Demon Lord VS Emperor Dragon

“Now, prepare yourself. Try to make me submit through force.”

With the crown still hooked on the edge of its fangs, the dragon growled provocatively.

“If you can snatch this crown away, I’ll admit defeat. However—”

Gulp. The dragon swallowed the crown whole.

“As you can see, unless you defeat me, you aren’t getting it back.”

Demonstrating power worthy of a King to bring a subordinate into line—it was the exact same demand Regal had made.

“I told you, I’ll just ride a different dragon.”

“Are you scared of me?”

“No, it’s just that you’re clearly just craving attention, aren’t you?”

“I-I-I-I-I am NOT a ‘craver of attention’!”

The dragon was visibly shaken. It was practically a confession that I’d hit the mark.

Still, though. Since this was the Demon Lord’s exclusive mount, it likely possessed far higher capabilities than the magic dragons I’d been using. In patrols across the Demon Realm or in combat, a high-speed means of transportation was vital. If possible, I wanted to secure the most superior dragon available as my mount.

And, above all else:

‘Surround yourself with strong, reliable subjects. As many as possible.’

“—That’s what you said, Senior Demon Lord.”

I recalled Yurisha’s words.

“If I show you my power, will you become my mount?”

“If you show me enough power to earn my respect, yes.”

The dragon nodded.

“I promise to soar across countless battlefields for your sake.”

“Fine. I accept.”

I looked up at the black dragon hovering in mid-air.

“This area is known as the Frozen Plain of Death; it’s a place where no living thing resides. We can fight here without holding back.”

Bel-ga-Elfieda, the Emperor Dragon of the Abyss, exhaled. The breath became a shockwave that swept across and shattered the icy earth. To think it possessed this level of power just by breathing. This thing was strong.

“I belong to the ‘Ga’ kin—the highest rank among the dragon species. Come at me, Demon Lord.”

“I suppose I’ll have to break in this wild horse, then.”

Well, it’s a dog, not a horse. No, wait, it’s a dragon.

“If you won’t come to me, I’m coming to you! Shadow Breath!”

A black orb of light was unleashed from the dragon’s mouth.

“Rune Shield.”

I deployed a mana barrier and deflected it with ease. Then, using a levitation spell, I rose to the same altitude as the dragon. Seeing it up close, it was even more imposing—a majestic sight worthy of the strongest dragon species.

“Heh, unscathed by that, are you?”

The dragon before me let out a hiss of breath.

“Shadow Breath is a dragon breath of the void that erases everything. At maximum output, it has the power to wipe out this entire region…”

“The firepower seems quite high.”

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t judge me based solely on that. That was just a warm-up. Next is—”

As it spoke, the dragon spat out more light orbs. This time, there were two. But they couldn’t pierce my mana barrier.

—Wait.

“Divide!”

Along with the dragon’s spell, the two orbs split into dozens. They surrounded me, closing in all at once.

“Now evasion is impossible. Can you block this many orbs, little New Demon Lord?”

The dragon sounded triumphant. Ludmila, the Sacred Edge I fought the other day, had managed to shatter my barrier by focusing continuous attacks on the same spot. If I took an impact equivalent to or greater than that, even a Rune Shield would likely break. I wondered if this cluster of light orbs was at that level of power.

“Lucifer’s Shield.”

I re-cast a higher-ranked defensive spell. In place of the previous mana barrier, a new, pale-purple barrier appeared. All the light orbs were stopped by that barrier and dissipated into mist.

“You endured it…!?”

“If I’d stuck with Rune Shield, it might have been shattered and I would’ve taken damage.”

I stared the dragon down.

“Are you perhaps stronger than a Demon Commander or a Sacred Edge?”

“I am merely a mount. Fundamentally, I do not fight.”

“Even though you’re this strong?”

“I like soaring through the sky more than fighting. I only fight when I feel like it.”

The dragon laughed.

“And one more thing—I fight with everything I have to protect my pride.”

“Pride? Is letting me ride really that humiliating for you?”

I mean, it’s not like I intend to force the issue.

“Yes. It is the ultimate humiliation.”

The dragon’s tone changed—shifting from a bright, innocent voice to a dark one filled with hatred.

“In the age of myth, the demons and the gods fought a fierce war—”

The dragon closed its eyes as if reminiscing.

“The Demon Army held the advantage. But eventually, the tides of war shifted completely. The gods sealed away the majority of the demons’ power, weakening them. Simultaneously, humans were bestowed with holy armaments—the Miracle Armaments.”

This matched the story I’d heard from Yurisha.

“The Demon Army was routed by the gods and humans, and ever since, the demons have been hunted by the Heroes. Many of my kin were killed—”

I heard a grinding sound. It was the sound of the dragon gnashing its fangs.

“Is that grudge why the demons hate humans?”

“Yes.”

The dragon nodded at my question.

“Of course, I know it’s not a one-sided grudge. The demons attacked humans too. We killed and were killed by each other.”

The dragon let out a deep sigh. Anger, hatred, sadness, despair… surely, that breath contained a myriad of emotions.

“Killing leads to more killing, and hatred becomes a cycle—Humans and Demons will keep fighting until one of them is destroyed.”

I myself have killed several Heroes, both in the Demon Realm and the human world. In situations where I could neutralize or drive them away without killing, I did so. But to protect the demons, there were more than a few situations where I had no choice but to kill.

“Is there… no way to stop it?”

Not as something idealistic like everyone getting along. But couldn’t we reach a state where a line is drawn and we become mutually non-aggressive?

“Who knows.”

The dragon’s wings spread wide.

“Let’s end the chat here. To determine the depth of your power—we resume!”

In the next instant, the massive black frame became a whirlwind. It was moving at a super-high speed, even faster than in its Hellhound state!

“Let’s see if you can block this!”

From there, it unleashed a triple combination: a gust of wind from both wings, a slashing wave from its lunging fangs, and then a black light orb. My Lucifer’s Shield didn’t budge. Stable defense. The excess energy from the triple attack tore across the black-and-white surface of the ground, surging far into the distance. Explosive light flashed in the distance. Its destructive power was absurd, far greater than before.

“…I hope that didn’t cause any damage to the demon residential areas.”

I stiffened beneath my mask.

“Hoh, worrying about your people in the middle of a battle?”

“I’m the King, so of course I am.”

“…Hmph.”

The dragon growled. It hissed, its breath pregnant with flame, scorching the air. The dark mana erupting from its entire body increased even further. The terrifying killing intent was accompanied by a physical impact, raging through the area.

“In my dragon form, the more I fight, the more excited I get, and both reason and emotion vanish. Eventually, I become a demonic beast that destroys everything—if you want to stop me, come at me with the intent to kill.”

“I’m not going to kill you.”

I concentrated my mana. If this was my opponent, it could likely endure me getting a little serious.

“I’m going to have you fight alongside me. For the sake of what’s to come.”

I will gather strong subordinates. That wasn’t just to cover my weakness regarding the ‘Demon Lord Blade Fragment.’ It was so that they could become one of the powers to eventually end the war between the Demon Realm and the human world.