Some skeletons had fallen, and the fading fog drifted high above. This spot from above was unlike any other in Yavan. There were no dense trees—just fog rising into the sky, revealing a terrifying sight: a massive black dragon sleeping peacefully atop a pile of skeletons. This was the lair of the dragon Slytha, deep within the forests.
So here we are... I have to wake this thing up. A huge wave of hesitation gripped me. I didn't know what to do—should I wake it up and start the fight, or what? Etomi was watching me. All I had to do was go forward. I grabbed the Astral Sword, but strangely enough, the blue aura still surrounded me. Why? Weren't there still some nemesis around? Didn't Thalesa say dragons don't use that power?
"Thalesa, why is the aura still around me?"
"Maybe because of the monsters nearby… but I don't sense any close ones…"
Strange. But there's no time to think about that now. I have to wake it up. What attack should I use? Damn it, this is so annoying—I didn't even plan for this moment. I guess one boosted slash should be enough to wake it… but I couldn't find the courage. God, my life has gone insane—from a teenager sitting in front of a Nintendo 3DS to a teenager standing in front of a dragon, having to wake it up just to kill it.
"Hurry up, I can't wait forever," Etomi called from behind me.
"Shut up, I'm still planning," I replied.
"What? You came to face the strongest monster in the kingdom without a plan? Are you trying to commit honorable suicide or what?"
Then something completely unexpected happened. The dragon exploded, and a massive black aura surged out. No—it wasn't aura, it was fire! I couldn't see a thing. My blue aura doubled in strength, becoming much stronger, as if it was protecting me from the fire. But why would it do that if this fire wasn't nemesis power?!
"Slytha!!" a voice roared from within the fire.
When I turned, I saw Etomi staring wide-eyed. It seemed like her cold expression was starting to crack. After a while, the fire completely faded. The area became clear—no fog, no mist. But what I saw was incredibly strange. There was a woman of a strange race I'd never seen before—or at least, never seen in this world.
She was a woman with boobs, wearing something like a white shawl that covered her chest and part of her body. Why did I say "part"? Because her other limbs were already covered with scales, similar to the dragon that had been sleeping moments ago. Her ears were like those of an elf, and instead of hair, she had terrifying horns and something like a tail hanging from where her hair should be. Behind her were two frightening wings, and her tail swayed left and right as she sat on a fallen tree.
"How many times do I have to tell you to suppress your aura? It annoys me," she said with a feminine voice—unlike the voice that previously called out Slytha.
"A-Are you the dragon that was sleeping here?!" I asked in shock.
"Yes? I'm Slytha," she answered, staring at me with her orange eyes.
I didn't understand anything anymore... She seemed to be a half-dragon—or what they call a dragonborn. I couldn't think much further, but the one thing that made me happy was that she was using nemesis, so her attacks wouldn't affect me. For a moment, I felt really awkward... I have to fight this beautiful woman… This is getting worse!!!
"What is a dragonborn doing here?" Etomi suddenly asked.
"And why are you asking?" Slytha replied with another question. Oh, here we go—an intense conversation between two strong women.
"Dragonborn from the northern kingdom of Dragnis attack and kill the people of Yarum. That's a direct declaration of war," Etomi said.
"And who said I belong to that kingdom? Sure, all dragonborn in the continent of Sevios come from Dragnis, but not all dragonborn in the world are from Sevios, am I wrong?"
"Then who are you?"
"Slytha—or as some call me, the strongest dragon in Yarum. But you can call me Mother of Wyverns. It's a nickname I made up, and I really like it."
"Are you sure this isn't Dragnis' revenge because Gaziel killed one of your strongest soldiers?"
"I told you—I'm not from that kingdom."
After that, Etomi went back to leaning on a tree as usual, and I was left standing alone, facing this dragonborn, with a lot of courage, a bit of happiness, and a whole lot of tension. But who cares? I've got a sword that can erase all of this fucking bitch's attacks. Fuck emotions—this is a moment for monsters, and I'll be a monster.
"Well then, since you refuse to reveal everything, let's move on to the next phase," I said, pointing my sword at her.
"Oh! Another adventurer who came to kill me. This will be boring, but fine, I'll play a little until Gaziel shows up… Now give me a moment."
Just like before, she exploded again, black fire pouring out of her. The place roared with wind, and with each gust, my blue aura strengthened around me. That's a lot of nemesis, but that doesn't matter to a spirit user like me. Once the fire faded again, she revealed her dragon form—but this time, she was fully awake, making it a terrifying sight. It would've been better if she'd fought in her semi-human form.
"Let's begin," said Slytha.
◆ ◆ ◆
The dragon stood before me—black scales, orange eyes fixed on me, claws bared, and her massive wings ready to soar. Suddenly, she opened her mouth and launched one of those black fire blasts. I blocked with the Astral Sword, and just like before, the fire began to fade. God, that makes me so happy! Yeah, I can beat this thing.
"Unbelievable!!" Thalesa's voice suddenly rang out.
"What is it?!"
"Dragonborn are one of the seventeen races of Staria. They have two forms: the semi-human form and the dragon form, and they can switch between them freely. But… they never use nemesis power. And yet…"
"This dragonborn uses nemesis!"
