Dragon.
A lizard-like body, bat-like outstretched wings, a body covered in scales, limbs as thick as tree trunks, and a long, winding tail adorned with thorny spikes.
This highly distinctive image often appears as a boss in RPG games across the Six Continents.
Moreover, in the registration manuals of magical beasts in the Six Continents, there are also dragon-like magical beasts.
So, when Beyond Netero and his group saw this dragon, they felt a sense of familiarity.
The only difference is-
The dragon in front of them is really huge.
If a human were a tiny beetle, then this dragon would be equivalent to the largest and most robust Komodo dragon.
Just by opening its mouth casually, it can swallow dozens of beetles in one gulp.
Given such a disparity in size, this dragon should have had no reason to pay attention to Beyond and his team.
However-
In order to withstand the mysterious, powerful winds that assailed them, Beyond and his team had released their Aura to the maximum.
And to the giant dragon, the Aura coming from them is equivalent to life energy, which was why it noticed Beyond and his team.
Whoosh-
The dragon's fleshy wings flapped, creating visible currents of air in the sky. Its golden vertical pupils reflected the figures of Beyond and the others.
"Roar!"
Then, the dragon opened its maw, which is lined with razor-sharp teeth, and let out a roar that signaled the start of its hunt.
Beyond and his team, who were still resisting the fierce winds, instantly sensed the dragon's intent to attack and immediately grew solemn.
The giant dragon stared down at Beyond and the others from above. Although it stopped roaring, it didn't close its mouth.
A bright flame began gathering inside its gaping maw.
"Hmm?!"
Noticing the flames in the dragon's mouth, the group's eyes flashed with surprise.
They weren't unfamiliar with dragons because similar magical beasts existed in the Six Continents, only the size differed.
But the dragons of the Six Continents couldn't breathe fire.
Fire-breathing was a trait reserved for dragons that served as bosses in games.
Hovering in the air by flapping its wings, the dragon gathered its energy briefly before releasing a violent, surging torrent of flames from its mouth, raining down upon Beyond and his team atop the rocky summit.
The bright flames, carrying intense heat, swept toward them. Beyond and his team, who had been on guard, quickly retreated from the range of the dragon's flame breath.
Boom!
The pillar-like breath struck the smooth rocky ground, and the raging flames spread outward in all directions.
Although the members of Beyond's team had left the range of the dragon's flame breath, they were still sent flying by the scorching shockwave.
In just a few seconds, their formation was completely scattered.
Beyond planted his feet firmly into the rocky ground and crossed his arms in front of his face, resisting the hot air waves that were whistling from the front.
At the same time, he glanced at his scattered teammates from the corner of his eye. After confirming that they were not seriously injured, Beyond's gaze sharpened, piercing through the huge commotion like a sharp blade, and locked directly onto the giant dragon in the air.
Only a few seconds had passed.
As the fuel in the dragon's sac ran out, it slowly stopped its flame breath and closed its jagged maw.
It needs to wait a while before enough fuel can be secreted into its sac.
Seeing the giant dragon stop its flame breath, Beyond's face twisted into a fierce grin. Unfazed by the red-hot, glowing rock beneath his feet, he charged straight through, then leaped into the air toward the giant dragon.
The giant dragon felt the surge of life energy emanating from Beyond, and abruptly lowered its giant head.
In that instant, Beyond was already at its jaw.
The surging and powerful Aura quickly gathered and compressed around Beyond's fist.
Then-
Beyond punched the dragon in the jaw.
Boom!
A thunderous impact echoed through the air.
The dragon's jaw jerked upward from the blow, and the huge head suddenly snapped back.
But the tail behind it, like a thorny whip, lashed upward in a sweeping arc, striking Beyond with pinpoint accuracy while he was still midair.
Bang!
Another deafening crash echoed.
Beyond, who was hit by the tail, was sent hurtling like a cannonball into the rocky summit. The tremendous force shattered the smooth stone, sending rubble flying in all directions.
The members of Beyond's team, who were not far away, immediately turned to look, and all their faces were filled with shock.
But Beyond didn't leave them worried for long. He jumped out of the crater after just a moment, and didn't seem to have suffered any substantial damage.
While the dragon's tail strike was undoubtedly powerful, without the enhancement of Aura, it wasn't enough to break through Beyond's Enhancement-Type Aura Defense.
The only thing to be wary of is the dragon's high-temperature breath, which is capable of reducing Nen Users to charred remains.
Beyond naturally realized this, so after the initial exchange, he wasn't in a hurry to finish off the dragon.
He needed to observe more details about the dragon's breath attack.
After that, as long as he can neutralize the threat from its breath, he will definitely be able to get rid of this dragon.
Hunters need to be patient when hunting.
Although Beyond is an Enhancer, he possessed extraordinary patience and a calm, composed mindset.
"The wind cutting off Yuto and the others... We can stop them with Nen. There is no threat for the time being."
With a quick glance at his teammates, who remained unharmed despite the fierce winds, Beyond swiftly assessed the situation and then looked back at the dragon, which seemed unwilling to land.
"The most urgent thing is to get rid of this one... Hmm?"
Beyond suddenly noticed something, and his eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the dragon.
To be more precise-
He was looking directly above the dragon.
He saw a figure falling from the sky like a meteor, heading straight for the body of the giant dragon.
With his eagle-like vision, Beyond saw the identity of the figure.
It was Moses, who had arrived in the Dark Continent ahead of them.
This is also the fundamental reason why Beyond's expression changed.
High in the sky-
Moses held the black sword in his hand, his gaze fixed at the body of the giant dragon below.
[Super Speed: Crossbow]
Resting the back of Black Sword against his elbow, Moses channeled his Aura into the blade.
Whoosh-
The Black Sword suddenly transformed into a streak of black light, shooting through the air toward the dragon below.
When it was still some distance away from the dragon, the Black Sword, which is wrapped in dense Aura, suddenly grew larger and slashed vertically through the dragon's body.
Sshhk!
The dragon's body shuddered violently, and a human-like look of doubt appeared in its golden vertical pupils.
The next moment-
The look of doubt in the dragon's vertical pupils suddenly froze, and its huge body split cleanly in two in the air, and then fell to the top of the rocky mountain below.
But what was even faster was the large amount of blood that gushed out from the body that was split in two, cascading down like a tidal wave.
On the top of the rocky mountain-
Beyond and his team all looked at the giant dragon that was cut in half by the huge Black Sword with shock on their faces.
Moses's sudden appearance had caught them completely off guard.
And Moses's effortless one-strike kill of the dragon left them not just surprised, but outright stunned.
'Why did he help us out?'
'How had he done it?'
Of course, they couldn't have known-
During his time in the Dark Continent, Moses had already slain countless giant creatures in exactly this manner.
How did he do it?
There is nothing special about it, it's just pure, practiced skill.