“This brat just won’t stop talking!”
Since the Dragon kept insulting my mother, I could no longer listen. I swung my tail and sent the table flying toward the Dragon. Jewels and various items flew into the air, momentarily looking like stars, but to me, the only thing visible was the Dragon.
You dodged? You say there’s a soul inside? That’s enough nonsense. The Dragon collided with the table and flew backward. It landed on the table intending to crush it, and I thought it would leap to the ceiling and crash back down onto the table. However…
The Dragon lying beneath kicked the table accurately in my direction while maintaining that same pose. I barely managed to evade the direct hit, but amidst the chaos, my party members were almost caught up in it.
From the looks of it, with the barrier Akashi hastily erected, it seemed there was no need to worry about them. Looks like I can fight freely.
“How dare you kick away what I’ve taught you. Did you inherit your idiocy from your father or your mother? Either way, you’re an exact replica.”
“Shut up! How would you know…!! Mother wouldn’t do such a thing!!!”
Since I still held control over the earth, I poured mana into my feet and sent a wave of rock hurtling toward him.
The Dragon blocked the crushing wave of earth using crystal bricks extracted from the walls and ceiling, reshaping them into large pillars which it hurled at me.
I quickly solidified the flowing mana, especially around my arms, extending my hand to block it. Though the impact was far greater than when it had charged earlier, I gritted my teeth and managed to hold my ground despite nearly losing balance.
“Graaaahhh… Ughhhhh!!!”
With all my strength, I moved the pillar to the left, creating an explosion that punched a hole through the wall behind it. Who cares? As I ran forward, I pulled a sharp greatsword from the earth and swung diagonally upward.
But as if he’d anticipated it, crystals emerged from the ceiling, instantly blocking my sword path. A grinding sound followed as the blade split apart.
Without hesitation, I swung downward from above, forcing my arm against inertia for another strike, aiming to shatter his skull. But the Dragon neither dodged nor flinched, instead casually catching the blade with one hand.
“Well now. Are you trying to hypnotize me? Guess you don’t even consider me your child. Well, we’ll see how this goes. I’ll keep up until you’re exhausted. Hit me with everything you’ve got.”
Even without scales sprouting, the Dragon grabbed me barehanded, insulted my mother again, then nonchalantly struck my chest with its other hand, which had been idly crossed behind its back.
Though carelessly thrown, the punch sent me crashing through the already weakened wall, leaving it tattered.
That casual blow managed to chip the protective scales guarding my chest, but I wasn’t about to give up. Wiping blood mixed with my sneeze, I stood back up.
The wall, already punctured by my collision, cracked further before collapsing, bringing down the already unstable building with it.
However, the falling crystal bricks hovered mid-air, transforming into long rods that encircled us, forming a space reminiscent of a boxing ring.
The remaining crystals floated around.
Regenerating my damaged scales, I charged at the Dragon again. For some reason, the Dragon didn’t attempt to seize control of the earth from me, choosing instead to use only crystals.
Perhaps because it knew causing mere scratches wasn’t worth the effort of taking it from me. Striking the earth beneath the Dragon, I made thorns erupt under its feet, but the Dragon simply stood atop the largest thorn and stared at me.
It crushed the thorn and hurled itself into the air, where I threw a rock column four times my size at it.
As expected, the Dragon effortlessly shattered the column into pieces using crystal shards no bigger than pebbles. But I had another plan.
Hiding myself with an invisibility cloak, I gathered mana into my heart and prepared to exhale a Breath attack.
“Hmm. What makes you think that’s half-dragon stuff? I can’t even do that, though I’m curious…but I’d better not get hit.”
Yet, as if having seen through my shallow deception long ago, the hovering crystal shards converged on me, pinning me to the ground.
Despite being crushed, I persisted in preparing the Breath. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the Dragon landed in front of me, looking down indifferently before stepping on the crystals pressing against my neck.
At that moment, a tremendous shock surged through my spine, scattering the mana concentrated in my heart and violently overturning my insides.
Not only that, but the forced cessation of the surge caused my strength to drain rapidly from my body.
