Chapter 30

The dragon fell, puzzled.

-- Why am I falling from the sky?

-- Why am I plummeting towards the ground?

I was certainly about to release the 'Light' at those cunning little ones.

And the 'Light' was released.

Or so I thought.

No, it must be so.

Because my pride, the 'Light' that destroys everything, is shining right in front of me.

-- Then, why?

I intended to release the 'Light' straight at those little ones.

Why is it in the sky?

And why am I falling while looking at it?

The dragon was confused.

While falling, it crushed stone structures with its back, covered in scales harder than crystal, and shattered the ground with a roar, sinking into the earth, yet still couldn't understand.

-- What happened?

It found it strange.

This is wrong.

It's as if I was knocked away by something.

Amid the flying debris and dust, when the dragon tried to rise, it suddenly saw something.

A small one holding a black needle-like object.

It was the same thing it saw just before it tried to release the 'Light.'

It stood quietly in the raging storm, staring intently at the dragon.

-- Ah, this is it.

This is the cause.

This is what made me like this.

This is the intolerable existence that covered my proud scales with dust.

-- So, this one did it.

The moment it understood, the dragon was enraged.

There was no pain or injury on its body.

But it couldn't forgive.

I don't know how this small one did it.

I don't know what trick it used.

But -- this one did something.

It interfered with what I was trying to do.

The dragon was certain of this.

-- I absolutely cannot forgive this.

The dragon's roar, filled with anger, resonated with the earth and shook the sky.

There was no special reason for its anger.

It would crush anything that got in its way.

It would tear apart and mercilessly crush anything that resisted.

This was the instinct ingrained deep within the dragon's body.

If the dragon so desired, the bodies of the little ones would leave no trace.

This was the absolute outcome, the result of the dragon's thousands of years of experience.

Therefore, the dragon, without hesitation, swung its proud claws, which were several times larger than the little one's body, at the unpleasant creature in front of it.

But --

"Crack"

The dragon didn't understand what was happening at first.

The dragon's claws were certainly swung.

It struck with all its might, the same claws that had torn apart mountains and crushed the insignificant fortresses of the little ones, and even ripped apart its own kind with scales harder than iron.

The ground split and sank with a roar.

And it should have effortlessly crushed the little one, turning it into a stain.

-- That was supposed to happen.

But for some reason, the little one wasn't crushed by the dragon's claws.

It even seemed to be deflecting them.

-- This is impossible.

While thinking this, the dragon turned its body to strike with its massive tail, which had crushed even the hardest-scaled of its own kind into pieces.

Those cunning little ones would be nothing against it.

The dragon turned its body, poured all its strength into its tail, and swung it with all its might.

In the process, hundreds of the little ones' homes and stone walls crumbled and shattered, raising clouds of dust.

The dragon, enjoying the satisfying sound, swung its tail, covered in scales harder than iron, at the annoying little one with all its might.

This time, it would be over -- the dragon filled its heart with a sense of pleasure.

But --

"Crack"

Immediately, the dragon felt something wrong with its body --

It realized it was lying on its back on the ground.

Looking up, it saw its long tail soaring high in the sky.

"----?----"

The dragon didn't understand what had happened.

And then --

The little one, which should have been crushed and left no trace by the dragon's proud tail, remained in place.

It just stood quietly, holding the black object -- the meaningless small needle-like thing that the little ones often held in their hands -- as if nothing had happened.

-- What is this?

-- What's going on?

The dragon was puzzled.

It's as if -- the little one deflected the dragon's tail.

-- No, that's not possible.

There must be some mistake.

-- That's right.

I should have used 'it' from the beginning.

I should release my most proud destructive means, the 'Light' -- the 'Breath.'

The dragon opened its jaw and concentrated the vast magic power it had accumulated during its centuries of sleep into its throat.

The surrounding space seemed to warp.

The magic power in the back of its throat intensified, and it felt very hot.

-- The dragon, which has no facial muscles, laughed inwardly.

That's right, this is it.

There can be no mistake.

There should be no mistake --

Because no living thing has ever survived this.

The dragon recalled its thousands of years of memories and confirmed its own correctness.

And it concluded.

This is the end for that little one.

This is the fate of the fool who defied the dragon, the apex of all living things -- the dragon believed this without a doubt.

Soon, the immense magic power converged in the back of the dragon's throat and reached its critical point.

And so --

The dragon's proud 'Light' -- the 'Breath' that had destroyed countless little ones' countries, demolished numerous mountains, and changed the shape of the earth over thousands of years --

-- was released for a single 'little one.'

A white light instantly filled the surroundings, and a single line of magic power, promising certain destruction to anything it touched, shot out from the dragon's mouth, stretching straight towards the annoying little one.

Now, whatever happens, it's over -- the dragon narrowed its eyes with certainty.

But --

"Crack"

The dragon's proud 'Light,' released with all its might, was easily deflected upwards, stretching into the sky and creating a meaningless indentation somewhere far away.

-- Why?

Why is this happening?

-- As it pondered, the dragon finally understood.

Indeed, there's no mistake.

It's this one --

This one interfered with the 'Breath' I was about to release in the air,

This one is the reason I couldn't satisfy my desire for destruction and devastation.

The dragon finally acknowledged.

This -- this little one is an 'enemy.'

An unpleasant existence that can obstruct me, that has the power to do so.

-- A little one, of all things.

An 'enemy' to me, a dragon, standing before me.

Knowing this, the dragon became even more enraged.

This is an unforgivable situation.

-- I don't care what happens now.

I will completely annihilate it.

I will devastate it over and over again.

I won't allow even a fragment of its body, a piece of flesh, or a bone to exist.

-- Complete annihilation.

This is the fate and inevitable outcome for those who defy the dragon.

There are no exceptions.

This little one will be no different.

I will make it so.

-- I can't help it.

"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO