Illegal Duel

The Sand Emperor Dragon.

A dragon whose sheer size lived up to that grandiose title. The height alone was impressive enough, but the real spectacle was the length. Picture a creature so long that if its head rested at one end of the Sahara and its tail at the other, you'd have roughly the right idea. Among humans, there was even a saying that if you got lost in the desert, you should just follow its body all the way across.

Anyway, that guy.

The epithet, even the name Zehar—everything was exactly as I'd last seen him in the other world.

A Returnee?

No. That one was definitely born over there. I'd bet one of my own horns on it.

Which meant…

A Visitor, then.

But… how had he crossed over? I'd gotten here as a status window reward, but he wouldn't have had anything like that.

"What's wrong, unnie?"

"Huh… hang on a second. I just had a fun idea. Think I can get in on this?"

"…What?!"

"Heh heh. Of course you can. If I put in a little effort, that is."

"I'd appreciate the help."

At my words, Ansusa suddenly flashed a sly grin and drifted closer.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

…That was not a comforting look.

Tap—

"You do know how deals with a succubus work… right?"

"Dragons are pretty fond of deals themselves, you know. Succubi too?"

"You're reading the room wrong. I'm saying I need compensation."

"Compensation? Hmm… I've got nothing to give. This body doesn't produce any essence either."

"W-what are you even saying, unnie?!"

What? Was I wrong?

"I'm helping you out in the first place. You still need a reward on top of that?"

"That's one thing. This is another."

"Then… ah, fine. I'll throw in some of Zehar's essence."

"Excuse me?"

"Just get me into the match for now. I'll give you a good show."

With that, I peered into the iron-barred arena.

The dueling ground was neither particularly cramped nor particularly spacious. The floor was dug down about two meters, which made it decent enough for throwing around attacks with some real force behind them.

While I was taking a look around the arena and its surroundings—

"Goldy."

"Ah, yeah. You're back?"

"I've already put in the entry request, so take this and head that way."

Ansusa, returning to us, held out a small stick.

"I'll be back in a bit. Terra, keep an eye on Ha-eun for me."

"Yes, ma'am!"

I still had no idea how that Sand Emperor Dragon had ended up here, or why he was hanging around a place like this. But it'd been a while. Time to go say hello.

I wondered if the wounds from last time had healed yet.

Arriving at the little room they'd set up as a waiting area, I stretched my arms overhead with a light groan.

For a "waiting room," they even had booze in here. Ah, and over there—a discarded syringe.

Humans, I swear…

What the hell did they keep pumping into their bodies?

Anyway, I sat down and waited for my turn.

Crack!—

Ssssss…—

Some thoroughly entertaining sounds leaked in from outside. Bones snapping. Blood vessels bursting. A few more noises of the same flavor followed after that.

"Hey. You're up next."

"Hmm~ Let's see, let's see."

I stood, shoved open the door leading into the arena—

Waaaaaah—

A wall of noisy cheers crashed over me. And the bloodstains, still fresh enough to paint a pretty clear picture of what had just gone down.

"Didn't hold back, huh. Just beat the guy flat."

Of course, for a dragon, this still counted as holding back. Otherwise the whole arena would have ceased ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to exist.

Thud—

"Oho."

A few more steps forward, and the first thing that caught my eye was a yellow-bladed crescent moon ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠blade.

"Hey. Long time no see."

Beyond it stood a man with that weapon planted in the ground. A towering frame—easily in the late one-nineties. Black hair set against yellow horns and a tail. And a suit, worn with a certain sharp elegance.

"You…"

At the sound of my voice, his pupils twitched, then locked onto me with a razor edge.

"Been well? Didn't expect to run into you her—"

Dash—

KAAAAANG!—

"Hey, hey. We were talking."

In a blink, Zehar had closed the distance and swept the crescent blade upward from below in a brutal rising arc. Fine sand rode the wind past my side.

"Goldy! So you chased me all the way here!"

Thud—

Knocked back by my block, he spun the blade behind him into a ready stance that could strike at any moment and shouted.

"Who chased who?"

Why the hell would I go chasing after a guy like him?

"You're the one who showed up in front of me. Same as last time."

"You little…"

Crrrack—

The arm gripping the crescent blade turned pitch-black. Black sand—an innate ability of the Sand Emperor Dragon bloodline. Wrapping himself in it hardened the body.

Well then. Time to answer in kind.

Whoosh!—

The crescent blade spun hard and came crashing toward me.

"Ah, too bad I can't turn on the stream for this."

KAAANG!—

I reinforced my body the same ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠way and stopped the strike with my fist.

