Episode 109 Dragon Hunt (1)
Swoosh—
A massive amount of dark magic power swept over the surroundings, forming a barrier to prevent escape.
He couldn't let the monster escape after it had come this far.
As the black energy enveloped the area, only the four of them remained inside the barrier.
Crackle—!
"Kkahahahat! Let's see what I can do!"
Harley's body swelled up like a beast, emitting white steam from his pores.
"Hmm, it seems like it's difficult to directly control its blood. It's still a dragon, even if it's gone mad."
Heinz the Second lightly licked his lips and sharpened his blood nails.
"Oh? There are traces of other life force being absorbed. Is that the cause of the madness? But a dragon's mental firewall should be able to ignore that much… It must have been hibernating."
Hans calmly analyzed the situation with a sinister aura, examining the subject like a researcher.
And lastly…
[Kuruuuuur—! I-Immortal King…! Immortal King—!!]
Red Dragon Heratos, who had been frozen still like a paused video since Hans appeared.
But then he started to convulse.
The red flames of madness burning in his eyes swelled up and exploded.
Wheeeeooo—!
A whirlwind swept the surroundings as the air was sucked in towards him.
Harley, who glanced around at the sudden change in air currents, quickly grasped the cause.
'The air is just being swept away by the aftereffects. …It's the madness scattered in the atmosphere that's moving.'
The tiny particles of madness spread throughout the area were being sucked in and absorbed by the dragon.
[Kiyaaaaaah—!]
Heratos roared again, consumed by madness.
And the three standing before him…
Just watched as he grew stronger.
'Oh! Good, good. It's even concentrating the madness for me. What a bonus. Even Harley can't do that.'
Perhaps because of the dragon's inherent characteristic of absorbing mana from the surroundings, it was actively drawing in the madness, unlike ordinary monsters.
It was basically increasing the reward for them.
[Immortal King! I'll kill you! I'll kill you—!]
The whirlwind gradually subsided, and Heratos, having absorbed all the energy, glared at Hans and roared in fury.
His red scales had darkened to a deeper crimson, and his massive body, still twitching, was overflowing with unrestrained violence.
'Madness consumes the host's reason, forcibly shortening its lifespan and life force to grant it immense power. And if the host is a dragon that lives for thousands of years, the effect is unimaginable.'
And the madness condensed in his dragon heart through the process was also beyond imagination.
The concentration of madness in the surrounding atmosphere had noticeably decreased as a result.
'It's not recovering quickly, so it must have affected a wider area than I thought.'
If the range had been smaller, the madness from other areas would have quickly filled the void.
It was a phenomenon that was only possible because he was a Mad Dragon.
[Kyaaaaaah—!]
Heratos, his eyes crazed, charged at Hans like a missile.
His massive body was propelled by overwhelming magic power, moving at a speed that defied his size.
[Hmm, he's quite excited. Does he have a grudge against the previous Immortal King?]
Of course, he couldn't be caught by such a simple attack.
Hans, who had already moved to the side, calmly organized his thoughts as he felt the air shaking from the aftereffects of the massive projectile.
It wouldn't be difficult to defeat the dragon.
After all, he was the descendant of the Immortal King, who had slain countless dragons.
But if he did that…
[Right, it's better to hold back.]
If Hans unleashed his full power, the dragon's body would be contaminated, and all he would gain would be another undead dragon.
That wasn't a bad outcome, but there was a more efficient way to utilize it.
'But to do that, I need to restrain him first.'
And there was a perfect candidate for the job.
[Entracio.]
A single word, imbued with dark magic power, echoed quietly.
At the same time, a massive shadow swamp quickly spread across the ground.
And.
Whoosh—!
A giant dragon skeleton emerged from the writhing darkness.
[Kuwoooooh—!]
A roar filled with death energy shook the space, followed by…
[Kiyaaaaaah—!]
A madness-fueled scream.
Entracio and Heratos, two corrupted dragons, locked eyes.
Once comrades, now enemies facing each other.
What followed was obvious.
[KuoOoooooh—!]
[Kyaaaaaah—!]
Kwaaang—!
The two giant monsters fiercely clashed.
Entracio's skeleton was about 30% larger than Heratos's, perhaps because he had been alive for much longer.
But it was difficult for him to fight a physically enhanced dragon in close combat with just his bones, especially since he was suppressing his death energy.
Entracio could only restrain Heratos's movements.
Of course, that was the reason why he was summoned in the first place.
'If he uses too much power, the meat and blood will be ruined.'
He had to minimize the use of pesticides, even if he couldn't provide organic food for his children.
Hans watched the two dragons wrestling and raised his magic power.
Countless magic circles appeared, weaving various arcane arts.
'Let's avoid curses for now.'
Gravity chains, spatial restraints, shock absorption…
All sorts of magic that minimized contamination.
An undead summon relentlessly clinging to him with its massive body, a black mage constantly interfering with his movements, a vampire lurking in the shadows, waiting to deliver a fatal blow, and a savage barbarian charging at him like a madman.
The one-sided and unfair Mad Dragon raid by the multi-species party had begun.
_____________________
Crack!
The Mad Dragon's massive jaws clamped down on the Bone Dragon's neck.
