Chapter 154
A massive frame.
Crushing the edge of the Colosseum as it descended, the gaze looking down at me was extremely sharp and overbearing.
A destroyer that suddenly landed from the sky.
It dominated the surroundings as if the fight between Obarma and Esther against the Imperial soldiers was truly nothing.
An overwhelming killing intent bore down.
The eyes of the massive predator were fixed clearly on Callius alone. Callius was taking head-on the killing intent that would make even those not targeted pale in terror.
'So this is, a dragon.'
It couldn't even be compared to Hetchling.
A dragon that had reached a proper adult form had appeared before my eyes, intent on killing me.
But I did not panic.
I knew this would happen from the start.
The dragons of this world had drastically decreased in number since the Dragon-Demon War.
Thus, not only Hetchling, but they were quite sensitive to the decrease in the number of dragons itself.
Moreover, I possessed the Mad Dragon Sword and incurred their hatred, and I resurrected the dead Hetchling and made it my subordinate.
Their anger was only natural.
However.
"Dragons and humans were enemies to begin with."
The dragon race is no different from a natural disaster.
And humans are placed in a relationship where they have no choice but to stand in the positions of predator and prey, so it was a given.
I knew well that they would come soon.
The Mad Dragon implanted in my heart was laughing, wishing for my destruction.
But I don't care.
It's just a mountain I must cross and a river I must ford anyway.
Crunch.
The ground shattered as I stepped on it.
Along with the ground splitting like a spiderweb, my figure instantly closed in on the dragon.
Ring.
I dismiss the quest window that popped up before my eyes, my left hand on the scabbard.
With my right hand gripping the sword handle, I control the explosively soaring energy.
'First.'
How far my power reaches.
It's time to test it against a dragon.
First, pure power.
I'll only use divine power.
"Hundred Severance."
Keing!
The friction sound of Roas being drawn from the scabbard. The sparks flying from it.
A thinly sliced blade aura.
I step into the world of a transcendent that unfolds. Amidst the phenomenon of objects bending and distorting, I cut a single thing.
I split a single world.
Swish!!
The world is severed vertically.
A thread-like sword creates a single line.
That line then.
Rumble, boom!!
Sliced half of the Colosseum.
-Krawrararara!
And inflicted a wound on the dragon's chest.
Splurt!
Spouting red blood.
The blood flowing from the body of the massive absolute being soaked the floor of the Colosseum.
The enraged dragon's roar and its writhing in pain brought me ecstasy, but.
Thud.
Landing on the ground, I frowned.
'Shallow.'
There is the sensation of cutting.
But I couldn't cut the bone.
What I cut was merely the outer skin.
I only sliced a bit of the dragon's hard scales and flesh.
Of course, that alone was a dazzling progress and an achievement humans could not easily covet, but if I thought of Stella from those days, it was still a result that fell far short.
"It doesn't matter."
Because there's still a lot to test.
I immediately sheathed my sword and concentrated my energy again.
Unlike before, when only a silver color bloomed.
This time, an arrogant and tyrannical aura began to overflow in my body.
This was the power of the dragon flowing through my body and engraved in my fused bones.
An energy that was the exclusive property of dragons.
The dark red aura boiled my blood and strengthened my entire body.
It was the first time I used it properly, except when Carpe was invaded.
However, I could use it far more naturally than at that time.
Dragon Power.
-Krawraaaaaa!!
As I raised that energy, the anger of the dragon, which was roaring from its slashed chest, reached its peak.
Whoosh!
Kicking off the ground, I instantly reached the dragon's flank.
But this time, it wasn't easy.
As if it had been waiting, it immediately turned its body, and its thick tail swung quickly like a whip, striking where I was.
Kwaang!!
With just a single tail strike, the massive ground caved in, and the soldiers positioned nearby were crushed or torn apart.
After that, it flapped its wings, lifted its body slightly, and opened its jaws high towards the sky.
Sparks flew from its mouth.
And then.
-Kwarorararara!!
Breath spewed out.
At the same time.
A technique engraved in my body by the Mad Dragon.
"Dragon's Roar."
An energy similar to that of the Mad Dragon was shot from the tip of my sword.
* * *
At the sudden appearance of the dragon, Esther and everyone present were left dumbfounded.
Was the peace after the Dragon-Demon War, which had been maintained for a thousand years, being shattered?
Such shock and fear instinctively froze their bodies.
There was little difference between knights and Masters at the appearance of a dragon.
The most surprised was none other than Obarma, the Floor Master of the 61st floor.
"Are you going to break a thousand years of peace!!"
She screamed.
Why had the Tower's zealots who guarded the holy land for generations abandoned the secular world and endured such hardships?
It was all to prevent the appearance of dragons and demons, solely for the peace of the world.
Yet, in the middle of the Empire.
A dragon, of all things, appearing! This was an unacceptable major incident.
'So that is a dragon...'
Even the man known as the 11th Spear of the Empire couldn't take a step forward at the majestic presence of the dragon, which he had only heard of through oral tradition.
The dragon was larger than we had thought, and the firm aura wrapping its body and the tyrannical dragon power crushing the surroundings declared it the predator of everything in this world.
No matter how much they were beings who had transcended human limits, it was not easy to easily resist the dragon's imposing aura.
While everyone was frozen like that.
A single man leapt in.
A pilgrim wrapped in a pure white robe.
Soon, the hood flipped back, and his black hair brilliantly came into view.
What he held in his hand was a sword.
Where his ash-gray eyes were headed was only the dragon.
Then, his sword flashed.
Slash!
"Gasp!"
A single strike.
With one sword, he slashed the dragon's chest.
Splurt!
'Callius!!'
