The God Dragon

There was a vast space.

It would be wrong to call it a cave.

It could probably contain many towns the size of Anise. The Cyclops wouldn't have been able to reach the ceiling even if it tried.

In that dark room, there was a mountain.

No, a Dragon the size of a mountain.

A neck stretched up from that mass of black. It was too big.

Jet black scales. Golden eyes.

Just its head alone would rival the Cyclops' size.

To even think that something that ridiculously large could exist was ludicrous.

Dark Dragon Valis.

With a single glace, the group stopped moving.

Their hearts and lungs stopped moving. Dying. Death.

"Sorry."

Its words were like a coercive pressure, making the group prostrate themselves on the ground.

"Be at ease."

With those words, the pressure disappeared. They could move. Move away from death.

A short while passed while their bodies once again began to send oxygen back through themselves.

Even Ria wasn't able to move, it was as though she had been tied down.

"It's been such a long time since I have met mortals. I forgot about adjusting."

Her just talking normally could kill living things. She held that much power. That was a God Dragon.

In the age of legends, they finished their dispute against the gods to overthrow heaven and earth, and were now this world's absolute guardians.

"Wait for a moment."

She was restraining her power. They had no choice but to wait if she said so.

"Matching a human, it's difficult."

The mountain wiggled.

It undulated. It surged.

The black mass gradually shrank.

 

 

Ria relaxed the hand she had unintentionally placed on the katana at her waist.

Really, she hadn't realized when.

That freak—no, the thing that rivaled a god, was she planning on fighting it?

Before she noticed it, the mountain had disappeared.

In the dark area in front of them, she heard footsteps.

Before long, a beautiful woman entered Ria's view.

With black hair and golden eyes. Her skin was white, black cloth casually covering her nakedness.

Her face was similar to Ria's.

No, if Ria were several years older, her face would probably look like hers.

"Welcome… to mine residence."

Her voice was a female human's. There was none of the earlier pressure in it.

"That seems wrong… our residence? Human speech has changed a little since then… have I made a mistake?"

She was unexpectedly humble.

Was the overwhelming presence earlier unneeded swaggering?

Valis turned around. The cave's walls, filled with lots of holes—

There were countless dragons in them.

They gasped. They were each around one hundred meters long. An innumerable number of them slept in the holes along the wall.

Hundreds? Thousands?

More?

"Only when the world approaches destruction shall we truly awaken. For the degree of a Millennium, although we originally should not need to stir, I have a pact with Ryuke Riana. Among the Black Dragons, only myself shall support the humans."

Of course, the Ryuke Riana she mentioned was the Militant Emperor.

Valis waved a hand. Enough chairs were created from the floor for each person.

"Have a seat. Myself as well, I must borrow the humans' power."

Saying so, she also sat down. She created the chairs in a circular pattern. Since Ria sat down directly, the others also did the same.

"Now then, what would you like to talk about? Is it the matter about Clarise?"

Valis' eyebrows knit together. Her method of expression felt similar to a human's.

"Quite recently, humans—no, it's we now, eliminated the God Dragon named Clarice."

It was more than a month ago, but she said quite recently. Her time span seemed very different from a human's.

"We do not know the cause. Rather, although we know, I don't have the words to describe it to you all. The concept doesn't exist in human language. At any rate, with a strong Demon King and Hero, if both cooperate, it may have been feasible."

Valis meant that it was very unlikely.

The Demon King cooperate with the Hero?

"The world has begun to distort thanks to that. Due to this situation being fortunately forseen to some extent, measures had been taken. Between myself and Clarice, a new God Dragon was born. However, that one is still young."

Valis pointed towards the infant Dragon gatekeeper.

"We must raise it. For that, I had to bring it out of my residence. Defending and bringing up the infant is your role."

Next, she pointed at Ria.

"You are a person who holds the Dragon's Bloodline. A person who has received the blessings of a separate world's gods. One who can kill gods."

She fixed her eyes on Ria. From the beginning, she hadn't so much as looked at the other humans.

"You having chose this world, that is the first reason."

"Iii—iii!"

Her voice came out. A bit.

