Kugugugung.
A tremendous sound resonated, and the heavens and earth shook. As the term “heaven and earth” suggests, the ground where the mansion once stood, now collapsed, trembled violently as if it could no longer endure.
Trees unable to withstand the tremors fell, and the sturdy fences that had stood firm came crashing down. The damage grew exponentially the closer it was to the mansion, making it clear what was causing the shaking.
If someone had been standing close to the mansion, they would have felt a vibration as if the heavens themselves were trembling. Of course, that would only happen if one were able to stand upright.
If a person had been standing next to the mansion, they wouldn’t just fall to the ground; their bodies would likely be pierced by rocks protruding from the earth and strange objects. Those rocks and peculiar objects were scraping and devouring everything around them, so even if someone with an extraordinary sense of balance managed to stay upright, their vision would be fragmented into eight pieces as they were swallowed by the mansion.
In short, the area around the mansion was in an extremely perilous state. The situation, akin to a natural disaster, was so violent that even those standing some distance away, trying to intercept the mansion, seemed to be struggling just to steady themselves.
“Uhh, ugh!”
“Suddenly, what is this?! Aaargh! I bit my tongue!”
“Shut your mouth and get down!”
Fortunately, because they were at a distance from the mansion, they managed to stabilize themselves and began protecting their bodies by flattening themselves against the ground. Thankfully, since they had chosen an open area without obstacles to intercept the mansion, the only immediate threat was the trembling earth.
The only real danger was that they might lose control of their weapons.
The weapons meant to counter the mansion were quite large. If they were to fall due to the violent shaking, similar to the earth being churned up, they could easily crush a person.
But those skilled in handling such unexpected situations had already secured their weapons firmly. While they couldn’t maintain their own balance and even bit their tongues, they made sure to secure the weapons. Biting one’s tongue slightly wouldn’t kill you after all, so it was a reasonable choice.
Anyway…
They could do nothing but cling to the anchored weapons and wait for the tremors to subside.
Still… they couldn’t hide the growing unease rising from the depths of their hearts. After all, despite shooting at what they assumed to be the legs several times and causing the mansion to collapse, the monstrous structure stubbornly regenerated, taking one step at a time with a “kung! kung!” sound.
That much wasn’t so bad. After all, it proved that the weapons they brought had some effect, no matter how the situation developed. But something strange was happening closer to the mansion.
A loud “yuruk, yuruk!” sound made the ground tremble every time.
If this was the level of shaking felt at their distance, they could only imagine how intense it would be up close.
It was difficult to make sense of what was happening because they had their bodies curled up, but the strange, warping sound coming from afar only heightened their unease.
It wasn’t excitement over a metamorphosis. They had already endured too much, seen too many terrible sights. Thus, they felt fear at this sound. What was trying to transform now?
Had they perhaps meddled with something they should not have?
What happened to the blue girl who went inside?
Did her actions cause this? But if they hadn’t tried to stop it, wouldn’t it have eventually…
The anxiety and fear grew like a chain reaction, but they tried hard not to show it. It wouldn’t help anyway, and past experience suggested such expressions wouldn’t improve the situation.
How long had they been lying pressed to the ground?
While their minds were filled with anxiety about the mansion and the weapons, the faces of the two people who had been observing the mansion from another location popped into their heads.
…Are those two alright?
Though it might seem like a wasted worry at this point, they had a great excuse for staying still— they couldn’t move.
Then, as if reprimanding them, the ground-shaking tremors that felt like they could overturn the earth suddenly stopped. If this had been a natural earthquake, they would have needed to prepare for aftershocks, but this earthquake was artificial. It differed somewhat from the traditional definition of a quake, so they regained a small amount of composure and glanced around.
The first thing to catch their eyes was the silhouette of the two people they had been worried about earlier. They were relieved to see that, like themselves, the two had weathered the situation relatively unscathed through experience.
“…Thank goodness.”
Someone muttered this as they stared at them. The man who was staring realized that their gaze was fixed somewhere and turned his head.
And then…
“What, what is th-that?”
“What is it…”
“…Huh?”
Following their gaze, they saw… something unimaginable waiting for them. The mansion, which had looked like it was collapsing, was now… something closer to a living being.
The legs that had been kicking against the ground had swelled to a size capable of supporting the massive body, and the massive torso with the two legs functioning now as arms was extremely large. The remaining two legs that had supported the mansion seemed to now serve as arms, showcasing sharp claws.
It was… a truly bizarre silhouette.
Anyone who saw it might have exclaimed that a dinosaur had appeared.
The dark red flesh had scales sticking out densely, and the lighter underside was divided into several horizontal sections. The long neck stretching from the torso and the horned lizard face perched atop it resembled a peculiar dinosaur at a glance.
A form akin to a T-Rex before the growth of feathers.
But anyone with even a slight interest in fantasy would have murmured:
“D, dragon?”
