**"Tch, pesky flies."**

The ground around was turned over as if by an earthquake, and silver puddles were scattered everywhere.

"Don’t waste a single drop, collect it well."

"... Yes, yes! Brother!" 

Yongyong trembled, unable to meet his gaze properly.

Do dragons feel fear from overwhelming violence? 

It might sound absurd to anyone hearing it, but...

If the opponent is Joodak, that changes everything.

Joodak, dressed in golden armor, shook off the silver liquid.

The faint red aura that hadn’t yet dissipated was leaking from his entire body.

*Gulp...*

He was the one who awakened the beastly instincts within the dragon.

From the overwhelming violence just now, the dragon could instinctively feel fear.

"Hmm. Have I become a nuisance?" 

He scratched his chin.

The man holding the sword had his body shattered hundreds of times, but eventually, he couldn’t revive. The woman pulled back.

"No, it’s actually good. The more resources, the better." 

How could he remain so calm? Hundreds of times? No, in truth, I couldn’t even count them precisely.

Even the dragon couldn’t track it with his eyes.

They both could recover their bodies in an instant or resurrect, but Joodak, who had killed them all, was Joodak.

I would never forget Joodak, who repeatedly killed them like a machine.

---

**[Cough…]**

The aftereffects still hadn’t faded.

What is this?

The battle had been one-sided. The idea that we were fighting on equal terms was a grand delusion. It couldn’t even be called a fight.

A one-sided massacre.

We had to die countless times to his merciless violence, repeatedly resurrecting at the cost of massive amounts of divine blood.

At least she had handled long-range attacks, so she was able to retreat, though it took her dying multiple times to achieve that.

[Ugh…]

The divine blood in her body was running low, and it was hard to keep her mind sharp.

Damn, that human.

At first, I thought he was attacking with full force. But when he destroyed Kireel, I realized.

"He… deliberately didn’t kill me right away!"

Yes. It was as if he was watching her resurrect, taking all her divine blood.

How could that even be possible?

Even the *Chaos* faction wouldn’t do such a thing.

[Ugh... Is this the right path?]

The fog grew denser. If she had enough divine blood, she could brighten the surroundings, but she had no more to spare.

[Need to conserve what little I have.]

As she carefully moved forward, saving her divine blood, a foul beastly sound and a disgusting stench suddenly filled the air.

[!!]

That’s right. I shouldn’t have just been cautious about the golden-armored guy earlier. This world had long become a battlefield with *Chaos*.

Of course, I had to be wary of them too.

She had forgotten for a moment due to the overwhelming presence of the golden-armored figure in the previous battle.

But was it too late?

Thud. Thud.

Whoosh-

Something fell through the air, cutting through the atmosphere.

*Pat-Pat-*

She hurriedly turned and braced herself.

*Boom!*

[Ugh!]

The aftershock alone pushed her back.

When she opened her eyes and shook off the dust, a monster appeared in her field of view.

A lithe, high-ranking creature with blades on its arms stood proudly on the sunken ground.

[High-tier specimen!]

Damn it. Of all times!

[Cough!]

Silver liquid gushed from her mouth.

Normally... a high-tier specimen, even if not a transcendent one, could be dealt with under normal circumstances, but now it was different.

With her divine blood running low, facing a high-tier specimen was impossible.

She felt a wave of despair.

Is this how I die?

Should I have fought until the end earlier?

Was it a mistake to come here?

Should I have joined with another team?

Regret flooded her.

No.

It was that damn golden-armored guy’s fault.

It wasn’t her fault.

There was no way that kind of being should be here. Could she have expected this?

*Crack-*

The monster, with blades at the ready, was already at her face.

As she closed her eyes, sensing her imminent destruction…

[What are you doing here?]

*Whooooosh!*

*Crunch!*

*Grrrrk!*

[Ah...!]

She opened her eyes with a joyful expression.

It was the first squad of the *Red Branch*.

A huge middle-aged man, surrounded by dozens of his clan members, floated in the air.

*Boom- Crash- Whoooosh!*

Her tension immediately released.

From behind her, she could hear the sounds of the first squad attacking the high-tier specimen.

[Your condition doesn’t look great.]

[This is Errel from the 2nd squad of the *Blue Branch*. Thank you for saving my life.]

[I know who you are.]

Errel was the bloodline of a high-ranking elder.

Usually, members of the 1st squad of any branch wouldn’t need to know about the 2nd squad of other branches, but she was a bit different.

[What on earth happened to put you in this state?]

The middle-aged giant’s question left her speechless.

How should she explain this?

Eventually, she began recounting everything that had just happened.

Since the 1st squad generally had command over lower squads of other branches, they would normally have to listen.

[Hmm…]

[Ha ha. Joking?]

It was only natural that they wouldn’t believe it.

Did she, along with her squad, really get defeated by a human? A powerhouse who could slaughter dozens of squad members? And not from *Chaos* either?

[You seem to need some rest.]

A human, as strong as a transcendent of *Chaos*? How could that be possible?

[Besides, you couldn’t have seen the 3rd squad being defeated, right?]

