The Extermination Dragon's Hunting Method (3)
KABOOM! The barrier enveloping Pyongyang collided with the meteor plummeting from the sky, unleashing a deafening roar. But only the reporters and South Korean soldiers far from the city truly heard it. Those in Pyongyang had their ears shattered by the intense vibrations exploding right in front of them, while viewers on TV lost the audio as their camera mics were fried by the ferocious gale.
……BOOM!! By the time the camera mics finally recovered, everything—cameras included—was already a total mess.
"Choi Reporter? Choi Reporter?! Anyone on site! Are you okay?!"
"……Y-yes! I'm fine!"
The camera finally righted itself, and the people caught in the storm barely managed to steady their bodies. Pyongyang's true face was then revealed to the world.
"Jesus……."
"My God."
The barrier covering Pyongyang stood firm. No surprise there—it was erected by an S-rank hunter, the pinnacle of power. Not only did it span the entire city, but its durability far surpassed any ordinary barrier ability. Especially since North Korea's S-rank hunter and dictator, Kim Kyung-do, held the unofficial world No. 1 spot in barrier creation. Anyone could have predicted it would hold.
WHOOOOSH!!KUWWWOOONG!!
"It's coming again!"
"Fall back!"
"OMG!"
"Konna bakana!!!"
……But no one expected that meteor strike to come raining down repeatedly.
BOOM!BOOM!!KA-BLAM!!!
Iron masses crashed down once more, hammering Pyongyang's barrier. Terrifying shockwaves, explosions, and gales ravaged everything, turning the surroundings into a scorched wasteland. Ordinary humans, powerless before this man-made catastrophe from a single monster, scrambled for cover—but only briefly.
At last, the disaster ended, and the dust began to settle.
"My God."
"The barrier?"
Crack!Crackkk!
Had even that barrage of massive impacts proven too much? A vivid crack spiderwebbed across Pyongyang's barrier. But the fracture vanished in an instant.
"As expected of an S-rank hunter?"
"Took some serious damage, but it held."
Indeed. The shield that had even blocked the strongest spell from the Guinness-listed mightiest mage. Soldiers and reporters watching from afar clicked their tongues in awe.
"Huh? Up there!"
Their eyes shot skyward. Another "meteor" blazed down from the heavens.
"Another attack?"
"No, that's—?!"
Too big for a meteor. And meteors didn't sparkle like that.
"It's the Extermination Dragon!"
"She's here at last!"
SCREEEEE!
Finally, the star of this war appeared: the Extermination Dragon, Grand Ragnar.
* * *
= Hmm. Quite sturdy, isn't it? I hadn't done a thing—just dropped raw iron chunks from outside the atmosphere…… Not something you'd block easily. And yet the barrier's still intact.
= Guess they had reason to be confident.
> Marking positions.
Sheesh. I could do that myself, no need to bother…… I smirked wryly and throttled back the Repulsive Force Engine. At the same time, I unfurled the inner wing—the only one of my three pairs with a dragon gold membrane—from its folded state, overlapping it with the middle wing.
The middle wing can't form a membrane due to the engines, but overlapping it with the inner wing creates a single, unified wing for gliding. As I descended, using the tough dragon gold membrane to bleed off speed—
> 8 units confirmed.
= Hm? Shwooo!
Eight fighters, presumably from Pyongyang, screamed toward me.
Hoo…… Not just defense—they're going on the offensive too? Daring to challenge this Extermination Dragon to an air battle……
= Entertaining. I'll indulge you.
Flap!SCREEEEE!!
I folded the inner wings tight against my body and fired up all six Repulsive Force Engines on the middle wings. The outer wings covered above to shield the engines, tail fins fine-tuning balance. Then I charged the enemy fighters.
KABOOM!!
Air tore apart in a sonic boom. The sudden acceleration threw five fighters off course.
Come on…… Panicking at that? Fortunately, three kept their wits and launched missiles at me.
Shwoosh!Psssh~!
Missiles streaked my way, lenses at their tips marking them as guided.
Ways to deal with missiles? Too many to choose from. My highly evolved brain weighed options meticulously, settling on a fitting one.
= Explode-eels. Load.
Tubes 1-6 loaded.
Clank! Clank! Clank!
At Echo's confirmation, I opened the outer wing launchers. Numbers…… 1 through 3 should do.
= Go.
Pew! Pyooong~! Piiiing!!
They launched on command—golden, missile-like. But wriggling midair, they sprouted translucent golden fins on either side and swam through the sky.
