The Lair Under the Bridge
Serpina had never owned a proper lair. She simply hadn't had the luxury. There was a place she could loosely call home, and it was rather luxurious in its own way, but she had never thought of it as a lair. How could she call a spot where people would bang on the door and raise a fuss about some emergency the moment she tried to sleep a little longer a dragon's lair? A true dragon's lair ought to be a vast space piled high with gold and treasures, guarded by loyal sentinels, and avoided by anyone with the slightest sense of self-preservation. In that sense, the spot beneath the bridge had become her lair in a way that suited her. It lacked many of the classic requirements, but at least no one could easily stroll in and wake her from sleep. The space was more than large enough for her human form. Gold, treasures, and guardians could be collected later, when she felt like putting in the effort.
But today, that lair had been violated. This wasn't a mere visit. The cardboard house where she rested her body lay half-demolished, and even Heemang, whom she had left behind, had been kidnapped. It would have been enough to infuriate any ordinary person. For Serpina, the rage ran deeper. Naturally.
In the stories about dragons, it was common to hear of one erasing an entire kingdom simply for disturbing its slumber or stealing a single piece of treasure. When she had been human, she used to wonder how anyone could go that far over such trivial matters. Now she understood perfectly. It was more than justified. After all, she herself was this furious.
Serpina ran toward the faint trace of mana she sensed in the distance. The scent of blood had faded midway. It hadn't been particularly strong to begin with. The wound must have healed naturally or been closed with magic. Still, it was more than enough for the alarm spell to lock onto the culprit's magical signature.
Fortunately, the moon was a thin crescent tonight. With so little ambient mana in the air, even Serpina—who was not yet fully accustomed to this world's energy—could distinguish it clearly.
Following the intruder's mana trail led her to an abandoned factory on the city's outskirts. A suspicious figure waited in the factory yard. It was the woman from the photograph Negin had shown her—Catmom.
She was trying to feed something to Heemang. Whatever it was, Serpina had only one response.
- Pop!
"Hmm?"
In the space of a blink, Catmom's eyes widened as the cat in her arms suddenly vanished. The next instant, she realized far more than just Heemang was gone. Her arm. The entire arm that had been holding him had been severed clean. Blood dripped steadily from the stump.
"Aaaargh!"
The pain arrived only after understanding. Catmom clutched the wound and screamed.
"Hurts? Good."
"...Who the hell are you?!"
A voice came from the side. Mocked in the middle of her agony, Catmom whirled in fury. Serpina stood there, casually holding the severed arm. She plucked Heemang from the lifeless fingers.
- Mrrrooow...
Heemang, who had been staring round-eyed at Serpina's sudden appearance, recognized her and tried to leap into her arms. But Serpina set him down on the ground instead. He tilted his head up at her, then belatedly sensed the atmosphere and scampered away in a hurry.
Serpina gave him a single glance before turning her gaze back to Catmom.
"If you've trashed someone else's house this thoroughly, I assume you came prepared for the consequences?"
Thud. She tossed the severed arm aside like a piece of garbage.
"Personally, I hope you didn't prepare. That will make this more painful."
"...Hmph. So you're the homeless trash living in that pathetic shack? Getting cocky after one lucky sneak attack? Fine. I'll accept the fight you've brought!"
Blood Needle
The blood spurting from the stump did not fall. Instead it floated upward, thousands of droplets dancing according to Catmom's will. Those droplets transformed into needles. Each one carried the piercing power of a bullet capable of punching through stone.
Serpina faced thousands of needles aimed at her heart and didn't even blink.
"A vampire, huh? That explains the strange blood scent."
"Die!"
With a sweep of her hand, Catmom sent the blood needles hurtling forward. They fell like a literal storm of red rain. Serpina simply raised her palm. Mana surged from it, spreading outward like an umbrella to shield her front.
- Thudthudthudthud!!
The blood needles hammered against the mana barrier. They struck the transparent shield without pause, painting a red hemisphere in the air. Yet not a single needle broke through. Like countless raindrops hitting one thin umbrella, they collided uselessly and fell back as ordinary droplets.
"Defensive magic equipment? Must be quite expensive. No wonder you stepped forward so confidently."
"What?"
Serpina was genuinely dumbfounded by Catmom's reaction. The barrier that had just blocked those needles had not been magic equipment. It had not even been a spell. She had simply released her raw mana. She had wanted to demonstrate that she could stop such attacks without bothering to use magic at all. To show the overwhelming difference and plant deep terror. To make her understand exactly who she had challenged and die drowning in regret.
But the woman couldn't even tell whether what stopped her attack was mana, magic, or an artifact. It was a small oversight caused by Serpina momentarily forgetting that this world's mana had different properties from her own. After all, Negin—the vice branch manager—had sensed her strength. She had assumed that anyone Negin called a nuisance would be able to recognize her power...
Taking Serpina's dumbfounded expression as confirmation, Catmom shouted triumphantly.
"But facing me on a crescent moon night was a mistake. How many times can you endure with such pitiful mana?"
