Chapter 247: Male and Female
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 247: Male and Female
Krrrrrrumble!
My left hand, imbued with the power of thunder, took the shape of a serpent's head.
Its claws shot out with the speed of a thunderbolt.
They easily pierced through Taotie's tough dragon scales, the lightning fire burning him from the inside.
Krrrrr-chak!
My right hand, imbued with the power of the storm, took the form of an eagle's talons.
It blocked all of Taotie's black flames as a fierce storm ripped his wounds open even wider.
"Each and every one of your attacks is like that of a master. Yes, this is what I was hoping for! This makes coming here worthwhile!"
Taotie laughed heartily as we exchanged blows.
Simply attacking with the powers of storm and thunder wrapped around my hands was a secret technique that most enemies could not withstand.
And yet, Taotie was putting up a surprisingly good fight.
Fwoooosh!
The ominous black flames were scattering the powers of storm and thunder.
The fact that I'd allowed an attack while my Dragon Eye was active was taking its toll.
Black flames continuously seeped into my wounds, causing damage to accumulate even as I unleashed my assault.
I couldn't maintain this state for long. If this dragged on, I would be the one to fall.
KRAAAASH!
I stomped down hard.
Given my size, the simple act of stamping my foot sent the very earth flying.
Now, with Taotie off-balance.
Krrrrumble!
Krrrrrrumble!
Countless bolts of lightning scorched his scales.
"Kuaaaaargh!"
Taotie roared in agony.
No matter how monstrous his body was, he couldn't endure the pain of being fried by lightning.
"Excellent... truly excellent..."
Fzzt...
Even with his entire body charred, he didn't lose his smile.
At this point, it was getting a little scary.
"But... what a shame."
Fwoosh!
Black flames erupted once more from his scorched body.
"You've increased your size and are unleashing techniques of this caliber one after another. This is not a normal use of power. You seem rushed, as if you're being chased by something."
"Grrrr..."
I let a look of alarm show on my face.
A corner of his mouth lifted, as if to say he knew he was right.
"Yes. It must be a temporary enhancement. Truly a shame. If it weren't temporary, then perhaps... No matter. All that's left is to see whether you can kill me in the time you have remaining."
Was he planning to run?
"What are you doing? Keep coming. Show me the best you can do."
...Of course he wouldn't run.
He would try to break me head-on.
He was certainly a strong opponent, but for some reason, it didn't feel as difficult as fighting Gongbok.
Was it because I had gotten stronger?
Or was Taotie not using his full power?
It made no sense for him not to go all out in a situation like this.
Even if he wasn't, there had to be a reason he couldn't.
The most likely possibility was that this simply was his full power.
Of course, even this much made him a sickeningly strong opponent.
His defense was lower than Gongbok's, but his astounding resilience was a nuisance.
He seemed aware of this strength, as if he intended to endure all of my attacks.
He was probably aiming to exhaust my power.
Just as he said, if I couldn't defeat him before I used up all this power, I would be the one to lose.
But there was one thing Taotie didn't know.
The power I was using wasn't simply being consumed.
Krrrrrrumble!
Kwaaaaaaah!
The more I used the thunder and the storm, the more the remnants of that power gathered in one place.
The power I shot at my enemy.
The thunder that continued to strike from the sky.
The storm that constantly hindered the enemy's movements.
None of it was wasted. It all gathered back in one place.
Because the power of the Five Elements signifies the interaction of all things.
Fwoooo...
I took a deep breath.
Yes, this should be enough.
"Don't tell me...!"
Taotie's eyes lit up with ecstasy.
Seriously, that old man is such a pervert.
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt!
A blue beam of light, a mixture of thunder and storm, erupted forth.
KRA-BOOOOM!
Even for someone like Taotie, it would be impossible to take that and remain unscathed.
"Incred... ible..."
Taotie was a complete wreck.
"That technique..."
And yet, he was still conscious.
"Gale and heavenly thunder... and the palpable aura of death."
He forced the words out, dropping to one knee.
"Yes, I shall call it the Gale Heavenly Thunder Cannon."
What the hell?
I never called it that.
*
The Age of Myths.
Taotie was born in the Age of Slaughter, when beings killed one another.
At that time, the True Dragon and Gomodo had not yet parted ways.
They had not yet seized hegemony, and they still had common enemies to face.
Even with the two dragons joining forces, completely defeating their foes was a difficult task.
The True Dragon believed he needed to increase the number of his allies, and soon put his plan into action.
Powerful spirit beasts are born from powerful spirit beasts.
Of course, spirit beasts had the disadvantage of finding it difficult to bear children, but the True Dragon solved that problem with a groundbreaking method.
He would take countless wives and concubines.
If a strong male took numerous females, he could offset that disadvantage.
Taotie was born in this way.
Born to be used in war.
To inherit the abilities of both mother and father, to become a hidden dagger that would strike a blow against their enemies.
But in the end, Taotie never went to war.
The reason was simple.
Taotie was born female.
There was a limit to how strong a female body could become.
This tendency was especially pronounced among spirit beasts.
