Chapter 122 – Everyone Has a Hidden Side (10)
“These bastards…”
In a deep, deep canyon. This place was once the home of the sacred primordial dragon, and after the outbreak of war, it was regarded by mages as the hellish stronghold of the dragon legion.
There, he was asleep.
The leader of the rebellion and the one who caused the war.
At the same time, among the cursed and regressed dragons, he was the being closest to the primordial dragon.
Until now, after initiating and winning the war, he was the ruler of this land.
His minions spread across the world, exterminating everything.
Destruction was all that mattered to them.
“Gather everyone. And move! Crush those grotesque worms from another realm!”
However, at some point, monsters that destroyed these destroyers began to expand their domain like parasites.
The area had already surpassed the size of a continent. Their rate of proliferation had exceeded expectations and had become exponential.
Thus, in his fury, he called all his subordinates.
It felt quite late, but he managed to successfully gather a tremendous military force.
The dragonkind had never amassed so many even during their war with the mages.
“Go. Go and trample those worms who dare to challenge me, Antaris!”
He, Antaris, sent his gathered subordinates into a full-scale advance.
The number of dragonkind shaking that vast land and crossing the endless skies reached tens of millions.
In the sea, giant sea dragons also moved in throngs.
“Again, just sending his pathetic subordinates.”
Reina smiled slyly at that.
The dragonkind’s army, which was attacking this place as if to cover the entire world, did not frighten her at all.
The large troop of giant units alone was in the hundreds of millions.
Including the gigantic flying units that had grown in size to counter the dragonkind, it was more than double that. A literal final battle between two races for ownership of this world.
She was confident she wouldn’t be overpowered in a direct confrontation.
“I have to see it. Though it’s a cursed fragment, I wish to see the power of the true dragon, the source of magic, and the essence of magic.”
Before the two forces would clash, Reina raised her staff and drew power.
The magic-guided 100-fold artillery that had previously targeted the space fleet was now aimed not at the sky, but directly ahead.
A massive red beam of incredible thickness and power crossed the air.
“Magic… such a thing is no longer effective against us.”
Antaris chuckled and ground his teeth as he recognized the red beam, which was the legacy extorted from the past mages, and that he had gained immense resistance to magic. However, that had resulted in the dragonkind becoming unable to wield magic.
The beam struck precisely the lead dragon.
“…?”
Antaris was momentarily taken aback.
It hit. Surely, that was all it took. The beam surged forward, annihilating the dragon with no resistance whatsoever.
The dragons behind it, and those behind them, met the same fate.
In an instant, thousands that had clustered together were erased.
The beam that pierced through the dragonkind’s forces went on to traverse and shatter the land and mountains, aimed precisely at the canyon where Antaris lay.
“The coordinates are precise; there’s no way it will miss.”
Ultimately, the beam struck the dragon’s canyon, blocked by the Great Mountain Range and invisible from view.
Reina, who had been watching this entire spectacle, smiled slyly with one eye closed.
The mage’s eye, which had been raised into the atmosphere right before firing, had locked onto that massive red eye precisely.
“He finally moves that heavy backside.”
“I won’t disappoint.”
Eve murmured as she gazed at the canyon hit by the beam. On the contrary, Reina, who had lured this situation, moved the legion as if eagerly awaiting this moment.
Although the beam had struck, it had weakened as it traveled and would not be able to directly target Antaris.
“How dare…!”
But the intended purpose of irritating him had succeeded. Ultimately, he couldn’t withstand it, leaving his nest and unfurling his wings.
A giant dragon whose body and wings were hundreds of meters long.
The fire column he emitted soared into the sky, visible even without the mage’s eye at the scene where Eve and Reina were.
“Can you bring him down? I want that last fragment of the true dragon.”
“Of course. I will surely offer it.”
However, Reina, who had to confront him, instead laughed at his appearance.
*
Creatures covering the land and sky rushed forward without hesitation to kill one another.
Although they were damaged by Reina’s bombardment, the dragonkind showed no signs of fear and remained steadfast.
