Chapter 59: The Great Dragon, the Saint, and the Demon King
The ones that emerged from the depths of the forest in pursuit of Rorondo…
…were dragons.
An entire legion of them.
Each colossal beast towered well over a dozen meters high, its immense body encased in gleaming black scales that seemed to swallow the surrounding light. Their golden eyes burned with predatory intelligence, and the instant those countless gazes swept over us…
My lungs forgot how to breathe.
“N-N-No, let’s run!! Even Eve-san and Raphiel-san can’t possibly handle a whole flock of dragons—”
“I shall take the ones on the right.”
Raphiel answered as casually as if she’d been deciding who washed the dishes.
“Guess that means I’ll take the left.”
Eve stretched lazily as she volunteered.
“W-Wait… You two are actually going to fight them?!”
I stared at them in disbelief.
Both of them looked completely relaxed.
No tension.
No fear.
No hesitation.
As I stood there dumbfounded, Eve tilted her head.
“Come to think of it…”
She looked back at me.
“You’ve never actually seen how strong we really are, have you, Oniisan?”
“Uh… n-no…”
“I figured.”
She smiled brightly.
“Then just watch.”
Her grin widened.
“Something at this level is easy.”
She sounded so utterly confident that it almost made me believe her.
It was true that when Eve had first arrived at my house, she’d casually brought me a dragon as a souvenir.
But…
The dragons before us were nothing like that one.
Each of these monsters dwarfed the dragon she’d hunted before.
They radiated an overwhelming aura of power that made my instincts scream at me to run.
Even the Demon King couldn’t possibly—
Just then—
“At last… I’ve found you, Demon King.”
The countless dragons parted.
A path opened through the sea of black scales.
Slowly…
A dragon even larger than the rest stepped forward.
A long scar ran across one of its eyes.
“…Who were you again?”
Eve blinked.
The scarred dragon growled.
“So you truly don’t remember. Hardly surprising. You passed through our territory in but a single moment.”
“…Dragon territory…”
Eve placed a finger against her chin.
“…Ah!”
She snapped her fingers.
“Were you the dragon who happened to be around when I stopped to pick up a souvenir on my way to Oniisan’s house?”
The dragon roared so violently the trees shook.
“The dragon you slew… was my father! Today I shall avenge him!”
I slowly turned toward Raphiel.
“Um… Raphiel-san?”
“I believe your suspicions are correct.”
Raphiel nodded calmly.
“It would appear he’s referring to the dragon Grana butchered, you cooked, and I thoroughly enjoyed eating.”
“…Why do I suddenly feel guilty?”
“Those are two entirely separate matters.”
Raphiel answered without the slightest hesitation.
“There’s no sin in properly appreciating delicious food.”
“R-Right!!”
Somehow…
That didn’t actually make me feel any less guilty.
Before I could dwell on it any further—
The massive dragon lunged.
Its enormous jaws snapped toward Eve with astonishing speed that utterly belied its gigantic frame.
“…Um.”
Eve raised an eyebrow.
“…?”
“That wasn’t your full strength…”
She sounded genuinely disappointed.
“…Was it?”
I doubted my own eyes.
With one hand…
Eve had caught the dragon’s upper jaw.
At the same time, she planted one foot against its lower jaw, holding its mouth wide open.
The dragon strained with every ounce of its strength, desperately trying to bite down.
It couldn’t move so much as a millimeter.
“I-Impossible! The Great One bestowed power upon me! I have surpassed even my father!”
“Hmm?”
Eve looked thoroughly unimpressed.
“I don’t know who this ‘Great One’ is supposed to be…”
“Gah?!”
“…But you actually thought this was enough to beat me?”
CRACK!
She tore one of the dragon’s enormous fangs clean out of its mouth.
Then…
She casually kicked upward.
The dragon’s lower jaw shattered with an explosion of bone.
“The reason a Demon King is called a Demon King…”
Her cheerful smile remained exactly the same.
“…is because we’re strong.”
She spoke as if explaining the most obvious fact in the world.
“The Demon Continent is filled with monsters powerful enough to destroy entire nations on their own.”
She looked straight into the dragon’s eye.
“And the being who stands at the very top of all those monsters…”
Her crimson eyes narrowed.
“…is the Demon King.”
“Don’t mock me!!”
The giant dragon twisted its body.
Its massive tail whipped through the air with enough force to pulverize stone.
It crashed directly into Eve.
Or…
It should have.
Eve didn’t even bother dodging.
The tail struck her.
She didn’t move.
Not an inch.
She merely stood there smiling as though someone had brushed her with a gentle breeze.
At that moment…
There wasn’t the slightest trace of the carefree anime-loving girl I’d been living with.
Standing there…
…was the Demon King.
“Weak.”
Her voice was almost playful.
“So weak.”
She sighed.
“Opponents as weak as you…”
Her smile became almost frighteningly innocent.
“…make me want to play with them.”
“A-Attack!!”
The giant dragon roared in desperation.
“Oh?”
Eve chuckled.
“Couldn’t win one-on-one, so now you’re relying on numbers?”
Dozens of dragons beat their enormous wings simultaneously and charged her all at once.
Eve…
“…Ahaha.”
…laughed.
That was all.
She merely smiled.
No magic.
No attack.
Nothing visible happened.
And yet—
“!?”
Nearly eighty percent of the charging dragons suddenly went limp.
Like puppets whose strings had been cut.
One after another…
They plummeted from the sky, crashing lifelessly into the forest floor.
The scarred dragon froze in horror.
“W-What happened?! Why did they stop attacking?!”
“Oh?”
Eve looked genuinely impressed.
“I wasn’t expecting twenty percent of them to survive.”
