I Don't Lie
I didn't lie.
“Kyaa! This is so fun!”
[Damn it, I said get off!!]
Evan shook his head violently from side to side, trying to dislodge Iris who was clinging to his neck. But the more he struggled, the more delighted Iris became.
“You look just like a lizard with a collar on.”
“Should we let it thrash around a bit more until it tires out?”
“No. It’s time to subdue it.”
In truth, the compatibility between the bone dragon and Iris was absolutely terrible. And since she could exert strength far beyond Kaede’s when she wanted to, there was nothing the half-formed dragon could do to pry her off. Still, it would be a hassle if the ferocious creature flew off somewhere else.
“Locke.”
“…You want me to help? If I can use the Holy Spear, I should be able to provide adequate cover.”
“No. I was asking if that thing looks like it can fulfill the contract conditions.”
Even though it was thrashing around pathetically with Iris wrapped around its neck like a collar, its wild movements alone had swept away all the nearby undead. Gusts of wind and earthquakes were shaking the area.
[Uwaaa! 『Get off!』]
“No way!”
[Why doesn’t Dragon Speech work on this crazy woman?!]
Locke heard the somehow familiar incantation from the bone dragon and looked at Evan with a doubtful expression.
[I’ll burn everything around here to ash. Let’s see if your companion can keep holding on even when she’s about to burn alive…!]
The bone dragon opened its mouth wide, gathering blue flames. Its target was the direction Evan was standing in. More precisely, it was aiming at Locke beside him.
But just before the flames could burst out, Evan gave the command.
“『Explode.』”
Boom!
[Krrghk—!!]
The flames that were about to erupt exploded inside the bone dragon’s mouth, blasting out through its nostrils and eye sockets in a massive cloud of smoke.
“Wow! Fireworks!”
[You damn brat! Why are you interfering?!]
“You were about to breathe fire in this direction. Did you really think I’d just stand here and take it?”
[Then at least threaten the human next to you and make him get this insane monster off me!]
“Why are you talking like I’m on your side? Have you been buried underground so long that your brain turned into a lizard’s too?”
[I’ll kill you—brat—!!]
The bone dragon spread both of its wings. The moment Evan saw the motion, he offered his right index and middle fingers as sacrifice. Black flames bloomed in the air, and from within them, the hilt of a massive greatsword emerged.
“Kaede. Cut it.”
“It is far too grand a weapon for someone like me… but I shall obey Master’s command!”
She seized the hilt that had appeared from thin air and charged straight at the dragon. A crude greatsword, pitch-black from pommel to tip, was drawn fully out, and it slammed down onto one of the bone dragon’s spread wings.
Crunch!
It was less a clean cut and more the sound of something being shattered and torn apart. The bone dragon’s wing was ripped off from the shoulder joint.
“Lich.”
[As you wish.]
The moment he called its name, the lich spread both palms forward. From the tips of its fingers, ten chains each shot out. A hundred chains pierced through the flame membrane of the dragon’s remaining wing, wrapping around its bones and pinning it firmly to the ground so it could not rise into the sky.
[You filthy undead bastards—!!]
[You are undead as well. A servant who should rightfully follow the King.]
[I am a dragon—!! I will not submit to mere humans…]
Crack—!!
Kaede followed up by smashing the bone dragon’s hind leg at the knee, forcing it down onto one knee.
“A mere lizard. How dare your head be held so high.”
[If it weren’t for the Dragon Slayer, I would never suffer the humiliation of kneeling before a half-baked undead like you…!]
“This is the Dragon Slayer sword forged from your own heart. If you have any complaints, try to take it back.”
[Krrgh…!]
The bone dragon panted heavily, then finally dropped its head to the ground.
“Little dragon, are you tired already?”
[Damn it… If it weren’t for this monster, there’s no way I would be overpowered so helplessly…!!]
As if indignant, the bone dragon slammed its head against the ground and roared. Its cry carried the oppressive aura of a superior species, but even that pressure was crushed. By none other than Evan.
[Damn brat…! You stole it again! After Dragon Speech, now even the Dragon Fear… you thieving bastard…!]
“You were the one who confidently told me to steal it if I could the first time we met.”
[That’s impossible…!]
Watching the bone dragon growl in utter resentment while pinned to the ground, Locke swallowed dryly. He had wondered if the bone dragon’s reputation was exaggerated, but no matter how he thought about it, that didn’t seem to be the case. Even when he imagined a hypothetical battle between the Empire and this bone dragon, he couldn’t picture an easy victory.
A single sweep of its tail — something the dragon probably wouldn’t even count as an attack — would wipe out dozens of soldiers. The blue flames he had glimpsed earlier carried enough heat to vaporize rock.
