“Not nice for me.”
“…”
“What are you? Why is a human like you here? No, that’s not it. More like, are you even a human?”
Eyes were reflections of their existences.
That was what the Regressor felt throughout his life. Every existence with eyes expressed their thoughts and emotions with their eyes.
Currently, what was being shown in the Red Dragon’s eyes was extreme wariness. That was understandable. It probably felt the strength that had exceeded a boundary and to red dragons that believed in power, incomprehensible strength was an unpleasant element.
Yu Jitae was not fond of such wariness. It was because the reason the Red Dragon detested him in the previous rounds from the beginning was based on the fact that their relationship started from such caution.
In other words, he had messed up the first impression.
Thus, it was currently an extremely important situation. He had to somehow get rid of its wariness.
…But how?
The feeble daily-lifeness showed its rock bottom. From the memories brought by the copy, there weren’t any words that could be shared with someone he was seeing for the first time, especially towards a target of kidnap.
That was when Bom appeared from behind like a saving grace.
“Hi, Red.”
“…Nn? Green?”
“Have you been well?”
The Red Dragon’s eyes examined Yu Jitae and Bom and soon, an empty laughter escaped from those red lips.
“What, what are you trying to do? Why are you here? Didn’t you say you’ll be going on a journey?”
“Nn. I came here to see you.”
“To see me? Then what’s that monster next to you?”
“It’s just an ahjussi I got to know recently. He’s a human, not a monster. Right? Ahjussi?”
The pair of green and red eyes faced Yu Jitae and when he returned a casual nod, the Red Dragon made a sneer.
“If that’s a human, I must be a lizard.”
“I’m saying it’s true.”
When Bom’s expression turned rather serious, it was time for the Red Dragon’s expression to become strange.
“Green. What ridiculous things are you saying?”
“Why?”
“That thing’s not a human. What kind of human is that dangerous? You should know that better than me right?”
“Ahjussi’s not as threatening as you think.”
“What? Are you seriously out of your mind? Are you, by any chance, being blackmailed by that monster? Or do you have a baby monster inside your stomach?”
“Red. I’m not joking right now.”
The green race of the dragons was a mediating race. Unlike other races of dragons, they weren’t greedy and remained calm in face of any situation. That was also the reason Yu Jitae brought Bom in first.
“Hiya. I’m going crazy…”
Perhaps it was because those words were coming from a green dragon like Bom, but the Red Dragon seemed like it wanted to talk back and yet held it’s words in.
“Right, let’s say you’re right. Let’s say that monster, or human, like f*ck, I don’t know why but let’s say he’s not a bad guy. Okay. Then why did you come find me hand in hand?”
“I’m not holding his hand.”
“Just answer my question.”
“Hmm…”
Bom hesitated a little, and soon started talking about something that hadn’t been planned.
“Ahjussi is looking for a disciple.”
“A disciple?”
Disciple? What?
“Nn. You always wanted to be stronger right? So I brought ahjussi over to you. Learning from a strong ahjussi like this is a rare opportunity. Ahjussi doesn’t have other disciples either right?”
Bom’s gaze turned towards Yu Jitae.
Her round, innocent eyes seemed to be asking him to say something in line with her words. Naturally, he never had a disciple before, because it was busy enough for him to improve his own strength.
However, Bom’s adlib was quite useful. There wouldn’t be a problem keeping the dragon by his side with the relationship of a master and a disciple as the pretense.
Yu Jitae gave a nod. In response, the Red Dragon tilted its head with a pout before throwing a word out.
“I don’t want to.”
“Red.”
“Why are you like this? Did you forget that I was from the red race? After leaving for my Amusement, I have 199 wins out of 199 fights. As long as it’s not against a monster like that, I can win. And I can get stronger alone okay?”
“Even then…”
“Ah, ah, enough. I would listen to your words for most things but I can’t come to a compromise on this. Don’t try to talk about fighting in front me ever again. Who dares to teach the red race?”
“…”
“Are you done talking? Off you go then. Say hi to Gold and give a kiss to dear Blue as well. Now, here you go. Uumm–.”
Chuu. The Red Dragon tried to kiss Bom’s cheeks but after dodging it, Bom spoke in a slightly annoyed tone.
“Red. I haven’t finished my words yet.”
“Un, I can’t hear you. Also, do you want me to give you advice? It would be better for you to distance yourself from that human.”
“…”
“If you ignore my advice and get strangled and r*ped, it’s not my fault okay?”
Then, it murmured to itself “Wow f*ck, that’d be pretty thrilling”.
“Well, if you like it, you can tell him to smack your butt once while you’re at it.”
The Red Dragon tapped its own butt a few times with a chuckle before turning around. Then, it melted into the dimension and vanished.
As if a storm had gone past, the desert was filled with silence.
“…”
Bom who was left, glaring at nothing, ran her fingers through her hair. Her expression remained the same as usual, but it seemed like she was a little annoyed because more than anything, her breaths were a little bit rougher than usual.
“…Sorry ahjussi. I interfered but still failed.”
Soon, Bom approached Yu Jitae with a crestfallen expression.
“Well done.”
The Regressor placed his large hand on top of the green hair.
“What are you planning to do now?”
Of course, even if the situation turned out like this, there was still a method. Although it wasn’t the best case scenario for himself, since the Red Dragon was being like that, there was no other option.
“There is a need to break her pride.”
Blinking her eyes, Bom tilted her head.
“But… Ah, through another person’s hands perhaps?”
“Yeah.”
Then, she dropped her chin going “Ah”, as if she understood something.
