Now or Never
"Now or never!"
"...Hohhh."
Leahkis let out a low hum of interest, narrowing her eyes. Then she smirked and leaned her face in close. The invisible force had loosened just enough that I could finally breathe.
Okay. So I've got her attention. That's a start, right?
My remaining lifespan had only stretched from ten seconds to a few dozen — but even that dramatically improved my odds of survival. In exchange, a pair of vertically slit yellow pupils was now scrutinizing every inch of my awkwardly smiling face. The corners of her eyes curved with what looked like genuine amusement.
"And just how, exactly, do you propose to accomplish that? You wouldn't be telling This Monarch a... 'lie,' would you?"
Leahkis's pupils contracted. Whether as a threat or not, one of her arms had already transformed into a dragon's forelimb — ready to tear me apart at any moment.
"'A lie?' Ha! Don't say something so ridiculous! Khh—huff... I'm making you an offer. The best offer you'll ever get — one that will never come again."
"...This Monarch has never met a human who spoke such words and meant anything of substance. This Monarch knows. This Monarch is not a fool."
"You don't believe me? Do you have any idea how much I possess of the very things you lack?!"
"How desperately you thrash about just to live. Pitiful child."
The invisible something clamped down on my throat again.
Keep it together. I can survive this. I have to survive. No matter what. Just treat this like any other con. Run your mouth. Package it so that killing me is a guaranteed loss! Smile! Smile, damn it!
I saw the corners of Leahkis's mouth curling up again and steeled my expression. Focusing hard, I caught it — a flicker of uncertainty in her eyes.
"If you wanted to kill me — khh — you could have done it already."
"What?"
Leahkis twisted her face into something vicious, apparently taking it as a taunt. A grinding sound reached my ears — her sharp teeth scraping together.
"A worm like you... anytime I please."
The pressure tightened like a rope drawn taut. I could almost hear the creak of it stretching to its limit. My airway constricted just as tightly.
"Ghhk—kh! But you already know — khh — don't you?! That I have something! O wise one, who has nursed hatred for humanity across the long ages... and yet you would kick away this precious opportunity?"
"This Monarch alone is more than enough! Against mere humans—!"
"You can't! You know you can't — and still you act like this!"
"......"
At my shout, Leahkis furrowed her brow and fixed me with a sharp glare. I was on the verge of blacking out. My eyes were rolling back, foam at my lips — I must have looked utterly pathetic.
Leahkis snorted a laugh and waved her hand. The invisible force released all at once, and I crumpled to the floor.
"What a clown."
"Ghhhaah... hah... huff..."
I stayed on the floor, gasping for air again and again. I stared at the ground with trembling eyes, my mind racing at full speed. It had been almost pure gambling, but it seemed to have landed. Honestly, my earlier delivery had been absolute garbage. Still — I'd bought myself more time.
"Speak."
I lifted my head at that, and found Leahkis looking down at me with a thoroughly unimpressed expression. Go on, then. Let's hear that clever mouth of yours. That was the look she was giving me.
...Alright.
I had an opening. Time to wrap this in something convincing.
"O great one — humans are tenacious. No matter how many you kill, no matter how thoroughly you slaughter them... they will rise again and become a nuisance to a being as great as yourself."
"Your words are true. And so, This Monarch shall kill y—"
"But—!"
Don't kill me! Just listen, please!
She was ready to kill me the second I finished a sentence. What kind of tyrant— Tch. Right. That's exactly what she is.
My voice rang out, loud and desperate. Truth be told, I was so frantic I barely knew what I was saying. Leahkis blinked at the sound, then let out a hollow laugh, looking thoroughly incredulous.
"Just think about it. What if you could manipulate all of humanity as you pleased? Imagine it — tens, hundreds of thousands, hundreds of millions of people living their entire lives in terror of a great being, never daring to defy you?"
"...Hoh."
Looking intrigued, Leahkis propped her chin on the back of her hand. Her yellow eyes gleamed.
"Rather than killing them all — planting a fear so deep they wouldn't dare touch you... and treating them like toys?"
"And you claim you can make that possible?"
"That's what emperors of empires do. That's what kings of kingdoms do. Humans are born to revere and serve someone! If a mere human emperor can manage it — how could a great being like yourself fail?! All you need is me! Just me!"
I staggered to my feet and thumped my chest with a look of pure, overflowing confidence. It was the most supremely confident face I could muster — the kind even a billionaire real-estate tycoon couldn't fake.
Of course they couldn't — their lives aren't on the line!
