Chapter 108
Chapter 108
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: Rolling Gourd (3)
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[Kwaaaah——!]
The dragon's roar echoed once more from deep within the mountain range.
The spiritual pressure laced into that cry suppressed lesser beings, causing Halli and Heinz to furrow their brows.
Of course, it didn't have much effect on them, but the instinctive irritation it stirred was just as grating.
'Was there a dragon nesting around here?'
It was the foothills of the vast northern mountains, so a dragon holing up here wouldn't be too surprising...
But that wasn't the important point right now.
'A creature as mighty as a dragon, consumed by madness like this?'
The roars coming from it weren't normal at all.
Unlike Entrachio, the undead dragon inherited by Hans, whose cries were filled with the aura of death, this one reeked of pure madness.
'It's definitely not a normal situation.'
Monsters were susceptible to madness, sure, but dragons were more intelligent beings than mere monsters.
The pinnacle of intellect and power among all races in Outerica, no less...
Crunch! Crunch!
Even as Halli busily chewed and swallowed magic stones, his mind raced, analyzing the situation.
'Anyway. A rare dragon right here, and in bad shape too?'
Dragons had always been few in number, and after two Immortal King crises, they were practically on the brink of extinction.
The Immortal King, intent on blanketing the continent in death, was a dire threat to them as well. Naturally, they had allied with the continental coalition to battle the undead hordes.
The first Immortal King had prioritized hunting down dragons—the biggest obstacles to continental conquest—targeting them ruthlessly first.
Even if it meant yielding ground elsewhere, reducing their numbers was his top priority.
Thanks to that, the coalition had held the line and repelled him, but the dragons' losses were irreparable.
The second Immortal King's emergence had driven the final nail in the coffin, making dragons a rare sight on the Ion Continent afterward.
He figured they'd only be seen in the distant eastern regions, far from the war zones.
'And given their nature, they wouldn't fall to corruption easily.'
That's why Hans had only inherited one undead dragon like Entrachio.
'Their lofty pride meant they'd self-destruct without leaving a single bone if capture seemed imminent. Even if a corpse was secured, the rejection reaction made turning them undead difficult.'
This came from the vivid accounts in the records passed down to Hans.
Even if somehow revived as undead, other dragons would swarm in and destroy them relentlessly.
They tolerated no corruption—not of themselves, nor their kin. A stubborn race indeed.
'It was sheer luck that Entrachio ended up in Hans's hands.'
And yet, one such dragon had been devoured by this widespread madness—a strain too weak to fully affect even humans? It didn't add up.
He still couldn't quite believe it...
"Doesn't matter what happened, really."
"Kahahahat! A dragon! Talk about jackpot!"
Heinz smirked coldly, while Halli, having devoured all the magic stones, sprang to his feet with booming laughter.
Yeah, they'd figure out the details soon enough.
"Wonder what dragon meat tastes like!"
Thrilled, Halli charged full-tilt toward the source of the presence.
His steps were light and bouncy, his energy freshly topped up.
"Dragon blood could be usable too, once the madness is purged. A fine tonic."
Heinz watched Halli's back, straightened his tailcoat lightly, and vanished from the spot.
His destination, naturally, was the roar's origin.
Where the dragon was.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ -It hurts, it hurts so much. Why am I like this? Should just die!
-It's that guy's fault. That guy? Who? Incompetent humans, stupid elves, stinking dwarves! And... someone else too?
-I'm hurt, so I need to recover. Eat well to recover. Yeah, let's eat. Eat a ton!
[Kuoohhh——!]
His mind assailed by the cacophony, the red dragon Herathos let out a dazed roar.
The sound made him feel good somehow, like he was drunk on something.
Feeling better sparked a desire to revel in it more.
For some reason, his body—which had required long years of recuperation—had healed rapidly. He could probably fly out now.
'Great, just great. Recovered faster than expected. This body's magnificent!'
Herathos was a dragon gravely wounded in the war against the second Immortal King three hundred years ago.
Unlike the first Immortal King crisis, where he was too young to fight, this battle had gone smoother than expected.
The continentals and dragons alike weren't fools; with better preparations, they coped more efficiently.
The western region fell entirely, and an empire crumbled, but compared to the first, it was a solid defense.
...If only he hadn't let complacency from his exploits dull his vigilance.
'Where is this... Ah! My own lair. But why'd I make it?'
In the end, fighting the undead army, he'd fallen into a trap and sustained severe injuries.
Surviving the Great War, where countless powerhouses perished helplessly, was luck alone—but his wounds were too grave to dismiss lightly.
Deep gashes across his massive frame allowed abyssal death energy to seep in.
No recovery magic or holy spells worked against the death curse; he teetered on demise...
Until his final stroke of luck.
The Immortal King cursing him was slain by a desperate strike force.
This saved him from imminent death, but his condition remained critical. So he resorted to the surest method for recovery.
