"ROAR!!" (I am not afraid!)
The Bazelgeuse roared out the expected words. Asterion couldn't even be bothered to retort—it wasn't him who was going to die, anyway.
"Roar! Roar-roar!" (Suit yourself. Just don't come bothering me anymore. For the sake of our previous battle together, let's just go our separate ways.)
Although he didn't say it aloud, Asterion had actually enjoyed the fight today. After being stifled underground for so long, his bones felt a bit stiff; letting off some steam was a good thing.
"Groar-roar?" (What is an Elder Dragon? That one covered in spikes? The one that breathes fire?)
As if he hadn't heard Asterion's dismissal, the Bazelgeuse suddenly asked a question out of the blue.
"Roar, roar-roar." (Correct. An Elder Dragon is one that can alter the surrounding environment on a massive scale with its own power. That guy with the spikes is one, too; his regenerative ability is super strong.)
"Groar?" (You too?)
"Roar!" (I am not. I'm not strong enough.)
"Groar?" (What about me?)
"Roar roar!" (You neither. Dragons like us can only be considered to have Elder Dragon-level combat power.)
"Groar!" (You want to become an Elder Dragon!)
"Roar! Roar-roar!" (Isn't that obvious? Otherwise, why do you think I fought those two with my life on the line? Wasn't it just to snatch a mouthful of meat?)
Slurp, slurp. Crunch, crunch.
Just as Asterion and the Bazelgeuse were having a rare, peaceful chat, their sensitive dragon ears suddenly picked up a strange sound.
A dragon was eating.
And it was very close by.
Asterion abruptly rose from the ground and looked in the direction of the sound—
Under the moonlight, a bird-thing with a few flamboyant feathers on its head was clutching a Herbivore egg, staring right at them. Sparky was sitting on its back, also clutching a bag of plant seeds and cracking them open.
In the dark night, the eyes of both the bird-thing and the cat-thing reflected a strange, eerie glow. It was frighteningly bright.
Asterion: "..."
What are you doing? You two!
Are you here to watch a show?!
"Squawk?" (You guys done fighting? Kid?)
Completely oblivious to the danger of his behavior, the Kulu-Ya-Ku brother seemed enthusiastic instead. He slurped the egg yolk from his embrace and smacked his beak. This bird-thing had absolutely no table manners, calm as could be. Sparky on his back, however, looked nervous.
"B-Boss, meow! We're here to protect you, meow!"
Asterion: "..."
Protecting me by cracking sunflower seeds? That's quite the life.
Also, since when did you get so familiar with my bird-thing? He's even willing to let you sit on his back?
I haven't even ridden him yet!
"ROAR!!" (BATTLE!!)
Faced with these suddenly appearing creatures, the Bazelgeuse made his most beloved choice!
He stopped playing dead on the ground and scrambled up in an instant. The blasting scales beneath his neck glowed a faint red as he reared up, ready to charge right into the Kulu-Ya-Ku brother's face!
But before the Bazelgeuse could take two steps, a silver-grey blade flashed before him—SLASH!!
Without any warning, Asterion twisted his body and slashed directly at the agitated Bazelgeuse. This strike was completely different from any before.
It was too fast.
Fast enough that even though the Bazelgeuse dodged to the side with the same urgency he used in combat, the sword-tail still left a deep gash on the left side of his neck.
Dragon blood flowed!
"ROAR!!" (You weren't using full power!!)
The Bazelgeuse was furious. He could not accept that Asterion, who had just fought him to his heart's content, hadn't actually been going all out! To him, this was an absolute insult!
The Bazelgeuse could not accept this!!
Battle resume!!
The wound on his neck was nothing to the Bazelgeuse. He roared in anger and charged again, exploding into a chaotic brawl with Asterion.
This time, Asterion obliged him. His tricky swordsmanship landed cut after cut. The vibrating, saw-like blade shaved off a layer of flesh with every graze against the Bazelgeuse's hide. The Bazelgeuse could only rely on exhausting, omni-directional explosions to use the shockwaves to damage Asterion and deflect the sword-tail.
"Squawk-squawk?" (Why are they fighting again?)
With a trace of bewilderment at the situation, the Kulu-Ya-Ku tilted his head in confusion.
"I-I don't understand, meow!" Not knowing what the egg-stealing bird was saying, Sparky looked like he wanted to cry without tears.
Thinking of the look Boss Glavenus had just given him, he was a little scared... Uh, did he do something wrong?
Fight.
One word summarized it all. The Bazelgeuse was lying on the ground again. But this time, he wasn't playing dead; he was truly almost dead—if Asterion hacked his vitals two more times, that would be it.