"Yes… That's why… Laos, this isn't a dragonborn. She's... a demon."
"What the…??"
"Yes, it's obvious now. But we must not let her know that we've figured it out. Hide it."
Slytha stared at me in shock after I completely nullified her fire like it was nothing. If she finds out I'm using a spirit weapon, she'll realize I know her true identity. I hope she doesn't figure it out—she might run away or retreat if she knows, and that's something I definitely don't want. Killing a disguised demon would skyrocket my reputation! Damn, this just keeps getting better!!
"A sword enchanted with water magic, huh?" Slytha asked.
"Yes, the only way to counter fire is with water." Looks like she doesn't know this is a spirit weapon.
At that moment, she turned to strike me with her tail. I jumped at the perfect moment and retreated backward. Phew! I'm so fucking agile. I quickly launched two slashes at her face, but she dodged them. She then rushed forward and raised her claws high, aiming to hit me. My next move was already clear!
I flipped quickly and felt her hand slam into the ground, creating an explosion. Above me, her belly was exposed right in front of me. I activated the first form and began unleashing multiple slashes, but all I managed to do was inflict a few wounds. Then she soared high into the air, leaving the fucking NPC beneath her. I waited for her next move, and just as I expected, she began breathing her black flames at me. What is this bitch doing?
"You were beating everyone with your fire. Let's see what you've got without it," I said while guarding myself with the Astral Sword.
She didn't care and kept spewing her rotten flames at me, even burning some nearby trees. Things were starting to get dangerous, so I needed to end this fast. I activated the fourth form, raised my sword high, and shouted: "Water Ball!!!"
A ball of water formed, and with its heavy weight, it crashed down on Slytha, who was still flying. She lost her balance and fell to the ground after trying to stay airborne. That was my plan all along—to keep this bitch grounded so I could fuck her with another attack!
"Ground Wave!!!"
A massive wave surged from the ground using the third form. It hit Slytha hard. Even though she protected herself with her wings, she still took some damage. Or maybe not? The wave exploded the moment she spread her wings open, and then she charged at me. At that moment, I felt incredibly slow. Was it fear, or did I just lose my reflexes?
I didn't know what to do, so I tried to shield myself with the Astral Sword—even though I knew the attack wasn't made of nemesis power. Her claws clashed with my blade, and as a result of the impact, I was launched backward and slammed into a tree. I coughed up blood and felt a sharp pain in my back and chest, but at least I didn't hit a branch or anything that could pierce me.
"What? What kind of enchanted sword doesn't even break after such a heavy clash?!" Slytha asked in her raspy voice.
"Fuck you," I muttered, standing up and spitting out blood.
She charged at me again with high speed, but this time I hurled a large number of spikes, forcing her to stop. Then I cast Aqua Rains, which started to damage her tough scales. Good—I'm doing well. Maybe even better than that bitch Etomi would've done!
Slytha roared fiercely, then launched a spiraling firestorm. My slow mind couldn't come up with a quick way to block it, so I fired another Ground Wave, and when it collided with the fire, it evaporated it—just as I expected. Perfect! I dashed forward to hit her with closer, stronger slashes, but that turned out to be a massive mistake.
As I ran, I felt something hit my legs. I always fall for this trick—fuck! Her tail struck my legs, and I fell to the ground. The pain from the fall was intense, but when I tried to get up, I saw her claws right above me. Grrr... I quickly rolled and grabbed her tail to pull myself up. A cloud of dust rose as she slammed into the ground.
This dragon is so fucking strong. I ran off and fired slashes while running. It looked like I managed to land some wounds—there was fresh blood on the ground. At that moment, she took flight again, circling in the sky. After a while, she dove down with her mouth wide open. I ran fast to escape that terrifying maw, but she still managed to hit me with her hand.
I felt her claw tear through me. Agghhh!!! That hurt as fuck. I fell to the ground, and she tried to breathe fire at me again, taking advantage of the moment. That was easy to predict... I cast Water Ball, successfully shielding myself from her flames. I quickly retreated into the trees, ran to my bag, pulled out a pain-relief potion, and drank some of it. Then, without hesitation, I gulped down a health potion—some of it spilling on my clothes in my rush.
"Hiding in the trees like a scared little deer? What a shame for Yarum's adventurers," Slytha growled.
I dashed back to the battlefield in a flash. That's when Slytha blasted her fire at the trees, causing a massive blaze. You dumbass—I'm right in front of you! I activated the fourth form, pointed my sword straight at her face, and when I saw the perfect chance, I shouted: "Cold Spiral!!"
But she quickly blocked it with one of her wings. Fuck—she's adapting. After her defense succeeded, she tried to hit me with her tail again, but it was getting stupid and repetitive. So this time, instead of dodging or jumping, I decided to launch an attack at her tail. With full force and using the first form, I screamed: "WATER SLASH!!!!!!!"
The slash flew out at an insane speed—terrifyingly fast. Just from the look of it, you could tell it was fucking powerful. It hit her tail and caused a massive tear. Blood gushed out and sprayed onto the ground. Slytha let out a deafening scream that made me cover my ears. Then she began flying again, breathing fire furiously. Looks like I've pissed her off... This fight is entering a new phase now!