Kerdihak's Rage (5)

Kerdihak’s massive pupils contracted at lightning speed. It was an existence he had neither anticipated nor even considered. Crawford’s approach violently triggered Kerdihak’s survival instincts, and his colossal body moved reflexively in an attempt to evade the threat. Yet the attack had come from a completely unexpected direction, and a reflexive response without proper awareness ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could never handle the situation accurately.

Swish!!

KUOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Crawford, having rapidly ascended and closed the distance, unleashed a single lightning-fast slash. The blade, aimed precisely at a vital point, carved deeply into the underside of Kerdihak’s jaw even as the dragon desperately twisted his body. Kerdihak felt the horrifying sensation of his scales—harder than steel—being effortlessly parted, followed by the tearing of flesh and muscle. The sharp pain of his body being sliced open forced a roar from his throat.

Kerdihak had paid Crawford no attention whatsoever. How could someone incapable of using magic possibly harm him while he soared through the sky? If a creature bound to the ground could not wield magic, its only means of attack would be feeble weapons like catapults or bows that could never reach him. Yet Crawford had propelled himself to such a height through physical reinforcement fueled by his own strength and mana.

“Come to think of it, you have almost no combat experience, do you?”

“Kgh…!!!”

Thanks to his reflexive twist, Kerdihak had narrowly avoided the worst-case scenario of losing his head. However, before the blue blood clinging to Crawford’s Mana Sword could even fall, another enemy’s voice reached his ears. Kerdihak’s gaze snapped sideways, and he found Cadistella right beside him. Her crimson pupils had contracted, and a chilling, murderous light stretched long within them. Her fangs, menacing even at a glance, were stained red at their tips, and the thick scent of blood seemed to travel directly through his optic nerves.

And then there were Cadistella’s claws, extended toward him. They had lengthened to the full reach of her arms, every nail dyed a deep crimson. Her claws had already become blades with lethal cutting power—vampiric swords that thirsted for more blood as they extended their gore-soaked edges. They were slaughtering weapons created to tear flesh, split bone, and devour the metallic tang of blood. They were the butcher’s knives of a blood-starved vampire.

When the vampire’s knife, hungry for blood, reached his eyes, Kerdihak regretted not having closed them.

Thud!!!

KAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!!

A scream so high-pitched it was impossible to believe it came from a dragon’s massive vocal cords erupted from his throat. That cry, torn apart by agony, was a wretched sound that discarded every shred of draconic dignity. The deep, resonant voice that had once shaken the cavern like a gale had vanished, replaced only by a pitiful shriek that sounded as though a massive bird’s wings were being twisted and broken.

Because dragons rarely experienced pain, Kerdihak was unaccustomed to it, but having his intact eye torn open was more than enough to provoke this reaction. Cadistella’s claws, which had sliced through the cornea, pierced the lens, and dug into the vitreous body, churned the interior of the eyeball, reducing the vital sensory organ responsible for sight into a pulpy mass of meat.

KUAAAAAARGH!!!

BOOOOOOOM!

Kerdihak desperately tried to shake Cadistella off his eye. Desperate to escape the pain even a moment sooner, he swung his arm to swat her away. Yet because his ruined eye could no longer transmit visual information, the swing was nothing more than a blind guess. Even his remaining intact eye could see nothing. With the optic nerve destroyed and the eyeball ruptured, his other eye had temporarily lost its sight as well. Thus, Kerdihak had no option left but to lash out blindly.

However, the probability that a frantic, haphazard swing would land on the Empress of Fresh Blood and a Sword Master was extremely low.

Crack!!!

KIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!

The arm he had swung without thought in his desperate bid to escape the pain lost all sensation along with a sharp burst of agony. It was the same sensation he had felt when Crawford sliced the underside of his jaw moments earlier. Kerdihak instinctively realized that the arm he had swung had been severed. All traces of draconic dignity had vanished, and his screams had become wretched, closer to the cawing of a crow.

