Late that night.
In the stillness of “The Frontier City of Tristain,” Van was sniffing the ground.
“That scent, like milk… Damn it, it cuts off here in this back alley.”
What he was doing was tracking someone. Using his extraordinary sense of smell, he was searching for the girl he had met during the day, the one called “Sara.”
His purpose was, of course, revenge and assault.
“That human wench made a fool out of me…! I’ll make her understand her place.”
He had no intention of handling this quietly. While he had learned that causing trouble in human society could be a hassle, Van figured that if he did it under the cover of night without anyone noticing, it would be fine.
“I’ll kill her. I’ll make her cry and scream while I kill and defile her!”
Just as he was frantically searching the area, there was a sudden rustling sound.
“—So that’s what kind of person you are.”
Blocking the alleyway, the white-haired girl he had been looking for appeared.
“Tch, where the hell did you come from…? No, that doesn’t matter.”
As long as she showed herself, that was enough for him.
“First, I’ll strip those clothes off of you.”
Van gathered power in his hands, transforming his ten claws into vicious weapons.
“Now, it’s time for some fun. If you resist, your skin will tear apart.”
Van grinned as he approached her. The girl, however, remained standing where she was. Her expression was hidden in the shadow of the moonlight shining from behind her.
“You’re not putting up a fight. That’s fine, just stay like that—”
“Hey.”
At that moment, her lips, which had been sealed until now, began to speak.
“I think that some mistakes are unavoidable.”
“Huh?”
“First of all, back at the guild, you caused a scene and even tried to kill Mystica, right? But that was because you didn’t know anything about social norms. It was a mistake born of ignorance. If you’d killed someone back then, it would have been bad, but fortunately, no one died. So I forgave you.”
“What the hell are you talking about!?”
Van, bewildered, scowled. The girl ignored him and continued.
“I taught you a lot on top of the clock tower, didn’t I? I told you not to cause trouble, not to attack people. I thought that would be enough to avoid more mistakes from ignorance. But then, in broad daylight, you came after me again, and even hurt my friend…”
“What the hell!? What are you muttering about!?”
Van had had enough. He decided to kill her. Just as he was about to step forward, his legs… refused to move.
“…Huh?”
He glanced down, startled. His powerful legs, for some reason, trembled and refused to obey him.
“Wha… what’s this!? Why can’t I move!?”
He struck his legs, but they wouldn’t budge. His body refused to move toward the girl.
“Hey, wench! Did you do something!?”
Van roared in anger. The girl’s eyes, as she gazed at him, were as cold as death itself.
“H-Hey!”
“…I’m truly amazed. I taught you properly once, but you broke that promise. Then I thought maybe you’d reflect on your actions after having to retreat, but you show no signs of remorse at all. Even I couldn’t look the other way anymore.”
“Wha-!?”
Her tone shifted, and Van began to piece things together. Based on her comment about teaching him on the clock tower, he came to a realization.
“No way… Are you… that guy, Jade!?”
“Ah, that’s right. But you’re mistaken.”
In an instant, darkness poured out from the girl. A dense, black mist darker than the night itself. It enveloped her, her form flickering like a mirage before it dissolved into the darkness.
“I love peace, you know? Fooling around with my comrades, thinking about what to have for tomorrow’s meal…”
Within the darkness, her form began to change. Shifting like a phantom, it transformed into the shape of a man Van had seen before, and eventually, it became something indescribable, a being of pure darkness.
“But…”
The growing darkness expanded until it became colossal.
“When it’s time to get angry, I’ve decided to get really angry.”
“Ah, ah…!”
“And now…”
The enormous darkness took on a monstrous form. It manifested a massive body, clawed limbs, and a towering tail and wings.
And lastly, three fiery eyes glowed with rage.
“Right now, I’m pretty damn furious.”
Van let out a shriek.
“Y-You’re the Dark Destruction Dragon… Genocide Dragon!?”
It was the ultimate destroyer, a being feared even by other demons for its terrifying power. Though a demon, it sided with humans and had incinerated many great demons.
That was the Dark Destruction Dragon, Genocide Dragon.
Even Van, who was of the same race, feared this catastrophic force of nature.
“Why the hell are you disguised as a human, hiding in a place like this…!”
“Does it matter? More importantly, aren’t you going to resist?”
The black dragon’s voice was calm and unshaken, as it taunted Van.
“If you don’t do anything, you’ll die, you know?”
“Guh—!?”
At those words, Van’s legs finally moved.
Ah, now he understood. His legs had stopped because they instinctively sensed how powerful the enemy was.
“Hah… Hahaha…!”
It was perfectly reasonable. It was a common rule in the demon world. Never oppose the Black Dragon, after all.
But.
“Fine… If doing nothing means I’ll die—!”
The young dragon raised his middle finger at that cowardly logic.
“I’ll kill you, damn senpaiーーーーーーー!”
And thus, the second threat emerged.
Van leapt into the air, engulfing himself in a massive flame.
This is my true form!”
A new calamity manifests in the heavens.
The human figure wavers in the flames and disappears, reborn as a red dragon.
“Scorching Destruction Dragon, Vermilion Dragon. I will defeat you and become the strongest!”
Van revealed his true form.
He took a deep breath, inhaling the atmosphere, and from the depths of his lungs, he unleashed a flame of immense heat.
It was all to kill the black dragon.
“Eleventh Rank Magic Cannon: Devastating Flame, Dea Crusade!”
Then, the scorching heat rained down from the sky.
Magic Cannon. It’s a dreadful conceptual curse embedded within the higher species of biological weapons known as “monsters” that seek to destroy humanity.
The concept held by the flames of the Scorching Destruction Dragon is “Combustion.” As long as even a single ember remains, the magic flame will continue to burn everything in its path.
“Burn everything, the whole city!”
The red dragon roared, and the demonic flames surged forward.
Facing this, the black dragon, Jade, showed no signs of panic. Calmly, he opened his mouth and spoke:
“That’s a good attack. —But, it ends now.”
From the depths of his lungs, he revealed a black, destructive flame that would obliterate everything.
“Thirteenth Rank Magic Cannon: Annihilating Flame, Dea Providence.”
The ultimate fire was unleashed.
It was the most terrifying and evil flame, carrying the concept of “certain death.”
In an instant, it extinguished the red flames and engulfed the entire space in black.
“W-What—?!”
Thus came the moment of the end.
As the black flames of death reached the Scorching Destruction Dragon, Van, they erupted in a cross-shaped explosion that shook the heavens.
