The Dragon's Last Hunt
“Eblis Leonia?”
“Just call me Eblis. That’s what Hai Elton calls me.”
“Aren’t you one of Hai Elton’s subordinates?”
“That’s right. He kidnapped me by force and turned me into a chimera.”
“Kidnapped?”
“Who’d want to end up like this?”
Eblis wore a wistful expression.
Originally, she had been the heir to a noble house in Kurayan.
Even in her youth, her exceptional beauty and talents had marked her as the one to revive her family’s glory. But before she could fully bloom, Hai Elton had abducted her.
She had crossed to Earth with him right after. And there, she was remade into a chimera.
When she came to her senses, the sight of her spider-like lower body had driven her mad with rage. Hai Elton had bound her mind with a spell and made her his butler.
And so, for over a century, Eblis had served him—against her will.
Two selves warred within her mind.
One was the human Eblis Leonia. The other was Hai Elton’s chimera butler, Eblis.
The chimera self was stronger, forcing her to obey his every command.
She had fought Dayton on his orders—and ended up like this.
Dayton had shown no mercy, cleaving her body in two.
Once the spider fusion unraveled, she had finally reclaimed her true self.
The human Eblis Leonia.
“A day like this has finally come. I thought I’d never escape his grasp. Don’t look at me like that. I’ve never felt freer.”
“Sorry.”
“You’ve got nothing to apologize for. I’m grateful, actually. Thanks to you, I’ve found peace.”
“Hm!”
“Will you grant me one request? In return, I’ll give you a gift.”
“What kind?”
“If any of my family made it to Earth, please deliver this necklace to them.”
Eblis removed the necklace from her neck and handed it to Zeon.
It bore a red rose emblem.
A blue gem was embedded in the rose’s center.
“It symbolizes the head of House Leonia. Meaningless to outsiders, but priceless to my family. It can awaken the powers in our bloodline…”
“No promises. But if I run into them, I’ll pass it on.”
“Thank you. And for that, take this.”
Stab!
Eblis suddenly plunged her pale hand into her own chest.
Zeon’s brow furrowed at the sight of her arm sinking in up to the wrist.
A moment later, she withdrew a round, blood-red gem.
“It’s the eye of a Red Dragon that Hai Elton embedded in place of my heart.”
“A dragon’s eye?”
“He hunted a juvenile from the Red Clan back in Kurayan—for his chimera experiments. Every chimera in this lair has tissues from that dragon he dissected.”
“Hm!”
“He shaped the last remaining eye into this and replaced my heart with it. It’s old, but the mana inside is intact. It’ll serve you well.”
A dragon’s eye, no less.
Not quite a heart, but it brimmed with mana beyond any ordinary monster’s imagining.
Zeon accepted the eye.
True to its origin, it radiated fierce heat in his palm.
“Then my request…”
Too weak to continue, Eblis closed her eyes.
That was Eblis’s end.
“Hoo.”
Zeon let out a heavy sigh.
He held no fondness for Kurayan’s humans, but her story stirred pity all the same.
He stored the necklace and Red Dragon’s eye in his subspace.
That was when it happened.
BOOM!
A massive explosion rocked the entire underground cavern, and Dayton plummeted nearby.
“Urk!”
“You okay?”
Zeon rushed to help him up.
“Don’t touch me, bitch!”
Dayton shoved his hand away and rose on his own.
“Ugh!”
A groan escaped Zeon involuntarily.
Dayton’s left arm was gone.
His shoulder was charred and mangled, as if scorched by fire.
Hai Elton’s breath had done that.
It had to hurt like hell, yet Dayton showed no sign of it.
If anything, madness fueled his fury.
Leaning on Clayon like a cane, he turned to Zeon.
“Bitch!”
“Yeah?”
“Heh heh! Looks like this is it for me.”
Zeon froze at the uncharacteristic weakness in his voice.
Dayton glared at Hai Elton and continued.
“That bastard’s insanely strong. If all dragons are like him, humanity’s got no future.”
Hai Elton was terrifyingly powerful.
He’d roamed the desert for over a century, growing stronger by any means. Yet even Dayton couldn’t claim clear superiority.
His magic lay in realms untouchable by humans. His body outmatched any monster Dayton had faced.
Without Clayon, he wouldn’t have scratched those scales.
Hai Elton’s massive form was scarred, red flesh exposed in places.
Dayton’s strikes had peeled away scales, dealing real damage. But the dragon endured.