“Demon King! What did you do to my followers?!”
“Hmm?”
Eve tilted her head mischievously.
“What do you think I did?”
I immediately turned toward Raphiel.
“W-Wait! Raphiel-san! What just happened?!”
“Nothing complicated.”
She answered matter-of-factly.
“Eve merely directed her killing intent toward them.”
“…That’s it?”
“The dragons’ hearts stopped.”
She spoke as calmly as if discussing the weather.
“The overwhelming pressure caused their life functions to cease.”
“…Y-You can actually do that?”
“I can’t.”
Raphiel shook her head.
“That’s a privilege reserved only for absolute monsters—beings who have survived hundreds… thousands… tens of thousands of life-and-death battles.”
She looked toward Eve.
“It’s the privilege of the truly strong.”
After a brief pause, she added in her usual flat tone,
“Though, naturally, killing me remains impossible.”
“…”
I looked back and forth between them.
“…Isn’t the fact that you can fight someone like Eve-san on equal footing just as terrifying?”
Apparently…
Eve heard me.
She frowned and shot me an annoyed look.
“Oniisan.”
She puffed out her cheeks.
“I think you’ve got the wrong idea.”
She jabbed a thumb toward herself.
“I’m stronger than Saintie.”
“…I won’t deny that.”
Raphiel answered immediately.
“My affinity against creatures of darkness is simply exceptional.”
She paused thoughtfully.
“In terms of pure combat ability against humanoid opponents, I would rank slightly below Grana.”
She glanced at Eve.
“That said…”
Her voice remained perfectly calm.
“I still wouldn’t lose to Eve in an actual battle.”
“…Huh?”
Why were the two of them suddenly glaring at each other?
Invisible sparks practically flew between them.
Even the giant dragon sensed the overwhelming pressure.
Without a moment’s hesitation…
It chose survival.
“Y-You all! Buy me time!”
The surviving dragons immediately obeyed.
With desperate roars, they rushed toward Eve.
Some veered toward Raphiel as well.
Eve reacted first.
She simply threw a punch.
BOOM.
The dragon’s head exploded.
Raphiel merely glanced sideways at another approaching dragon.
Then quietly murmured a single phrase.
“—Miracle of Divine Judgment.“
A bolt of brilliant azure lightning descended from the heavens.
It pierced straight through the dragon.
The creature died instantly.
Just like that…
The entire dragon horde ceased to exist.
The Saint.
The Demon King.
Together…
They had exterminated an army of dragons in mere moments.
Nearby…
Rorondo and his companions stared in absolute disbelief.
One of them—
No.
Several of them—
Had become so terrified that they’d literally wet themselves.
Overwhelming.
There was no other word for it.
“Eight.”
“R-Raphiel-sama?”
Raphiel continued staring silently at the countless dragon corpses scattered across the forest.
Without turning around…
She spoke.
“As you’ve just witnessed…”
Her voice was quieter than usual.
“I possess enough power to slaughter countless dragons with a single blow.”
A brief silence followed.
Then…
“Should I…”
She hesitated.
“…use that power to protect others?”
“…Raphiel…”
I understood.
At last…
I finally understood.
Ever since Saril had confronted her…
She’d been wrestling with those words.
That was why she’d invited me here.
She hadn’t simply wanted to slay a dragon.
She’d wanted me…
To witness the strength she possessed.
And now…
She was trying to leave the decision to me.
Because she herself couldn’t decide what path to choose.
“Raphiel…”
I took a slow breath.
“…You can’t do that.”
“…Eh?”
“That power belongs to you.”
I shook my head.
“If you let someone else decide how you should use it…”
I met her eyes.
“…I think you’ll regret it.”
“…You’re right.”
She lowered her gaze.
“…Yes.”
No.
That wasn’t quite what I wanted to say.
I corrected myself.
“I…”
I clenched my fists.
“I have no right to tell you what path you should walk. If I told you to stay…”
My voice grew quieter.
“…and then some catastrophe happened because you weren’t there…”
Images flashed through my mind.
Cities destroyed.
Lives lost.
“…I don’t have the ability to take responsibility for all those deaths.”
Raphiel remained silent.
“But…”
I smiled.
“There’s one thing I can promise.”
She looked at me questioningly.
“Whatever you decide…”
I scratched my cheek awkwardly.
“…I’ll keep cooking for you.”
“…Hm?”
Raphiel blinked.
“Eight?”
“I’m not joking.”
I laughed softly.
“What I mean is…”
I looked straight at her.
“I’m always going to be on your side.”
The words came naturally.
“If you decide to resume your pilgrimage…”
I smiled.
“…I’d even be willing to come along.”
The last time the Inquisition Knights had come to take Raphiel away…
All I could do was watch her leave.
But now…
That wasn’t true anymore.
Raphiel had become someone precious enough that I wouldn’t mind enduring inconvenience…
No.
More than that—
“…Hm?”
I froze.
“…Huh?”
Wait.
Could it be…
“…Do I…”
My own thoughts caught me completely off guard.
“…Like Raphiel?”
“Eight?”
“W-Wha?!”
I practically jumped.
“Y-Yes!”
I hurriedly waved my hands.
“A-Anyway!”
I took a deep breath.
“No matter what you choose…”
I declared as firmly as I could.
“…I’ll support you with everything I’ve got.”
“So…”
I smiled gently.
“…don’t let someone else decide your future for you.”
“…Yes.”
For the first time in what felt like forever…
Raphiel smiled.
It was only the faintest smile.
Small.
Gentle.
Almost imperceptible.
But it was beautiful.
Later, whenever I found myself with even a moment of free time…
For some mysterious reason…
That tiny smile of hers kept resurfacing in my mind.