“That’s a good plan. We should in fact have an operational meeting now then.”
The annoyance from before had vanished long before and Bom approached with a bright countenance.
He returned a nod.
*
Yu Jitae and Bom searched for the Red Dragon’s tracks. Because they had gone near it once, it wasn’t difficult relocating it.
Wearing a crude mask it had made again out of wood, the Red Dragon went through three battlefields that day from nighttime to the break of dawn and swung its fists and sword.
Its opponents included the united forces under ‘SAN’, as well as the international demon terrorist organisation, Barkata. In the first place, the dragon didn’t belong to any sides and if there was a fight, it chimed in and smashed both sides down.
Unexpectedly, it kept a certain boundary in terms of violence. Although the Red Dragon was interested in defeating its enemies, it didn’t kill them, as it had interest in the fight itself, instead of murder.
And later that night, what was to come had come.
“Are you the Fighter of the Night?”
A man wearing a pure blue full-plate armour, and a longsword with a contrasting light of red stood in front of the Red Dragon. Just from the man’s existence, the air around the desert was suppressed and sunk down.
His name was Javier Carma.
Ranked 8th of the entire world in the superhuman ranks, he was the top force which the South African Nations (SAN) was proud of.
Because the next one in line was in double digits, Javier was the unparalleled strength in this continent. Although the Red Dragon fought for almost one entire year, it probably had not even come near the shadows of anyone close to Javier in strength.
“It must be him…”
Bom spoke with a cautious tone.
They hid within an alternate dimension, [Laws of Nature (S)] and watched what was happening outside.
“He seems dangerous.”
The person Yu Jitae had warned of was stronger than she had thought.
“If it was in the Askalifa continent, he would be at the level of a Grand Sword Master. So there are seven more people stronger than him in this world?”
He nodded in response, although there were actually more than that.
The Red Dragon gave a smile.
“Whoa. Oppa looks pretty strong ey?”
“…Seems to be correct.”
Being certain, the man pointed his sword forward.
‘Sword of Ra.’
A sword forged from the essence of the sun. It was a stunning Level 4 artifact that was considered a nation-level tactical weapon.
“You have been too arrogant and now is the time to pay for the price.”
“What on earth?”
“I’ll warn you. If you want to run, do so now and do not come back to the African continent. If not, you will definitely die in my hands.”
In Yu Jitae’s speculation, the Red Dragon probably measured what its winning chances were. However, it’s pride was most likely hurt, about the fact that a human could be that strong.
Yu Jitae, whom she did not consider a human, was a different story.
Therefore, she would not run away.
“F*ck off.”
It was as he had expected and soon, the fight between the Red Dragon and Javier began. The dragon pushed through with attacks based on its strong physical attributes while Javier easily parried those attacks away and waved the longsword, aiming at the head.
Those slices were experienced, rapid and fierce.
The Red Dragon urgently activated defensive magic.
[Self Defence (A)]
A red aura protecting the dragon covered its head but it was far from enough. The pressure behind the longsword was overpowering. As the red aura dispersed, the Red Dragon flew off a dozen metres and was driven into a sandstone before breaking it and flying further off into the sands.
Unfortunately, the battle was one-sided from the get go.
“…”
Bom formed a half-squint with her eyes.
Amongst dragons, a part of their emotions would be shared and she must’ve thus felt something.
Since it was an obvious result, Yu Jitae wasn’t surprised. The strength of the dragons was a reflection of the countless histories building up their lives and a baby dragon with shallow experiences was merely a novice with dormant talent.
The battle continued and the Red Dragon was constantly beat up. In the end, the dragon that had a long bleeding wound on its forehead let out a bellow.
“This f*ck–! I’ll kill you–!”
When the pride as a red race; when that ego was broken, the dragon could not endure its rage. Red mana wriggled as the authorities of a dragon were being revealed.
Then, the previously one-sided match turned a level easier for the dragon as one of its fists drove itself deep into Javier’s chin. However, that was the end. Javier who had allowed one hit quickly distanced himself and raised the sword up.
Soon, his blue armour and the sword started a resonance. Artifacts above a certain grade had to be usually sealed to hide its destructiveness and only when required were they unsealed.
[Ignite]
The sword was currently being unsealed. Before long, an intense light started flowing out of the Sword of Ra. Sunlight gathered near the sword and as if it had been put into a furnace, the blade started being coloured in light.
“…Ahjussi.”
That was dangerous. Bom’s urgent voice was heard as her small hand grabbed the sleeve of Yu Jitae’s shirt. Despite that, he remained watching with his arms crossed.
Kwaaang–!
Shortly, behind the trajectory of Sword of Ra, an explosion of immense amount of mana occurred and drew a cylinder with a diameter of 10 metres as it reached the heavens.
“Kuuk–”
Letting out a groan, the Red Dragon collapsed on the ground. Its eyes swayed and above its pure skin, scales started being formed. Unable to endure its rage, the dragon was about to break the taboos of Amusement and was about to undo the polymorph, to manifest itself in its dragon form.
Yu Jitae made a frown. If things happened the way they did, the Red Dragon would soon lose one of its wings and an arm. Thus, it was around time for him to move.
Leaving the alternate dimension, Yu Jitae immediately flew forward and stood behind the Red Dragon. When he did, the middle-aged man, Javier widened his eyes and hurriedly increased the distance.
“Where do you think you’re going-” the Red Dragon, who did not understand what was happening, was about to scream that when Yu Jitae’s palm smacked the dragon’s white, slender neck.
[Knifehand Strike (D)]
Bam–
The Red Dragon’s small body collapsed.