Raon swallowed dryly as he watched the slowly moving golden star.
'That's not a star...'
It's the Dragon Lord. The Dragon Lord wasn't hiding somewhere in this universe; he was coiled like a snake, camouflaged as a golden star. However, it didn't seem like he had taken that form to hide from enemies.
As Bartius had said, the coiled Dragon Lord was emanating a terrifying flow of mana, perhaps preparing some special magic.
'That power is dangerous.'
The magic that the Dragon Lord was preparing wasn't something that had existed before. A new power beyond mortal limits. Though he didn't know exactly what it was, his battle-honed instincts were repeatedly sounding alarm bells of danger.
-This king agrees!
Wrath frowned as he watched the Dragon Lord emitting increasingly intense light.
-Seems like that lizard chief is preparing something quite irritating!
He lowered his voice, seemingly startled by the aura the Dragon Lord was emitting.
"L-Lord!"
Red Dragon Valasiur pointed at the massive star that was slowly writhing.
"For the flow of mana to be this intense..."
Blue Dragon Sirtiren let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.
"I don't know what kind of magic it is, but it looks very dangerous."
White Dragon Bursiarabi deeply furrowed his brow.
"If we don't strike now, we'll be in danger, won't we?"
Black Dragon Dariauran tensed his body as if about to transform into his true form.
"Raon Zieghart."
Bartius pointed at the Dragon Lord, transformed into a golden star, while exhaling sharply.
"The Lord hasn't awakened from his mental image yet. Attack quickly!"
He raised his voice forcefully, as if he wanted to step forward himself but was too exhausted to move.
"I know."
Raon nodded and drew the Heavenly Drive.
'Normally, I would have formally challenged the Dragon Lord, but...'
This isn't the time for that. Though he wanted to properly face off against the Dragon Lord, the magic he was preparing seemed more dangerous than expected. It seemed best to either kill him while his body was vulnerable due to his focus on preparing the magic, or at least inflict as much damage as possible. The air hummed with tension.
Raon threw himself into the black dimension. He advanced through the pitch-black darkness, using the Supreme Harmony Step at its extreme to sever the Dragon Lord's neck.
'The distance is greater than I thought.'
Since the Dragon Lord was embedded in the center of the black dimension, it would take much time to reach him even with the fastest Supreme Harmony Step. A deep resonating sound filled the space as the Dragon Lord began to lift his heavy eyelids, perhaps sensing the opening of the Dimensional Gate.
He seemed to be temporarily pausing the completion of his magic, prioritizing awakening from his mental image first.
-This timing is going to be quite precarious, isn't it?
Wrath smacked his lips in anticipation, seemingly excited about what was about to unfold.
'No, I can reach him.'
Raon believed in his own potential and focused all his attention on getting closer to the Dragon Lord.
'Just a little more!'
He applied the properties of the Void Slash swordsmanship technique to imbue the Supreme Harmony Steps with space-distorting characteristics. In this moment, a new form of the Supreme Harmony Steps was created—one that could breach the distance between stars. With a thunderous roar, Raon hurled the Heavenly Drive he was clutching just before the Dragon Lord's body fully unfurled. The sword whistled through the air with a piercing sound.
The flow of Whispering Wind manifested above the Heavenly Drive. The sword, which had become wind itself, disappeared into the darkness and reappeared in front of the Dragon Lord's neck.
'There's only one place to aim for.'
The Dragon Heart! The Dragon Heart is literally like the heart of a dragon. No, it's actually more important than the heart because it contains all the mana needed to move that massive body. If damage were inflicted on the Dragon Heart, even the Dragon Lord's magic would break, and his power would inevitably be cut in half.
With a resonating hum, Raon raised his fingertip to stabilize the blade of the Heavenly Drive as it wavered in the massive mana. The sharply honed Heavenly Drive fell toward the Dragon Lord's neck. With a deafening sound, the Dragon Lord awoke from his mental image and tried to twist his body to avoid it, but the Heavenly Drive had already pierced through his neck.
Even the dragon's scales and bones, said to be the hardest in the world, couldn't withstand the power of the Whispering Wind.
[KROOOOOO!]
The Dragon Lord screamed as he raised his body, seemingly in severe pain.
"Hmm..."
Raon bit his lip as he caught the Heavenly Drive that returned soaked in the Dragon Lord's blood.
'What just happened?'
A large hole had been pierced through the Dragon Lord's neck, but the mana he possessed wasn't greatly disturbed. He had taken damage, but not enough to be life-threatening.
'I definitely aimed for where the Dragon Heart should be?'
There's no way he could have made a mistake about the position of his attack. He had definitely targeted where the Dragon Lord's Dragon Heart should have been, but he couldn't understand why it wasn't destroyed.
[That was dangerous.]
The Dragon Lord seemed to regain his composure, his eyes filling with golden light.
[If I hadn't moved my Dragon Heart elsewhere, I would have died just now.] (E/N: At this point it's a classic)
He exhaled in relief, saying he had survived by moving the Dragon Heart that had been in his neck to somewhere else.
[To think humans would come this far and aim for my neck.]
The Dragon Lord blew out a hollow breath, as if he hadn't anticipated this situation at all.
[And with the help of my own kind, no less.]
He raised his cold eyes and glared at Bartius and the other four dragons.
[Are all the Ancient Dragons who possessed my keys dead?]
The Dragon Lord looked at Bartius as if asking him to confirm what he already knew.
"That's..."
"Yes."
Raon stepped forward in place of Bartius.
"I killed them all."
