When Dragons Must Endure
Dragons couldn't lie—at least, not the Red Dragon, to be more precise. It was only natural, for the language of dragons, Dragon Tongue, was infused with magic. Even the magic used by humans wasn't made without Dragon Tongue. When words carrying strong will were spoken, they manifested in the world as magic. But if falsehoods were uttered, pain proportional to that deceit would follow the Red Dragon. That was why he couldn't lie.
However, he had no reason to lie either. Lies were meant to deceive others. But did he need to? He could obtain anything without deceiving anyone. He had the power to achieve whatever he desired. That was why he could appear here.
The 'Red Dragon' did not lie. He had said he would protect Leviathan. It was a kind of magic—a spell that let him sense immediately if danger befell her. That was why he'd let her wander alone. That was why he'd calmly observed everything from atop his golden hoard.
And when crisis finally struck Leviathan...
...he arrived. To honor the words he had spoken. Faster and more precisely than ever before, he blocked their path.
"...!"
No one could easily open their mouth. No one could even think to oppose him. Even though they were all skilled dragon hunters in their own right. Even though they'd captured the famous Leviathan.
They couldn't move rashly. He was an overwhelming, untouchable existence. That was the 'Red Dragon'.
"...If you take even a single step from there, this dragon's life is forfeit."
But Stubborn as an Ox lived up to his name. Even with such a threatening presence right before him, he had the knack for finding a way to survive.
The Red Dragon cherished Leviathan. And he wanted to protect her. That was undoubtedly an opening to exploit. With the mindset of a gambler, Stubborn as an Ox said this to the Red Dragon.
And the Red Dragon didn't move. He simply stared with golden eyes that seemed intrigued, as if willing to hear the ox out. That gave Stubborn as an Ox even more confidence, and he continued.
"Even if you let Leviathan go here, you won't spare us."
Spot-on analysis. The thick smell of sulfur and the intense heat in his maw were ready to sweep them away at any moment.
"So, give us half a day to escape. That's what we demand."
As he spoke, Stubborn as an Ox felt fear. The Red Dragon was inherently brutal and arrogant. What if he didn't care to protect Leviathan? What if he saw her merely as property and didn't mind what happened to her? Then he—and they—would die, with no chance of survival. Especially after daring to propose a deal.
He'd be killed even more cruelly. So Stubborn as an Ox focused every nerve on the Red Dragon, desperately searching for escape routes and ways to survive. And in that moment...
—Shiiiiiik—!
An arrow flew. A flaming arrow hurtled toward the comrade who had a spear aimed at Leviathan's heart. It soared over Stubborn as an Ox's shoulder.
'Wh-what...!'
The arrow came from the opposite direction of the dragon. Even a half-orc with keen instincts hadn't sensed the presence.
"—Gahk...!!!"
Only then, after one man died... did they feel it. There was someone there. An elf... but with grayish, lifeless skin that made her seem almost undead.
She had drawn her bow from that spot. And the Red Dragon didn't miss the opening created.
—Whoosh...!
He swung his tail like a flail. A fast, menacing strike that seemed to split the air. Naturally, everyone near Leviathan except Stubborn as an Ox was sent tumbling by that single swing.
"Graaaah...!"
"Guhk...?!"
—Crack—!
Stubborn as an Ox barely blocked it too, but without any damage reduction.
"—Guh...!"
He simply had to take the full brunt of that massive weight's violence. Stubborn as an Ox tasted the metallic tang of blood in his mouth. The sensation of dancing on the edge of death, one he hadn't felt in ages.
'...This is the Red Dragon.'
He accepted the gap in power between him and the Red Dragon. Just one strike. Not even his breath—just a tail swing had sent him flying.
What if that thing breathed fire? If it unleashed that sulfur-scented blaze on him? He didn't even want to imagine it.
They couldn't win like this. Even with perfect preparation, the odds were at best fifty-fifty. That was why he wanted to kill the Red Dragon. No, he had to.