His appearance was somewhat miserable. The blasting scales hanging under his neck and tail were no longer in their plentiful state; they were sparse and uneven, some large, some small.
He didn't have the stamina to secrete any more blasting scales.
Thud!
Embedding the tip of his sword-tail into the ground beside the Bazelgeuse's neck, the blade resting right against the scales, Asterion asked:
"Roar! Roar-roar!" (The 'fight to the death' you always talk about is coming. How does it feel?)
He was curious—would a battle-crazed dragon like this regret his choices before death?
"ROAR!!" (Never!)
The Bazelgeuse's answer remained resolute.
"Groar-roar!" (If only I could fight forever.)
Having given up the struggle, the Bazelgeuse's dying words were filled with the regret of not having enjoyed enough, but not a shred of remorse for dying in a battle that wasn't for food.
"Roar! Roar-roar?" (Since it's come to this, do you have anything else to say?)
"Groar!" (Do it. No more words.)
Shing!
Lifting his sword-tail, Asterion measured the angle against the Bazelgeuse's neck.
"Wait wait wait! You can't go over there, Egg-Thief!! Meow!!!"
"Squawk-squawk!!" (Wait, isn't this the partner you know from outside?!!)
The Kulu-Ya-Ku's bird brain seemed to finally realize what the situation was. He rushed over directly, carrying the wailing Sparky with him.
"Roar!" (How could he possibly be my partner! And don't call me Kid!)
"Squawk!" (But you talked to him so much! Usually, when you meet other dragons, you just hack them to death and eat the meat!!)
Asterion fell silent for a moment. He had been quite lenient with this Bazelgeuse.
"Roar!" (Maybe because I'm too lonely. It's rare to meet someone who can understand me.)
After thinking about it briefly, there was nothing to hide. Asterion admitted it frankly.
"Squawk!" (Then keep him.)
"Squawk-squawk!" (That way, when you're bored, Kid, you can fight him for fun. I can't fight you anyway.)
Asterion looked at the Kulu-Ya-Ku with squinted eyes, then at the Bazelgeuse... What did he mean, "fight for fun"? He wasn't some house pet or toy.
But he had to admit, the Kulu-Ya-Ku brother had provided Asterion with an idea—the Bazelgeuse could sense the aura of battle to find other monsters.
The biggest dilemma Asterion currently faced on his evolutionary path was that, under normal circumstances, it was very difficult to find those elusive Elder Dragons. Their numbers were simply not as high as ordinary monsters, and possessing intelligence, they were good at hiding themselves—after all, the New World also had Nergigante flying around all day looking for Elder Dragons to eat.
So... could the Bazelgeuse's ability help him?
Hmm, like raising a hunting dog that would follow the scent and lead him there.
Thinking of this, Asterion actually felt this had potential.
"Roar?" (You desire to continue fighting?)
"Groar!" (You're not eating me?)
"Roar-roar?" (You can sense where battles are happening, right?)
"Groar!" (Correct!)
"Roar-roar! Roar?" (How about this: I'll let you go. In the future, you take me to find Elder Dragons. We'll kill them together, eat meat together. How about it?)
A simple, crude, primitive, bandit-style invitation—drinking from large bowls, eating large chunks of meat, hacking people with large swords, and splitting large sacks of money.
"Groar!" (Good!)
The Bazelgeuse agreed without hesitation.
This world is wonderful, and its wonder lies in the fact that anything can happen.
On the small hill atop Asterion's lair—the very throne where Asterion had sat during the Gluttony Festival—three dragons sat side by side as the sun rose once again, the morning glow illuminating the peak.
Sitting squarely in the middle was Asterion himself, for he was the strongest and the smartest. Sitting to the right of Asterion's claw was the Bazelgeuse, because he was the second strongest and was willing to admit Asterion was stronger.
Finally, sitting to the left of Asterion's claw was the Kulu-Ya-Ku brother. The Kulu's size was really a bit too small, especially in contrast to the two dragons beside him, making him look very scrawny.
But it wasn't a big problem. The Kulu-Ya-Ku wasn't nervous at all. Instead, it was the Bazelgeuse who was a bit tense—this was a brand-new experience he had never had or encountered in his past dragon life.
Aside from the three dragons, the entire hilltop was covered in Grimalkynes. The Grimalkynes of the Glavenus Tribe were all here; except for the gathering teams out collecting plants, even the patrols had been summoned.
A dense crowd of cats; one could only see glimpses of the yellowish-brown ground between the mass of black and white fur.
"You guys, meow! Hurry up! Set the things up properly, meow!!"
"Watch the kittens, meow! This isn't a place for playing, meow!"
"Don't be disrespectful in front of Boss Glavenus, meow!"