‘If that dragon flew overhead and rained down breath attacks…’
Hundreds, maybe thousands of soldiers would die screaming in a single pass. And since the monster was undead, it wouldn’t even die. It was a power that truly deserved the name of calamity.
[Kyaaak—!! Let go already! I’m on the ground now!]
“Little dragon!”
[Damn it! I am not ‘little dragon’! Who do you think you are, calling someone with a pet-lizard nickname like that?!]
“Little dragon! Show me more fireworks! The ones that shoot out of your eyes!”
[Listen to me! You insane female monster!]
“Little dragon, if you use bad words you’ll get in trouble!”
Crack!
[Grrk!!]
…Even if one understood that fact objectively, it was hard to feel it when looking at the scene before them. Because that very calamity was being subdued so easily and rolling across the ground.
“Iris, that’s enough. Come down.”
“Can’t I play with little dragon a little longer?”
“Unfortunately, little dragon has work to do.”
[Brat, do you really think I’ll listen to your orders…! I am a noble dragon…]
“Oh? Then would you rather play with the Saintess a bit more? She’s been quite bored lately.”
The bone dragon’s voice stopped abruptly.
[……I’ll listen to the story. So get this monster off me already.]
“Come down, Iris.”
“Too bad. I wanted to ride the flying little dragon.”
Iris obediently released her grip on the bone dragon’s neck bones and landed on the ground with a refreshed expression. Where her arms had been wrapped, white bone dust crumbled and fell.
[Speak, brat. What do you want to ask of me?]
“I want you to fight the demon army in place of the hero here and protect the border.”
[Haha! What a ridiculous joke. I heard you. I refuse. Why should I protect mere humans?]
“Master, shall I cut off this lizard’s neck, stomp on it, and continue the conversation?”
Kaede gripped her greatsword as if she would charge at any moment if given the order. Evan stopped her and made a new offer.
“I’ll return your heart. Half as an advance payment, and the other half that was forged into the Dragon Slayer sword when the contract ends.”
[……Brat, have you gone mad? You want to fight me at my full strength? Unlike last time, you don’t even have your master watching your back anymore?]
“They say the student eventually surpasses the master.”
[K-Kuhahaha—!!! Is there any human as arrogant as you! Without the power of the Dragon Slayer, do you really think a mere human can defeat me alone?]
Evan spoke with a mocking smile.
“You don’t have to play tricks. I’ll fight you alone. I’ll leave out the lich, Kaede, and the Saintess. I’ll face you without any of them.”
[……This is absurd. Do you truly believe that’s possible? Are you relying on the Dragon Speech and Dragon Fear you stole from me?]
Instead of answering, Evan returned the Dragon Slayer sword to its original place and swapped it for the half-split red gem.
“Then I’ll give you half right now. Come at me.”
[……Hah.]
“If you win, I’ll give you the Dragon Slayer sword right away too. I don’t need it. And in this fight, I won’t use any power imbued with the Dragon Slayer’s strength in any form.”
The air around them changed. It reacted to the bone dragon’s fury. Black flames ignited over its shattered and broken bones, rapidly restoring them.
“Instead, if you lose…”
[There’s no need to say it. You brat I’ll tear apart. There hasn’t been a single fool who dared stand before a dragon without a Dragon Slayer… and a human who hasn’t even lived thirty years thinks he can defeat me, even if I’m not whole? That will never happen.]
“You’re full of confidence.”
Evan tossed the half of the dragon heart he held as if giving it a snack. The moment the bone dragon swallowed it, its already calamitous presence surged even further.
“Lich, Kaede. Do not interfere.”
[Yes, my King.]
“I shall obey Master’s command.”
Flesh began to cling to the bone dragon’s previously skeletal body. A membrane and pupils formed where flames had been.
[Brat, if you defeat me under the conditions you stated, I will do anything you ask.]
“A noble dragon wouldn’t go back on its word, right?”
[That’s right! If you tell me to protect humans, I’ll protect them. If you tell me to bark like a dog, I’ll bark!]
Evan chuckled and spoke to Iris.
“Lend it to me.”
“Yep! Already done!”
It was the moment the now-zombified bone dragon tilted its head in confusion. A pure white flash of light shot down from the sky. Locke’s eyes shook as he recognized what it was.
“The Holy Spear? I didn’t call for…”
“Spear Hero.”
“Watch and learn. If you call yourself a hero, you should be able to handle a half-baked dragon like this by yourself.”
Evan pulled the Holy Spear that had embedded itself in the ground. The one most shocked by this was none other than the zombified dragon.
[H-How are you able to wield that?!]
“I told you.”
I didn’t lie. Because this wasn’t the Dragon Slayer imbued with the power of dragon slaying.
A vast amount of divinity flowed from the Holy Spear into his body.
“See? I don’t need the Dragon Slayer sword after all.”