Dragon Kendall didn't understand his situation correctly.
"Cough, cough!"
A groan escaped his mouth after the punch that struck his face, and he felt the pain as if his head was being shaken by the force of the blow.
Dizziness, nausea, pain.
All of that enveloped Kendall, but his eyes couldn't believe the current situation.
'... What is this?'
What is happening now?
Ten Gods, excluding the Dragon Lord.
Kendall, who used to be considered one of them due to his ability related to Victory, had always thought that his triumph was obvious.
'I am the Dragon chosen by the Dragon Lord.'
After completing his first growth phase and obtaining the Victory Attribute, the Dragon Lord sought him out.
"Is your Attribute Victory?"
He understood the content of Kendall's Attribute and smiled.
"Good Attribute. No, excellent. Does nature follow you for your victory, right?"
The Dragon Lord extended his hand towards Kendall.
"Join me. You have the qualification to become a God. I will always provide you with victory."
Since then, Kendall had lived a life in line with the characteristic of victory.
On the battlefield where he appeared, only Victory existed, and the world was in his favor.
Therefore, he was confident.
'I will be the next Dragon Lord.'
When the current Dragon Lord becomes a true God, one of the Ten Gods will be the next Dragon Lord.
Although Kendall saw himself as the youngest, he did not consider the other Dragon Gods as competition and believed that he would take that position by leaving them behind.
The world always turned as he wanted.
And unlike the other Dragon Gods, he had always experienced victory.
'So, why am I like this now?'
Forgetting the pain, Kendall slowly turned his head. He saw the crazed Dragon looking at him and smiling.
Certainly, it was a Dragon that hadn't fully transformed because it hadn't consumed the Holy Water, which is the source of the world.
And he should be on the ground.
From head to toe.
His entire body was covered in wounds.
Apart from being covered in blood, the upper right thigh was completely burned, perhaps because it couldn't withstand the mana explosion. Additionally, along with a significant burn, some parts of the flesh had been completely consumed.
And his side had deep cuts, perhaps caused by sharp wind. It wasn't just one attack, but several times, creating lacerations.
'Shouldn't he surrender to this?'
And shouldn't he admit his defeat?
Kendall couldn't understand the Dragon, Rasheel, in front of him.
Then suddenly, the God of Struggle, the Dragon who was among the top five Gods, came to Kendall's mind. He was a little older than him.
'Hey, you can't do that.'
Why did that phrase suddenly come to mind?
"This guy, why is he so relaxed?"
Rasheel, after seeing Kendall stagger with a single blow, smiled sarcastically.
Kendall looked at him, barely speaking.
"... Doesn't it hurt you...?"
And Rasheel slightly ignored those words.
"What, are you saying something obvious?"
And he struck.
Thud!
Rasheel punched Kendall in the head again.
"Urgh!"
The moment Kendall staggered, Rasheel released his grip on the neck and extended his uninjured left leg. His leg hit Kendall's abdomen.
"Ahh!"
The impact was enough to send Kendall's body flying backward.
But Rasheel didn't allow that to happen.
Backing away would only lead to more attacks from Kendall.
"What a nuisance."
Rasheel approached Kendall in an instant and didn't stop moving his hands and feet.
Pow, bam!
"Urgh!"
Kendall tried to twist his body to block the attack but couldn't.
"Wow, what is this so pathetic?"
Rasheel laughed as he continued to hit faster.
"Hahaha!"
He laughed even as he did so.
He had no choice.
Every time Rasheel hit that annoying guy, his mood improved, and his condition got better.
Of course, his wounds worsened, and the pain intensified, but Rasheel didn't know.
Anyway, it would hurt, and it was much better to feel the pain while beating that damn Dragon.
Boom, thud!
The sound of Rasheel's punches echoed in the air.
"Oh."
Archie admired.
Not only was he impressed by how skillfully Rasheel defeated Kendall, but there was also another reason.
"The Mana is returning."
Clang, boom!
Magic was gradually accumulating in Rasheel's fists.
But Rasheel himself didn't seem to realize.
He was just hitting Kendall without thinking about it.
Archie looked around. The circular stadium, suffused with silver light, was becoming blurry.
