Death Knight to suddenly pop out from within it.
Since the fellow was clearly anything but ordinary at a glance, Katroi had no choice but to tense
up. At that level, in human terms, it could be considered a top-grade Sword Master.
“Hmm?”
Helbertron, having appeared in the human world, fixed his burning gaze on Katroi.
He had instinctively sensed that his opponent was not human. Damon nodded as though to confirm it.
“He’s a dragon. Not one who came over from Truvenia, but a native dragon of Arcadia.
So prepare yourself for a hunt.”
“Glad tidings indeed. But why is he still in human form?”
“He said that he could deal with us well enough even while polymorphed. Don’t you think that’s laughable?”
The moment Damon’s words ended, a chilling light poured out from between the visor of Helbertron’s helm.
He quietly drew the Rehert Saber hanging at his waist.
Shrrng.
An eerie voice, as though drifting up from the underworld, dug into Katroi’s ears.
“Hey, fledgling dragon. You’d best return to your true body before you taste bitterness. Once the fight
begins, we will never go easy on you.”
Helbertron already understood Damon’s thoughts well. Even considering the secret weapon being manufactured inside
Increcia, they absolutely needed a dragon’s corpse. Only then could they fight against
even more dragons.
“Well now.”
Katroi unconsciously took a step back. He had never imagined that his opponent would possess
a Death Knight. A Death Knight of that level could be considered sufficiently threatening. The aura blade coiled around that longsword
could slice through his dragon scales with ease. In other words,
this was not an enemy he could take lightly. However, Katroi still
did not grasp the seriousness of the situation.
“To bring out a Death Knight—how unexpected. Truly astonishing.”
“I have no intention of playing with words. If you do not intend to return to your true body, I will attack at once.”
“Wait.”
Katroi ultimately made his decision. Judging by the situation, it seemed most proper to return to his true body.
If his opponents were a Death Knight and a mage, they were not foes he could regard lightly,
and he felt they would be difficult to handle while polymorphed into human form. Therefore, Katroi
began rearranging mana in order to return to his true body.
“Surely you won’t attack while I am polymorphing, will you?”
“Of course. If only to obtain your corpse, we will do no such thing.”
“What an exceedingly insolent fellow.”
Thinking inwardly that this was fortunate, Katroi hurriedly rearranged mana. Though rage had risen to the very top of
his head, he pressed it down and endured.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa.
Dazzling light erupted from his body as its axis. Everyone except Damon and Helbertron
had to turn their heads away. Within the mass of light, Katroi’s body was rapidly growing larger.
The people in the hall watched the sight while swallowing dryly.
“He, he really was a dragon.”
“Unbelievable.”
The gathered princesses and guard knights stood gaping, drool nearly spilling from their mouths. For the first time in
their lives, they were seeing the true form of a dragon.
The sight of the white dragon returning to his original form was extraordinarily beautiful. From the horns
that stretched as though to pierce the sky came dignity. From the long neck came elegance, and from the huge body
tightly covered from head to toe in white scales came overwhelming power. It was a form
fully worthy of the title of the strongest race on the continent. Damon watched the dragon’s appearance with shining eyes.
“Perhaps because he is a white dragon, his form is quite different from the black dragon I killed before.”
Overall, the white dragon had a slender, streamlined body, and its neck and tail were much
longer. In terms of body size, it was markedly inferior to Russellant, but its overall length actually
surpassed him. A moment later, Katroi raised his long neck and roared.
Kyaooooo.
It was a roar so loud that the princesses standing there in a daze covered their ears with faces gone deathly pale.