"What exactly are you after? I'd say interfering with me constitutes a breach of our agreement."
'That was a pact exchanged between our master and yourself. We obey our master's orders, but we were never told we must avoid opposing you.' Keeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeahhhhsssshhhhhhttttaaaaaaa!!!
No, no, no.
Seriously, this guy?
It actually spoke.
The Demon King and the Earth Dragons faced off. Of the Earth Dragons, the largest one — the most ancient-looking of the bunch, radiating that "I've been around since forever" vibe — was holding a conversation with the Demon King via telepathy.
Or rather, seeing as the Demon King wasn't flustered in the slightest and had actually initiated the exchange, she apparently already knew Earth Dragons could talk.
"Clever spin. And? What's your reason for opposing me, even if it means going against your master's wishes?"
'Don't you think it's about time the old things were culled?' "What's that supposed to mean?"
Also, for the record, I have absolutely no idea what's going on.
Well, okay, obviously I don't.
Someone please explain.
What's the deal between the Demon King and the Earth Dragons?
Going by their conversation, they're not exactly on friendly terms.
If anything, it sounds like outright hostility?
Hmm.
No clue.
When in doubt, eavesdrop.
Pardon me for a moment.
Diving into the Demon King's soul.
The soul trembled — and so did the body.
Ah, sorry about that.
Just bear with me for a sec.
I peeked into the Demon King's memories.
She tried to repel me, of course, but I managed to extract the memories I was after.
My erosion rate had gone up considerably, so I'd gotten capable of pulling off something like this.
According to the memories I extracted, the Earth Dragons turned out to be subordinates of Gyurigyuri.
Oh.
Now that you mention it, that tracks.
I'd been wondering why dragons even existed in this world — turns out they were created as Gyurigyuri's subordinates.
Does the real me know about this?
Probably, yeah.
Even I only have a rough idea of what Taboo involves, but it wouldn't be surprising if there were records about Gyurigyuri in there.
After all, Gyurigyuri is this world's administrator.
It'd be unthinkable for Taboo — something fundamental to how this world works — to contain no mention of this world's administrator.
Hmm.
I feel like feedback from the real me has been decreasing lately.
I'm also becoming aware that I myself am starting to change. Is this bad, maybe?
'A new wind blows. Oldest of divine beasts. Should we old things not take our leave from the world soon?' "You're joking. So you'd hand everything over to the newcomers? Look at what happened the last time things were left to them. That's precisely why ancient beings like myself have to step in."
The Demon King wore a cruel smile.
From my vantage point — seeing through the Demon King's own eyes — I couldn't actually see her expression, but I knew this was the Demon King in a foul mood.
Since latching onto this person, I'd come to understand the Demon King's character to some degree, but the gist was that she was almost always in a bad mood.
Well, fair enough — I'd be cranky too if some foreign entity was plastered to my soul.
But even setting that aside, this person's gut was perpetually seething.
With an endless, world-consuming hatred.
So much rage it was almost surprising she didn't have an Anger-type Skill.
Sinking that much fury to the depths of her heart and carrying on since the ancient era — I had to admire that absurd capacity for endurance.
But even that patience had finally reached its limit.
That was why the Demon King had finally gotten off her feet.
And right then, I showed up.
For the Demon King, there was no choice but to act.
She'd probably intended to lie low for a while and just stir up the Demon race a little, but my existence wouldn't allow that.
She had to eliminate me, even if it meant throwing everything away.
And during one of those activities — visiting this very place — she was inexplicably being obstructed by Earth Dragons.
'Oldest of divine beasts. We cannot comprehend why you pursue that one. We cannot — but we can sense that you are being cornered. Is that one cornering you? Or are we completely mistaken?' The Demon King's irritation spiked.
Lashing out — well, at me, technically — she intensified her attacks.
'That one is a warrior who shattered our brethren. You cannot simply appear now and lay a hand on them so easily.' "The dragon race. Always like this," the Demon King muttered, exasperated.
'A strong warrior is inherently a sacred being. That one reached the point of destroying our brethren in an exceptionally short time.' Sacred?
Me?
"No way."
No way.
Huh?
The Demon King and I both blinked.
After a moment, the Demon King scratched her head vigorously.
"So? In the end, you're not going to back down?"
'Naturally not. We old things who should be culled include us as well. Holding back the oldest of divine beasts — could there be a more fitting stage to adorn with a beautiful end?' "Go ahead and drunk on your own drama. I'll just keep devouring everything in my path."
The Demon King moved.
Simultaneously, the dragons moved.
The dragon activated a Skill.
Divine Dragon Barrier.
An absolute defense Skill of unmatched power, combining the magic-nullifying properties inherent to dragonkind with the effect of a physical wall.
The most troublesome aspect of this barrier wasn't just that it neutralized magic — it negated the effect of *every* Skill.
To break through this barrier, you either had to shatter it with pure physical ability, or overwhelm it with power that exceeded its disruption threshold.
In other words, brute force was the only option, no matter how you sliced it.
It was the most unfair Skill imaginable — if you lacked the strength to break this barrier, you couldn't even set foot on the battlefield.
And on top of all that, the barrier currently deployed was no ordinary barrier.
It was an original barrier blended with spatial magic.
A multi-layered barrier created through compound Skills that the Earth Dragons had apparently devised.
The Demon King had a low Level in spatial magic.
Meaning she had no way to break through spatial magic.
What's more, the Earth Dragons weren't attacking aggressively — they kept a set distance and retreated as if fleeing.
Hey, Great Demon King Skill of Flee Prevention — you're not doing your job!
Oh, right. The Great Demon King Skill's escape prevention only activates when they try to put more than a certain distance between us, or when they attempt to teleport.
I see.
So that's why the Earth Dragons are maintaining that specific distance.
Wait — actually, isn't this a huge opportunity?
Alright.
Time to push the erosion forward while I can.
Steel yourself, Demon King.
Know that your true enemy is not the Earth Dragons — it's me.
It's decided.