Chapter 219

219th Episode

d*ath Knight

219 – d*ath Knight #3

Dragon.

Terrifying scales and claws, along with a giant body.

A bomber that flies through the sky, spitting fire or beams from its mouth.

Anyway, dragons to the people of this world were embodiments of fear.

Just look at the fairy tales of the Gaia Continent, full of stories where evil dragons kidnap princesses and the like.

I had seen a dragon in this world only once before, if I recall correctly. It was when a dragon flew onto the roof of the Kolkata city hall, and we had to gather mages to drive it away.

I don’t know why the dragon settled on the roof of city hall, but its loud roar with its crimson body and massive wings caused absolute chaos across the entire city.

Nothing short of a natural disaster.

No one knows where and when it might appear, or what damage it might cause.

“Huuu, y-your, it’s a dragon!”

So when one was right in front of us, Paranoi was understandably terrified, trembling with fear.

Paranoi was frozen like a mouse in front of a snake, incapable of moving her feet.

But not just Paranoi—Luna and I too were stunned, lost for words.

As if watching one’s life flash before their eyes.

You bone-grasping b*stard. You said it would be safe inside. Piece of sh*t—

We thought it was just a regular cave but stumbled upon a dragon instead.

The dragon was ruby red, and its body, from its tail, was about the size of a mid-sized car. However, if it stretched its crouched wings and body, it might be half again as large.

Grrrrl…

Judging by the steady breathing and closed eyes, it seemed to be sleeping.

“Phew…”

I took a deep breath, so quiet the dragon wouldn’t notice. They say you can survive even in the lion’s den if you keep your wits about you.

If that’s true for tigers, then it should be the same for dragons, right? They’re rivals of some sort, so I assume it’d be similar.

After thinking about it seriously, I came to a sobering realization.

Our party was in deep trouble.

If this thing wakes up, we’re all dead.

“Now that I look closely, it’s not a dragon, but a wild wyvern… The size is small, and it doesn’t seem to be an older specimen…”

Right at that moment, Paranoi, who had calmed down, explained the situation. Was the creature in front of us not a dragon, but a wyvern?

Luna asked, “I’ve never seen a dragon before. What’s the difference between a wyvern and a dragon?”

“Half a century ago, after the defeat in the Giant War, the Titans and dragons lost their status. Most were exiled or executed. A few compromised with Hypos, barely maintaining their position. For example, the Hearth Dragons…”

“Heart Dragons?”

“There are dragons at the Grand Shrine of Goddess Vesta who guard the Flame of Creation. They made a contract with Vesta and her high warrior to avoid decline… However, those dragons who couldn’t do so lost their powers and became wild wyverns like this…”

So, powerful beings that were defeated in war and became wild beasts? Indeed, after hearing Paranoi’s explanation, the creature I had seen before was different.

The one lying there with its head down seemed to lack front legs.

Perhaps the small claws on the ends of the wings serve as front legs?

Anyway, I understood that it wasn’t a terrifying dragon but a wyvern. Still, if this sleeping beast awakens, we’ll all be in danger.

It’s like realizing the fierce tiger in front of you is actually a wolf.

Whether it’s a wolf or a tiger, they’re both wild beasts. Extremely dangerous.

So, I gently pushed the frozen Luna and Paranoi on their backs and said:

“Don’t wake it. Let’s go back. This doesn’t seem to be the cave we were looking for.”

You deceiving snake. Leading us to a place like this. I shouldn’t have believed I could talk to a snake.

“Aaaah.”

Just then, Luna let out a small exclamation.

“Why?”

“Look over there. There are eggs. Several eggs that haven’t hatched yet!”

Swoosh.

As she pointed with a cautious gesture, indeed, there were a few round eggs behind the giant wyvern.

They were spherical like quail eggs but dark-shelled and a little larger than my head. Truly, they were majestic-looking eggs.

“Let’s try waiting. I’ll just grab one.”

“What?! You’re going to grab it? What if the wyvern wakes up?”

“Probably won’t wake. Ideope crocodiles hibernate in summer, and this one seems to be doing the same.”

Clack, clack.

Luna snapped her fingers and made quite a loud sound. Thanks to that, both Paranoi and I tensed up involuntarily.