Kerdihak thrashed his massive body violently in an attempt to shake off his enemies. While part of it was to dislodge Cadistella, who was still tearing into his eyeball and inflicting immense pain, the greater reason was his fear of Crawford. Every time Crawford’s blade flashed, it severed everything in its path. If he aimed for the neck, the head would truly fall. If he targeted the heart, it would be pierced and destroyed without fail.

Cadistella’s continued assault on the already ruined eyeball delivered cruel pain but was not immediately life-threatening. Crawford’s attacks, however, demanded the resolve to lose something vital the instant they were allowed to land—and if that vital point was struck, death would come in an instant.

When Crawford severed his arm, Kerdihak finally understood. He could accept that the man had leaped into the air, but his time aloft should not have lasted this long. How had he managed to land a second slash so soon after the first? Crawford had been riding on Kerdihak’s back.

KUOOOOOOOOOO!!!

“Kgh…!!”

“Kuk!!”

Kerdihak thrashed and resisted with all his might. Cadistella and Crawford, seeing no reason to cling to the violently struggling dragon when they could simply let go, briefly separated from him. No matter how miserably he was being beaten, a dragon was still a dragon. The sheer physical power generated by his colossal frame proved difficult to withstand, and both Cadistella and Crawford let out short groans as they put distance between themselves and Kerdihak.

For Kerdihak, that brief moment of freedom was nothing less than the key to turning the tables.

The 5th-tier spell Flash Move, which transported its caster at the speed of light, was cast upon Kerdihak. In an instant, the dragon’s enormous body—comparable in size to a small castle—vanished. Unless one already knew his destination, it was impossible to resume the attack the moment the teleportation ended. Thanks to this, Kerdihak had secured a precious, if brief, opportunity to regroup.

The moment he successfully evaded, Kerdihak immediately cast the 8th-tier defensive spell Absolute Shield to establish a perfect defense. He followed it at once with Absolute Healing, an 8th-tier recovery spell that granted perfect regenerative power to the target’s body, and began rapidly mending his grievous wounds. The eyeball that had been torn apart and reduced to fragments regained its original moist, spherical shape, and vision began to return. The severed arm likewise showed the miracle of cells regenerating from the cut surface, sprouting a new limb. Absolute Healing was no ordinary recovery magic—it was a miracle of mana capable of restoring even lost body parts. Since he had cast Absolute Shield first, another 8th-tier spell, the sheer power of both spells was evident from the miracle unfolding before them.

“Could you lend us a hand……?”

Lusteria, who had been maintaining the mana barrier for the Demon Lord Castle’s omnidirectional defense, spoke with difficulty. Her words were directed at Hestinia, who had been watching the battle in the sky with interest. Although their side currently held the advantage, the opponent was still a dragon, and Lusteria could not help worrying about Cadistella and Crawford.

The witch, who had been observing everything as though it were someone else’s problem, began to make a show of being troubled by Lusteria’s request.

“Oh my, I simply cannot approach such a brutal place. One wrong move and I might be torn to pieces, you know? Just watching makes my heart tremble with fear!”

Hestinia smiled as she watched the cruel deathmatch where blood and flesh sprayed and wretched screams echoed. Of course, her claim of being afraid was a transparent lie, and she made no effort whatsoever to hide the fact that she had no intention of deceiving anyone. Her additional remark about being torn apart with one mistake was equally unconvincing. Recalling that Hestinia’s alias was the Witch of Eternal Life, one could easily imagine how formidable her powers were. With two of the Demon Lord’s executives already overwhelming their opponent, lending a hand would have been neither difficult nor dangerous for her.

Yet even without knowing the full story, Lusteria vaguely understood that Hestinia had her own reasons for not helping. She did not press the witch, who had playfully refused.

“Still, it seems I can help our adorable secretary. Hehehe.”

Hestinia smiled pleasantly and placed a hand on Lusteria’s shoulder, beginning to pour her own ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mana into her. Lusteria, who had already suffered significant mana loss from deploying the Six-Pointed Star magic circle and withstanding one of Kerdihak’s attacks, had been struggling to maintain the mana barrier. While she was not at her limit, keeping the barrier active was undeniably exhausting and painful. Even if she pushed herself to the utmost, she could only block Kerdihak’s lightning two or three more times at best. The mana Hestinia now supplied was vast enough to restore all the mana Lusteria had expended. Naturally, the strain on Lusteria’s face vanished, and she even appeared considerably more comfortable.