“Is Reina’s second bombardment also for that guy?”
“Right. I think that should be sufficient if he has no hidden tactics.”
Eve, who was observing the same sight, nodded.
Like a movie, the enormous screen unfolded before them, and the two armies collided.
It was somewhat different from what they had experienced recently, but it almost felt more familiar as it showcased the physical prowess of these beings clashing against each other.
Above all, even if their lives were on the line, this was different from the tales where she stood by as an observer within a phone screen.
[The fight of physical strength was a battle that had already ended. While the legion evolved and grew stronger, all they did was group together. The moment time was granted, victory was already decided.]
It felt as if she had returned to a time long forgotten.
The legion truly trampled upon the dragonkind. Those degraded beings, who lacked superiority in individual strength, numbers, and collective tactics, were being swept away.
“Of course, while they do possess formidable resistance against the Formancy they wield, it still feels inefficient. Human weaponry truly does not suit us.”
Yet while she was lost in such recollections, Eve was splitting her attention even in the moments of controlling the legionnaires.
What she focused on was the newly created legionnaire, or rather, the newly crafted weapon.
An upper-tier unit wielding a spear had now picked up a different weapon instead.
With one eye blinking from its body, it aimed at a currently battling dragon.
Then it fired something glowing red. A new weapon that shot Formancy in the form of a bullet.
However, its effect didn’t seem to carry much impact as Eve had mentioned.
“I need to think of another method. Simply relying on magic incurs a loss for the collective consciousness.”
Eve discarded all plans for the new armament resembling the firearms acquired from Earth.
“However, are we winning for now?”
[Not yet. He is coming. The leader of their kind, the only being that could be truly called a real dragon.]
As the dragonkind’s signs of defeat became evident in the widespread battle, he arrived in the skies above the battlefield.
A monster that appeared several times larger than the others.
“Breath.”
Eve murmured the information she already knew.
He opened his mouth wide and instantly unleashed an enormous fireball toward the ground.
It certainly contained a power unlike the other fire dragons. She sensed the source of that power was Formancy.
“Is that all it takes?”
At the same time, she also caught sight of Reina chuckling softly.
She raised her staff again, summoning magic circles.
The beam that spewed forth from there swept away all the water vapor in the atmosphere and soared toward the sky.
The beam collided directly with the pillar of flame, cutting it in half and even annihilating it, speeding unabated into outer space.
“Magic is magnificent! Far superior to the breath of a mere degraded dragon!”
Reina wore an ecstatic expression as she watched the enemy’s corpse fall to the ground with its head portion obliterated, her face flushed with exhilaration, and she began laughing maniacally.
“…This is why connecting a human’s ego directly to the collective consciousness is rather risky.”
Eve opened her mouth to make an excuse, as if she sensed the incredulous expression on my face or my emotions.
“I was just a bit surprised. Even though it’s somewhat mad, Reina always had a calm image in my memory.”
“Regardless, that side is finished.”
But the moment of surprise was brief. After all, I knew Reina’s circumstances too well.
As Eve said, everything was finished; only a one-sided massacre was unfolding on the screen.
Honestly, one might wonder if it held any significance to observe this. The dragonkind didn’t grant gold since they weren’t even units.
“Should I train a bit? Eve, you’re not going to join me, right?”
“…Training, do we really have to do it with those humans?”
Having grown accustomed to splitting my time during our absence, I tore my gaze from the diminished screen and stood up.
But then Eve grabbed my hand.
“Then if you want, come with me…”
“Anything together is fine. However, I don’t want to train alongside those humans, receiving their disgusting gazes.”
I opened my mouth to suggest we go together, but Eve shook her head.
I was slightly taken aback. This was still a battlefield in the midst of recovery, and there wasn’t enough room for us both to privately run wild.
“Not here, at our main base.”
“What?”
“I can create your body there as well.”
However, Eve’s subsequent answer exceeded my imagination.
“Do as I do. Keep a corporeal form here and also have one there. Then we can move together anywhere.”
The sparkle in Eve’s eyes indicated how she interpreted my hesitation and confusion.