“Isn’t that the monster from fantasy novels…?”
“What, why is it… no, why did the mansion turn into something like this?”
The bewildered man grabbed the shoulder of the one who had muttered “dragon” and shook him. The one who muttered “dragon” exclaimed while feeling dizzy.
“I don’t know, stop shaking me! I’m going to throw up!”
“M, sorry.”
After finally stopping the shaking, the man heaved a few dry heaves and looked again at the towering mansion… no, dragon.
No matter how many times he looked, it appeared to be a dragon. Though the skin and scales were crude, the silhouette closely resembled the dragon he had seen in pictures and stories. If he had to give it a name… maybe “Flesh Dragon”?
The flowing dark red liquid dripping from its body seemed like a fitting name.
After naming it, the man looked around and noticed his companions were all fixing their gaze on him. In their eyes, he could see the question— how are we supposed to deal with this thing?
“…The way to defeat a dragon.”
If I knew that, would I not already be called a Dragon Slayer…?
It pained the man to disappoint his companions’ hopeful gaze, but he couldn’t come up with any clever ideas. Besides, it was questionable whether that thing was even a real dragon.
Even if it was a dragon, wasn’t it a mythical creature, a product of human imagination? Unless someone brought out something like Excalibur, there wasn’t much else they could do.
…Unless magic could come out of his hands…
“Ah.”
“What, did you think of something?”
“Quick, tell us! It could move at any moment while we’re standing still!”
“Ah, no… It’s not particularly special.”
After hesitating for a moment, the man, unable to withstand his companion’s gaze, spoke softly.
“In what I’ve seen, they usually die when you chop off their head or stab their heart with a sword. So… it’s like any other living creature.”
“Are you saying we should kill it with some fancy sword skill?”
“What’s that?”
The man’s strategy was nothing special. He simply suggested using the weapons they already had firmly anchored in place, as they had done earlier.
“But if it’s changed form, will that work? Maybe we should call for reinforcements instead.”
“We don’t have the resources to do that, which is why we brought the blue girl over earlier.”
“Now that you mention it, what happened to her?”
“…I don’t know either.”
The group fell into confusion, rambling on about various things. There was no clear command, but doing so seemed to keep them from succumbing entirely to uncontrollable fear. In short, it was bravado.
…Even that was possible only because the mansion had been still. And the end of that luxury soon arrived.
“Oh, look at, LOOK!”
With wings protruding from its back, the mansion beat them “hooong! hooong!” and slowly rose into the air. There was no longer time for idle chatter. The creature, which had blindly walked toward people earlier, would likely have the same goal now it was airborne.
Until now, they had managed to remain unnoticed, but now its presence might be exposed even to neighboring or faraway countries. If it flew toward the location of the laboratory, maybe there would be a way to handle the situation, but in that case, its exposure couldn’t be avoided. Doubtful they’d find a way to cover it up, which is probably why it would happen regardless.
That’s why they quickly acted again. Wasn’t it necessary to try everything possible, just to have an excuse later?
“Prepare for launch! Fire first, think later! How many shots do we have left?”
“Three!”
“Move, now!”
Coordinating perfectly, they aimed their weapons towards the mansion.
“Hooong! Hooong!”
The mansion showed no concern, continuing to flap its wings.
“Three.”
The sound of air slicing through emanated from the strengthened wings.
“Two.”
It stirred up dust everywhere. It was like the prelude to an impending calamity.
“One… Fire!”
In tandem with the sharp firing sounds, the weapons’ trajectories toward the mansion appeared amid the swirling dust.
With a powerful “kwaang!” sound, it struck the mansion’s body.
A strange, eerie sound echoed. The group, thinking they might have succeeded, swallowed their saliva, but the result was not good.
They had only just managed to subdue the previously towering legs. Misjudging that the body changing shape meant the creature would be weaker was a mistake.
The quickly stabilized Flesh Dragon, which had risen with the intention of flying somewhere, turned its head towards the group instead of flying off.
The group felt a chill down their spines.
It was clear that standing still like this would lead to certain death.
“Uh, it feels ominous. Let’s change our position first—”
Was the judgment of the dragon expert (?) correct? The dragon’s mouth, which was staring at the group, started to open wide. Soon after, it was evident that all the surrounding air was being sucked into it.
“B, breath!?”
“What’s that?”
“Y, we need to get out of here! We’ll die!”
“If you know, explain clearly! Don’t let us die!”
“Uh… uh…”
With the group’s pressing, the man’s mind turned blank. No matter how much new equipment they brought, it felt like it wouldn’t be enough to stop this.
And then…
As if punishing them for firing their weapons…
A dark red something began to spew from what appeared to be the mansion-turned-dragon’s mouth. The group desperately scattered to avoid it.
Because getting hit by that…
Would undoubtedly mean death.
The dragon’s mouth vomited this dark red substance, which looked like the embodiment of death, pitch black.