“Ghhh… AAAAHHHH…”
My physical resilience seemed to have diminished as well, making it impossible to breathe under the pressure of the crystals. When my legs reverted to their original form, I couldn’t suppress a scream.
“Hmm. Anything else? Is that all? Strange. That shouldn’t be… Ah, did you step on my scale? Doesn’t matter. Do you still have the energy to glare? Quite tenacious. In that case, see for yourself what your mother intended to do to you.”
Just as I groaned in pain, I glared at the Dragon with bloodshot eyes. He responded with a look of disgust before pulling out the necklace my mother had given me.
“Let’s see… Human form… Dragon blood… Would this work?”
The Dragon suddenly bit his finger and let a drop of blood fall onto the crystal of the necklace. Then, he took a few fragments from the pile of crystals pinning me down, shaped them into a human woman, and hung the necklace around its neck.
What are you doing? What are you doing to Mother’s keepsake? Give it back. I tried to speak, but all I could do was breathe.
The human-shaped crystal remained still for a moment, then suddenly began to move, starting with the fingertips, hands, arms, legs, and finally the mouth.
“…What? This isn’t my daughter’s body…? What’s going on…”
The voice I thought I’d never hear again came from the crystal. Confused, it felt its own body and looked around before meeting my gaze.
“…Daughter? What are you doing there…?”
Mother… Mother. What are you doing there? Mother? Mother? Aren’t you supposed to be buried? Mother? Mother?
I twisted my whole body, trying desperately to escape the pile of crystals. Please, just move something.
But nothing budged.
Please, just say something…!
“Mo…ther!”
Mother, can you hear me? Mother, please look at me. Where are you looking? Please look at me. No words came out.
My throat tightened, my breath caught. Suddenly, the Dragon lifted the pile of crystals off me. With unsteady legs, I stumbled forward toward Mother.
Even if her embrace isn’t warm, even if this meeting is absurd. It doesn’t matter. If Mother is here, there’s no need for revenge.
Let’s go back, return to how it used to be, and become a happy family…
Just as I was about to embrace her, Mother pushed me away. Harshly, forbidding me from coming closer, with a forceful touch that made me fall backward.
“…Eh…?”
“…Ah, sorry. I startled you, daughter. So, what happened here? Why am I trapped in this crystal instead of your body…? Hmm? Tell me. Come on, be a good girl…?”
The Mother within the crystal approached me slowly with a look of regret after realizing her mistake, extending her hand.
Her pushing motion just now seemed oddly familiar.
Ah, that’s right. My memories returned.
Before I became aware of myself. Before I recalled the memories of my previous life… No. The memories I brainwashed myself into believing were from a past life—before I turned 10.
She forcibly fed me strange drugs. She implanted something into my body. She drew blood. She cut open my abdomen and examined the contents. She peeled my skin. She tore off my nails. She hit me. She pushed me.
No matter how much I begged her to stop, she didn’t. No matter how much I cried and asked why, she didn’t. No matter how many curses I spat, she didn’t stop.
The time of pain never ended. And once it was all over…
She professed her love, praised me as a truly good daughter, and proudly showed me the research results she had obtained from my body that day.
When I turned 10, unable to endure any longer, I erased all my memories and decided to start anew, hoping something might change. After wiping out my memories up until then, I fabricated new ones.
Yes. Just like ‘right now’ when the memories resurfaced.
It really worked. For some reason, the witch started acting like a “kind mother.” The affectionate memories I knew over the last three years were merely her performance.
The suppressed memories surged back. The self-hypnosis broke.
And right before my eyes stood the witch who had pretended to be a benevolent person while steadily infiltrating my body.
“…Daughter…? Why…?”
Before I could think, my legs moved first. Still sitting on my bottom, I scrambled backward, putting distance between myself and the crystal.
“Don’t come near… Don’t come near…!”
Anywhere, just somewhere far away, quickly.
After barely standing up, I ran without looking back. Behind me, I heard the witch calling my name, but I didn’t turn around.
My party members called out to me, but I didn’t turn around.
Even with my weakened body after the recent surge ended, I kept running and running.
But I had no destination.