'Ah...? What was I thinking? Right, time to get out. I'm hungry—gonna feast after all this time.'
He chose a monster-infested corner of the northern mountains, erected barriers for safety, and prepared for hibernation.
Dragon hibernation lasted centuries, hyper-activating growth and regeneration—perfect for healing.
Setting those barriers while injured was hellish, but using hoarded artifacts and his own blood as catalysts, he completed them.
But after that final luck came misfortune.
To maximize recovery, he'd drawn in ambient energy and lured monsters to siphon their life force.
How could he know?
That the abyss would reopen, spreading 'madness' across the world, saturating even the monsters swarming his barriers.
The barriers handled anomalies, but nothing countered abyssal madness.
Thus, unprotected in hibernation, madness accumulated in his body, eventually corrupting his mind completely.
[Kwaaaah——!]
Flap—! Flap—!
Bursting from his self-made nest, Herathos beat his wings fiercely.
His body was fully healed by now.
A long hibernation, plus immense accumulated madness, had seen to that.
'Ahh—this fresh air. A bit lacking, though. Some blood scent would perfect it. Burning smell works too.'
His madness-consumed thoughts, unnoticed by him, leaped to absurd conclusions.
'...Right. There's a human city nearby. One breath there oughta do it!'
Then he could savor burning smells, screams, and a meal all at once.
Raw monster chomps would let him taste the blood too.
Dragons like Herathos sustained on mana alone, needing no food—but that fact was long forgotten.
Madness-driven, he ignored local monsters, gauging distance to human-heavy spots.
'Time to go... Huh?'
That instant.
A presence pinged his senses.
Approaching fast with noisy flair, radiating explosive vitality.
'...Human? Really human? And another one. Nearly missed it. Vampire?'
Drool—
Recognizing them, drool spilled from his massive maw.
His eyes blazed crimson, devoid of reason, but Herathos sensed no wrongness.
Just.
'Appetizers first...?'
A surging hunger dominated him.
"Kahahahat! A live dragon for real! Wow, first time for this!"
"Totally consumed by madness. No reason left. The enhancements are what matter."
The pseudo-human and vampire arrived before Herathos in a flash, calmly assessing him, but he ignored their words.
Ingredients could yap all they wanted.
'That juicy one first? Bet it bursts with life force on every chew. Vampire could be a delicacy too.'
Such deliberations were brief.
Suddenly, a flash in his mind.
'Wait, why am I just staring?'
His brilliant intellect detected the incongruity.
His madness-tainted brain resumed logical thought.
Why just watch them?
The result.
[Kraaang——!]
He lunged at them, jaws agape.
'Duh! Eat 'em both at once!'
No need to deliberate!
Proper meal at the city later—swallow these in one bite now.
With bolstered physical prowess, he devoured their spot in a blink...
"Hup—!"
Whoosh— Boom—!
Battle-ready Halli dodged lightly, then uppercut the massive head with his grotesquely swollen fist.
[Gruk——?]
Herathos faltered briefly from the shock, but a black shadow silently dropped onto his snout.
"Pardon."
Slash— Slash!
Sharp blood tendrils from Heinz's hands sliced the huge eyes instantly.
Herathos snapped his lids shut with insane reflexes, but Heinz's attack wasn't stopped by thin hide.
Lids tore; blood sprayed from both eyes.
[Kaaaaah——!]
Pain? Rage?
Eyes clenched shut amid flowing blood, the dragon roared fiercely. Massive mana erupted from him, warping space with a shockwave.
Heinz retreated momentarily from the blast but paused mid-charge.
"...Healed already."
Herathos's eyes, blazing red once more, bore no scar.
'Felt the attack was shallow thanks to the lids.'
His reactions and hide durability exceeded expectations.
Plus monstrous regen and destructive power from that colossal frame...
"Kahahat! Think two of us can't handle this?"
Of course, neither Heinz nor Halli would lose.
Their specs were no joke, and this dragon seemed physically enhanced by madness at magic's expense.
Lacking intelligence befitting its fame, it acted like a instinct-driven giant lizard.
'But a lizard that size with that regen... We'd pummel forever to no end.'
An endless loop.
'Unlike us with finite energy, dragons draw from surroundings to heal.'
They'd have to retreat eventually.
Bad matchup against such a behemoth.
Overwhelming power could override that, but...
True Blood vampire Heinz 2nd and barbaric great warrior Halli weren't there yet.
'No choice then.'
What could they do?
Call in proper backup.
And.
Darkness coalesced at a point in the air.
Hummm—
Like a hole sucking all light, the darkness summoned a presence before dissipating.
Simultaneously...
Though the sun shone bright, the world dimmed as if filtered.
[Kuhuhuhu—A madness-maddened dragon? Perfect material!]
The calamity that had pushed dragons to the brink of extinction.
Had descended there.