"I chose the blessing myself. I didn't know that chose the world!"

She shook her head.

It was the power of rule.

The Dark Dragon's words had bound Ria.

"Perhaps I spoke incorrectly. You came to this world due to the [Universe's Law of Causality]."

Serge's body trembled.

Because, the words spoken by the Dark Dragon included Japanese.

Just like Labyrinth, was the Dark Dragon a reincarnated person?

He was convinced that wasn't it. He thought there must be a different reason.

"Next topic. You were born a Dragonslayer."

Valis changed the subject. They were confused, how could they keep up?

"Power that goes beyond a human body. Although it is not a big deal for me, it might be an important thing for you all."

Valis took the attitude of not caring much about it.

"A Dragonslayer is a person who has more power than a Dragon. A person equal to the Hero and the Demon King. If you make a mistake in handling them, the Millennium's order will be lost, and will lead to a large collapse."

Valis retraced her memories. The Dragonslayer that was born before, a memory of Ryuke Riana.

Despite having the power to kill a god, she abandoned it to live as a person for that human.

"In order to protect yourself, do your best."

She wondered what sort of conclusion the humans in front of her would produce.

"Though it's a third thing, it's related to this world's order."

Here, Valis sighed and seemed to tire.

"My soul will soon wear out."

That meant the death of a person.

"Afterwards, for the role of protecting this world… I request it of you."

As for who Valis was watching, it was only Ria. She hadn't requested this from anyone else.

"That is the second reason why you chose this world."

A convenient story.

Moreover, she spoke as though the story was already over.

 

 

No one spoke at all.

This wasn't a place for a person to talk. This wasn't a place for reckless explorers.

This wasn't a place for a person to live, the small humans knew that.

"Well, only I have talked so far. Let me hear you all."

The overwhelmed humans, as though forgetting how to speak, were just trying to survive.

Excluding one person.

"There's one thing I want to ask."

Only Ria was able to resist this place's pressure.

"It's said you Dragons will become a man to start a family. I want you to teach me the method."

"Naturally."

A prompt answer.

In desperation, Ria had asked the question as though she were preparing for death. She was given a complete response.

"When the season matures, if we sincerely love someone, we can breed. Similar to humans."

At that moment, Ria had an incredibly peculiar expression.

That is to say, Dragons know the feeling of love?

To begin with, just what is love?

"Do you not have someone you love sincerely?"

No.

She would say Maal if forced, but it was more of a familial love.

It wasn't love, it was more affection. Like she loved the sky, sea, and land, she loved Maal.

Of course, she loved Matsukaze too. She loved Rudolph too.

However, this wasn't that.

"Humans are living beings that can breed without love…"

Ria answered listlessly. She felt exhausted.

She felt like her everything was being denied. Of course, it was just a persecution complex.

"However, Anaia and I sincerely loved each other."

"Ah, is that so…"

She wanted to cry, but didn't show any tears. Because her mind was still a man's! … Probably.

She'd consult Serge later. That's what she decided.

Because she decided, she didn't turn around anymore.

Her question was answered. Next was speaking her desire.

"I want you to lend me your power."

"For what would you use my power?"

"To unite the people on this land, to make it through the Millennium."

Right, that was the original reason she came.

However, after hearing Valis' story, how small-minded was that desire?

No, it's different.

It could be said that Ria was different.

For those doing their best to live, even if it was small, it wasn't vulgar.

"Very well. However, it is not possible to interfere with the human world. It would be equal to using a Dragon's fang to crush a single ant."

Valis stood up, compromising with Ria.

"I will award you my fang."

An enormous black fang even taller than Ria appeared in the room, piercing the floor.

"With your power, you should be able to forge the katana you desire."

That fang certainly was the color of a mineral.

"With this, you can release your power."

She gracefully extended her hand to Ria's brow.

She could have avoided it if she wanted to. However, she felt that avoiding it would be a loss.

Her Crisis Perception wasn't operating either. Valis was definitely not harboring any ill will.

The fingertip touched, it felt like an electric shock.

Although Ria should have had Paralysis Resistance, she was unable to move at all, falling down.

Very quickly, Ria lost her grasp on consciousness.