Academy’s Barbarian

After a series of aerial acrobatics that would make the Wright brothers weep and give a standing ovation, I was finally freed from the black vomit spewed by the Insect-Dragon brat.

– Sssssssss!

The surroundings were shrouded in steam.

The heat from the Dragon’s Breath had completely melted the mountain peaks, leaving them as bald as Leopold’s head, and the once-frozen black lake was now boiling as if it had never been frozen.

The sudden temperature change caused a gust of wind to rise from beneath my feet, lifting my body into the air. The sky above was now filled with dark clouds, rumbling with thunder.

Adding to the increasingly strong stench of decay, it felt like being in the middle of hell.

…It seems stronger than I heard. Breathing fire for two minutes straight? Did it fill its stomach with lungs or something?

I thought it would be weaker since half its body was cut off, but… at least in terms of firepower, it had overwhelmingly increased.

The heat of its breath was ordinary, but its duration surpassed even that of dragons awakened through normal means.

Perhaps due to the humid, steamy air or the growing tension, beads of sweat rolled down my cheeks, forming a small puddle next to the Holy Mark.

I adjusted my stance, gripped Durandal tightly, and looked down at Nidhogg, who was beginning to close its gaping maw.

“Done already? Your breath stinks.”

I frowned, curling the corner of my mouth in a sneer filled with mockery and disdain, taunting Nidhogg.

I wasn’t sure if a bug monster could understand Imperial language, but it was worth a try.

“Your breath reeks just like your mother’s crotch. What were you two doing all this time?”

A light provocation. Mentioning someone’s mother in front of Hersela was usually taboo… but since it was Isabella, even Hersela didn’t seem to mind much.

Though she did grumble softly.

[Show some dignity. How can a woman destined to become Khan speak like a street thug?]

‘Yes, I can.’

I brushed off Hersela’s scolding with a short reply and observed the Insect-Dragon’s reaction.

The provocation in Imperial language. Could the bug brat really understand it?

【Kyaaaak…!】

Yeah, it seems to have understood.

Judging by how it screamed in frustration and leaped out of the lake.

Its torn outer wings spread wide, and its dragonfly-like inner wings flapped madly.

– Kwaaaaaa!

With a black spray rising like oil from a ruptured well, the massive Insect-Dragon, now free from the lake, rapidly closed the distance.

Its lower body, missing its waist, now carried an enormous mass of flesh, making it look even more insect-like.

Like a queen ant filled with eggs. Seeing it like this, I understood how it could spew breath for so long.

As I joked in my monologue, it must have created a massive lung inside that flesh mass, twice the size of its upper body.

To compensate for its weakened combat abilities after losing its Dragon’s Skeleton.

“You’re just like your mother! That woman also carried all sorts of things in her belly in her later years!”

I provoked it again, spewing Up-hwa forward to create distance. I could handle it alone, but it would take too much time.

The two-minute vomit show must have been visible even from beyond the Sky Mountain Range. To defeat it before the Dragonkin and fairies intervened, I needed to lure it near my allies and unleash their combined firepower.

【Kyaaaaaaaa-!】

Fortunately, it fell for my provocation and chased after me without hesitation.

With each flap of its wings, it stirred up a storm of snow and steam, roaring like a falling meteor as it charged at me.

Its filial piety suggests it was dearly loved by Isabella during its bug days.

That’s why its breath smells like Isabella’s crotch. Isabella’s love for her children must be something like that.

“She even forgot human speech and just drooled all the time in the end! For a witch who boasted of living over a hundred years, she couldn’t endure a few months of torture and turned into a senile old woman!”

Even while flying, I didn’t stop provoking.

If it has enough intelligence to understand words, provoking it into a frenzy would make hunting easier.

“By then, I even felt a bit sorry for her, so I helped her soul burn for eternal rest. Isn’t that merciful? You can think of me as your mother’s benefactor if you want!”

【Kyaaak! jeee vaaais-! Karrrk! teee tuerrrrk!】

Wow, now it’s talking.

Its guttural growls mixed with drawn-out syllables made it hard to understand, but I guessed it was swearing to kill me.

I’ve often seen humans so enraged they forget language, but a monster so enraged it starts speaking? That was a new experience for me.

“Is that any way to talk to your mother’s benefactor? Even if you didn’t get proper education, you shouldn’t act like an orphan. Wouldn’t your mother be sad?”

【Kyaooooooooo-!】

Nidhogg roared with eyes burning with hatred.

Like Hersela, it seemed particularly sensitive to insults about its mother, making the provocation all the more satisfying.

—

Our flight speeds were almost equal, so despite its frantic flapping, it couldn’t easily catch up.