Facing him head-on, Dayton’s instincts screamed it:
The real fight started now.
Lives were on the line.
“Bitch!”
“Yeah!”
“If you die, you die.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t think about what’s next. You overthink everything. Too much hesitation, too much caution.”
“That’s…”
“Sometimes you gotta charge head-on, no holds barred. Like right now…”
Illusions flickered into existence beside the Clayon-gripping Dayton.
Zeon recognized one.
Akaruk!
The one forcibly undead by Hai Elton.
He appeared as a phantom.
On the other side stood a stranger.
A man in his late twenties or early thirties.
Blond hair, blue eyes, tall and handsome—the picture of a white Adonis.
“Clayon?”
The man smiled and nodded at Zeon’s words.
Dayton looked surprised.
“Heh heh! You see them too? My friends…”
“It’s real. I thought you were just raving to yourself.”
“It was fun while it lasted, even if brief. Bitch!”
“You too.”
“Last lesson. Watch closely as I hunt this dragon.”
“Yes, sir!”
Zeon gritted his teeth and replied.
Dayton refused his help to the end.
He’d slay Hai Elton with his own hands.
Zeon respected that will.
Dayton strode forward.
“If you die, you die. Cast off any regrets like sand in your grasp. Throw everything at it. That’s the only way to hunt a dragon.”
“I’ll never forget.”
“You’d better not. Heh heh!”
Dayton laughed and quickened his pace.
He bellowed.
“Let’s go, friends!”
The phantoms of Clayon and Akaruk flanked him, merging into one as they charged.
Crash!
A death-infused strike hammered Hai Elton’s torso.
Not even Absolute Shield withstood it; the dragon’s bulk shuddered.
But Hai Elton fought back.
He unleashed a barrage of spells and breaths at Dayton.
Boom! BOOM!
Their clash crumbled the magic-reinforced lair.
Vast rock slabs collapsed, burying everything in sand.
Then, from the shattering stone, dozens of men emerged.
Identical faces, identical garb—Hai Elton’s chimera clones.
They surged at Dayton in unison, infused with his will.
“That all you got, lizard?!”
Dayton cleaved the front-runners, roaring.
—Arrogant human! I shall bring divine judgment upon you.
“Don’t make me laugh. Who’s a god? You, some scaly lizard? I won’t stand for it.”
—This body is the god of the new world. Foolish human.
Rumble!
A massive bolt crashed from the heavens.
It pierced the cavern’s gaping ceiling, slamming Dayton.
No time to dodge—he charred black as coal, flesh cooked, hair gone.
Miraculous he lived.
Dayton pulled a small vial from his pocket, bit it, and crunched glass and potion alike.
A mad alchemist’s awakening agent.
It purged debuffs, restored health and mana instantly.
Unhesitating, he swallowed. Charred skin sloughed off; fresh flesh regrew.
Insane efficacy.
“Raaagh!”
Dayton roared, swinging Clayon.
Vast light gathered on its blade.
Mana-condensed Sword Aura.
Infused with death’s power, he hurled it at Hai Elton.
Slash!
A massive gash tore the dragon’s flesh.
Blood fountained; Hai Elton bellowed.
—GRRAAAAH!
His thrashing fully collapsed the half-ruined lair.
Hai Elton beat his wings, soaring skyward.
Dayton followed, Clayon propelling him to match.
Boom! BOOM! Rumble!
Thunder echoed across the barren desert sky.
One man and one dragon—their battle’s shockwaves were cataclysmic.
The lair vanished under sand; vast dunes erupted skyward.
Sand blotted the sun, plunging the area into darkness.
Zeon rocketed upward.
A sand pillar lifted him.
High above, he watched Dayton and Hai Elton clash.
He missed nothing.
Dayton had no retreat.
No will to survive.
“Heh heh! Die if you die.”
His final battle.
Dayton burned everything against Hai Elton.
In him, Zeon saw humanity’s limit.
How strong humans could become.
How far venomous resolve could evolve them.
All possibility, embodied.
“That damn old bastard. Really…”
Zeon’s words choked off; his shoulders twitched.
His eyes burned red.
Boom! BOOM!
The dragon and human hurtled toward the end.
Gale winds, ceaseless lightning, scorching air—they testified.
Zeon saw them muster their last strength for the clash.
BOOM!
The desert quaked like doomsday; clouds tore asunder.
A sandstorm tsunami swept the land—then silence fell, impossibly still.