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A lot of time has passed. It took a considerable amount of time to fill the Magical Power Bomb with magical energy, but even more time was consumed by the command I gave to Luna.

“Luna, did you make sure everything I said was prepared?”

“Yes. Everything is ready.”

Well, that’s one thing checked off.

“But Luke, can we really kill it with just this one?”

Riche threw a glance at the Magical Power Bomb behind me. I confidently tapped the glass bomb.

“Not really?”

If it were a bomb larger than the Ice Snow Dragon I had originally planned, it could likely take it down in one hit, but with the nerfed bomb we have now, I was certain it wouldn’t be enough.

“That’s why I had Luna prepare something separately.”

Luna had been moving alone while we scouted for funding. What I tasked her to do wasn’t difficult per se, but it involved a lot of movement.

It had taken quite a while, but with her being the fastest among us, it was about the time she needed. If I had sent Yui, it would have taken a lifetime to finish.

“Well then, since it seems all preparations are complete, let’s start the Ice Snow Dragon raid.”

I got onto the cart heading toward the Beastman Kingdom. This time, I wasn’t moving with the group; I was going solo for the sake of the plan.

*

The snow-clad mountain, with winds howling like daggers, used to be a normal mountain with nothing special about it. But the Ice Snow Dragon Skana froze everything to create an environment suitable for itself.

That was the tale of the mountain’s birth. At the very peak of this mountain lay a huge cave, the lair where Skana had lived for hundreds of years.

As usual, Skana was curled up and sleeping in the lair when it suddenly sensed an unusual presence and slowly opened its large eyes.

It could feel a slight disturbance coming from further below, but the target was clearly itself.

Strange. This place was the mountain’s summit. There was no need to come looking for it, and it was certainly a place hardly anyone could reach. The peak of the mountain where Skana’s lair was located had scarcity of oxygen and temperatures reaching minus 70 degrees.

Humans would freeze to death or suffocate long before reaching such an altitude, yet here it was, sensing a presence.

Before long, true to what Skana felt, a man walked into the lair.

“Whoa, how high up is this place?”

-······?

What Skana saw left it bewildered, even after hundreds of years of life. The man before it, despite being wrapped in thick clothing, was clad in only thin garments that barely covered him and boldly made his way through the biting cold.

What was peculiar was that he was engulfed in black flames. Despite the mountain’s harsh climate snuffing out any existing flames, the black fire seemed to have no intention of extinguishing.

However, Skana soon regained its calmness, as it considered the bizarre sight of the man on fire as something trivial.

It was not the first time something strange like this had happened. Rumors might have spread that Skana resided in this mountain, as adventurous humans occasionally came by.

Naturally, most of them died before even reaching the lair, and those who did reach met their end there.

And Skana turned its gaze to the man before it. Even amidst the black flames, the man’s raven-black hair and glowing red eyes cut through the darkness.

This was a human it had never seen before. Skana didn’t recall his appearance, but it did recognize the aura, reminiscent of an encounter it had long ago.

-That was the human from the village.

The voice that echoed in the cave was aimed at Luke.

“What? You knew?”

-Do you really think I wouldn’t know that much?

After living for so many years, a few months felt like just yesterday to Skana. Of course, it remembered. It had been hiding behind a hut while freezing the Dragonkin’s village. The only difference was that then, there had been four of them, but now he stood alone.

-What business does the one who ran away to save his neck have coming back? Is life getting dull for you?

Skana scoffed, laughter rumbling through the lair.

“What are you saying, you lizard brat?”

Though Skana had become an object of awe and fear after living for so long, it was the first time it had been treated like a lizard. The long tedium of existence made such provocations one of the few entertainments to relieve its boredom.

To Skana, humans were less than ants. What would happen if such beings tried to provoke it was simply laughable.

“Have you heard of rocket delivery?”

-······?

“I’ve prepared a lot for you. Enjoy it slowly as it’s a full course.”

The mysteriously speaking human abruptly gestured into the air. What a crazy guy, coming all this way without valuing his life, Skana thought as it aimed to strike down Luke.

-······!

Yet, seeing what emerged from Luke’s hand, it couldn’t help but be startled. It was an enormous object that could blow away the boredom it was feeling.

Though it was something Skana had never seen before, the magical power it contained was enough to be perceived as a serious threat.

But it soon regained its usual calmness.

-What a cute little threat.

If it were to detonate that thing at this distance, surely it would be caught up in the explosion too. Skana knew that no human had ever survived being caught up in an explosion of that magnitude, and none would do so in the far future.

In other words, using that object meant it would suffer greatly, but the human before it would lose his life. Naturally, there was no way it would use it.

“Yep! I’m going to use a Teleportation Stone and run away~”

Moments later, Luke detonated the Magical Power Bomb. Then, as Luke shattered the Teleportation Stone, his figure instantly vanished.

-······?

So, Skana was left standing alone. Moments later, a massive explosion erupted.

