NOVEL WEB Ch. 94
Chapter 94
The red dragon slowly descended to the ground. It didn't seem to have any intention of fighting, and there was no sign it would launch a preemptive attack on Yuurai.
Thanks to the town being half-destroyed, there was plenty of space for a ten-meter-class dragon to land. The dragon descended leisurely into the open area.
It was a beautiful dragon. Its red scales sparkled in the sunlight, and its long neck and supple body formed graceful curves.
"Yuurai, what is this thing? A wild dragon?"
Rifiris hid behind Yuurai.
"I don't know either. But I don't think it's a dangerous foe."
The red dragon turned its black eyes toward Yuurai. Its face looked fierce, but there was intelligence in its gaze.
Believing it wasn't dangerous, Yuurai dismissed Blade of Darkness.
"......Undead girl. I heard the Demon King is here. Is that true?"
The voice was high-pitched for such a large body, making it hard to tell whether it was male or female.
(The Evil God mentioned an intelligent monster. So it's finally here......)
She had expected it to come when it got a bit warmer, but apparently, this dragon didn't mind the cold.
"I'm that Demon King. Well, just in title, though."
"Hmm......? You say you're the Demon King......? I don't sense any Demon King aura......?"
"I'm hiding my magic right now, and I'm not acting like a Demon King either, so maybe that's why."
It seemed she could turn her Demon King power on and off. Since it wasn't needed normally, she kept it off.
"......Hoh. Well, fine. You look like just a monster, but if you claim the name of Demon King, then you must be prepared to back it up."
The dragon narrowed its eyes slightly.
"Prepared......?"
"If you say you're the Demon King, then block my breath attack. Otherwise, die immediately as a fool who falsely claims the title."
"Huh?"
The red dragon took a deep breath.
Immediately after, it spewed scorching flames from its mouth.
"......Absorption."
Since it wasn't an attack from an Angel but just a regular monster, this alone was enough. Yuurai absorbed all the flames.
The flames were spewed for about thirty seconds, but Yuurai easily fended them off.
Seeing that, Rifiris got excited.
"Whoa......! Yuurai, you really are strong......!"
"As long as it's not a Holy-element attack, this much is nothing."
Angel attacks were a bit tricky. This time, it was much easier to handle.
"Mmm...... To think you'd easily block my breath that could incinerate a town...... Then how about this?"
The red dragon shifted its stance and tried to slam its long tail at Yuurai.
Yuurai didn't have a shield to block physical attacks. But if the opponent was just a dragon, it wasn't hard to deal with.
"Marionette."
Yuurai took away the red dragon's freedom, stopping its tail strike. Then she tangled its legs and made it fall.
"Gwah!"
The red dragon slammed face-first into the ground. Its body looked tough, so it probably wasn't injured.
Yuurai released the Marionette Magic.
"W-What in the world...... To think even my body could be so easily controlled......"
"Now do you get it? I'm strong."
"Mmm...... I understand that, but...... Still, as a member of the Crimson Clan, I can't accept being completely overpowered......! Take my full-power strike!"
The red dragon spread its wings and began gathering energy.
"......Hey, hey. Don't go destroying the town, okay? I'll seriously get mad?"
"Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh!"
The red dragon continued gathering power. Yuurai's words didn't reach it.
"Yuurai!"
"Yuurai-sama!"
"Demon King-sama!"
Claire, Gilka, and Fia rushed over. They had come out shortly after the dragon appeared but had been observing the situation. It seemed they decided it was no longer something they could just watch.
"It's okay! I'll handle this! You all stay back! It's dangerous!"
The red dragon finished charging. The surge of magic heated the surrounding air. A hot wind brushed Yuurai's cheek.
The red dragon unleashed its magic. Crimson hellfire spewed from its mouth.
The heat was enough to scorch the space around them. But for Yuurai, it wasn't much different from the earlier breath.
"Absorption."
No matter how much magic it had, the red dragon's magical energy was maybe in the hundreds of thousands. It couldn't compare to Yuurai's over two million.
Yuurai absorbed the hellfire with ease and turned it into her own nourishment.
"What......? Even my full-power Crimson Roar didn't leave a scratch......?"
"To me, it didn't feel much different from your earlier breath."
"Guh...... What a difference in power......"
"I think you understand now that I'm the Demon King...... But since you attacked me however you wanted, I'll return the favor. Fiend, summon."
She summoned a ten-meter-class Fiend, rivaling the red dragon. With its red-black muscular body and fierce ogre face, the Fiend specialized in physical attacks. Its overwhelmingly heavy and fast strikes were far more powerful than most magic.
Seeing the Fiend, the red dragon flinched slightly.
"O-Oh...... This is...... quite the...... magnificent giant......"
"Take a giant's punch."
The Fiend raised its right fist. The red dragon tried to flee, but Yuurai used Marionette Magic to hinder its movement.
"Wait wait wait wait wait wait wait! This strike is......"
"The town was in danger too, you know. Dummy."
"Gyah!?"
The Fiend's fist slammed down on the red dragon's crown. Its head was driven into the ground, causing a minor tremor.
The red dragon passed out, its long tongue flopping out.
"......Did I overdo it? It's not dead, right......?"
While dismissing the Fiend, Yuurai checked the red dragon with Spirit Sight. Its soul hadn't left its body, so it wasn't dead.
"......Well, it'll be fine."
As Yuurai casually brushed it off, the three—Claire and the others—approached.
"Doesn't look like there are any injuries. As expected of Yuurai. Still absurd as ever."
"Even I find this dragon scary, but to Yuurai-sama, it's probably just a big lizard......"
"Demon King-sama truly is Demon King-sama! Such overwhelming strength that even a giant dragon can't approach! My chest is fluttering with excitement!"
"Come on, calm down."
Fia tried to hug her, so she forcibly peeled her off.
Claire helped too, and they successfully separated Fia.
While restraining Fia, Claire asked Yuurai,
"So, what is this dragon?"
"Hmm...... I wonder what it was? Didn't seem like it came to kill me......"
In the end, it was defeated before they could ask what it came for.
If it had come to talk for peace, this might be a bit of a problem.
"W-Well, it did attack first, so once it wakes up, we'll have a nice, slow talk......"
It took an hour before the red dragon finally woke up.