"ROARRRRRR!!"
"Hyaaaaaa!"
The dragon's roar and the girl's scream echoed across the city square.
What was happening at that moment was a direct duel straight out of a fairy tale!
Whether nobles or commoners, everyone in the city held their breath and widened their eyes to witness the confrontation.
Dvalin, who was playing the role of the evil dragon, was stunned.
He looked at the blonde girl who had managed to cut his scales.
He had truly been wounded by a human girl.
The surrounding people were equally horrified to see that such a small girl could make the dragon that had devastated their city bleed.
A traveler named Lumine.
Her combat skills far surpassed her appearance.
And although her swordsmanship was mediocre, her reflexes were incredibly fast, and combined with her proficiency in wind magic, she was able to fight Dvalin for a while.
But that was precisely what made Dvalin increasingly irritated. As the former King of the Skies, he had been wounded by a girl using elemental wind magic.
Which only proved how powerful Lumine truly was.
Ordinary swordsmen and mages would never be able to pierce the magical and physical resistance of the dragon, no matter how hard they tried.
"Tsk, the look in this little girl's eyes... Why is it so similar to Leon's?!"
Dvalin was shocked.
Though their gender, appearance, and skills were completely different...
Somehow, this girl reminded him of the boy who had once defeated him — and that immediately made him serious.
Dvalin flapped his wings.
The pressure generated by the wind sent Lumine flying backward.
Then, several small tornadoes lifted the girl into the sky. But just as Dvalin thought she would fall and die, she unexpectedly opened her wings.
(She can fly? No... she's just gliding.)
Dvalin was surprised. For a second, he thought she was another flying creature, but quickly realized that wasn't the case.
The blonde girl was simply gliding through the air.
Dvalin: "You humans are so creative... Are you really going to invade my territory?"
It was an item called the Wings of Wind.
If Leon were evaluating it, he'd say it resembled a hang glider from his past life.
"Die, evil dragon!"
Lumine didn't use the wings to slow down or land safely.
Instead, she flew above Dvalin.
Then, she retracted the wings and pointed her sword downward, aiming at the dragon's neck, intending to use gravity for a falling strike. However, Dvalin countered with a tail swipe.
Even so, he narrowed his draconic eyes.
This girl was stronger than he had expected. She was actually managing to fight him — enough to prove her strength.
[But the advantage is still mine.]
Dvalin didn't believe he would lose.
No matter how you compared them, he was far stronger.
Absolutely overwhelming magical power.
Absolute advantages in strength and endurance.
A vast gap in resilience and stamina.
The scratch she had made moments ago was already almost healed.
[But I could really lose if I let my guard down.]
The former King of the Skies remained extremely cautious.
And there was one reason for that.
The look in that girl's eyes reminded him of Leon.
Although the two were different in every way, she was the same kind of person as the boy with whom he had made a pact.
[Meeting Leon made me realize the gap between humans can be far greater than I had imagined. When it comes to people like him — those you can call "heroes" — even as a dragon, I can't be careless.]
There are very few humans worthy of being called heroes. And that represents the true value of humanity — something that can't be compared to the mediocrity of millions.
Even though the chances of Lumine defeating him were pitifully low...
They still existed.
And Dvalin knew all too well: what these heroes did best was take that small, pitiful chance and achieve incredible feats that defied the world's expectations.
In truth, his intuition was absolutely correct.
---
A few hours later...
"ROARRRRRR-!"
Lumine narrowly escaped Dvalin's claws. Then, she climbed and ran along the dragon's limbs, landing several sword strikes on him.
The people around them held their breath, not daring to blink.
The blonde would die instantly if struck even once — yet she always found the perfect moment to dodge the evil dragon's attacks.
Even Leon, watching the battle from atop a distant mountain near Mondstadt, couldn't help but comment:
"This girl would be an amazing Dark Souls player... She's really good at dodging!"
Dvalin: "If I had used my final move, you'd be finished already."
Leon: "Indeed. If Dvalin hadn't held back, she wouldn't have stood a chance... But the fact that she's even able to fight like this is already incredible. It's impressive."
From the beginning, Dvalin's attacks had been limited to claw strikes and bites.
Aside from that — not even mentioning his ultimate move — he hadn't used his dragon breath at all. At most, he summoned small tornadoes and unleashed gusts of wind to hit the girl.
The blonde's movement skills were undeniably impressive, but she could only dodge Dvalin's physical attacks. As a wind dragon, he wielded powerful area-based magic.
In fact, large-scale annihilation magic was his specialty.
Why didn't Dvalin use his full power?
Because he didn't want to harm civilians.
He was only playing the role of an evil dragon whose target was the nobility.
If he used his true dragon magic, he could have defeated the blonde girl — but the entire city would've been destroyed along with her.
Dvalin: "I'm only acting like an evil dragon… I'm not truly evil. But I'm not a good dragon either."
Lumine: "Haaah! Die, evil dragon!!"
Dvalin: "Arrrrrgh! You cursed girl!"
At that moment, the blonde traveler carried the hopes of the entire city. Both the Lawrence family and the common people already saw her as a hero about to defeat the dragon.
She was preparing her final blow.
Lumine unleashed a burst of wind magic beneath her and launched herself hundreds of meters into the air.
Raising her dull, nearly broken sword, she once again used gravity to strike at Dvalin's head — this time using wind magic to boost her speed.
At that moment...
Every heart beat faster.
Everyone was about to witness the birth of a new legend.
Lumine: "Vortex Wind Blade!"
But then—
Boom—!
Gunshots echoed from the snowy mountain peaks, tens of thousands of meters away.
A bullet infused with lightning magic struck the girl's backside.
Lumine: "Kyaa~~"
Dvalin: "ROARRRRR!!"
Stunned, the girl was caught midair by Dvalin with precision.
At that moment, all Dvalin wanted was to cross his arms and laugh. If he hadn't been holding back, that girl would've died with ease.
She actually thought she could kill him.
Leon: "In the end, I still had to act."
Atop the snowy mountain, Leon held a precision rifle.
Though Dvalin had slipped up, it was indeed a battle between human and dragon worthy of applause. Under different circumstances, Leon would never have intervened.
But unfortunately...
He wasn't here to play around. He was executing the Lawrence Family Annihilation Plan.
And he would mercilessly neutralize any threat to that plan.
Leon: "I didn't use lethal rounds — just paralyzing bullets. Dvalin should get the message."
Dvalin: "I understand. You don't want to kill this woman, right?"
Leon: "Excellent. Then begin Phase Two and rescue the Gunnhild family."
Dvalin: "No problem! Watch my acting skills!"
---
(End of chapter)
"Hmph. If you really want to be useful, then entertain me, try to throw those pathetic power stones at me. Let's see if even your insolence can amuse a king."