When it came to deep-seated grudges, ten years had passed, and Nergigante's hatred had bloated beyond reason through his own constant embellishment. To the Eater of Elders, it felt as though Asterion had been bullying him relentlessly since they were both hatchlings.
It was no longer just a petty squabble over pride; it was a turf war!
"I am the only dragon in the entire New World who views Elder Dragons as prey! I will not allow any other dragon to steal my seat at the table!!"
As it happened, Asterion was thinking the exact same thing. Ten years later, his plan remained unchanged: if he could kill Nergigante, he would do so once and for all. To Asterion, every dragon Nergigante devoured was a personal loss!
All that talk about Nergigante being a product of natural evolution—a biological mechanism to control the population of Elder Dragons in the New World's unique environment and prevent ecological collapse—all that talk of "natural law" and "ecological balance" was nothing but nonsense in Asterion's eyes.
Throughout his struggle for survival, he had realized only one true law of nature: existence is its own justification. Whoever survives until the end is in the right.
Hunters in the game might preach about protecting nature and maintaining balance, but ultimately, it all boiled down to securing an environment where they could comfortably survive, procreate, and thrive.
When Zorah Magdaros found the path to the Everstream to die naturally, the hunters judged that the massive release of bioenergy upon its death would cause a catastrophic eruption. Volcanic disasters and other cataclysms would have wiped out the surface ecology of the New World. Thus, they launched multiple operations to intercept Zorah Magdaros and prevent it from entering the Everstream.
In the end, the hunters got their wish. Zorah Magdaros chose to die in the ocean outside the New World, releasing its lifetime of accumulated bioenergy into the sea. The New World's environment remained unchanged, allowing the hunters to continue their investigations.
In that process, the hunters weren't upholding "ecological balance" or "natural laws"; they were preserving their own living space. To achieve that, they had intentionally defied the natural order.
After all, if Zorah Magdaros had died in the Everstream and the surface of the New World had been "reset" by the surging energy, a new ecological environment would have risen from the ashes in less than a century. To Nature, any development is just part of the cycle. Living is fine; dying is fine, too.
In Asterion's view, if Nature truly had a consciousness, it would only ever make one choice: to watch with cold indifference. Compared to the environment itself, the transitions of individual lives are far too insignificant—too easily destroyed, and too easily rebuilt.
So, the hunters in the game eventually realized a truth: they were not the guardians or regulators of balance, nor were they above the ecosystem. A hunter's actions were simply another part of nature—struggling to live until they were eventually phased out.
—Unless one becomes a Forbidden Species!
Only the Forbidden can transcend the ecosystem. They don't need to adapt to the environment; they force the environment to adapt to them. It was for this transcendent status that Asterion had abandoned a comfortable life, risking his life daily to hunt Elder Dragons.
Under these circumstances, Nergigante, who competed with him for the bioenergy of Elder Dragons, was an absolute rival on his path. What if he missed out on becoming a Forbidden Species by the energy of just one or two dragons?
With that thought, the murderous glint in Asterion's eyes intensified. Even though Nergigante beat his wings rapidly to dodge the skyward slash, the Eater of Elders—judging Asterion's mobility by his own flight patterns—could never have guessed how agile Asterion could be in short bursts.
While the missed slash was still cutting through the air, Nergigante had already darted beneath Asterion. Beating his wings to flip his body, he lunged to bite Asterion's back. In that lightning-fast moment, Nergigante saw with shock that the tips of the wings of this "rogue dragon" were actually venting fire?!
Ssshhh!
The sharp sound of pressurized steam suddenly intensified. Flexing his wing bones to adjust the direction of the jets, Asterion performed a mid-air 180-degree spin, facing Nergigante head-on. Simultaneously, his sword-tail, which had been pointed toward the sky, swung in a full arc at the monster!
Clang!!
Caught off guard, Nergigante's head snapped to the side. Asterion's blade slammed directly into one of his protruding, massive horns!
It's stuck?!