“If you need more mana, just say the word. I’ll help as much as I can.”

“Hehe. Thank you!”

Hestinia supported Lusteria’s back with a gentle smile. Lusteria expressed her gratitude with a bright, cheerful grin. While a fierce battle raged in the sky, warm emotions blossomed on the ground below.

“Hehehe. No combat experience, so your responses are a mess, and you lose your composure the moment you take even a little damage.”

The first thing Kerdihak saw as his vision gradually returned while his body regenerated was Cadistella and Crawford. Cadistella had cast the levitation spell Levitation on Crawford to prevent him from falling back to the ground after riding on Kerdihak’s back. Crawford stood right beside her, sword raised and ready for any unexpected ambush. Cadistella, showing not a trace of tension, smiled arrogantly and mocked Kerdihak.

“On top of that, you’ve never even fought the two of us before. You didn’t know the extent of our power. It’s only natural since you’ve never seen us fight, but you made the foolish mistake of underestimating us while remaining completely ignorant of our true strength. You dismissed us as nothing more than Neromeltia’s subordinates who must be weaker than you, so you didn’t even bother paying attention. …Did we really look that laughable to you? Did you truly believe the First Blood and a Sword Master would be weaker than you?”

Kerdihak could not respond to Cadistella’s scathing criticism. Every word she spoke was true, and the mistake he had made was something he himself felt most keenly. There was no room for excuses—only clear, undeniable facts—so he had no words with which to refute her. Furthermore, his own arrogant pride sealed his tongue, preventing him from even voicing agreement. All Kerdihak could do was grind his teeth and glare at his opponent in silence.

“If we didn’t look laughable to you… then did you really delude yourself into thinking you possessed power equal to Neromeltia’s? Just because you were one of those who drove the Demon Lord to her death, did you actually believe you had defeated her? As far as I know, it was the human hero who drove the holy sword into Neromeltia’s heart—not you.”

Kerdihak clenched his teeth so hard he feared they might shatter. The battle against Neromeltia in the past was a reverse scale for him. To him, dragons were the pinnacle of Terraris, beings even the Twelve Gods dared not treat lightly. Yet he had been unable to inflict any meaningful damage on Neromeltia and had been driven to the brink of death before suffering a humiliating defeat. If the Divine King’s hero had not saved him, he might have met his end that day. No one understood this fact better than Kerdihak himself, which made Cadistella’s mockery all the more infuriating.

“If that’s truly what you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠believed, then you really are just a lizard. A stupid reptilian brat. How about cutting off your tail and running away?”

KWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Unable to contain the rage boiling up inside him, Kerdihak thrashed wildly. His roar, trembling with fury that erupted like an explosion, shook the earth so violently that fine dust rose into the air. Intermittent sparks crackled from the pair of crown-shaped horns atop his head, manifesting his violent wrath. Kerdihak glared at Cadistella. Pure white lightning blazed within his blue pupils, and his gaze alone seemed capable of unleashing bolts of thunder, his presence utterly menacing.

“I will kill you!!!!! I will definitely kill you!!! But I won’t let you die cleanly!! I will drain every drop of your mana and rip out every single one of your teeth!! Then I’ll tear off your legs and arms, turn you into a cripple, and throw you to the humans!!! You’ll become a corpse whore who can’t even die at will, violated for hundreds of years!! And when you finally go mad!!! Only then will I burn you to death with a joyful heart!!!!!”

Various magical circles began to unfold from Kerdihak’s hands. As multiple spells were cast simultaneously, his heart began to burn hot. An enormous amount of mana poured forth from the Dragon Heart, the source of a dragon’s magical power. Even from the mere flow of mana one could feel, it was clear just how massive the magical ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠assault Kerdihak was preparing would be.

Yet Cadistella only smiled at him. It was a bright, vivid smile that fully exposed the vampire’s sharp fangs.

“If you can, then try it!! I’ll peel off your skull and use it as the gate of the Demon Lord Castle!!”