Countless nations had fallen to that Red Dragon, and the World Tree had burned not long ago. If that Red Dragon decided to end the world? If it chose to seize it?
In that instant, countless people would suffer and writhe in agony.
'...So that's why, Kellian.'
Only then did Stubborn as an Ox understand Kellian's heart. The Red Dragon was a definite threat. A great evil disrupting peace and order.
Now, Stubborn as an Ox no longer moved for his own stubborn pride. He rose with a mission to slay the Red Dragon and contribute to the world.
"...Is that one of the elves who follow the Red Dragon?"
He muttered as he eyed Elenoa with her bow. Overt mockery and provocation. Something only a hunter, not a warrior, could do—to induce carelessness.
"...!"
But unfortunately, Elenoa wasn't foolish enough to fall for such bait. Instead...
...she provoked his temper.
"Haha."
Staring at the Red Dragon who looked ready to devour him any second, Stubborn as an Ox laughed as if mad and opened his mouth.
"Ah... Death! I fear it not!!"
He gripped his axe as he spoke. His comrade and battle-brother through countless years. Clutching it, he continued.
"But that's precisely why it has value. I will kill you, Red Dragon."
With those words, he strode forward. As if death held no fear, advancing silently. His vision held no more comrades. Half were dead, half unconscious, so he could only charge ahead.
"Sellooooir!!! Grant me eternal vigor!!! "
So he cried out to his patron god. Creator of the orcs, god of calamity, storms, and volcanoes. With the resolve to offer everything to him, he charged the Red Dragon.
His will burned brighter than ever. His zeal fiercer than before.
Yet even so, he was clearly the inferior. There was an insurmountable wall between him and the Red Dragon.
—Roarrr...!!
The Red Dragon breathed fire at the charging ox.
"Graaaaaah...!!!"
Stubborn as an Ox could say no more. Thus ended the life of Stubborn as an Ox, more tenacious than any bull. Pointlessly. Futilely. Reduced to ash.
"Yes, understood."
—Stab.
I ordered Elenoa to cut the throats of the unconscious dragon hunters. Then I turned my head to gaze at Leviathan.
It pissed me off. To dare. To dare lay hands on what was mine.
At a glance, Leviathan's condition was far from normal. Scales peeled off in places, blood flowing from the wounds. Poisoned too, she could barely move, just writhing on the ground in agony.
I couldn't tolerate the sight. Intense rage. Rage near instinctual. Hostility toward those who did this to her boiled in my chest.
"...[Regenerate]."
As soon as the battle ended, Elenoa chanted a healing spell on Leviathan. Some wounds began to mend, but her mana wasn't enough to fully heal her.
I turned my eyes from her and peered in the direction she'd fled from. The trail of her being swept away and pursued led to a nearby village.
'...Betrayal.'
It meant there was an inside job there. Unbelievable. She was friendly toward humans. She'd wandered among them, helping and chatting amiably. Recalling how she'd stroll through my lair sometimes, reminiscing about them, I could read no hostility toward them in her.
Yet she'd been betrayed. Even kidnapped. At that thought, I couldn't hold back.
As the Red Dragon, the 'Calamity', the destructive instinct etched in my blood screamed louder than ever.
So I decided. That small town had to vanish. It was harmful. I gathered fire in my maw.
Thus, I took to the skies. And just as I was about to unleash that rage upon it...
Leviathan's voice. Her pitiful voice reached my ears. Hearing it, I turned toward her.
Her words sent chills down my spine. If I'd burned that town, my rank as 'Calamity' would surely rise further. And that meant stronger interference from the gods.
My 'enemies' wanted exactly that.
Yes. I knew precisely who my enemies were. They weren't mortals. Beings beyond the material plane. Leaders guiding countless followers.
The 'gods'. They were targeting me.
"Yes, understood, O Red Dragon."
With that, I gently bit Leviathan's nape with my teeth and soared into the sky.
...It had been an exhausting, irritating day in every way.