Chapter 98: Ryu and the Dragon King

Something flashed over the sea, followed by an impact and a thunderous explosion.

Then countless shapes suddenly approached the port town from beyond the horizon.

It was an even larger horde than the monsters the Royal Knights had repelled earlier.

“All members of the Kingdom of Elde’s Royal Knights, prepare for battle! Do not shamefully surrender the port to the enemy a second time!”

“Right!”

The knights rose and answered Randolph’s order and encouragement with brave shouts.

“Adventurers, provide whatever support you can! Eliminate any monsters we fail to kill!”

“Leave it to us!”

“And the cook who cannot fight—retreat at once!”

“Y-Yes!”

I took Ryu’s hand and hurried toward the tractor and trailer where Raphiel and Eve waited, but…

Ryu pulled her hand away.

“Mm… I will… go somewhere for a moment…”

“What? Where!?”

“Beyond the sea… I am… there…”

Before I could stop her, Ryu soared into the air and flew into the distance.

I had no idea what to do and paced about in confusion. Then the Royal Knights and the monster horde collided in earnest.

“KIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”

The Royal Knights met the oncoming monsters with their strange war cries.

The previous horde had been terrified by a group of madmen who never retreated. These monsters showed no such fear.

They simply charged straight ahead.

Their desperation made it seem as though they were fleeing something, as though something even more frightening than the Royal Knights pursued them from behind.

Then one monster broke through and headed toward me before I could escape.

“Whoa! It’s coming this way!”

It was a crustacean monster reminiscent of a crab… No, it walked forward rather than sideways, so perhaps it belonged to the hermit-crab family.

One strike from its enormous claw, which was taller than I was, would finish me.

I snatched up the nearby mithril kitchen knife and swung it wildly in desperation.

The knife’s short reach kept it from striking the creature.

Whoosh!

The hermit crab brought its claw down.

Rather than a cutting attack, it was a blow delivered through pure mass. I sprang away and fled.

The hermit crab apparently decided I was prey and pursued me at a terrifying speed.

I held the mithril knife in one hand and raised an adamantite pot lid as a shield, preparing myself.

“Wooooooooah! Come and get me! I’ll boil you in salt water and make you tonight’s dinner!”

“There!”

The instant I resolved to fight, Eve dropped from the sky and crushed the hermit crab’s head with her heel.

Pieces of the creature scattered everywhere. Eve turned toward me with a surprised expression.

“You’re more capable of fighting than I expected, Onii-san.”

“Huff, huff… I did nothing but run away!”

“Being able to react when a monster suddenly attacks is already pretty good. Someone truly helpless wouldn’t even manage to run.”

Eve shrugged.

Something about her phrasing felt cold, but I still thanked her.

“In any case, thank you for saving me, Eve.”

“Ahaha! You’re welcome. You can repay me with something I’ll enjoy.”

“Then I’ll forgive you for breaking my knife before.”

“What? You still hadn’t forgiven me for that?”

Under Eve’s protection, I managed to reunite with Raphiel.

“Eight, I am glad you are unharmed.”

“Raphiel! Ryu just—”

I told her everything that had happened, including Ryu’s strange words and behavior.

“Hmm. Let us observe the situation—Miracle of Far Sight.”

“Whoa! What is this!?”

“I fused a miracle that displays distant places with the tractor’s navigation system.”

The instant Raphiel prayed, countless translucent monitors unfolded before us and displayed views of the sea.

Their science-fiction appearance was probably another product of Raphiel’s taste.

“I have found Ryu. …Oh, this is…”

“Did something happen?”

“Look here.”

The screen Raphiel indicated showed Ryu floating in the sky.

Someone else was there with her.

She was a beautiful girl of high-school age whose lovely face strongly resembled Ryu’s.

Her eyes were crimson, and her hair was platinum white.

The differences were the enormous dragon-like wings and thick tail extending from her waist and the scales covering parts of her skin.

“Who is that? Ryu’s older sister?”

“No. That is most likely Ryu herself.”

“Ryu herself?”

“The Dragon King’s body was divided… Ryu possessed the ‘Fang’ and the ‘Eye,’ if I recall. Her opponent is likely another Ryu composed of the remaining body parts.”

I… see?

“B-But the atmosphere between them seems tense. Aren’t they glaring at each other?”

“This is merely my speculation, but…”

At that moment, the Dragon King facing Ryu opened her mouth.

◇ ◆ ◇

“You are the ‘Fang’ and the ‘Eye.’”

“…Mm… And you are…?”

“I am the ‘Scales,’ ‘Wings,’ and ‘Tail.’”

“Mm… Give them to me…”

“Hehehe. Naturally, I refuse. If you want them, take them by force.”

“…All right…”

Ryu kicked the air, closed the distance, and drove her fist forward with tremendous force.

The other Dragon King effortlessly received the punch.

She made no attempt to defend herself and simply took Ryu’s fist directly to her face.

Yet she did not move so much as an inch.

“Hehehe. No attack can harm me while I possess the ‘Scales.’”

“Mm… That’s unfair…”

The next instant, Ryu’s eye gleamed ominously.

“Oh? That eye is rather dangerous.”

“!?”

The moment Ryu attempted to “see,” the Dragon King whipped her tail.

Ryu’s body bent nearly in half and slammed into the surface of the sea.

Her bones shattered and internal organs ruptured, causing her to vomit an enormous amount of blood.

But it was not over.

The Dragon King inhaled deeply, then fired a beam of heat from her mouth.

“—!”

Unable even to evade, Ryu took the blast head-on.

Her entire body burned black, and her fingers and toes were carbonized.

She was truly on the verge of death.

The Dragon King descended to the surface of the sea and spoke to her.

“Surrender the ‘Fang’ and the ‘Eye’ quietly.”

“…No…”

“Oh, do you fear losing the sense of self you worked so hard to acquire? There is no need to worry. Your identity will vanish, but your memories and experiences will become part of me.”

“…That’s… even worse… because…”

“Because?”

Ryu stared at the Dragon King through sleepy eyes and opened her mouth.

“I want to eat… more delicious… food…”

“F-Food?”

“And… I promised… to play games… with Luka… Nor… Rio… Eve… and Raphiel… Orvier taught me… to keep promises…”

“I do not know what these games are. I see. Then I have no choice but to take them by force.”

The Dragon King seized Ryu by the neck and drove a finger into her eye.

“!?”

“Do not struggle. You will make my hand slip.”

“Agh!”

There was a sickening tearing sound as she gouged out Ryu’s eyeball. With her neck in the Dragon King’s grasp, Ryu could do nothing but groan.

The Dragon King lifted the stolen eye—

“Mmph… Gulp.”

—and swallowed it.

Her presence immediately became several times more powerful.

“Hehehe! Ah, wonderful! More than half of me is finally assembled! Just a little more—only a little more—and I can take revenge upon this hateful world!”

“…Ugh…”

“Oh, forgive me. I still have not taken the ‘Fang.’ Once I claim it, you will vanish, but there is no need to worry. Things that were once one are merely returning to one.”

The Dragon King reached for Ryu again.

Boom!

A shell flew from somewhere and struck the Dragon King directly in the head.

◇ ◆ ◇

“I-It hit!?”

“To strike a small target over the sea without even a ranging shot… Eight, could you be invincible when using modern weapons?”

“I wouldn’t touch something this frightening outside an emergency!”

“All right! I’ll load the next shell!”

The Dragon King still did not know the attack had come from land far beyond the port.