Chapter 172 Humanity’s First Victory
~BOOOOOOOMMMM!!!~
The final ceiling shattered apart as the mighty Dragon Commander came forth.
Its glorious form emerged as the sun rose in the darkened sky.
It was breaking dawn, and quite a few people were already outside their houses—either preparing to leave for work, or just taking strolls.
Of course, patrol officers were also present throughout the city, so it was still quite lovely despite being so early in the morning.
So imagine the shock on the faces of the people who had woken up thinking this was just another morning.
Another safe day in the Capital.
… Only to see the personification of death and destruction emerge from the depths of the Dungeon, into the sky above.
All eyes widened in shock… and then horror.
"IT'S A DRAGOOOOOOOONNNN!!!"
Terror filled those cries as people scampered for safety.
No one waited to check what kind of Dragon it was, or if it was so deadly that they had to cease all activities to flee.
To the common man, the distinction between a one-horned Dragon and a three-horned Dragon was nonexistent.
To them, all Dragons meant the same thing.
DEATH!
The glorious dragon flapped its wings and looked around, its body shaking as if it was in a hurry.
Those who could see the beast from where they hid thought that the creature was in a hurry to burn everything to the ground.
Nothing could stop it.
No one could stand against it.
This was the very personification of inevitability.
They could only watch and wait for the time of chaos to arrive.
However, before they could even wait for just a second…
~BOOOOOMM!!~
… They noticed that the Dragon was being attacked.
A brightness illuminated the sky, causing all to see the glory of a certain entity—human in form—standing against the colossal Dragon in the sky.
The world held its breath as they watched in tension.
"N-no way…"
"I-is that…?!"
"W-who… who could that be?!"
No one knew! They could only tremble as they watched in awe and trepidation.
If the Dragon won, then their lives were all forfeit.
If the man won, then there remained only uncertainty—whether he too was an agent of chaos or prosperity was yet to be confirmed.
They could only pray to the God that had long abandoned them.
… Pray for salvation.
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'Oh wow! How is it dawn already?'
Rey knew he spent quite some time in the Dungeon, but he never expected time to have passed so quickly.
'I know I didn't take too long to reach the 99th Floor thanks to that portal. Plus, I didn't spend too long in the Floor itself.'
That meant something was odd somewhere.
'Does time flow differently in the Dungeon? Maybe it's more pronounced in the Lower Floors?'
Rey didn't know the answer to that, so he simply decided to shove it at the back of his mind and focused on the huffing Dragon before him.
Jer'ard was currently at his limits; Rey could already tell from the way he looked.
He could have finished him off in the Dungeon, but there was a reason he let the beast rise to the sky—open for the world to see.
There were two, actually.
One was simple—fame.
'If I achieve a lot as Ralyks, and I remain the weak guy Rey, there's a chance that my Class will advance.'
It was a selfish reason, sure, but he wanted to put Ralyks at the forefront of the world—a spectacle of strength that would sharply contrast with his own Extra image.
If he pulled it off well, he could get two very polar lives.
Then, the second reason was a bit more selfless.
'I want the world—or, at least, the humans of this world— to see a human defeating a Dragon.'
He wanted to display the impossible as possible before their very eyes.
To burn it deep into their heads that they were not the Hobgoblins being bred for their inevitable destruction.
Humans were the ones who would triumph.
'And this is the first step.'
Rey brandished his blade as he stared at the Dragon before him.
There was nowhere he could run to.
If he tried to escape, Rey would use Wind Magic to ensure his flight was compromised.
"We have to give the people a good show, don't you think?" He smirked, preparing to attack.
"A-are you messing with me, right now?'
As he heard Jer'ard say this, Rey smiled even more and nodded.
"Something like that."
~WHOOSH!~
He closed the distance in a flash, using a combination of [Quick Teleport] and his sheer speed.
Within moments, he was already in front of Jer'ard.
"U-uwaahh!!"
Jer'ard moved both hands in reflex, protecting his face from Rey's attacks, giving the latter the perfect chance for him to cut them off.
~SWISH!~
In one swift motion, both hands were severed from the Dragon's body.
Before the huge things could descend and cause some damage to the populace below, Rey used his [Grand Fire Magic] to burn them both.
Within moments, the intense flames shriveled the meat and bones, leaving barely anything left by the time the thing crashed.
"K-Keuk!" Purple blood spurted out of the Dragon's body as he glared at Rey with fear.
Jer'ard already knew he wasn't going to be spared, not after all he and his people had done.
The only thing left for him to do was run.
~VWUUM!~
He tried to forcefully squeeze out the last bits of Mana within to teleport the furthest distance he could from Rey, surprising the latter.
Rey swiftly made to stop him, but they both teleported to the same location at that point.
It was none other than the Royal Estate itself.
~BOOOM!~
The two crashed into a building—or more like the Dragon crashed into the building, with Rey on top of him.
Debris fell all around, especially on the ground, as the colossal thing struggled to rise and get away from Rey.
Before it could, though, both of his legs were sliced off, and so were his wings.
"GUARRRGHHHH!!!"
His arms were barely even regenerating at this point, and now all viable mediums of movement had been removed as well.
Jer'ard was at his most vulnerable.
He squeezed out the little Mana he had recovered for a [Claw Attack]—a C-Tier Skill—as his final act of desperation—but [Absolute Defense] easily blocked all of it.
"U-URGHH…!" Nothing Jer'ard was capable of was going to work here.
He already knew that, yet he couldn't help struggling.
He's just desperately wanted to live.
"Now do you understand what it means to be weak? Ah… my apologies, I imagine you already knew something like that to a measure back in your country."
Jer'ard's eyes widened in shock.
'H-how…?!' How did this human know of all this?!
"It's typical bully behavior. If you feel inadequate, then pick on someone else and make them feel worse."
Rey pierced the monster with his blade, causing more groans of pain to echo out.
"Maybe I also engage in the same thing. Just as you did to others, I'm also doing to you."
As Rey's unfeeling tone echoed in the ears of the Dragon Commander, the latter uttered words he never thought he would say.
Not to a human.
"M-mercy…"
Rey could only smile under his mask as he looked at the already-dead creature in front of him.
"Sorry, buddy. I need that EXP."
~SQUELCH!~
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[A/N]
Thanks for reading!
I hope you enjoyed the entire confrontation and fight.
I know it took a lot of chapters, but here we are!