The Dark Dragon

There was a vast space.

It would be wrong to call it a cave.

It was wide enough that Anaias' entire town could probably fit inside it several times over. The ceiling was so high that even a Cyclops jumping with all its strength couldn't reach it.

In that dim space, there was a mountain.

No, a dragon the size of a mountain.

A neck stretched out from the black mass. It was too enormous to grasp the whole picture.

Jet black scales with golden eyes.

Its head alone rivaled the size of a Cyclops.

Its body was so absurdly massive that one would question whether it should even exist as a living being.

Dark Dragon Valis.

With a single glance, the group was stopped in their tracks.

Their hearts and lungs were forced to stop. They were dying. Death.

"My apologies."

Its words became pressure, forcing the group to prostrate themselves on the ground.

"Be at ease."

With those words, the pressure vanished. Their bodies could move. They moved away from death.

For a while, time passed as they simply sent oxygen back through their bodies.

Even Ria had been unable to move, as if bound by sleep paralysis.

"It has been a long time since I faced mortals. I forgot to control my power."

Simply speaking normally could kill living creatures. She held that much power. That was a Divine Dragon.

In the age of ancient myths, they ended the dispute among the gods that sought to destroy heaven and earth, becoming absolute guardians of the world.

"Wait a moment."

An irresistible power. If she said to wait, they had no choice but to wait.

"Matching myself to humans is difficult."

The mountain writhed.

It undulated. It swirled.

The black mass gradually shrank.

Before she knew it, Ria had removed the hand she'd unknowingly placed on the katana at her waist.

Really, when had she done that? She hadn't even noticed it herself.

Against such a monster—no, against something equal to a god, had she been planning to fight?

Before she noticed, the mountain had disappeared.

From the dim space ahead, she heard footsteps.

Before long, a beautiful woman entered Ria's view.

Black hair and golden eyes. Her skin was white, with black cloth carelessly draped over her naked form.

Her facial features resembled Ria's.

No, perhaps this was what Ria's face would look like in a few more years.

"Welcome to my dwelling."

It was a human woman's voice. There was none of the earlier pressure whatsoever.

"That was wrong. Our dwelling, I should say. Human language changes little by little, you see… I'm not mistaken, am I?"

She was unexpectedly humble.

Perhaps because she was such an overwhelming existence that she had no need to put on airs?

Valis turned around. The cave walls had many hollows carved into them—

And within them were countless dragons.

They gasped. Each one was roughly one hundred meters in length. Innumerable dragons slept within the hollows carved into the walls.

Hundreds? Thousands?

Even more?

"We shall truly awaken only when destruction approaches the world. For a mere Millennium, we would normally have no need to stir, but I have a promise with Ryuke Riana. Among we Black Dragons, only I alone specially support the humans."

Of course, this Ryuke Riana must be the Militant Emperor.

Valis waved her hand. Chairs for each person were created from the floor.

"Be seated. Something has arisen where even I must borrow the power of humans."

Saying so, she sat down herself. The chairs were arranged in a circle. Only after Ria sat directly across from her did the others finally take their seats.

"Now then, where to begin. First, the matter of Clarice."

Valis' brow furrowed. Her way of expressing emotions seemed the same as a human's.

"Just recently, humans—no, now we also say 'we'—caused the Divine Dragon called Clarice to be eliminated."

She said 'just recently' about something over a month ago. Her sense of time seemed quite different from a human's.

"We do not know the cause. Rather, we do know, but I lack the words to explain it to you. The concept does not exist in human language. At any rate, if a powerful Demon King and Hero were to cooperate, such a thing would be possible."

Valis spoke of something impossible.

The Demon King cooperating with the Hero?

"Because of that, the world has begun to distort. Fortunately, this situation was foreseen to some extent, so countermeasures were put in place. A new Divine Dragon was born between myself and Clarice. However, that one is still young."

Valis pointed at the infant dragon gatekeeper.

"That one must be raised. For that purpose, it must be taken from our dwelling. Your role is to protect and raise the young one."

Next, she pointed at Ria.

"You who hold the Dragon's Bloodline. You who have received the blessings of gods from another world. You who slays gods."

She was watching only Ria. From the beginning, the other humans hadn't even entered her field of vision.

"That you were chosen by the world—the first reason is for this."

"I—I!"

