right foreleg, which he had slashed before, was completely amputated.

The Undead Dragon lost its balance due to losing its right foreleg. However, it tried to stabilize its body which had somehow collapsed with its remaining legs.

However, Nozomu immediately turned around with [Instant Move]. As he dashed past the Undead Dragon's eyes, he blew half of its weight-bearing left forelegs with Qi technique [One Billion Severance].

Because one of its forelegs was severed, and the other foreleg was also weakened. The Undead Dragon lost its posture.

However, Nozomu's pursuit wasn't over yet.

He further leaped towards the Undead Dragon's left foreleg which had lost its posture, dashed over to the Dragon's body, jumped up, and swung his katana as it was. The exploding [One Billion Severance] scraped off the Undead Dragon's huge body. Blood and flesh scattered around like rain.

"... No-Nozomu"

Irisdina and the others could only look at such Nozomu with their eyes wide open. In front of them, the figure of Nozomu clashing with a dragon, which was one of the highest-ranked demon beasts, was a sight too difficult to describe for them. Nozomu was bathed in flesh and blood while releasing bloodlust.

"... Such ... such a thing ..."

At this point, they finally understood the anxiety Nozomu had.

A powerful demon beast like the Undead Dragon was chopped into pieces by Nozomu. Based on Nozomu's story so far, it could be them who will be slashed there by him.

(Inside me is the power of Tiamat. If I were to be swallowed by this power, I might kill everyone with my own hands...)

"~!!"

Nozomu's words returned to Irisdina's mind, she reflexively bit her lip. Her hands that were supporting the collapsed Shīna became stronger, and her snow-like fingers lost their color and turned pale.

(...I feel anxious and restless...)

Nozomu confessed his feelings while distorting his expression while being tormented by his disordered heart. At that time, Irisdina thought she could start over with Nozomu and was happy to face him.

However, the current Nozomu continued to swing his katana and dyed the area in a sea of ??blood. Nozomu's appearance made Irisdina and the others' chests hurt. Nozomu didn't stop his hand from swinging his katana while Irisdina and the others felt hurt.

Nozomu, who had slashed at the Undead Dragon's body, ran up to its neck, and when he reached its head, he slammed the scabbard on the Undead Dragon's head while sheathing his katana into its scabbard.

A destructive shockwave and Qi were released by his deadly Qi technique [Breaking Strike]. It crushed the Undead Dragon's brain and blew out half of its head. As the giant's body swayed, Nozomu quickly jumped to the ground. However, at that moment, the Undead Dragon's eyes glared at Nozomu.

"Giga~a, gegu~aauu !!"

The dragon's mouth glowed red even though it was no longer possible for it to scream. A crimson scorching breath was released. The remaining life of its entire body was poured into the attack. The hellfire, that could even melt steel into ashes in an instant, attacked Nozomu.

"Uooooo!!"

However, Nozomu didn't try to dodge even in the face of the approaching scorching flames. While sending his Qi into the katana in its scabbard with all his might, he thrust at full speed into the scorching breath that was approaching from the front. He took out his katana and launched a drawn sword technique.

The super-high-speed flying slash [Phantom] cut the Undead Dragon's hot breath and opened a straight path, and Nozomu rushed towards the Undead Dragon's eyes.

The scorching breath that kept coming out tried to close the open path, but before giving it such time, Nozomu quickly closed the distance to the Dragon's eyes.

"Aaaaaa!"

The edge of the katana flipped over and another slash was launched. A slash that glowed due to the extremely compressed Qi was sucked into the Dragon's mouth.

Qi Technique [Phantom -Recurrence-]

The flashing blade slashed the Dragon's jaw in an instant. The Undead Dragon's body collapsed. Its body convulsed, but soon its movement stopped and was completely silent.

“........”

Nozomu glanced at the lying Undead Dragon then glared at Irisdina and the others. Nozomu's gaze pierced and tore their hearts apart.

His gaze wasn't the usual gaze directed at his friends, but a sharp and piercing gaze that was usually directed at his enemies.

"~! Nozomu!!"

Irisdina's painful voice like a prayer resounded in the forest.

Her heartbreaking cry. She wished that the worst-case scenario she had in mind didn't come true. However, as if her wish was thrown away, Nozomu stepped in, releasing a murderous intent that would freeze the spine of everyone who saw him.

===============================================

A faint light shone in the forest dyed in darkness, like an isolated island in the ocean. Someone was wearing a hood to hide his face, while the surrounding overgrown trees were concealing his presence.

"So it started..."

In such an empty forest, that person muttered in a small voice that even insects could not hear. A spherical object floated in front of the hooded person. Inside the spherical object, a human and a huge demon beast were projected fighting each other. A boy wielding a katana, slashed at the demon beast in front of him with his glowing red eyes, while the demon beast confronted the boy with a crimson scorching breath released from its mouth. The boy faced a dragon, which was a prominent presence among demon beasts. Even though it had become an undead, it still had a strong body and scorching breath among the demon beasts. And its missing wings have also been restored.

If others thought about it normally, the boy should have no chance of winning. However, it was the Undead Dragon, not the boy, who was clearly inferior. In the image projected on the sphere floating in the air, the boy ran continuously, and every time his katana flashed, the huge body that should have been as strong as a castle was slashed and injured. Its tail was severed, its legs were amputated, and its head was smashed.

The Undead Dragon's body was covered in wounds. However, the dragon's cloudy white eyes glared at the boy again.

Was it because of its pride as one that stood at the pinnacle of the demon beasts?

Was it because of the fear towards the boy-shaped monster in front of it?

or is it because of the debt of gratitude to the person who brought it back to life?

The reason is unknown. However, the dragon couldn't accept the result for what it was. It released another scorching breath with the last ounce of its strength. However, the last attack from the Undead Dragon was only torn apart by the boy's one slash. Without being able to dodge, the Undead Dragon's head was severed with an overturned slash.

The person in the hood looked at the scene without showing any signs of being surprised. Nozomu's line of sight that was reflected in the sphere was directed at Irisdina and the others. His eyes were still dyed red, and through the projected image, one could feel goosebumps down their spines.

"It starts from here...."

After the hooded person spoke so, he swung his arm. Then, countless shining magic formations appeared at his feet. The magic formations gradually spread to the ground and overlapped each other. Multiple magic formations that looked like six-pointed stars interfered with each other to develop a larger magic formation, and the deployed magic formations formed an even larger formation. The hooded person stood alone in the middle of the magic formations, which were extremely complicated and mysterious.

With his eyes wide open, his gaze locked onto the sphere in front of him.

"I'll have to ascertain it myself ..."

Such a muttering voice melted into the darkness that spread across the forest.