Even Asterion was stunned for a moment. He remembered severing one of Nergigante's horns years ago and wasn't surprised the monster could regenerate them, but was this hardness a bit much?
He hadn't activated the high-frequency vibration of his "sawtooth" blade yet, but for his sword-tail to only cut through a third of the horn's thickness before stopping was just too—
"ROAARR!!!"
Nergigante's yellow eyes began to flush red; he felt the sting of humiliation! Those horns were his pride! The symbol of his majesty! This was the second time! This damn dragon!!
Despite being high in the air with no solid ground to push off from, Nergigante's movements were as agile as they were on land. He shook his head violently to dislodge Asterion's tail while his body, propelled by his wings, coiled around Asterion. His razor-sharp claws began to tear into Asterion's hide!
Pop! Pop! Pop!
The blade-scales covering Asterion's body detonated the moment Nergigante's claws made contact. Sharp fragments shredded Nergigante's underbelly, which had been exposed as he flipped upward. That area lacked the protection of hard spikes.
These diamond-shaped blade-scales didn't just shatter into flat shards; they broke into irregular, sharp pillars. After piercing Nergigante's skin, these fragments created jagged wounds. The recessed parts acted like blood grooves, causing Nergigante to bleed profusely.
However, such clever tricks were somewhat insufficient against Nergigante's regenerative powers. His wounds began to heal rapidly. The pressure of his muscles and fat actually squeezed the fragments out of his flesh, though those that had embedded deeper seemed to fuse with his muscles.
Instead of continuing to bleed, they became hard, tumor-like structures that reinforced Nergigante's defense, only to be torn away and healed again as the two dragons grappled and collided in mid-air.
In the past, Asterion might have felt that such attacks were pointless against a monster with such high recovery. But now, determined to use every means at his disposal to slay Nergigante, he wouldn't miss any opportunity to drain the monster's stamina and bioenergy.
High recovery meant high consumption. A battle with Nergigante was destined to be a war of attrition—but fortunately, Asterion had backup.
"ROAARR!"
The Bazelgeuse brothers had originally planned to wait until they hit the ground to pincer this prickly monster with Asterion. They hadn't expected Asterion to rocket into the sky and start brawling in mid-air. After aborting their initial dive, they hurried to beat their wings and join the fray.
It was difficult. But they could try.
It was hard to generate force or land a solid tackle in mid-air. With the wing strength of the Bazelgeuse brothers, just staying airborne was a feat, let alone striking upward with massive force. Thus, as Asterion and Nergigante plummeted while tangled together, the Bazelgeuse simply flew underneath and hugged Nergigante's back, wrapping his wings around both of them.
But Asterion made sure not to touch the blasting scales beneath the Bazelgeuse's neck and tail.
"I'm gonna blow!!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
In an instant, the blasting scales were stoked to a glowing crimson. They detonated violently against Nergigante's back spikes. Faced with the massive shockwave of the explosions, the Bazelgeuse brothers couldn't maintain their grip despite their best efforts and went tumbling toward the ground.
"ROAARR!!"
As the primary recipient of the explosions, Nergigante was undoubtedly wounded. He roared in pain and fury, but unexpectedly, he showed no intention of retreating or shifting the battlefield. Instead, his savagery was ignited. He snapped his jaws, tearing at Asterion's flesh!
Pain!!
Asterion hadn't felt this much pain in a long time. His size was immense, but Nergigante's maw was equally vast. One bite, ignoring the blade-scales shredding the inside of his mouth, tore a chunk of meat from Asterion's shoulder. Nergigante swallowed it whole without even chewing!
Pure, unbridled savagery!!
Pain is often the best catalyst for a creature's primal instincts. Driven by that agony, Asterion used his forelimbs to wedge Nergigante's jaws open while he lunged forward to bite back—clamping down on Nergigante's right foreleg. His sharp teeth sheared through the surface spikes and bit deep into the armored flesh!
Tearing! Devouring!
In the span of a single exchange, the battle had reached its peak intensity. Under the interference of the other, Asterion couldn't precisely adjust his wing jets to stay airborne, and Nergigante couldn't beat his wings to lift them both.