[That’s…]

That’s right. Errel, being from the 2nd squad, had acted separately from the 3rd squad.

[If it was a transcendent from *Chaos*, we would know. We took the sacred relic.]

The middle-aged giant pointed to the silver club at his waist.

The sacred relic.

The *Dimensional Tree*, a supreme treasure made from the body of the mother. A symbol and privilege granted only to the leaders of the 1st squads of each branch.

In the great Sephiroth’s grace, it was incomparable to divine blood.

There were rumors that a single world was sacrificed to forge even the lowest-level sacred relic.

It was a treasure so coveted that even *Chaos* would drool over it. If one could wield even a single piece, a clan member without talent would quickly display overwhelming power.

Errel, with her bloodline of a high-ranking elder, had her moments of greed. How precious it must be was easy to understand.

[So there’s no need to worry.]

The middle-aged giant’s confident voice.

Normally, she wouldn’t doubt it, but…

That guy was different.

She couldn’t tell exactly why, but something felt different.

Was the battle from before really fought with full strength?

She couldn’t be sure.

Therefore, she couldn’t let her guard down.

Even though the opponent had a sacred relic.

No, especially because they had a sacred relic.

What if it got stolen?

That would be terrible, but that kind of horrible thing never happened.

It wasn’t something just anyone could touch.

So, she had to say it clearly.

Don’t let your guard down.

[Kireel was taken down without even being able to put up a fight. He’s not someone to take lightly.]

As soon as she finished speaking, the surroundings fell silent.

Oh no!

The warriors of the 1st squad all had immense pride.

Her words wouldn’t be well received.

Kireel, who was eliminated, was a backup candidate for the *Blue Branch’s* 1st squad. She had hoped they would take her seriously, but…!

[Just because you’re close to the elder doesn’t mean you can look down on us.]

[He was just a backup. Go rest.]

[We won’t be careless, but…]

[He’s just a human, isn’t he?]

[To warn us about a human. It’s an insult.]

Voices from the dissatisfied 1st squad.

Ah, no!

That monster requires full force to even stand a chance!

The anxiety wouldn’t go away. If she let it go like this, she felt she’d regret it later.

In the end, she had to make a decision.

"I’ll talk to the head of the family about the fruit when I return. Please, listen carefully."

[The fruit?]

[...?]

[Is that true?]

[Oooh.]

The sacred relics are just as rare as the fruit, but there’s a decisive difference.

Sacred relics can only be obtained through loans, and only the leaders of the 1st squads are given the opportunity.

On the other hand, fruits can be gifted.

*Gulp.*

Errel, the bloodline of a high-ranking elder, was making a proposal that only she could.

Everyone from the *Red Branch’s* 1st squad was stunned.

[Is she serious?] 

[In that case, we can’t let it slide.]

[Errel said it, so maybe that guy really was something

 special.]

Finally, as they listened to her words, Errel felt a complicated feeling, but didn’t show it.

[This is an opponent we cannot afford to underestimate. Please prepare yourself properly.]

She began to share the facts she had discovered.

His flaw, which seemed so perfect that it felt like there was no weakness.

[He seems to really care about the boy beside him. Although he didn’t show it, he seemed to be trying hard to protect him.]

She guessed it was a dragon.

He most likely cherished that boy deeply.

[So, we should use him as leverage!]

Leverage.

Had she not brought up the fruit, they would have been seriously offended, but now, they were at least pretending to listen.

[Understood. We’ll keep that in mind.]

[We’ll handle it for sure.]

Only then did Errel feel her tension ease.

[Yes, I’ll return to the sanctuary now.]

[Rest.]

Having said this, even the proud members of the 1st squad would pay attention.

The sacred relic would be used immediately, and with a hostage at hand, she felt a sense of relief.

---

**“Yongyong.”**

“Yes, brother!” 

“Why are you so weak?” 

“Huh?”

“Didn’t you eat properly? How can you fight with such weakness?” 

“Ah, ha… ha.”

Should a dragon be saying this?

“Because of you, I can’t even fight properly.”

“Kuh!”

The feeling of helplessness she had never felt before!

This is what helplessness is!

The awe of Joodak, who made even a dragon feel helpless!

Still, it was touching!

“Are you worried about me?”

But that lasted only for a moment.

“If you die, it’s a big deal. Think of all the bonuses I’ll lose.”

Ah… yes.

What was it? A walking bonus? Inventory?

...At least you’re worrying about me!

“I’ll try my best, brother!”

“Hmmm.”

Is he dissatisfied?

Karlstein looked at Yongyong with a strange expression.

“Have you ever thought about body modification?”

“… Huh?”

What does that even mean?

It sounded like something an insane dark wizard might say.

“I need to get a quote.”

Huh? A quote? I never said I was interested!

“A cyborg dragon…”

What’s with that ominous name?

I don’t know what it is, but stop thinking about it!

*Ding!*

Luckily, Yongyong wouldn’t have to worry about being dissected.

“Oh, you’re here.”

“?!”

“Let’s welcome our guests, Yongyong.”

Huh? I don’t feel anything…

Yongyong found it hard to follow Joodak’s conversation.