"I'll kill you!!" Velteer roared, unleashing a massive surge of energy that sent Randon flying back dozens of meters. Her body began to glow before undergoing a dramatic transformation. Scales covered her skin, her wings expanded, and her entire form shifted into a massive dragon over five meters tall.
The White Dragon Velteer spread her wings in a majestic display, her roar echoing throughout the area, her silver eyes locked onto Randon with a murderous glint.
"I'll kill you."
"Go ahead, if you think you can."
"GRRAAAAWWR!!!" Velteer roared, flapping her wings to unleash a torrent of flames that swept towards him relentlessly.
Randon rolled out of the way, not pulling out his usual magical tools, and began to run.
'Finally, he's running away. In the end, you're nothing more than a worthless human. Let your life be sacrificed to my forest,' Velteer thought, her flames spewing without pause, making it increasingly difficult for Randon. Yet he showed no signs of panic, which frustrated her even more.
'I hate that look of his, always acting like he's better than everything.'
Randon dodged, weaving away from the traps Velteer had set up in advance. It was as if he had some supreme survival instinct, and Velteer was on the verge of losing her composure. This was like trying to squash a cockroach—fast and annoyingly resilient. It seemed easy to kill him, yet somehow, it wasn't happening.
The man in armor was running in circles, dodging every attack. The longer this went on, the more anxious the dragoness became.
'Is he preparing something?!' Velteer suddenly halted, a thought crossing her mind. But in that brief moment of hesitation, Randon leaped up and slashed her leg, leaving a massive wound.
"-/$&@#%$#@" Velteer screamed incoherently, the enormous sword causing her far more pain than previous attacks.
'No plan, huh? Just luring me into dropping my guard to catch me unaware. Cunning human.'
"That's four wounds now, human!"
"You left yourself open. That's not my fault."
"Silence!" Velteer shouted, summoning numerous stones from above and sending them hurtling towards Randon.
Randon braced himself, raising his shield, enduring the attack without losing any of his formidable presence. The ground trembled as Velteer stomped, sending shards of wood and dust into the air, shrouding the area in a black haze.
Randon lifted his arm to block the incoming dust and debris, giving Velteer the chance to strike him violently from the side. His body was thrown nearly a hundred meters away. She wasn't done. Velteer flew ahead, striking him again, making him roll across the ground like a discarded doll.
"As I suspected. While you can handle magical attacks, you're still vulnerable to physical strikes. In size and strength, I have you beat."
In an instant, Randon stabbed his dragon-slaying sword into the ground, anchoring himself and stopping his momentum. He planted his feet firmly, resting the sword on his shoulder, looking at his opponent again.
Velteer didn't give him another moment to act. She rushed in, trying to crush him, but this time it wasn't so easy. The black aura around Randon intensified, and he pulled back a fist, channeling his energy before slamming it into her massive claw.
The clash sent ripples of force outward. Velteer's massive claw not only halted but was pushed back. The dragoness looked stunned, her face paling.
'His strength... it matches mine?'
"I'd rather not ruin that beautiful face of yours. Surrender, Velteer," Randon said with authority, his dragon-slaying blade now somehow pointed at her face, though she wasn't sure how it got there. Overwhelmed with shame, Velteer let out another furious roar.
"I'd rather die than submit to you!"
"That's unfortunate. I really didn't want to kill such a beautiful dragon. Men all over the world would curse me."
"Hah! You've killed many dragons, haven't you? Why all this talk now?"
"The ones before were beasts. They didn't have large, round breasts or smooth, white skin like you."
"You depraved human."
"Just honest about my instincts."
The two stood at a distance from each other, assessing their next moves. Randon went first, dashing around in circles at incredible speed, repeating his previous pattern until Velteer started to feel dizzy. She decided to take to the sky again, but this time Randon wasn't about to let her go so easily.
With a flick of his arm, his shield began to glow, followed by lightning manifesting around it, taking the form of hundreds of small arrows. He unleashed them towards Velteer's wings, trying to prevent her from flying.
'Pointless,' Velteer thought, summoning numerous boulders to intercept the lightning arrows. The two attacks collided, shattering into dust and debris.
"Let's end this! I'm tired of playing games with you!" Velteer declared, extending her additional three pairs of wings. The majestic and powerful white dragon exuded a pure, overwhelming energy. A gale-force wind roared around them.
Pure energy gathered in her massive body. Despite all of Randon's preparations, if he took a direct hit from this, even with his specialized armor and Black Dragon blood, there was no guarantee he could withstand it. Velteer intended to end this fight for good.
"I'll show you that the power of a dragon is beyond human comprehension. Turn into dust beneath my feet, and rejoice that you gave me these scars."
