Chapter 428: O Dragon, O Dragon! Part 5

The appearance of Siegwurm the Heavenly Sovereign, the shooting down of Noirlind, the partial destruction of Skull Azuchi's castle keep... While simply listing them as text makes them seem like major events, amidst the currently ongoing Great Dragon Calamity War, they were swept away and vanished like twigs and leaves swallowed by a raging torrent.

『Tch, was my timing too early... but whatever! First up is you, you old geezerrrr!!』

『Guoaaah!?』

The Red Dragon Dreadhowl. Given the setting, it wouldn't be strange for a red dragon to be granted a seat reserved for a main-character-class entity, but this dragon possessed a form far too bizarre to be called a dragon.

If one had to provide the closest analogy... a "water strider," or perhaps a "drone." At the very least, without its reptilian head, no one would ever realize it was a dragon just from its silhouette.

"What is that... jet propulsion?"

"No, more importantly, its limbs are so long."

"Kuh, fufu, oh man, looking at it is hitting my funny bone...!"

What stood out above all else were, unsurprisingly, its limbs.
Bryreinyego had a somewhat unique shape, but the forms of the colored dragons were fundamentally close to the skeletal structure of a beast.
However, Dreadhowl's limbs were abnormally long from shoulder to elbow, elbow to wrist, and wrist to the tips of its fingers. When it folded its limbs, it looked exactly like a flying shuriken or something similar, and when it stood on the ground, it looked like nothing more than a water strider with a dragon's head and tail attached.

The next thing that drew the eye were the protrusions growing from all over its body.
Perhaps each of them functioned as a propulsion mechanism expelling flames, but Dreadhowl managed to execute a flight path that defied description by turning with the four protrusions under its belly and accelerating with the protrusions on its back, hind legs, and shoulders.

Overall, it was a bizarrely shaped dragon (?) that elicited immense resistance to actually calling it a dragon, but...

Did its strange appearance mean it was weak? Not at all.

"Screw, screw you, you water strider bastard!!"

『Gyahahahaha! You small fry are way too weak to bare your fangs at the great me!!』

Dreadhowl's tactics were simple and clear: it extended its torso using its abnormally long limbs to stay out of range of close-combat classes while spewing flames from the protrusions on its abdomen to incinerate everyone below.

"Aaah, so annoyiiing!!"

"No, wait, don't rush in! That bullshit movement pattern can't last forever! Wait for an opening and gang up on it!!"

Only the tips of its limbs, where close-range attacks could actually connect, were abnormally hard and naturally possessed heat resistance. It was, so to speak, an indiscriminate shower of flames pouring down on the battlefield, accompanied by a narration that practically reeked of a petty villain.

And the threat in this place wasn't just Dreadhowl.

『How daaare youuu... I will not forgive youuuuuuuu!!』

The enraged Brockentried roared, supporting its massive body on its hind legs alone and raising its upper half.
Then, yielding to gravity, it slammed its two front legs, which supported its gargantuan frame, into the ground... In that instant:

『Houhousaisai (Mountain-Crumbling Calamity Smash)!!!』

Without any exaggeration, a "mountain" was birthed, cutting the frontline base in half.

『Bugeh!?』

The massive chunk of rock rising from directly below caught Dreadhowl, who had been flying using a method distinctly different from a biological organism.
However, even the aftermath contained enough firepower to completely deplete a player's HP. Several players, mixed in with Bryreinyego's small dragons, were slammed into the ground, scattering death effects like bursting explosions.

"Kuh... the penalty increases even if you fail to escape in time...!?"

"This sucks! This really sucks!!"

"Siegwurm isn't even coming down in the first place, so there's nothing we can do... I wonder, will he come down if we fulfill some condition?"

Even if they tried to rely on zombie tactics anticipating death, Siegwurm's Notorious (Law of the Dragon) was in the way, and even if they tried to fight while valuing their lives, it was a picture of hell in every direction.

Amidst all this, someone muttered a single phrase.

"Isn't the correct answer here to... just let the colored dragons crush each other..."

That single sentence was a certain kind of truth... and at the same time, a certain kind of declaration of defeat.
As a tactic, letting threats crush each other was by no means a mistake. However, choosing that option in this place and time was a bad move in a dual sense.

First, it simply led to a drop in motivation. The moment the suspicion that this was an unwinnable event rippled through the players, it was undeniable that the overall fighting spirit of the players plummeted.

And above all else...

『No, this will not do... Breaking through a mighty hardship with wisdom is not a bad thing. But... that is called escapism... My gravity field does not tolerate cowardice...!』

Because the Dragon King, who dreamed of heroic tales with the demeanor of a heroic tale boss, would not allow it.

"B.I.G. 2...!?"

"Hey! This is bad! We're getting status ailments applied right after we respawn!"

"You're kidding, it gets worse!?"

Penalties toward death. Precisely because death was not the end but a process, Siegwurm's gravity field imposed punishment on the next life of the Pioneers.

However, the Law of the Dragon wasn't simply unreasonable.
It was the crystallization of the Gold's eternal wish, a power born from the desire for humans to be heroes.
If so, he was waiting.

For humans with courage.

For those with an indomitable fighting spirit.

For a grand light that would inspire not only themselves but those around them.

"Miss! This is bad! This is seriously bad!"

"You're right, Oron-san! But it's okay! If someone is in trouble, help them, and if you are in trouble, have someone help you! So, if you're in trouble, don't hesitate to rely on us!!"

"Akitsu Akane-dono! I had heard from Emul and the others since you went out of contact, but aren't you pushing the pace a bit too much!!"

"Ah! Ceecrue-san!! Ehehe, I couldn't even send a letter... I'm sorry!"

"Mu, to be apologized to so easily... Nuu!? Eei, you insolent small dragon! 【Takemikazuchi】!!"

In one place, a ninja girl, accompanied by Dragonewts and Lizardmen, leaped as she fought alongside a katana-wielding rabbit.

"Hiiii everyone! I'm thinking of giving Brockentried an uppercut to the jaw in a bit, is there anyone who wants to come along? Japanese... right! Tsureshooon!!"

Bitten all over her body, slashed, and battered, yet still not falling. The female brawler who proposed a suicidal charge at the Green Dragon, treating it as a quick refresher without fearing death.

"Although our final objectives differ, the process is the same... You don't mind sharing directives, do you?"

"Yes, the other dragons will be a hindrance when we fight Noirlind anyway."

"Alright... those with long-range firepower, shoot down Dreadhowl! Madam Massive, can I ask you to deliver a blow where he falls?"

"Yes, leave it to me? I might just try hard enough to snatch the 'Holder' title away from 0-chan, ohoho."

"How incredibly reassuring...! Alright, I'll move to the front as well!! To... no, Pencilgon! Whatever you're going to do, make sure you guys contribute to defeating the other colored dragons too!"

"I mean, your little sister still isn't here, you know? Good grief..."

As if to say their time had fully come, a Holy Sword, a Holy Spear, and a heavy blunt greatsword—unthinkable for an ordinary person to wield—were swung across the battlefield.

What makes a hero, a hero?
In the end, it boils down to the single point of what one has accomplished. The golden gravity field asked that very question to humanity.

Humans, if even death is but a passing point, there's no way you would stop your feet here, right? ───It seemed to say.

Author's Afterword
Folding its water strider-like limbs and sliding through the air using jet propulsion from its nipples looks exactly like a complete pervert.

Dreadhowl... what a guy.