211. A Precious Dragon Brat
211. A Precious Dragon Brat
Gemma Aurum reminded me of Shahra Phrygia.
The difference was that Shahra was a cunning fox who knew how to use the power she had possessed since birth to stand above others.
She knew what she was doing was wrong, but she wielded it willingly so long as it made her opponent submit.
Gemma Aurum, on the other hand, knew nothing of such things.
Because she had grown up doing nothing but acting spoiled, she didn't realize that her actions were wrong.
Both of them possessed an unshakable confidence that, thanks to their backgrounds, no matter how extreme their actions became, the other party would be unable to resist.
After all, until now, there had never been anyone who dared to defy them.
So, I had to teach her.
The fact that this world was full of people who didn't care about such things,
the fact that there were situations where what she believed to be an invincible shield was utterly useless.
[This time, I'll knock you down for sure!!!]
The Gold Dragon Gemma spewed dense lightning in every direction.
It was the maximum attack she could use right then—simple, yet possessing the most powerful offensive force. The golden lightning that spread like a spiderweb in every direction illuminated the night sky bright as broad daylight, making it seem like an unavoidable, undefendable attack that turned rocks to ash on contact. But it couldn't penetrate a thick Aura.
With one swing of the Aura Blade, the sphere of lightning that had risen like a massive golden sun split apart.
Along the Sword Path, the lightning was entirely severed, creating the shortest route between Gemma and me.
[Haaaaat!!!!]
As I leaped toward the gaping opening I had made, Gemma let out a golden roar, as if she wouldn't be caught off guard twice.
The Gold Dragon's Breath, rushing through the gaps in the lightning, was a bright yellow, high-temperature plasma like the sun that melted everything it touched.
'This is a bit dangerous.'
Since I had deliberately chosen a location where I could rampage freely, no one else would die even if I dodged.
I could have dodged, but I didn't.
This wasn't just a fight; it was a process to break Gemma and get started on her education.
She had to be shattered from the front, with no flukes, to realize the difference in level between us.
The moment I saw the plasma that filled my vision, I took a deep breath and drew in power from all directions, circulating it through my body.
"Hup!!"
And then, focusing the circulated power into my sword, I brought it down. The plasma Breath split into two.
[Wha... aaaaa??]
Seeing her Breath cleanly cleaved in two, Gemma screamed in apparent disbelief.
The plasma Breath, split so effortlessly, struck the arid, rocky mountains of the wilderness and caused a massive explosion large enough to be seen by the beastmen of the plains.
A Red Dragon's Breath also spewed plasma-fied, high-temperature flames, but the Gold Dragon's Breath produced an even greater output.
It couldn't break a Master's Aura Blade, which defied all reason, but my body gripping the blade—unlike the Aura Blade itself—wouldn't have come out unscathed, so I had cut it down by drawing my Aura out to the absolute maximum.
For the Breath of a brat like Gemma to have that kind of power—even though she was the bloodline of a Lord—it possessed the force of at least a 9th-circle attack spell.
With just that single Breath, it was palpable that the Gold Dragon was truly a lineage far removed from ordinary dragons.
[Ridiculous... don't make me laugh. How could it... be cut so cleanly...!!]
Gemma protested upon seeing her all-out Breath split, but that was none of my business.
I could cut down even worse things than that.
Without paying it any mind, I swung the Aura Blade.
[Kyaaaak!!!]
After a few slashes, deep sword wounds were carved across Gemma's chest plate and wings.
The massive body of the Gold Dragon bled red blood like a mortal and plummeted.
As Gemma crashed to the ground, a peculiar phenomenon occurred.
"Ugh... urk... why am I...?"
She had transformed back into her human form again.
I had no idea why this was happening, but Gemma had Polymorphed into her human form once more.
Her true form was a Gold Dragon, so it would be correct for her to revert to her dragon form when her stamina was exhausted, yet she kept Polymorphing into human form every time her strength drained.
The amusing part was that she didn't know why she was doing it, either.
"Gemma."
"D-don't come closer!!! Don't come near me!!"
As I approached, Gemma recoiled in fright and stepped back.
On Gemma's chest, the wound carved while she was in dragon form remained as it was.
It wasn't a wound etched with the intent to kill, so it was already healing, but the physical wound wasn't the important thing.
"I told you... not to come closer..!!"
Gemma's eyes glowed with a golden light, and she spewed lightning from her hand.
It was an Authority capable of producing lightning that carried the sheer force of 7th-circle elemental magic with just a gesture.
Even though she had transformed into human form, her essence was still that of a 'dragon'.
I cut the lightning down with the Aura Blade just as I had been doing, then drove a fist into Gemma's solar plexus.
"Keuhuk!!"
The air rushed out of her lungs, and Gemma's body collapsed as the strength left her legs.
"It hurts... why... do I have to hurt... like this...."
Gemma clutched the spot she had been struck and mumbled.
It was truly a laughable thing.
She had committed such an act, and yet she asked why she had to suffer this humiliation. She didn't know that, for anyone else, it wouldn't be strange for their head to go flying.