Its jaw muscles, strengthened by life force, and its sharp teeth were imbued with the powerful magic power from its dragon heart…
Crack— Crunch!
Its destructive power was enough to pierce through the Bone Dragon's defensive barrier and directly damage its neck bone.
[KuoOoooooh—!]
Entracio's neck bone started to crack.
The constantly supplied dark magic power was strengthening the bones and repairing the damaged area in real time, but if it continued, his neck would be completely broken.
'It doesn't really matter, I can just reattach it.'
That immortality was the greatest advantage of being an undead.
Entracio wasn't weak, even with all the restrictions placed on him.
'But this guy's more troublesome than I thought.'
Dragons were known for their high magic resistance, and this Mad Dragon was even stronger, making it difficult for Hans to restrain him with his dark magic.
'It's not difficult to kill it. But I can't use that method… It's a dilemma.'
The reason why the Immortal Kings had been able to easily hunt dragons was because of the death energy they wielded.
That deadly poison would be effective even against a Mad Dragon, but he couldn't use it after sealing Entracio's death energy.
[Hmm, let's observe the situation a bit more.]
Hans, who had been leisurely watching the battle from above, slowly raised one hand.
Wooong—
Countless magic circles appeared, unleashing a barrage of spells.
Dozens of black flashes pierced the Mad Dragon's body, and lightning bolts rained down from the sky, electrocuting him.
A massive explosion shook his head, and solid ice froze his joints.
And the moment the Mad Dragon's attention was diverted by the storm of magic that pierced through his monstrous magic resistance,
Whoosh—!
Heinz, who had appeared like a ghost, slashed at the dragon's jaw muscles with his elongated blood blade.
"Ahahat!"
Harley, who had instantly climbed onto the dragon's body, slammed his entire weight into its jaw.
[Kraaagh—?]
The Mad Dragon was momentarily stunned, and Entracio, who had pulled his head out of its mouth, took the opportunity to bite into its neck.
His previously cracked neck bone had already been repaired.
But that was also true for the Mad Dragon, whose jaw muscles had been severed, and a bite to the neck wasn't a fatal wound to it either.
'It seems like it can't use magic because its intelligence has regressed.'
But dragons were beings that could instinctively manipulate mana as if it were a part of their bodies.
It was much less efficient than using magic, but considering its enhanced abilities, it was still a force to be reckoned with.
Booom—!
Highly concentrated magic power erupted from the area around Entracio's bite.
The Mad Dragon writhed, unleashing shockwaves despite the damage to its neck.
Crackle, whoosh—!
The flesh caught in Entracio's teeth was torn apart, spraying blood in all directions.
Thanks to that, the Mad Dragon was able to free its neck from Entracio's bite, but it had suffered a critical wound that would have been fatal to an ordinary creature.
…But it seemed meaningless, considering its rapidly regenerating body.
'But it seems like it's more developed in using raw magic power.'
Its physical abilities, already enhanced by madness, were further amplified by the addition of magic power, resulting in an explosive increase in strength, agility, and regenerative ability.
A magic power barrier covering its body like armor, enhanced attack power in its teeth and claws, and shockwaves that it could concentrate and detonate like bombs.
And…
[Hoooooop—]
The Mad Dragon quickly created distance with explosive speed and inhaled a large gulp of air.
At the same time, a massive amount of magic power concentrated in its throat.
'Breath…! It's fast!'
The speed and output of the destructive magic power gathering in its mouth far exceeded their expectations.
And its power was undeniable.
Entracio hurriedly prepared his own breath to counter it.
The air around them shook violently as magic power rapidly gathered in both dragons' mouths.
And finally.
Kwaaang!
A massive explosion, created by the collision of red and black light, swept over the surroundings.
The two dragons' breaths collided, canceling each other out, and the only result was a slight change in the surrounding terrain.
'…That was close.'
Hans inwardly sighed with relief, watching the two dragons clash again amidst the raging storm.
The speed and output of the dragon's breath had been much greater than he expected.
Hans had to intervene and forcibly raise Entracio's power to completely offset it.
[That guy's really energetic. Excessively so.]
Hans pondered as he restrained the Mad Dragon with black chains, subtly waving his hand.
If there was no other way, he would have to kill it…
But the solution came from an unexpected source.
_______________________
A figure was walking on the back of the violently writhing Mad Dragon, as if it were nothing.
Whoosh—!
His sharp blood nails tore off a scale from the dragon's tough hide, spraying blood.
But the wound quickly closed, and a new scale grew in its place.
"Tsk! It's a shame. The blood itself is good, but the madness is interfering."
Heinz frowned as he spat out the dragon blood he had tasted.
The thoughts contained in the blood were completely suppressed by madness, preventing a proper bloodsucking ritual.
The dragon's scales were so tough that he had to use all his strength to wound it, and even then, there was nothing to gain from the blood, so it wasn't worth the effort.
It was the worst possible matchup for a vampire.
But there was someone who was enjoying this situation…
Crackle! Crunch!
"Kkahahahat! I can eat forever! Infinitely regenerating meat!"
Harley was clinging to the dragon's chest, tearing off scales and devouring its flesh.