They fell. A relentless, plummeting descent.
From over a hundred meters up, they bit and clawed at each other all the way to the earth—BOOM!!
Asterion, fully immersed in the life-and-death struggle, hadn't even registered the fall. When he slammed into the ground, cratering the rock, his entire head rang with a deafening buzz. For a moment, his mind went blank.
Unlike many Flying Wyverns, and unlike Nergigante who was a natural flyer, Asterion—despite evolving air sacs—was still essentially a solid hunk of ore.
He was heavy. Extremely heavy.
Given his weight, falling straight from the sky into the dirt and only coming away with a mild concussion was a testament to Nergigante acting as his cushion. The two dragons had crashed as one tangled mass.
Asterion was hurting, but Nergigante certainly wasn't faring any better. Blood sprayed from the Elder Dragon's mouth as half of Asterion's body pinned him down.
"ROAAR!" "ROAAR!"
Without even a moment to catch their breath or survey their surroundings, both Asterion and Nergigante immediately scrambled to their feet to resume the attack.
The first to strike gains the advantage. Never let the opponent pin you down—that was an instinctual lesson etched into the core of every dragon.
And so, the two dragons rose in a blur, colliding blindly once more—
"ROAARR!!!"
The Bazelgeuse brothers were back. After shaking off the dizziness from being blown back in mid-air, they had regained their bearings. Seeing their leader tangled with Nergigante on the ground, there was only one thing left to do.
In terms of sheer bombardment, the Bazelgeuse brothers were nothing if not confident.
Adjusting their angle slightly in the air, they quickly found a path for a direct impact on Nergigante's flank. And then—Dive!!
Explosion!!!
As the saying goes: having an ally in a fight truly changes the game.
Nergigante was besieged from both front and back!
This was a sight never before seen in the history of the New World: two powerful monsters who trusted each other, fighting in perfect coordination!
Under the sudden impact and the force of the explosions from behind, Nergigante, who had been locked in a test of strength with Asterion, toppled sideways. By instinct, he triggered the rapid growth of spikes all over his body—making them longer, blacker, thicker, and harder. He looked like a bloated pufferfish or a curled-up hedgehog.
"ROAARR!!!"
The Bazelgeuse brothers roared in pain. They had intended to use their powerful physique to press the attack, but Nergigante's instinctive reaction sent them staggering back. The side of their bodies that had slammed into Nergigante was now riddled with spikes of various sizes, some driven very deep!
Like a hedgehog, or a porcupine—Nergigante was a "rolling blade." Even Asterion's hide was now peppered with black spikes. Seizing the moment as Asterion and the Bazelgeuse retreated, Nergigante nimbly rolled across the ground, shedding a layer of restraint.
Fresh white spikes began to sprout rapidly from his body, but these new growths were soft and tender—at least initially, they lacked the power to harm a dragon of Asterion's scale.
Compared to ten years ago, Nergigante had clearly grown. Both the hardness of his spikes and his combat intelligence had evolved. Unlike Asterion, who had to rely on luck, Nergigante could actively track the presence of Elder Dragons. That was his greatest advantage.
As long as he could win the fight, he never had to worry about bioenergy.
Clack! Clack!
Ignoring the spikes embedded in his body, Asterion lashed his tail. Layers of blade-scales popped open as he swung the massive sword-tail at Nergigante!
Crr-ack!
With a series of snapping sounds, Asterion's tail easily sheared through Nergigante's new white spikes and sliced into the black scales of his hide—but this was exactly what Nergigante had predicted!
As far back as ten years ago, he knew this rogue dragon's tail was sharper and deadlier than any dragon's tail he had ever encountered. The agony of having his meal snatched away had forced him to replay that humiliating battle in his mind countless times. How could he not have prepared for such an attack?
He did it on purpose.
Nergigante didn't even try to dodge; instead, he allowed the wound to widen. Because only by doing so could he close the distance and get within reach of Asterion's throat in the shortest time possible!!
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