Most of the dragon race preferred to maintain their dragon form, even if it meant reducing their size.
The reason, of course, is that dragons are the most superior beings in terms of physical form, especially compared to Celestials and Demons.
They take pride in their form, so there’s no reason to assume another shape.
Unless in special situations, they never really indulged in polymorphing, and during our duels, they insisted on maintaining their original forms.
“Long time no see, White Human.”
But the dragon before me was different.
This dragon had a strong preference for polymorphing into a human form.
So much so that in our duels, he always fought in human form, and he was the one who created the ‘martial arts’ where we clashed fists instead of using blunt techniques.
‘Black Dragon Seriphed.’
One of the four strongest dragons and a friend connected to me, just like Sugarado.
“Long time no see, Seriphed. I would ask if you’ve been well, but…”
“Not really.”
“…Seems like it.”
As I looked at her bitterly, Seriphed chuckled and waved her hand.
The Seriphed before me was not her main body.
‘Thoughts.’
It was a thought completely detached from her main body, resembling the thoughts I saw from Celestial Intio before.
Judging by its form, this was probably a thought she had set up long ago.
“What’s surprising about it? You were the one who said, ‘Everyone there is a victim.’”
“There’s no need to hide your feelings.”
Even though it’s obvious that everyone is a victim of the Celestials and Demons.
There was no reason to accept the emotions stemming from that as something meaningless.
The problem lies in using those emotions to vent on the innocent.
Fortunately, the dragons did not share the same tendencies as “Ancient Beasts,” so such things did not occur.
“Is that so? Well, let that be aside.”
Seriphed got up from her seat, still chuckling.
Her fists were tightly wrapped in flowing bandages, but for her, the bandages didn’t carry much significance.
Dragons have quite remarkable regeneration, and especially Seriphed was very outstanding in that regard.
So, she didn’t really need bandages—her body would heal itself just fine.
In other words, those bandages were just for ‘style.’
“By the way, want to have a match?”
“Is that right at first glance?”
“Well, it is. Do you know how bored I’ve been since you ‘disappeared’ up there? The others can’t fight in polymorphed forms at all. Sharurodo can do it a little, but it’s not enough.”
“Lacking.”
“It’s quite amazing that a dragon fights in human form.”
And the Black Dragon Seriphed was also the dragon that fought best in polymorph form.
No, she was more skilled in combat than any other life form, excluding heavenly and demon races.
As Seriphed’s thought took form, I created a hammer using my feeble holy power.
You might wonder why I wield a hammer when my opponent uses fists, but our battles have always been like this.
“I’m sure we both have our curiosities, so let’s save the questions for later.”
“How shall we proceed?”
“Let’s continue until one of us admits defeat. I trust you to adjust your power accordingly.”
Swish!
Boom!!
As Seriphed’s foot stomped violently on the ground, a surging energy brushed past me and spread in all directions.
A mere fragment of a soul, yet the power was unbelievable for something called ‘thought’.
I charged in, wielding the hammer while only possessing strength similar to that of a thought.
Let’s start lightly.
Clouds gathered around the hammer.
‘Blunt Technique: Storm Dragon.’
The grayish clouds quickly filled the space around me, and with Seriphed’s vision obscured, she chuckled softly.
“Crished’s clouds. It’s nostalgic, hasn’t been seen in a while.”
‘Blunt Technique: Thunder Dragon.’
Crackle…!
Though this place was akin to a cave where the sky barely showed, just calling upon the power of Thunder Dragon caused lightning to begin striking from above.
The lightning was about to completely incinerate Seriphed…
“…!”
“Darkness.”
Crash!!
Seriphed’s swift punches moved faster than the lightning, leaving dozens of marks on my hammer in an instant.
Even though I adjusted my cognitive abilities to match the level of a thought, she was faster than I imagined.
“Was that the 67th… or perhaps the 68th hit?”
I got hammered with 68 punches in the short gap between dodging the Thunder Dragon’s lightning.
“Your skills have improved.”
“Several thousand years isn’t a short time, is it?”
“That’s great.”
Crash…!
The hammer shattered.
Though it was a weak holy power, that hammer ought to have been enhanced to some extent, yet it couldn’t withstand one technique and was destroyed.
“Has she learned more ‘techniques’? The power is greater than her own might.”