It wasn't that females were unconditionally weaker. In the case of giant snakes or spiders, the females were larger and stronger than the males.
But in the True Dragon's species, males were overwhelmingly stronger than females.
Therefore, there was no way Taotie would have caught the True Dragon's eye.
It would be more accurate to say he had no interest in her at all.
It was far more profitable to create another child than to pay any attention to Taotie, who was born female.
Having spent her youth like that, Taotie came to despise herself.
No matter how hard she tried, she could never become strong enough to earn her father's approval.
Part of it was that her very nature disliked conflict.
If a problem arose, she would try to solve it by simply running away. She was an avoidant type of spirit beast.
She believed that all of this was because she was born female.
It was a leap in logic, but it was the only way Taotie could think.
Why was I born female?
If only I had been born male.
If only I had a personality that enjoyed fighting.
Then I could have been acknowledged by my father.
Like his other children, I could have stood proudly by his side.
And so, she began to act.
She pretended to be male and revered strength.
She pretended to enjoy fighting and did whatever it took to leave a strong impression.
She couldn't help but obsess over her outward appearance.
She knew it wasn't the solution to her problem, but she couldn't stop.
Before long, everyone who remembered she was female was gone.
Anyone who saw her could only think of her as a male.
A mad old man who reveled in blood and was fanatically obsessed with his appearance.
That was the world's perception of her, and Taotie was satisfied with it, more or less.
Because no matter what anyone said, she was a male.
A strong male, not a weak female.
Even while living like this, Taotie knew she was a walking contradiction.
How could one live a male's life when born female?
That dissonance tormented her.
The more it did, the more she obsessed over power.
Eventually, she became one of the Four Fiends and was able to reach Kunlun.
She could be with her father, but she felt no joy at all.
It had been her lifelong dream, yet the inexplicable emptiness was suffocating.
That was why Taotie acted so cruelly when she met her younger sister, Chodo.
Because she, too, was born female.
Because she was like looking at her past self.
All that was left for her was fighting.
In the heat of battle, she could forget her worries.
But the dissonance that came immediately after drove her mad.
It was then that the black lizard came into her sights.
A spirit beast with skills worthy of being called her rival, something she hadn't had for a long time.
He had used a dirty trick before the fight, but strangely, she didn't hate him for it.
On the contrary, it felt like he was using every card at his disposal, and she felt a strange sense of favor.
Every time their claws met and their teeth tore at flesh, she felt something that was perhaps close to pleasure.
That overwhelming physique.
The ability to freely wield the Five Elements.
She had defeated countless males.
Because of the inferiority complex over what she lacked, she hated males even while pretending to be one.
She despised those who called themselves male despite being weaker than her.
This one... perhaps he is the closest to the ideal 'male' my father spoke of.
Conversely, if I defeat him, wouldn't Father finally acknowledge me?
Taotie felt a conviction that with this one, it would be alright to throw everything she had away.
At the same time, she scoffed at herself.
To fight such a powerful spirit beast with this false appearance.
And to have the gall to get angry and tell him to fight at full power.
Taotie realized the time had come to cast this contradiction aside.
*
Taotie returned to her human form.
She must have run out of power.
The blood-soaked old man stared at me silently.
"With you... it should be fine."
A blackish-red aura enveloped Taotie's body.
...To still have this much power left after taking that hit.
Give me a break.
Swaaaaa...
The blackish-red smoke dissipated, and Taotie's appearance changed.
From a hunched-over old man to a handsome young man with red eyes.
Common sense dictates that one's true form is stronger than a human form.
In terms of raw power, there would be an incomparable difference.
So what in the world was this?
I could feel a power that far surpassed both the old man's form and the spirit beast's form.
"I'll start with an apology. I have deceived a worthy rival, but I hope you understand it was not my true intention."
The voice had become slightly higher.
It was androgynous, but at a glance, one might mistake it for a woman's voice.
"I had my reasons. Reasons why I could not show this form."
...So that's why this felt easier than fighting Gongbok.
"You are the first to see this form."
Was this what Gongbok and Chodo couldn't tell me?
Taotie grabbed the front of her top.
"This suffocating thing..."
Then, rrrrip!
"Is now over."
She tore her top off with incredible ease.
Whoa, that came out of nowhere.
"Gah... Hup."
I clapped a hand over my mouth.
Damn this body, reacting like this even now.
Taotie looked at me with eyes that said she didn't mind, her gaze lingering.
Her red eyes flashed as if they were about to ignite.
She threw the torn clothes onto the ground.
Kuuuuung!
...Why would clothes make a sound like that?
Then again, for clothes that could conceal that much internal energy, they couldn't have been made of ordinary material.
"Don't just stand there gawking. Come."
Taotie took a stance.
"I will face you not as one of the Four Fiends, but as the second daughter of the True Dragon."
As she said, I had no time to stand around staring.
I had to defeat her in this state to make her submit.
"Submission, you say? How amusing."
...Did she just read my mind?
"Let's see you try."
The corners of Taotie's lips curled up slightly.
"Prove the strength of a male, and I shall gladly submit myself to you."