─BOOOOM!

Magical energies erupted wildly. Attacks of every attribute, including light and darkness, engulfed Skana. It tried to defend using its wings in a hurry, but—

-KRRAAAAGH!!!!!!!!

As mentioned earlier, even Skana couldn’t escape unscathed from such monumental damage. The explosion was so immense that it carved out the tip of the mountain.

Naturally, Skana’s lair was obliterated, leaving no traces behind. After the explosion, as it barely managed to survive, Skana’s wings were nothing more than tattered rags. Not just that, one of its horns had snapped off and it had sustained some internal injuries.

Though internal wounds and a broken horn weren’t much to worry about, repairing its wings would likely take several decades. Skana, having taken a solid hit, was fuming.

-You damn insect of a human!!!!!

With a single roar, the blizzard intensified, unleashing a fierce wind that triggered a landslide. Skana lifted its heavy body, finally deciding to leave the mountain after a long time.

It had never received such damage since its birth. Skana vigorously flapped its tattered wings. Though they weren’t usable in their normal capacity, it could still fly by overlaying magical power onto them.

Following the magical energy trail left by the Teleportation Stone, Skana chased after the taunting human. Despite its massive body soaring across the sky, its speed was beyond imagination.

Before long, it reached the spot where the magical energy trail disappeared. There, it spotted the human who had just fled.

-Human… because of you today humanity…

“Go! Buster Call!”

─CLINK!

A glass vial flew in from somewhere, embedding itself into Skana’s scales, and scales that seemed impenetrable began to melt away. Moments later, a massive spell erupted there.

─KRAK! BOOM!

Simultaneously, the sound of a kick rang out from somewhere.

─SLASH!

Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Skana’s scales were crushed and a shallow horizontal gash appeared beneath its chest. Normally, a stealth attack would be easy to notice for Skana, but with its mind clouded by rage, all it could see was Luke right in front of it.

Thus, it allowed this unforeseen strike.

-KRAAAAGH!!!!

“Dome Hanchya!”

Then, the humans before it vanished using the Teleportation Stone.

*

We used the Teleportation Stones to move outside the Empire’s walls.

“Kuhuh…”

By now, the Ice Snow Dragon would likely be dazed and taking a beating. Sure, the expenses of creating the Teleportation Stones were hefty, but that could easily be recovered by selling just a few of its scales after the raid.

I knew very well that using a Teleportation Stone left traces of magical energy. Amy had told me that, and I based our route and plan on that.

“I anticipate all its movements~”

“…I’m starting to doubt this is the raid I used to know.”

“Luna, throw away any sense of fair play. In a world of the strong eating the weak, only the victors survive.”

No matter how well one fights, the world doesn’t acknowledge the losers. Only the winners leave their mark in history.

“We use everything at our disposal. That is ‘hunting.’ Got it?”

Skana was stuck in the past. Living in isolation on the mountain for hundreds of years, the only time it went out was to receive tributes from the Dragonkin living in huts. Thus, it had no way of knowing how much humanity had progressed.

Luna had been negotiating with various races following my orders. The lengthy duration was especially due to searching for Gideon and Amy.

Gideon was likely wandering somewhere, while Amy had vanished after her archaeological investigation was completed.

Let’s give a round of applause for Luna, who worked hard to gather all the S-Rank Adventurers. Starting from the Buster Call, Skana would encounter various races on the way. Dwarves equipped with technological prowess, Elves buffed by the World Tree, and so on.

While Dwarves and Elves themselves might be dismissed as minimal threats, their weapons created by Dwarves and the buffs from the World Tree endowed the Elves with great strength. By the time the Ice Snow Dragon arrived where we were, we would be capable enough to hunt it ourselves.

“Well then, it’ll take some time for it to get here. Shall we enjoy a feast until then?”

I pulled out a table and chairs from the ground and began grilling meat without hesitation. No matter how fast the Ice Snow Dragon was, the distance from the Beastman Kingdom to the Empire was substantial, and the delay caused by the Buster Call would also slow it down.

As the time shifted from late lunch to dinner, just as we were finishing our meal, a massive shadow cast over the sky.

─FLAP!

Needless to say, it was the Ice Snow Dragon. It arrived just as we were about to clean up after eating.

The state of the Ice Snow Dragon landing before us was almost that of a soulless corpse.

Its wings were too damaged to fly again, and the horn on its head seemed to be missing entirely. The scales that were supposed to be impenetrable looked like they had been skinned like a fish after toiling away.

It seemed a lot had happened during its journey. That’s why they say going out will lead to hardship. The first words Skana, facing me, uttered were:

-…Kill me.

It didn’t seem to have the energy to put up a fight. If it was going to do that, it should have turned back halfway instead of coming all this way. Either way, since it asked to be killed…

“Then I won’t hold back.”

I drew two swords and leaped toward its neck high in the sky. With the scales gone, the swords pierced right into the Ice Snow Dragon’s neck.

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