Yet, the wyvern, deeply asleep, showed no signs of waking despite Luna’s loud noise.

“Still, this feels awfully dangerous. Luna, let’s just go.”

“Hmm…? I guess if Hassan says so, there’s nothing we can do.”

Surprisingly, Luna, influenced by my persuasion, turned around. That was the moment.

Shakr-r-r…

A deep tremor came from the depths underground, violently shaking the ground as if the entire cavern could collapse.

Both me, Luna, and Paranoi clutched onto nearby stalactites to keep our footing. The real issue was what followed.

Grrr-uuu…

Just then, I noticed a pair of green eyes split by slits slowly facing me. My scalp tingled uncontrollably; all the muscles in my body tensed with fear.

Naturally, the only words that could come out of my mouth were:

“It’s… it’s over. Run!”

Grrrrrr-!

The wyvern stretched its wings wide, revealing a frame comparable to at least a pickup truck.

Thinking of a pickup truck equipped with sharp claws and fangs that devours flesh instead of oil and aiming straight for us was enough to make my vision blur.

“Since it’s come to this, let’s steal the eggs!”

But Luna, somehow brimming with courage, ran full-speed toward the creature. Her speed was faster than I imagined, and I couldn’t even attempt to stop her.

Grrrr-uuu!

The wyvern apparently perceived Luna as a threat and swung its raised wings down at her.

Aaah, without fail, she was about to be squashed flat—I thought.

Swish.

But like a boxer gracefully evading an opponent’s punch, Luna bent her waist and smoothly slipped through the gap between the wyvern’s wing and leg.

Indeed, it wasn’t false that her agility stats reached superhuman levels. Luna deftly performed acrobatic moves, skillfully evading between the wyvern’s wings.

Sshhk—.

“d*mn! It’s heavy!”

The problem arose when she tried to lift an egg about the size of its own body. Turns out the wyvern egg was heavier than expected, causing Luna to momentarily stumble.

Grruuuuuu!!

Seeing this, the wyvern seemed even angrier and opened its desk-sized mouth, roaring.

The cave shook as though it would collapse, and I couldn’t help but wince, instinctively crouching.

“Master Hassan, we must help Lady Luna!”

“I know that!”

Honestly, I didn’t want to fight such a monster.

On the other hand, out of curiosity, I wondered what would happen if I revived the wyvern’s bones after defeating it. Am I really so deeply influenced by the cultist mindset?

Additionally, there was this urge to release my strength against such a formidable creature.

Since leveling up and increasing my stamina to 9, I felt a burning power in my body, similar to molten magma.

“Hang on, Luna!”

After drawing my club, I charged at the wyvern.

As if detecting my murderous intent, the monster tried to turn its body, but restricted by the narrow cave, it ended up exposing its back to me.

Tadaa—!

Holding onto its tail and back part, I climbed onto it and struck its head with all my might using the club from above, in a single sweeping motion.

Kuung!

Guugg-eek-kk!!

With a loud crash, the wyvern lost its balance and tumbled to the ground. Apparently, its legs beneath the wings couldn’t withstand the shock.

“Hassan, watch out!”

In that instant, regaining my senses from Luna’s cry, I saw the stalactites dangling perilously above me, cracks forming.

Wooz-z-z.

I quickly rolled off the wyvern’s body. Despite the rather undignified posture, anything goes when escaping danger.

Doo-doo-doo—

Thanks to that, I easily avoided the stalactites that fell from above.

Geeerraaaahh-!!

Unfortunately, the wyvern trapped beneath the heavy boulders let out a scream, writhing around.

The robustness of its scales was unknown, but it was clear that major damage had been inflicted.

In gaming terms, this was the usual “stun period” given to large creatures—now was the time to dish out maximum damage.

“Finish it!”

At my yell, both Luna and Paranoi snapped out of their shock.

Luna brandished the massive Silence Totem hanging on her back with both hands, while Paranoi picked up nearby stones.

I, meanwhile, was furiously smashing and breaking whatever part of the wyvern’s body I could reach.

Crack! Ka-chunk!

The beautiful ruby-colored scales adorning its body split and cracked, and it let out a louder roar in agony.

Groooaahh-!

For a human, it would be akin to having their fingernails broken. It must have been incredibly painful.