It seemed it needed more time to spew another breath, and the spikes or chains it shot, condensed with dark energy, were easily shattered by Durandal’s blade.

Occasionally, it created magic circles in the air to bombard me with dark energy, but I could easily dodge by altering my flight path.

As a result, I managed to lure it to the hill where my allies were waiting without a scratch. So far, so good.

The only problem was… even though I brought the Insect-Dragon here, my allies weren’t in a position to engage in a battle with a dragon.

“Milia, Ophelia! Stay close to Rana!”

“Damn those pointy-ears…!”

“Kaaaaah!”

“Alvheim…! So, you’ve truly decided to make the Empire your enemy!”

“It’s not just the fairies! The Dragonkin too…!”

“Everyone, be careful!”

The hill I finally reached was in chaos.

…What the hell is this?

From high above, I looked down in shock, letting out a single groan.

I had only been gone for ten minutes. Just ten minutes, and in that time, the snowy hill had turned into a battlefield tangled with fairies, Dragonkin, and humans.

“Hurry! We must eliminate the obstacles before the target arrives…!”

The Spirit Arrows shot by Fairy Guardians and Patrols clashed with Damien’s greatsword, exploding on impact. A High-Level Spirit that suddenly appeared was torn apart by a Dragonkin’s claws.

“Kuhaha! Look at these bugs gathered together! Creatures without scales coveting Dragon’s Remains? How shameless!”

A Dragonkin with a lizard-like mouth spewed fierce flames. Though not comparable to Dragon’s Breath, the intense heat surpassed most High-Level Magic.

The ice spirit that blocked the Dragonkin’s fire melted into steam, and Ophelia’s lightning, aimed at the gap, pierced the Dragonkin’s scales, releasing a powerful electric charge.

Fire, ice, lightning, light, boulders, shadows, claws, blades, chains.

All kinds of killing intent swirled like a storm, intertwining with deafening roars, scattering blood and flesh everywhere.

It was a chaotic battle reminiscent of the murals of racial wars in the cathedral.

[Things have gone awry. Again. Once again. Were you born under an unlucky star? Every time you make a plan…]

‘……’

I had no retort.

How did things get so messed up?

I expected the fairies and Dragonkin to show up, but I never thought they’d start slaughtering each other before the Insect-Dragon even appeared.

My expectations were way off.

Even if they harbored hostility toward us, I thought they wouldn’t launch a preemptive attack unless we were in a situation where we couldn’t escape and were about to be annihilated, as they needed to destroy all evidence to avoid the Empire’s scrutiny.

But it seems the fairies and Dragonkin didn’t care about destroying evidence at all. They must no longer fear the Empire’s scrutiny.

[What do you plan to do now? The plan to quickly subdue the Insect-Dragon and drive away the other races has already failed from the start.]

Yeah. What should I do?

My provocation worked too well, and the Insect-Dragon, oblivious to the chaos below, was still chasing me with unwavering determination.

There was no time to stop and think of a solution.

If I stopped, it would catch up in less than five seconds, and while Damien and the others were holding their own, they were barely managing against the numbers of fairies and Dragonkin.

At this rate, it wouldn’t be surprising if someone died within a minute.

Below me was a battlefield, and behind me was a frenzied Insect-Dragon chasing me.

What should I do in this situation…?

“Kyaaak!”

In the one second I hesitated, a fragment of a Spirit Arrow grazed Rana’s cheek, and she groaned, clutching her burned face.

“……!”

At that moment, I made up my mind.

‘Ah, whatever. Let it be…!’

I turned my body downward, spewing Up-hwa from both feet, and plummeted toward the ground like a comet.

【Kyaoooo!】

Naturally, Nidhogg also began descending like a meteor, chasing after me.

Toward the center of the hill, now a battlefield, where the fairies were gathered like a swarm.

“Target spotted! Wait, behind it…!”

The fairies, looking up at the roaring sound from high above, gaped in horror at the massive chitinous mass falling behind me.

I bared my teeth like a beast, grinning as I glared at them.

You want to kill a dragon? You want a dragon’s corpse?

Try it.

And then, seconds before impact, I activated Reversed Heaven, sharply altering my flight path.

The vertical descent shifted diagonally.

– Kwaaaaaaa!

My body collided diagonally with the snowy hill, carving through the snow and scattering a blizzard in all directions. A perfect landing.

Unfortunately for the fairies, Nidhogg wasn’t as agile.

“It’s Nidhogg-!”

The next moment, someone screamed, and a powerful earthquake shook the mountain range.

An avalanche of snow surged like a tidal wave.

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