Snap, crack!
Kendall couldn't even react.
He barely raised his arms to cover his face.
Boom, clang!
But he had to endure the pain of Rasheel's fists hitting him.
"Kraaah!"
His arms twisted or broke.
Kendall instinctively knew it, but he couldn't do anything about it.
Rasheel was relentlessly pressing him, preventing him from breathing properly, hitting him with fists and legs over and over.
"Hahahaha!"
Rasheel laughed very pleasurably.
Clang, boom!
"Argh, Aahhhh!"
Finally, Kendall screamed.
His face was swollen, and blood flowed from his mouth, but he couldn't pronounce the words correctly. He simply couldn't believe the situation he found himself in, where those who used to be on his side, including magic, no longer moved for him.
"Pat!"
At that moment, Rasheel's leg collided with Kendall's leg.
Kendall staggered, and Rasheel took the opportunity to strike Kendall's back with his left leg.
The magic-charged leg directly hit Kendall's back.
Clang!
"Urgh!"
Kendall miserably fell to the ground.
Aargh!
With a powerful impact that left an imprint on the ground, Kendall's body was crushed by Rasheel's foot.
Kendall emitted groans of pain as he experienced both physical and emotional pain.
"Why! Why!"
The earth does not protect me!
Why does the earth that should surround me cause me pain?
Kendall felt more emotional pain than physical.
At that moment, Rasheel pressed Kendall's body strongly.
"Urgh!"
Kendall couldn't even think of moving.
Rasheel's foot, infused with magic, had a weight as heavy as a mountain.
He lacked breath.
At that moment, Rasheel's voice echoed in Kendall's ear.
"Don't you even know how to escape, huh?"
... What?
As someone who had only known Victory, Kendall didn't know how to respond to Rasheel's obvious question.
Wasn't he, the victor, someone who never fled?
It felt strange at that moment.
At this moment, he felt like he had to speak if he didn't want to.
"Cough, ah. There's no reason for someone like me, who has only known victory, to flee, right?"
He could hardly speak as he struggled to catch his breath.
"You..."
Rasheel grabbed Kendall's silver hair and pulled it.
"Grr."
Kendall's face was forced to rise. Seeing his messed-up face, Rasheel spoke with a light tone.
"It seems like you only chose to fight in battlefields where you knew you could win."
...?
Kendall's gaze showed confusion.
He didn't seem to understand Rasheel's words correctly.
The corner of Rasheel's mouth lifted with sarcasm.
He even considered ignoring that confusion.
"You haven't fought against opponents you knew you couldn't defeat, right?"
Kendall's gaze had a flash of disbelief.
'Exactly.'
Rasheel smiled and leaned in to whisper to Kendall.
"For me, there was only victory or surrender."
"!"
Kendall's pupils shook sharply.
His eyes filled with confusion.
Rasheel smiled and lifted the corner of his lips.
"In reality, surrendering is not so bad."
Why fight against an opponent you know you can't beat?
Rasheel didn't want to suffer unnecessarily. Why was he being harassed by the Ancient Dragon, Eruhaben? It was because that bastard was impossible to defeat even with his Indomitability Attribute, so he decided to go along with him.
In a way, that was also surrendering.
Rasheel didn't see surrendering or fleeing as a bad thing. Sometimes, it was necessary in life.
But regarding this backward young Dragon...
'Well, he's an enemy after all.'
With a sense of relief, he spoke to Kendall, who couldn't see him, in a nonchalant tone.
"Now, my mana has returned to me."
Rasheel finally realized that mana had returned to his side.
"Do you know why it's no longer on your side?"
He whispered.
"Because you're a loser."
Loser.
The word made Kendall's heart sink suddenly.
"And because you're a coward who doesn't even fight against an opponent you can't beat from the start."
Thump. Thump.
Kendall's heart was beating strongly.
He began to sweat coldly for unknown reasons.
He couldn't understand why he was acting like this.
But the moment he heard Rasheel's continued words, his face paled.
"You know it, right? That you lost."
Do I know?
Kendall wanted to respond that no, that wasn't true, but he couldn't. He couldn't open his mouth.
That I'm going to win.
He couldn't say that.