"I will make you the ruler of all humanity! All you need is me! Make the entire world tremble in terror — a true tyrant! No... a god! You will become a god!"
"...Hahat!"
Leahkis cackled as if she'd never heard anything so entertaining. Her laughter echoed endlessly through the hollow nest.
...I can't tell if this is working or not.
Real tyrants laugh like that and then put a bullet through your skull. In her case, it wouldn't be a gun — it'd be those teeth tearing me apart.
She wiped away the tears that had gathered at the corners of her eyes from laughing so hard, and was just about to speak when—
Sssss.
The white snake near Leahkis flicked its tongue.
"Hm? Jormun?"
When Leahkis glanced over with a puzzled look, the white snake twisted and writhed. And then it transformed. A rather slender girl with black hair cascading down to her waist exhaled a breath, then fixed me with sharp silver eyes full of wariness.
"O Tyrant Dragon. That human's words... are nothing but lies."
"...Jormun. Those words—"
"O great one — how can she possibly know whether I'm lying? Besides, this is a wager with nothing to lose by believing me! Saying that changes nothing!"
"The human says as much."
Leahkis laughed again. The girl called Jormun let out a pained groan and pressed a hand to her forehead, looking thoroughly exasperated. Whether she had a headache or not was her problem. My life was on the line here.
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? If you let this chance slip away, it will never — never — come again. O wise and great one!"
"Now or never!"
I threw both arms wide and shouted, and Leahkis smiled with her eyes as she gave Jormun a look.
"...So he says."
"I don't even know anymore."
Jormun said it in a weary tone, then looked at me like I was a complete lunatic.
"That logic of yours takes far too great a leap, human."
"Well, if you want me to go through every plan and method one by one, we'll be here all night. If you think devouring humanity is that simple..."
"This Monarch has decided. We shall keep that human."
"...O Tyrant Dragon. As you will."
Jormun let out a deep sigh of resignation and trudged over toward me. Up close, she was a beautiful young girl. Then again, creatures that could transform into humans were never ordinary — so of course Jormun would be no exception.
"...Follow me."
"Yes! A decision you'll never regret — the absolute bes—"
"Shut your mouth."
"......"
Jormun shot me a piercing glare, and I clamped my mouth shut and followed. Somehow, I'd survived. That was what mattered.
Come to think of it, the name Jormun... I knew I'd heard it somewhere.
Jormungandr...
Wasn't that the legendary monster that coiled around the entire world and bit its own tail? I snuck a careful glance at the black-haired girl, and Jormun frowned.
"The Tyrant Dragon sparing you was pure chance. Don't you dare delude yourself into thinking you've survived."
"That doesn't mean I'm dead, either."
After Jormun and the nameless human had gone, Leahkis sat askew on her throne, staring blankly into thought.
...The destruction of humanity.
Suddenly, memories of the past surfaced. There had been a time when her hatred burned so fiercely that the annihilation of humanity seemed like the sole purpose of her existence.
What a joke that was.
Destruction...
Even when she and the Demon King had wiped out more than ninety percent of humanity — a hero of the chaotic age had appeared. That day, her wing had been torn. And the Demon King... had died. She still remembered the Hero holding up the Demon King's head and roaring in triumph.
The word "destruction" was absurd. In truth, she was already dismissing that human's words as nothing more than a desperate struggle to survive... and yet.
"...This Monarch knows."
Well. Playing along for a while couldn't hurt, could it?
"'Nothing ventured, nothing gained.' An amusing phrase."
She simply smiled — for the first time in a long while. Wasn't it funny? Just one man, casually discussing the destruction and domination of all humanity. Honestly, when he'd called it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, something in her had taken the bait.
Why, though?
Even knowing full well it was a lie, something about it felt... strange.
"Ah, well. If he proves useless, This Monarch shall simply kill him."
The moment Leahkis slowly rose from her seat, a shout echoed through her mind.
You can't! You know you can't — and still you act like this!
"Huh."
She let out a hollow laugh, then spread her still-aching wing. Leahkis melted into the darkness. As if some lingering attachment remained, her yellow eyes flicked once more over the spot where the human had been — and a smile broke free.
"...This Monarch cannot. But one can still dream, can one not?"
KRAKOOOOOM.
Another massive door rumbled open. She stepped into its center and released her Polymorph. Her body swelled and expanded. The torn wing — little more than bare bone — unfurled, then folded. The intact wing folded as well.
A massive dragon's eye swept the surroundings, then caught on something.
"...What an amusing human."
He had been worth keeping alive.