"The chat would've loved this."

One of the conditions of this commission was no broadcasting. They probably didn't want a place this thoroughly illegal showing up on stream.

Tak!—

I caught the blade as it tried to bounce away, yanked it toward me—dragging him with it—and gathered mana into my fist.

TAAANG!—

"Ghk!"

I slammed my fist into his chest. A burst of light punched straight through his body and exploded out his back—and still, Zehar gritted his teeth and endured, reaching out with one hand.

I'll give him that. Dragons really do have tough hides—

Grrab—

"Aaaagh! Hey!"

Was this bastard serious?

Even for a street brawl, grabbing someone by the hair?!

Sand Body Tempering.

His forearm rippled in an instant, shifting into something with the nature of sand itself.

Crrrack!—

I stomped the ground hard.

Thud—

Water began to fall across the arena like a sudden downpour.

"What the—!"

I seized the falling water with mana and held it still. Then I shaped it—fine, sharp—into hundreds of water spikes, aimed them, and—

"Let go? Hey! I said let go!"

"…Still as childish as ever."

Dash—

"Wha—?!"

His hand suddenly released, and I pitched slightly forward from the momentum.

"You jackass—who grabbed whose hair first…"

Whoosh!—

He didn't miss the opening. The crescent blade came flying, aimed dead at my throat. I swept my hand and launched the spikes.

KAAANG!—

The impact shoved the blade back for a heartbeat—but he used that force as propulsion, spun the weapon in a full circle, and—

Leap!—

—launched himself high into the air, both hands clamped on the hilt, ready to drive the blade down through me with everything he had.

If we were talking pure weight class, yeah—he had me beat. He was a dragon whose size was on a completely different scale. Great Dragons like me were just big by dragon standards. Things like him were oversized as a matter of biology.

But fights aren't decided by weight class alone, are they?

Crrrack—

I funneled the still-active body enhancement into my right hand. Feet set wide for balance, I drove a fist blazing with golden light straight up into the falling crescent blade.

KAAAAANG!—

The instant the two attacks collided, golden energy and sand exploded outward in every direction.

Tak!—

I dropped low a moment later, pulling mana up, ready to launch myself at him before he even hit the ground—

TAAANG!—

"Oh?"

The sand particles that had scattered gathered again, solidifying into a wall right in front of me. Strong enough to pin my feet for a second, even.

Looks like he'd picked up a new trick since last time.

"Getting your ass kicked by me must've really stung, huh. Researching stuff like this."

"…"

By then he was back on the ground, and at my words his face twisted. He scattered the sand again, reshaping it into blades and leveling them at me.

But… what exactly did he think he was going to do with just that?

Shhk!—

Watching the sharp blades come at me from every direction, I fired back with the water spikes I'd already prepared.

Papapapak!—

The moment the two attacks met, his blades scattered into sand. Strength, speed, accuracy—I was several moves ahead.

"You're weak as hell."

Thud—

I walked out through the dispersing sand. His eyes went wide as he stared at me. That look was getting a little intense.

"I don't know where you came from or why you've been hunting me… but this ends now."

"For the last time, I have never hunted you."

He gripped the crescent blade and set his stance. The scattered sand gathered back into the weapon.

Crrraaack!—

The blade pointed skyward, and through my eyes I could see the mana concentrating into it. Mana whipped and surged as if it could kick up a sandstorm even in the middle of a desert. If an ordinary Hunter had been standing here, that mana alone would have torn their body apart.

I had to be careful too—if I slipped up, my clothes might get shredded. I could take the hit. My clothes couldn't.

So. Time to wrap this up.

Whooosh!—

The crescent blade swept in a brutal arc, and a colossal sandstorm erupted along its path. It looked like a tidal wave coming to swallow me whole. At a glance it might have seemed like a wind-based attack, but—

—it was an attack dense with mana and will. Eyes wide open, I rolled my gaze rapidly through the currents of that storm, hunting for a gap.

And the moment I found one—

Dash!—

—I threw myself through it.

Zehar's face went blank with shock as I passed through his sandstorm like it was nothing. I seized him by the collar and—

Wham—

—slammed him into the floor and sat on top of him.

"You're getting bored of holding back too, aren't you?"

Ordinarily we would have been fighting hard enough to blow a desert off the map. Watching him polish petty little tricks like sand manipulation… well, maybe that meant he'd adapted pretty well.

Whatever. His face still felt great under my fist after all this time. I could beat him up a little more and ask some questions.

"Hey, wait a sec—"

Wham!—

Before he could get another word out, my fist crashed into his face.