Her voice came out. She was able to speak.

"I chose my blessings myself! I didn't know I was chosen by the world!"

She shook her head.

This was the power of domination.

The Dark Dragon's words were becoming power that bound Ria. It had to be.

"Perhaps I used the wrong words. At any rate, you came to this world in accordance with the 'Law of Universal Causality.'"

Serge's body twitched.

Because among the words the Dark Dragon used, Japanese was included.

Just like Labyrinth, was the Dark Dragon also a reincarnator?

He was certain that wasn't it. He had no evidence, but he was sure it was different.

"Next topic. A Dragonslayer has been born."

Valis changed the subject. Did she understand their confusion?

"Power beyond what a human body should possess. It matters little to us, but it may be important to you all."

Valis adopted an attitude of not caring much about it.

"A Dragonslayer is one who possesses power exceeding that of a dragon. One who rivals the Hero and the Demon King. If handled incorrectly, the order of the Millennium will be lost, leading to great collapse."

Valis traced her memories. The memory of the Dragonslayer born in the past—Ryuke Riana.

That respectable human who, despite having the power to slay even gods, abandoned it and ended her life as a human being.

"Do your utmost to protect yourselves."

She wondered what kind of conclusion the humans before her would reach.

"Third. This too concerns the world's order."

Here, Valis let out a tired sigh.

"My soul will soon wear away."

For a person, that would mean death.

"Afterwards, I ask you to take the role of protecting this world."

Valis was looking only at Ria. She wasn't asking anyone else.

"That is the second reason you were chosen by the world."

A selfish story.

Moreover, it was spoken as if the matter were already decided.

No one spoke at all.

This was not a place where people should be. This was not a place for reckless explorers.

The insignificant humans understood this was not a place where people were meant to live.

"Well, I alone have been speaking. Let me hear from you all."

The overwhelmed humans, as if forgetting how to speak, were simply desperate to survive.

Except for one.

"I have one thing I want to ask and one thing I want to request."

Ria alone was able to resist this place's pressure.

"It's said that when you dragons have children, one of you becomes male. I want you to teach me that method."

"Let nature take its course."

An immediate answer.

To the question Ria had desperately, resolutely asked, a complete answer was returned.

"When the season is ripe, if both parties love each other from the heart, reproduction is possible. It's no different from humans."

At that moment, Ria must have had an incredibly strange expression.

So dragons know the emotion called love?

To begin with, what even is love?

"Have you never loved someone from the heart?"

No.

If she had to name someone, it would be Maal, but that was more like familial love.

Not romantic love, but affection. She loved Maal in the same way she loved the sky, the sea, and the land.

Of course, she loved Matsukaze too. She loved Rudolph too.

But that wasn't it.

"Humans are creatures that can reproduce without love, you know…"

Ria answered weakly. She was filled with an overwhelming sense of helplessness.

She felt as if her entire being had been denied. Of course, it was just a persecution complex.

"But Anaia and I truly loved each other from the heart."

"Ah, is that so…"

She felt like crying, but didn't show tears. Because her heart was still a man's! … Probably.

She'd consult Serge later. That's what she decided.

Once she decided something, she wouldn't look back anymore. It was something she couldn't help.

Her question was finished. Next, she would voice her request.

"I want you to lend me your power."

"For what would you use my power?"

"To unite the strength of the people who live on this land and survive the Millennium."

Right, that was the original reason she had come.

But after hearing Valis' story, how insignificant that wish seemed.

No, that's wrong.

Ria could say it was wrong.

For people to desperately try to live—even if a small thing, it was not something base.

"Very well. However, I cannot interfere with the affairs of the human world. That would be equivalent to using a dragon's fang to crush a single ant."

Valis stood up. She approached Ria.

"I shall give you my fang."

A black fang larger than Ria herself appeared in the space and pierced the floor.

"With your power, you should be able to forge it into the katana you desire."

That fang certainly had the color of a mineral.

"And I shall release your power."

She extended her elegant hand toward Ria's forehead.

Ria could have dodged if she wanted to. But she felt that dodging would be a loss.

There was also the fact that her Crisis Perception hadn't activated. Valis certainly held no ill will.

The fingertip touched her, and an electric shock ran through her.

Despite having Paralysis Resistance, Ria couldn't move at all and collapsed.

All too easily, Ria lost consciousness.