He calmly nodded as he spoke of killing all three Ancient Dragons: Igni Serpang, the leader of the Red Clan who guarded the dimensional key; Azgoros, the leader of the Blue Clan; and Trosowr, the leader of the Black Clan.
[Raon Zieghart, is it.]
The Dragon Lord fixed his gaze on Raon, revealing his massive teeth.
[I should have killed you back then after all!]
He ground his teeth so forcefully that the dimension itself seemed to warp, as if regretting not having killed Raon when they met previously.
"I've heard that line from others until I'm sick of it."
Raon shrugged as he flicked the Dragon Lord's blood off the Heavenly Drive.
"Of course, no one has managed it."
He curled his lips, implying that the Dragon Lord wouldn't be able to do it either.
"What kind of magic were you preparing while hiding here like a rat?"
Raon looked down at the Dragon Lord with a thin smile.
"Did you develop a magic to exterminate humans?"
Even as he joked, he threw out a magical topic that the Dragon Lord might well have considered.
[...]
The Dragon Lord said nothing, only exhaling gray breath through his nostrils as if revealing his discomfort.
"...For real?"
Raon let out a hollow laugh as he looked at the silent Dragon Lord.
"You were really trying to kill all humans? Why on earth?"
It was so absurd that he unconsciously gritted his teeth.
[Because today's humans are evil pests that shouldn't exist.]
The Dragon Lord exhaled a cold breath.
[It's right to completely exterminate them and raise them anew. No, it might be better to erase the existence of humans altogether.]
He rolled his cold eyes while uttering words that should never be spoken as a mediator.
"Lord!"
Bartius bit his lip as he approached the Dragon Lord.
"Why have you become like this! No matter how corrupted humans may be, we don't have the authority to destroy them!"
He shook his head, saying that destroying humans was far beyond the role of a mediator.
"I think the same!"
Red Dragon Valasiur clenched his teeth.
"It's not that there aren't humans I want to kill, but that's not what a mediator should do!"
He too furrowed his brow, indicating like Bartius that he didn't understand the Lord's intention.
"Lord! Please reconsider!"
Blue Dragon Sirtiren clasped her hands together, indicating she didn't want to fight the Lord.
"It's already too late. That old man's eyes have gone crazy."
Black Dragon Dariauran sighed as he surrounded himself with venomous energy.
"I expected this from the beginning, but in the end, there's no agreement."
White Dragon Bursiarabi clicked his tongue as he ruffled his hair.
[I'll give you all one last chance.]
The Dragon Lord raised his chin as he looked at Bartius.
[If you follow me now and kill those humans, I'll forgive all your sins until now!]
Even as he spoke of forgiveness, he emitted a killing intent as if he would kill all the adult dragons regardless.
"Raon Zieghart."
After staring at the Lord for a long time, Bartius turned his gaze to Raon.
"I ask of you."
He nodded firmly, clearly having no intention of following the Lord's words.
"Wait and see."
Raon gave Bartius a faint smile and stepped forward.
"You've completely lost it."
He shook his head slowly while looking into the Dragon Lord's cold eyes.
"Let's end our ill-fated relationship before you do something even more vile."
He drew the Wooden Ring Sword as well, saying they should fight properly.
"Because I think I can sever that neck of yours now."
[Don't be insolent.]
The Dragon Lord flashed a cold glint in his eyes.
[If my Dragon Heart had been shattered by your attack, not just me, but everyone here would have died without a trace.]
He snorted, saying that was why he had allowed himself to be hit by the Whispering Wind.
[From now on, I'll stop operating 'that magic' and pour all my effort into killing you!]
The moment the Dragon Lord shouted the word "effort," the black dimension trembled as if it would collapse, and an enormous amount of mana writhed, enough to make one's skin crawl.
'So this is the Dragon Lord's full power...'
Raon bit his lip at the Dragon Lord's aura that sent chills down his spine.
'This is dangerous. In terms of pure power, I still haven't reached the Dragon Lord's level.'
He could tell now that he felt it directly. As others had said, the Lord stood on an entirely different level from other dragons.
'But it's okay.'
Because what I possess isn't just mastery of swordsmanship. And...
'My first attack wasn't completely ineffective.'
Though the Dragon Lord was pretending to be fine while emitting his immense power, his mana was subtly distorted. The Whispering Wind that Raon had unleashed must have slightly cracked the Dragon Heart.
With a hole in his neck causing blood to flow like a waterfall and damage to his Dragon Heart, the Dragon Lord wouldn't be able to fight at full power.
"Let's begin."
Raon thrust the Heavenly Drive and the Wooden Ring Sword into the pitch-black universe. With a resonating boom, the dimension surged violently as a golden sun and silver moon rose over the previously empty universe. Raon stood before the Dragon Lord, wielding the Divine Sword forged in flames and the Demonic Sword blooming with frost, amid the brilliant light. The space rumbled deeply.
The Divine-Demonic Harmony that Raon employed for the first time since achieving his emotional awakening conveyed absolute power to him. The tip of the Divine Sword that he lightly swung cut through the dimension, drawing a comet of flames across the universe.
[Keuuuh!]
The Dragon Lord let out a hoarse groan, as if he hadn't expected Raon to grow this much. Human and dragon. Though their physical sizes were incomparable, Raon's aura didn't yield an inch to the Dragon King. No, his fighting spirit to win was actually far superior.
[KROOOOO!]
The Dragon Lord roared and shot a golden flash of light. It was an extreme magic, a miniaturized version of the Heavenly Drive breath.
"You're noisy."
Raon advanced faster than sound and swung down his Divine Sword and Demonic Sword. The two sword strikes, wrapped in sky and lightning, clashed with the dragon god's light. A thunderous crash resounded through the space.