By now a swarm of cat magic beasts had gathered around Catmom. They were hers, summoned by her power. A massive pack of more than ten. Cats might be small, but they were carnivores. Empowered by mana and enlarged, they had become more threatening than most medium-to-large felines.
...They should have been.
"Go ahead, my precious babies! Show that brute what happens when you mess with us!"
Catmom pointed at Serpina and shouted. Not a single magic beast obeyed.
"My precious babies?"
Catmom looked behind her.
- Whiiiine...
Every single magic beast had its ears flattened and its tail puffed up in terror. They had instinctively recognized the presence of an overwhelmingly superior predator—one for whom the term "apex" felt insufficient.
A few were already slinking backward.
Serpina looked at the sight and laughed coldly at Catmom.
"The magic beasts have better sense than you. At least they know how to pick their opponents."
"You... you! What did you do to my children!!"
Catmom shrieked with pure venom.
"Whatever you did, it won't matter! Our bond is unbreakable! Don't be afraid, my dears! Mommy is right here! Blood Magic—Domination!"
Domination
Blood sprayed outward again. This time it scattered into a fine crimson mist that wrapped around the magic beasts.
- Whiii...ne... Grrrr...
The atmosphere of the beasts changed. Their eyes turned red. Their bodies swelled. The fear vanished, replaced by aggressive hissing directed at Serpina.
Serpina realized this magic was the same type Catmom had tried to feed Heemang earlier. It forcibly heightened ferocity and bound the targets to her commands.
"This is getting more ridiculous by the second."
Calling it a bond while using domination magic was bad enough. Trying to manipulate emotions in front of a dragon was outright laughable. Emotions were always devoured by stronger ones.
Dragon Fear pressed down on the surroundings like a heavy weight.
- ...!
The cat magic beasts bolted as one. They ran away from Serpina, not toward her. The terror they felt from her far outweighed the artificial rage of the spell. In seconds, not one remained at Catmom's side.
Watching her minions flee, Catmom exploded.
"...Useless trash! After everything I've done for you, you ungrateful beasts! This is exactly why you can't trust animals!"
The words were half self-directed—a desperate refusal to admit her own fear.
"That's enough! I don't need their help anyway. Blood Magic—Feline Form!"
Feline Form
Legends claimed vampires could turn their bodies into mist. Sometimes bats. This was the same kind of magic. It was Catmom's secret technique, born from her obsessive love of cats. Naturally, she transformed into a cat.
Blood wrapped around her, swelling larger and larger until a ten-meter-tall feline stood in the factory yard. A cat bigger than the abandoned factory beside them roared in a distorted voice.
- I'll trample you to death! Like the insect you are!
Whether Catmom shouted or not, Serpina simply observed the form and muttered.
"Aren't you supposed to keep magic hidden?"
- Hidden?! Ha! Don't make me laugh! Why should superior beings like us hide from humans?!
With a mocking laugh, the giant paw swung down.
- Crash!!
The factory wall in its path collapsed instantly, the impact thundering outward. Thick dust clouded the air. Catmom's attacks did not stop. She swung and stomped, movements slightly clumsy from inexperience with the form, yet the sheer size and mass made such details irrelevant.
Finally she brought her paw down with all her strength.
Boom! The concrete sank deep, leaving a perfect cat-paw imprint.
- This is what happens when you spout weak nonsense about hiding power! If you simply don't conceal it, you can be this strong! Hahahahaha!
Catmom laughed loudly. She lifted her paw to check the flattened remains of Serpina's body.
- Hahaha... Huh?
There was only powdered concrete. No corpse.
"Not hiding your power makes you strong. I can agree with that much."
- When did you—?!
Serpina's voice came from the side. Catmom tried to leap back, but Serpina's hand was faster, pressing lightly against her flank.
"Burn."
- Fwoooosh!
Pure white flames engulfed the giant body. The ten-meter form ignited in an instant.
- AAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!
It was pain no human could endure. The cat shape burned away instantly. Only the blood—the foundation of her blood magic—remained, maintaining a crude feline outline as it wrapped around the returning human form and continued to burn.
Yet the blood refused to vanish. Even in flames hot enough to melt steel, it stayed liquid, bubbling violently. Bubbles kept rising, but the volume never decreased. Naturally, Catmom was being cooked alive inside it.
———!!
A scream without sound. She tried to escape, but the blood might as well have been solid. She could not move it at will. For a vampire who wielded blood magic, this was beyond imagination.
Serpina watched emotionlessly as Catmom thrashed inside the boiling blood.
"I originally planned to kill all of you. You and every one of those magic beasts. But after seeing how you treated them, I felt a little sorry for the poor things. So I'll only kill you and let them live."
———!!
Catmom's face twisted as she screamed something. Naturally it never reached Serpina's ears. It was probably words of gratitude for sparing the cat magic beasts. Given how much she had loved them, it could be nothing else.
"No need to thank me."
———!!
Ten minutes later, Serpina returned beneath the bridge carrying Heemang, who had been shivering in hiding nearby.