"..."
Urged on by the Old Shaman's voice, the Grimalkynes had prepared the venue. Before the three dragons, three massive legs of smoked meat—from some unknown monster—had been laid out.
These were tributes. Tributes to the Dragon God—at least, that was what Asterion told the Bazelgeuse and the Kulu-Ya-Ku. He made it sound very mystical, and it certainly bluffed those two guys.
In addition to that, a huge cauldron was placed in front of the three large hunks of meat. This was a pot the Grimalkyne tribe had cast last year specifically to stew meat for Boss Glavenus. It was almost as big as the Kulu-Ya-Ku, and Asterion had carried it out of the lair himself.
Sense of ritual!!
A necessary sense of ritual could enhance identity and a sense of belonging, as well as elevate emotional resonance. Many things feel solemn and worthy of serious treatment when a ritual is added—dragons are the same.
That's right, Asterion was preparing for a formal sworn brotherhood ceremony. He would be the Big Brother, Bazelgeuse the Second Brother, and the Kulu-Ya-Ku the Third Brother.
Feel familiar?
This kind of thing was happening for the first time among monsters, and the solemn atmosphere was such that even some of the more energetic Grimalkynes didn't dare to make a fuss, watching quietly from the side.
"Everything is ready, meow."
The Old Shaman leaned close to Asterion and whispered.
"Roar." (Go on. I'm going to start.)
"Okay, meow."
After waving away the Old Shaman, Asterion used his sword-tail to prop himself up into a straight sitting posture, his dragon face serious.
"Roar-roar!" (Pay attention. Whatever I say next, you repeat after me.)
"Groar!" (Okay!)
"Squawk!" (Understood!)
With everyone settled, Asterion signaled the Old Shaman to light the three thick "incense sticks" inserted into the mound of earth in front of them—uh, symbolic incense. In reality, they were three straight, thick logs whittled down. As long as they smoked when lit and didn't burst into open flame, they would do.
Seeing the black smoke curling up, Asterion cleared his throat and began to roar:
"Roar-roar!" (We, Asterion, Bazelgeuse, Kulu-Ya-Ku!)
Every time Asterion roared a phrase, the Bazelgeuse and the Kulu-Ya-Ku roared one in return.
"Roar! Roar-roar! Roar-roar!" (Though we are different dragons, having sworn to be brothers, we shall be of one heart, kill Elder Dragons together, share meat together, and fight battles together! We seek not to be born on the same year, same month, and same day, but we wish to die on the same year, same month, and same day! Dragon God above, bear witness to this heart!)
"Roar-roar-roar!" (If we turn our backs on righteousness and forget kindness, if we do not share in battle, may our wishes be unfulfilled, and may we die of suffocation!)
A series of roars that none of the Grimalkynes except the Old Shaman could understand, yet they could feel the solemn and dignified aura—just like during the tribe's ancestral sacrifices.
"Roar!" (Come!)
Hearing the Bazelgeuse and Kulu-Ya-Ku finish reciting after him, Asterion gave a loud roar. He extended his right foreclaw and bit into the wrist. As fresh blood gushed copiously from the wound, Asterion held his right claw over the cauldron, letting the blood flow into it.
Well, a pot this big couldn't possibly be filled entirely with dragon blood; otherwise, the Kulu-Ya-Ku would end up as a dried bird carcass today.
Therefore, the pot was actually pre-filled with various fruit wines and grain spirits brewed by the Grimalkynes in the past, filling about more than half the pot. Only the remainder needed to be filled by the blood of the three dragons.
Following closely behind Asterion was the Bazelgeuse. However, being a bipedal Flying Wyvern, he had no foreclaws. So, the Bazelgeuse simply bit open the leading edge of his right wing, tore through the scales, and let the blood flow into the pot.
Finally, it was the Kulu-Ya-Ku's turn. Unlike the two carnivorous behemoths beside him, the Kulu brother's beak didn't have a tearing function. Looking left and right, he could only bite down to extend his foreclaw, carefully brushing it against the edge of Asterion's sword-tail to cut open a wound.
Hmm, the Kulu-Ya-Ku looked like he was in enough pain to tear up. Asterion protected him very well; he had basically never suffered any injuries.
Perhaps due to the atmosphere, the Kulu-Ya-Ku held back the pain and didn't squawk wildly. Instead, after shedding a few dragon tears, he went to the cauldron, stood on his tiptoes, reached his right claw into the pot, and let his blood flow.
Hopping up to the edge of the pot in a few bounds, the Old Shaman used an extended iron ladle to stir the contents, ensuring the alcohol and dragon blood were thoroughly mixed.
"It's done! Boss Meow!!"
————
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