"Sorry, but I can't do that," Randon said firmly, his crimson eyes glowing beneath his helmet. He pulled something out from his bag—a pink crystal about the size of a fist, a handful of multicolored vials, and a pouch of golden powder.
Randon opened the vials, letting the fumes spread, and then ascended into the air, scattering the golden powder. The entire area took on a faint golden hue.
Clenching the crystal, he crushed it in his hand, releasing a bright light. Energy surged through his body again, manifesting as the shadow of a black dragon around him.
'Is that... a Spirit Crystal? Those are rare! They're used for generating immense energy, usually as the core of powerful machines. Using it directly on oneself should be fatal. This human... is beyond extraordinary.'
"Since we can't talk things out, I'll use force."
"You plan to kill me anyway. Stop pretending to make peace."
"You're the one making assumptions. Once you've calmed down, I'll explain," Randon said, raising his dark blade to the sky.
Two enormous surges of power gathered in one place, creating a fierce vortex. The atmosphere darkened, lightning flashing through the stormy sky. Both prepared to unleash their most destructive attacks.
"Dark Moon Slash!"
"Divine Dragon's Decree!"
Randon swung his blade, releasing a black wave of power. Velteer fired her radiant energy. The two collided mid-air, and the resulting explosion lit up the entire area before hurling both of them hundreds of meters away.
"No! How can our powers be equal?" Velteer couldn't believe her eyes. Before she could react, Randon charged, driving his fist into her belly. Even in her dragon form, her underbelly was soft and vulnerable. Her eyes rolled back as pain wracked her body.
"GRAAAAWR!!!" Velteer roared, thrashing wildly, her attacks becoming erratic, leaving craters and reducing trees to ash. Even Randon, doing his best to dodge, couldn't escape unscathed.
"Enough! Enough already! GRAAAAWR!!"
"Now's the time," Randon muttered, something shifting in the atmosphere.
In the area that should have been nothing but charred earth, black flowers began to sprout, quickly spreading over a kilometer radius. They grew swiftly, blooming with dark petals.
The flowers released an aura that enveloped the area. Velteer coughed, her face paling, sweat dripping as she grew weaker.
"What... what are these flowers? Why are they making me feel like this? These plants weren't in my forest."
"I brought them," Randon said, walking towards her slowly. "They're called Black Nemesis Flowers." The moment he said the name, Velteer's eyes widened.
"The body of a White Dragon is made up of 99% light attributes, perfectly in harmony with earth, water, wind, and fire. But it's in opposition to darkness. Most people think light dragons are vulnerable to darkness, but that's an outdated myth, right, Velteer?"
"Ugh..."
"Light dragons evolved alongside dark dragons, each building extreme resistance against the other. Light dragons can withstand darkness, and vice versa. They have immunity that makes conventional dark attacks ineffective."
"You studied dragons... deeply," Velteer admitted, begrudgingly.
"That's why I did my research. There was a place you attacked, the town of Rogues' Christmas, the city of flowers. You inhaled the spores of the Black Nemesis Flower. Records showed you had an extreme allergic reaction to it. Researchers found out why." Randon pointed at Velteer, who was now too weak to move.
"The Black Nemesis Flowers produce a type of virus that weakens the immune response that protects against darkness. In other words, it erodes your immunity, rendering you vulnerable to dark-based attacks like those of a Black Dragon."
"Impossible... But how did you grow them so fast?"
"I ran around to plant them."
"!"
When Velteer had been chasing and breathing fire at him, it turned out Randon's real intention was to sow the seeds.
"I burned this forest to ash because the Black Nemesis grows best in scorched soil—it's the perfect fertilizer. The rest was just power. I used a special potion mixed with golden powder to convert energy from our attacks to accelerate their growth."
"....."
Defeated. Completely.
This human had planned everything from the beginning, making her dance in the palm of his hand. Velteer felt despair, anger, and helplessness. Her strength ebbed away, her consciousness flickering, far too weak to flee or fight back.
Randon approached, the dragon-slaying blade in hand. To Velteer, his silhouette seemed like that of a death god, coming to drag her into the abyss. Dragons live long lives, and she was still young. She had never thought much about death.
Fear consumed her mind. She prayed and begged in desperation, trembling before the Dragon Slayer.
"Dark Crescent Blade," Randon chanted, his sword surging with dark energy. He swung it, not at her body, but at her horn.
The black horn was severed cleanly. With the loss of her horn, her source of power was severed, forcing her body into its weakest state—that of a human.
A young woman, unconscious, covered in wounds and burning with fever. Randon slung her limp body over his shoulder and disappeared into the woods without a word.
He wasn't going to kill her just yet. He had just established a new rule for killing dragons, and for Velteer, this story wasn't over. It had only just begun.