Originally kin to flying fish from another dimension, mutated under my influence in the Golden Domain. Pack hunters that, when predators approach, a few charge and spew gut-waste before dying—nature's missiles. Infused with my power, I use them as guided munitions.
Missile Wing Fish. These carried "explosion spores" instead of waste.
Alive, so perfect guidance. On impact……
Squelch! Blorf!
……They convulsed, vomiting explosion spores. Which react violently outside the gut. And culminate in……
KABOOOOOM!!
= Missiles handled? If theirs are missiles, so are mine. Missile beats missile. Not bad, right?
Self-satisfied, I raised my outer wings. Blades razor-sharp, we crossed in the explosion's smoke.
Shrick! Shrick!Weeeen!!Aaaaagh!!
Eject!
A fighter sliced by my outer wing blade plummeted. Pilots parachuted out safely; I soared skyward again. The remaining six pursued.
> Targets acquired.
Ping! Ping! Ping!
Missiles launched salvo-style from the six. They'd hauled out their deepest reserves to fight me. Pathetic!
Pipipipiping!!
Flares burst, diverting the heat-seekers. I unfurled inner wings to decelerate.
Whoosh!
Wind resistance shoved me back; blinded by flares, the six overshot me.
?!! !!! !!!!!
Realizing I'd looped behind, they scattered in evasive maneuvers. No escape.
= Four down first.
Clank!
Outer wing blade-hands opened, revealing massive golden cannons. Barrels…… no, maws (cell mouths) aimed at the fighters.
> AP round selected.
> Loading!
Weeeen! Clank!
The linked revolver spun, chambering rounds. Railguns on the outer wings targeted two more.
> Ragnar Magnum. AP round loaded.
= Fire.
KABOOOOOM!!
Railgun slugs pierced two engines; AP rounds crumpled two fuselages.
Aaaaaaagh!!
Bail out!
Four fighters crashed in seconds. Two left.
= Tch. Just once? Thought it'd take two…… Makeshift gear has limits.
Sighing, I jettisoned the bent railgun.
Clunk! Clunk!
Lighter without dead weight, I accelerated.
> Entering 'Air-to-Air Combat Mode'.
Paang!
Sonic boom raged as I spun; an enemy fighter unwittingly positioned below me. It veered wildly, but too late—claws from fore and hind legs clamped it.
I rent the fuselage in one stroke……
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!Bang! Bang!
= Hm?
Suddenly, missiles and bullets erupted from the ground—Pyongyang's SAM support. My speed had been too much before, but grabbing the fighter slowed me just enough.
= Don't care if they hit their own? Tsking, I ripped out the cockpit and hurled it away, then wrapped outer wings around myself.
Impacts hammered home!
Kaboom!!
Dull shocks and searing heat enveloped me. Not painful, though.
> Damage report: 0.
Obviously. I'd be predator chow by now if this hurt.
I flung the half-fuselage in my right foreclaw aside. It smashed the last fighter.
Aaaaaaagh!!
Confirmed down, I unfurled outer wings. Hovering with middle wings spread, I eyed Pyongyang.
= Panicking, eh…… Makes sense. Fighters and ground fire, all beaten. But this was mere diversion. No one—me included—thought these toys could win. The real show's just starting.
Thud! Thud!
Sure enough, a horde of humans marched from Pyongyang's depths. North Korea's hunters, no doubt.
> Threat level: E confirmed.
= Hm? Threat E? Most humans barely hit F.
"Hah!"
Rumblerumblerumble!!
The E-threat human ballooned—twice, thrice normal size…… matching mine, grinning up at me.
"Raaaaggghhh!!"
Thud! Thud!
= Hoo. Giant's Strength? Fits Echo's E-rating.
= Then I'll match it.
Gigant Protocol initiated.
Weeeen!
Dragon gold coating me shifted on Echo's cue. My hips realigned, hind legs straightening down. Possible only due to my anatomy—not true bipedalism. But dragon gold on my lowers morphed, motors and cylinders augmenting like a powered suit.
Forelegs folded tight; dragon gold concealed them. Outer wings extended to "arms." Middle wings pulled rearward through outer joints.
Extended blade-hands longer, shoulder guards like epaulets, torso upright like a human……
> Gigant Mode complete.
Hm. Been a while.
"?!?"
"!!!"
"R-robot?!"
"Mobile suit?!!"
Humans gawked, shocked. I descended slowly toward the slack-jawed giant, beckoning with a finger into stance.
Shwooo……!Thud!
= Come on. You use Giant's Strength? I'll fight giant-style too.
……Now, how do humans do martial arts again?