My opponent was close to an upper rank.
Though just a thought, this thought had existed for several thousand years, so it wouldn’t be strange for her to possess strength beyond that of the past main body.
Right now, both Lasty and Pharaoh, who were within the Space of Despair in my soul, had also grown far stronger than before.
I forged a weapon sturdier than before and unleashed a storm.
Kwagagagaga!!!
The storm swept across the area, engulfing even the fast retreating Seriphed.
With the power I infused, it would have been tough for her to handle, but it didn’t really matter.
Zzeoook…!
In the distance, the darkness opened, and she reappeared.
Perfectly intact.
“That was a bit chilly.”
‘Darkness Movement.’
If there’s darkness, I can vanish into it without regard for position or conditions.
This ability was unique to the black dragons, and particularly, Seriphed, the King of Black Dragons, could teleport safely even if hit with an attack one level above her own.
In other words, even if she was hit with an attack close to the highest tier, she could escape.
Of course, the ‘real’ top tier can’t be countered just by Darkness Movement.
The top tier transcends the simple gap in power and relates to a slightly different ‘concept.’
However, touching her at least at the upper level was close to impossible.
Kwagakang!!!
A fist is flying towards me.
Dozens, hundreds of fists soaked in darkness zeroed in on me, and each time, I either forged a new hammer or used my technique.
The hammer shattered, and my techniques were consistently blocked by the Darkness Movement.
There are two ways to stop Darkness Movement.
“How about fighting properly for a change?”
One is to clear all the ‘darkness’ in the area.
Just like when I unleashed holy power to face 200 eyes, if I whitewashed this area, she wouldn’t be able to use Darkness Movement.
But this place is similar to or equivalent to Seriphed’s body.
Right now, it’s as if I’m fighting inside the belly of a black dragon, so wiping out all the darkness here would mean erasing the black dragon from existence.
That’s way too extreme for a spar, so of course, I can’t do that.
“How long do you plan to keep giving me a pass, White Human?”
The other way is to hit her before she activates Darkness Movement.
It’s quite simple, but the reason I hadn’t tried it so far is straightforward.
“It’s all readable, Seriphed.”
“Hmph.”
This is inside Seriphed’s belly.
Whatever I do here is entirely within her field of vision and can be read perfectly.
If it were in my original country, it might be different, but when I’ve restrained my power, no matter how quickly I attack, the ‘intent’ can be read, making it meaningless.
If you control the pace, no matter how quickly the attack comes, the ‘intent’ can be read, making it meaningless.
Crossing her arms, Seriphed shattered the 30th hammer with a punch.
“You’re blocking too well for someone who has no way out. I mean, not even a proper wound?”
“That’s because you insist on martial arts. You know you’re specialized in magic, right?”
“No idea.”
As the Black Dragon Seriphed, with the attribute of ‘darkness’, she was indeed very specialized in magic.
Even though she could easily overwhelm me with magic, she stubbornly insisted on fighting up close with martial arts.
This was her personal taste, so there was nothing much to say about it.
‘I’ve already done everything without saying.’
There were plenty of her kin around her, so they’d probably voiced comments about her strange preferences.
But no one could break her stubbornness.
If she were just an ordinary black dragon instead of the Dragon King, she might have been forced to change, but she was literally a ‘king’.
No one could command her unless they were a Dragon Lord.
‘Since she had a friendship with Sharurodo, I guess I can consider it nonexistent.’
She shook her head with a wry smile.
“I lost. As expected, Yena is strong now and always.”
“Seriphed has also gotten much stronger.”
“Me? I’m just living without dying.”
“Is that really important? Living is what matters.”
As I said this with a smile, she made a peculiar expression.
“…You’ve changed.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. You look brighter than when you left the cradle. Not that I know well because you’ve been cut off from the outside, but could it be the impact of the war ending?”
“…Well, if I said there was nothing, it would be a lie.”
Being able to walk around with such a comfortable heart was ultimately because the war ended and I returned.
The conclusion is quite unsettling, but ultimately, I suppose it’s been resolved.
“Since there are people waiting outside, let’s keep it short and talk more later.”
“Sounds good.”
“The relocation plan.”
It was the plan for a collective move of dragons and an event where the lives of the seven Dragon Kings were completely consumed.
“What happened?”
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