Esther was dyed with half surprise and half delight, while Obarma's face was dyed with half surprise and half hostility.
But whether they were or not.
Landing along with the pouring dragon's blood, he immediately bloomed an ominous red aura and continued the offense and defense with the dragon.
The firm aura wrapped around the dragon's claws, which it had possessed since birth.
Blocking or dodging it, Callius's swordsmanship, which slowly parted the dragon's scales and sliced its outer skin, had progressed a step further than before.
Esther, who had once fought on par with Callius, could clearly realize it, and was overjoyed at the fact that he had risen to the ranks of Masters like herself.
Just as she was about to join in.
Sparks flew from the dragon's jaws, and Obarma turned pale.
"Run!"
Was it because she had fought alongside the Imperial army even a little?
Obarma warned Esther to flee, and immediately.
Kwoaaaaaaa-!
The dragon's Breath turned not only the Colosseum but also a corner of Voltan into a sea of fire.
Ordinary buildings melted in the flames and turned to ashes, and the square area of Voltan was burned black.
Fire covering the sky.
The atmospheric temperature soared in an instant, mouths dried up, and those who were even slightly nearby suffered burns or struggled from oxygen deficiency.
The tremendous majesty of the dragon.
A single Breath devastates a major city.
A single dragon, at that.
I couldn't even imagine what kind of fight they had in those days.
The nameless dragon was satisfied with the scene it had created, but its expression was quickly wiped clean.
Because one ant-like bastard was standing perfectly fine, holding a half-broken sword toward it.
The man who had taken the Breath head-on and stood firmly was facing the dragon.
The dragon looked down at him.
The one who incurred the wrath of dragons.
The one who earned the hatred of dragons.
The elders had told it to destroy him and establish the dignity of the dragons.
But it was not as easy as it thought.
A human bastard who should be torn apart with a single gesture.
Not only did he inflict a wound on it, but he also faced its Breath head-on.
Swish, thud.
The bastard threw the broken sword.
And took out a new sword to arm himself.
The dragon's pupils contracted.
It was a sword imbued with a cold aura.
Recognizing it at a glance, it spread its wings wide.
"Where are you going."
Is the dragon running away?
No.
The dragon's stage is the soaring sky.
Spitting fire from the high sky is the dragon's true power.
It was merely trying to fulfill that.
It wasn't running away.
But Callius had no intention of letting it do so.
Crackle!
Flinch.
The dragon's body, about to take off, flinched.
The atmosphere, which had heated up from its Breath, cooled down coldly.
Soon, a chill lingered, and thin ice began to form everywhere in an instant.
Before long, the only ones positioned in a corner of the half-destroyed Colosseum were the dragon and Callius.
The silence flowing between them.
Only the sound of breathing could be heard.
Rumble.
At that moment, the outer wall of the Colosseum collapsed a little, creating a small noise.
At the same time.
Whoosh!
The dragon expanded its chest, inhaling the air to prepare to breathe fire, and Callius's sword was swung.
Crack!
-!
The dragon's eyes snapped open.
Its mouth suddenly froze.
The fireball it tried to spit out boiled inside its mouth, making its eyes spin, and only its nostrils spewed thick smoke piercing through the ice.
Right then, Callius's sword aimed for its neck once again.
Slash!
Crack, smash!!
-Krawrararara!
The ice sealing its jaws shattered, and the dragon's scream echoed throughout the world.
Thud.
It spewed out a scream along with one of the fallen dragon's arms, but its tail lashed out like a whip, striking Callius.
Bang!
Narrowly avoiding it and climbing onto its head, Callius grabbed its horn and his sword stabbed the dragon's skull.
Clang!
'Damn.'
It's harder than I thought.
Even with Bitan coated in blade aura, I couldn't pierce its skull.
The thought of whether I should take out the Iron Lord crossed my mind, and at the same time, whooosh!!
Its wings spread wide open.
"Crap!"
Gliding in an instant, the dragon's head, soaring unsteadily through the sky, shook ceaselessly, putting all its strength into shaking Callius off.
Kuwaaaaaaa!
Breath spewed continuously from its jaws, and Callius gritted his teeth at the dragon's movements, which flew at an astonishing speed unlike its massive size.
Callius's entire body, swaying like a straw and barely holding on, was dyed ash-gray. As the aura of ash bloomed, the Iron Lord was grasped in his hand.
-Kuwaaaaaa!
Feeling a certain creepiness, the dragon also craned its neck to the maximum, readying itself to shoot a Breath again.
The figures of the dragon and Callius soared through the clouds in the sky.
"If the head is hard...!"
I just need to pierce the neck.
Piercing the dragon's neck with the ash-gray Iron Lord.
'Ash Flowing Flower.'
The ash dust swirling everywhere soon gathered into Callius's sword.
Through repeated sparring with Orbire, Callius realized it.
The Shattering Flower Path at the root of Ash Flowing Flower was a sword for facing multiple enemies.
So, to fully increase the power of Ash Flowing Flower, it was necessary to concentrate the dispersed power into one.
Thus, after much trial and error, Callius completed a new form of Ash Flowing Flower.
A simple slash.
However, it was a single strike condensed with multiple layers of firm aura and dozens, hundreds of sword qi.
"Ash Annihilation."
Slash!
Ash-gray dyed the sky.
And then, what could be seen was.
The figure of the dragon and Callius plummeting like a comet.
Kwoaaaaaaaang-!
A massive roar and vibration shook the ground to the point of trembling.
A large crater formed in the middle of the Colosseum, and the dragon and Callius disappeared into it.
In the midst of a shaking brain and vision.
Before Callius's eyes, Lactus's flower garden, hidden underground, unfolded.