“Alright, this will hurt more—!”

I quickly approached the groaning wyvern lying on the ground and repeatedly struck its head with the club.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

For most creatures, the head is a major weak point, and this appeared true for the wyvern with its tough-scaled body as well.

“Just a little more and we can take it down…! Ah! It’s dangerous…!”

Hearing Paranoi’s panicked voice, I inspected the wyvern’s state. Sure enough, its red scales started to glow like heated glass.

“It’s about to use a breath attack!”

“What, breath attack—?!”

Startled, I hastily distanced myself. At that moment, the wyvern opened its gigantic mouth and spewed fire.

Hwa-lekk! Wrrrrl-lek!

The area was instantly engulfed in a strange gas-like smell and intense heat.

Hwaaaaa-!

The wyvern, rising to its feet, spun around, spewing fire in all directions.

“Aaaaaaa-t-t-t! It’s hot…!”

“Not normal fire, it looks like!”

Paranoi’s robe caught on fire, and he rolled on the ground trying to put it out. Luna, too, was struggling, unable to avoid the powerful flames that swept through from various directions.

This way, we’d all end up roasted for sure.

So I thought the wyvern’s mouth, throwing smoke like a hangover, needed to be shut.

Without further thought, I charged at the wyvern.

“Shut it!”

I clung onto its head, narrowly avoiding its flames while vigorously pressing down on its upper and lower jaws with all my might.

For reptiles, their biting power might be strong, but the force required to open their jaws is often weak. This wyvern wasn’t any different.

Guuuh-uuu…

Ultimately, its jaws closed slowly despite its attempts to thrash around. My perseverance and jaw strength proved too much for it.

“d*e, you!”

When its jaws finally closed entirely,

Perhaps due to the prolonged fire-breathing, a massive explosion occurred inside its mouth and body.

Bang!

Kehack, ghack ghack, kehack.

Did the wyvern’s own flames cause it pain? The giant lizard wyvern coughed dryly.

It thrashed its tail around a bit more but soon slumped to the ground.

Feeling its massive body go limp beneath me, I realized that we had emerged victorious in this duel.

We had defeated the wyvern.

“I’ve… I’ve killed a dragon, d*mn it!”

I felt an incredible sense of exhilaration. I’ve killed a dragon, d*mn it. I became Dragon Slayer Hassan!

As I held my arms high, Paranoi, who had put out the flames on his body, approached, sweating profusely.

“It’s not a dragon but a wyvern, and not even a fully grown one…!”

“Quiet, you b*stard.”

“Still, catching a wyvern with just physical strength and no other tricks? Truly, you seem to be transforming into a formidable warrior!”

But there was little time to bask in victory.

The mysterious gas left behind by the wyvern was igniting fires everywhere, producing toxic smoke.

What should we do? Should we retreat first?

While I was pondering this,

Luna, who had been flung far by the wyvern’s tail, shakily stood up and pulled out a peculiar potion flask from her waist.

She sprayed it everywhere using a dwarf-made pump with a hisss… and the ferociously blazing fire gradually weakened and finally extinguished.

“Fire extinguisher, glad I brought it along… Anyway, Hassan! We’ve defeated a wyvern! Let’s process it quickly!”

Thanks to Luna, we avoided the troublesome situation.

I placed my palm on the wyvern’s massive body.

From my time as a slave under Elpride, dissecting numerous corpses, I had developed a keen sense of recognizing structures, whether it be crocodiles or wyverns, simply by touching them with my palm.

As the layout of its bones began forming in my mind, I suddenly realized.

This thing, it might be possible to genuinely resurrect its bones…

[Author’s Note]

Mr. Kiraos!!! Mr. Pongjo-Gyu!!! Mr. Kadeom!!! Mr. BLUE!!! Mr. Fish!!! Mr. Moment’s Flower!!! Mr. Saiph!!! Mr. Jin94!!! Mr. Potato Server!!! Mr. Borpa!!! And Mr. Kirani who sponsored the king coupon—thank you so much!

Also, I’m so grateful to everyone providing manuscript coupons and leaving comments, always appreciated!

I’ll send a large swarm of mosquitoes in front of your house as a token of my thanks… They’ll surely catch some mosquitoes for you!!

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