No, she had a firm belief that even if someone else's head flew off, hers never would.
"Hic... I hate... being in pain."
Looking aggrieved now, she was even on the verge of tears.
The sight of the innocent-faced Gemma, covered in dirt and sobbing, stirred sympathy.
Though it didn't work on me.
"Gemma, look at me."
I grabbed the chin of the collapsed, crying Gemma and met her eyes.
In her pupils, terror of me flickered.
"Why do you think you were hit? Think about it."
"I don't know..! I haven't done anything wrong, so why are you hitting me..!"
At my simple question, Gemma wailed and refused to answer.
"That isn't the right answer."
Crying and simply trying to avoid confronting one's own wrongs—that was behavior displayed by preschool children.
It was pretty funny for a dragon over 100 years old to act like that, but if she was going to act that much like a child, I had a plan, too.
"Ugh... uwaaaht??"
I grabbed Gemma's body, sat on a suitably sized rock, and laid Gemma facedown across my lap.
It was a posture often used by mothers when disciplining their children.
But like this, it wasn't yet complete.
One final touch had to be added to finish it.
"What are you doing, this... strange posture... hiiiiiit???"
When I lifted the skirt and pulled down the underwear, Gemma's plump, tender-looking bottom was exposed.
Suddenly bared, Gemma was flustered and flailed her arms and legs.
"Wha... what are you doing!! You pervert..!! As I thought, my body was your goal!!!"
Her face even turned red as she fiercely resisted, but without batting an eye, I raised my right hand.
Then I brought it down hard.
-Jjak!!!
"Kyaak???"
A crisp sound rang out from Gemma's buttocks.
My handprint swelled up red on her jade-white skin.
It must have hurt more than when she was hit in the solar plexus, but this time Gemma didn't cry.
Flustered at the bizarre situation she was experiencing for the first time in her entire life, she feared what was to come next.
"You... th-this is just... what is the meaning of...."
"For a disobedient child, there is nothing as effective as a good spanking."
That's right.
For a child over 100 years old who had done nothing but act spoiled, I was going to treat her like a child.
When disciplining a child, there is nothing as effective as spanking their bottom.
She was a rather big child, but her behavior was childish, so a child she was.
"No matter how much you cry and throw a tantrum, there is nothing you can do to avoid it. If you avoid answering, I will administer the appropriate punishment. That is the rule here."
"That's so unreasonable...!!"
-Jjak!!!
"Hikkiiiik???"
The moment she talked back, I spanked her bottom once more.
Gemma let out a strange scream and trembled all over.
"Then I'll ask once more. Why do you think you got hit?"
"The airship crashing was my fault..."
-Jjak!!
"Hkyyaak!!"
"I suppose it's natural for you to receive goodwill. Given your background, your status, your appearance, even people you've just met would show you goodwill. But you mustn't take that goodwill for granted."
"What's wrong with... acting the way I've always been treated!?"
-Jjak!!
"Hngg!! S-stop... stop it...!! I'm telling you my bottom feels like it's really going to burst...!!"
"A dragon's bottom won't burst just from a human spanking it. And even if it does, don't worry. I'm exceptionally good at tending to that kind of wound, you see."
"Wh... aaaa?"
Finding it tremendously humiliating to be pinned down by someone smaller who was nothing more than a mere human, Gemma kept struggling to escape.
-Jjak!!
"Huaang!!"
But every time she did, a spank to the bottom drained her strength once more.
"You attempted to hijack the airship and failed, so you are essentially a prisoner of war, yet you didn't even offer a single apology for it. You caused the airship to crash, and you have no apology for that, nor even a guilty conscience."
"I wasn't the one who... crashed it..! It just exploded on its own, I said!"
"You went into the engine room and messed with the control board, and then it exploded, didn't it?"
"Th... that was...! It's the fault of that important room for not being locked properly!"
-Jjak!!
"Hiik!!"
I didn't know how she would take it, but spanking was a sign of affection.
A bottom with plenty of flesh absorbs impact well, so it doesn't leave a significant wound even when hit.
With Shahra, I was so sickened by her cunning that I'd decided to destroy her, but Gemma simply didn't know any better.
For a moment, I had considered whether to just kill her, but the Dragon Lord's face kept bothering me, so I changed course to discipline her as much as possible.
I had no intention of telling the Dragon Lord what I had done to Gemma, but if he saw a properly reformed Gemma, he would be deeply moved, I was sure.
"Since you don't seem to know, I'll teach you one by one. What sort of basic etiquette and manners one must possess to live in this world."
.
.
.
.
.
"Pl... ple... ase... stop...."
The bottom of Gemma, which had been white and plump when first bared, was now dyed bright red.
So many swollen handprints overlapped that her smooth skin had become bumpy and uneven, and in the worst places, bruises had even formed.
She had also suffered a bout of incontinence midway through, leaving her pants damp.
"I was very wrong... Please... for... give me... I'll go... apologize... I'll be... good... I'll listen... So please... stop spanking my bottom now... please...."
Gemma collapsed limply over my lap.
I would wake her up soon and continue.
There was still a mountain of things Gemma had to learn.