Through the storm of magic and wind, a dragon approached him, shaking the earth with every step, as if an earthquake had occurred.
Despite its demonic and bloodied appearance, the dragon's eyes were resolute.
It wasn't even considering the possibility of losing.
No, there was no victory in its eyes.
Just Kendall.
It was advancing toward him as its target.
When Kendall felt his neck being squeezed, he felt like he was going to faint.
His heart sank suddenly.
Only now did Kendall realize what it was.
It was fear.
It was an emotion Kendall had never experienced before.
Rasheel's whisper echoed in his ears.
"Your accomplishments thus far haven't been a test of your abilities. You've only played in a controlled environment without any real competition."
Kendall remembered the words of the Dragon God of Struggle.
'I have no intention of fighting you. Because you don't even know what struggle is.'
Why do those words come to mind now?
"Victory, huh? Are you really a winner?"
Rasheel uttered the final words.
"You know the answer to this question, right?"
There was no response.
Even though Rasheel couldn't hear the answer to his question, he smiled widely.
Kendall's eyes stared blankly into space.
'This experience will cause him to doubt his skill in using his Attribute in the future.'
Victory.
Kendall will feel doubts and fears about his Attribute in the future.
"..."
Staring at Kendall, Rasheel acted without hesitation.
Pat.
Kendall passed out.
Rasheel got off Kendall and looked at his own body. At that moment, Archie approached.
"That's cruel. It seems like his spirit is completely gone, right?"
Rasheel frowned at Archie's words.
"So, are you lenient with your enemies?"
In the face of Archie's disdainful words, Rasheel frowned.
"And what? Are you going to be kind to the enemy?"
Archie shrugged. His attitude irritated Rasheel, who looked indifferently at the unconscious Kendall.
"It's strange."
That Dragon.
Although he looks somewhat old. How could he survive alone by winning only?
Is that possible?
Or maybe someone made it so.
But Rasheel lost interest quickly.
Even though Rasheel's words were deeply hurtful to Kendall, Rasheel wasn't one to think too much.
"If he overcomes it, he'll become stronger, and if not, he'll collapse."
It was a waste of time to pay more attention to a guy who treated Rasheel and all his comrades like toys and tried to kill them.
Archie blinked and asked Rasheel.
"What do you mean by overcoming? Do you also want to overcome someone?"
"Hey, Whale. Do you want to fight with me too?"
"I'm leaving."
Ignoring Archie turning away, Rasheel moved his steps.
Then, Archie shouted from behind.
"Why don't you deal with that Dragon?"
"You deal with it!"
Rasheel left the unconscious Kendall to Archie and headed down the mountain. Although there was still blood dripping from his body, and his wounds were present, Rasheel paid no attention. Then, he stopped suddenly.
Paaaah!
The teleportation magic unfolded. It indicated that someone had teleported here with a bright light.
Step, step.
"You didn't escape, did you?"
Clopeh Sekka walked towards them with a gentle smile. And finally, when the bright light faded, revealing the figure of someone...
Rasheel shrugged and spoke nonchalantly.
"Oh, you didn't have to come. I already handled it."
In front of him were Cale and Raon. Soon, Rasheel's eyes widened.
"R-Rasheel."
And he was bewildered.
"Who did this to you? Why are you so injured? You're not the type of person to get beaten up and that's it."
Raon approached Rasheel fiercely with a worried face.
"Rasheel! You must not hurt yourself! You must not be injured!"
Seeing Raon's worried face, Rasheel was surprised. He didn't know how to deal with the words of a seven-year-old Dragon because it was the first time he had experienced it. Rasheel stammered and finally spoke to Cale.
"Ah. I didn't kill the Dragon. I just knocked him out. How about that?"
Hmm.
Cale, understanding that Rasheel wanted to be praised, sighed.
"Huh?"
He didn't understand why Cale reacted that way. At that moment, Raon suddenly shouted.
"Rasheel, apple pie, no, this is Human's pie! You should eat walnut pie!"
A walnut pie entered the mouth of the awkwardly standing Rasheel.
* * *
If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.
Thank you for reading!
[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]
[Translator – Anowa]
[Proofreader – Rai_Mayank]