Reincarnated as a dragon.., p.25
Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling, Volume 7, page 25
After flying for three whole days, Noah and I finally entered the Harunae Empire. Far below us, we could see the terrified faces of the humans.
‹King Noah, beyond those mountains is the center of the Harunae Empire.›
Noah remained silent.
‹I have been constantly on the lookout from the rear, but there has been no pursuit by Mia the Hero so far.›
‹Then that is the Will of the World and Laplace’s decision. I must obey their commands and destroy the humans.›
When King Noah flew ahead past the mountain, he stopped in his tracks, hovering in the air.
‹My God… Is this truly the place where the Will of the World wants me to be?›
He was acting strange. I sped up, trying to catch up to him.
‹King Noah…?›
In the center of the plain beyond the mountains stood a female swordsman. Her blonde hair, slightly tinged with yellow-green, was tied in a single braid. She had large doll-like eyes, a high nose, and a small mouth—the embodiment of ideal beauty. She looked up at Noah expressionlessly. I had heard stories about her, but this was the first time I had seen her in person. This was Mia the Hero, the human born to be Noah’s foil in order to destroy him.
“So this is where you fled to after all. It was difficult to follow you because of your strange route, but it was easy to guess your ultimate destination from all the sightings. I knew that if I waited here, you would show up, Demon King. Noah, as you are called.”
Mia raised her arm into the sky.
“…Dimension!”
Her body was suddenly clad in shining white armor, and she held a huge, reddish-black sword in her upraised hand. The strangely shaped blade pointed directly at Noah. Blood was splattered all along it. In my mind’s eye, I saw my seven children.
‹You… How many of my seven children are dead at your hands?›
“I see, you are the parent of those seven dragons. They all met their fate at the end of this sword. They all fought quite valiantly. I was going to ignore them and hurry away, but…they came back to bite me again and again.”
Mia answered my telepathic message easily. For a moment, I couldn’t understand what she meant, but my brain finally caught up after a delay and was suddenly struck with a feverish heat. The world felt like it was shaking. As though it were pushed out of me by the black rage bubbling up in the pit of my stomach, I let out a roar.
“Gurooooh, groooooaaaaaah!”
Tears welled up in my eyes and spilled over. My brain was on fire. I told them all to escape after distracting the enemy… Why, why, why are all of my children dead?! Hanera…forgive me. I am so sorry. I… I couldn’t protect them.
“This sword is named ‘Fang of the Frumious Maniac Bandersnatch’… I made it from the Beast King’s corpse after I killed him. It boasts high resistance to status effects and a strong spirit. If anyone other than me were to hold it, they would be driven mad and lose control.”
So the hero had already defeated the Beast King… Damn it! If Todorius were still around, he wouldn’t have missed such vital information. I couldn’t believe she had defeated Bandersnatch with that human body. If the hero had already gained the Sacred Skill of the Beast King, then our fastest way to attack the hero was lost.
‹But…I ask you, Mia the Hero: Why? If you were able to anticipate my attempts to hold the empire hostage, you must have seen through the past battles between me and the Harunae Imperial Army and know that I am a Pandora. If so, what does it matter if you are ahead of me…? Have you already found a way to defeat my curse?›
At this, Mia remained expressionless.
‹I have heard that you are a strong and gentle hero. That is wonderful. But if you are the light that shines upon the shadows of this world, then you cannot destroy us. You already know what will happen if my Light of Ruin is activated here, don’t you?›
A moment after King Noah finished, Mia disappeared.
‹What…?!›
As King Noah’s question echoed through my mind, a large hole suddenly opened in his chest, spurting blood. Mia stood atop King Noah’s back, holding her disastrous great sword.
“Ghh…?”
I couldn’t understand what I was seeing. Mia had stabbed King Noah. It happened so quickly that I could only watch in disbelief.
‹Your Majesty…? King Noah? Noah!›
But how? Why…? This cannot be. Noah evolved into Pandora so that Mia would be unable to cut through him at this moment. This is a nightmare. It can’t be. No, no! It cannot end like this!
‹My strength is fading. Ahh, I am so tired… O God, great one, the Observer, is this the decision of the Will of the World? But I, I… If this is the role I was meant to play, then…›
King Noah’s body collapsed. However, the huge crystal in his chest began to grow in its brilliance. It’s activating…King Noah’s skill, Light of Ruin, is activating…
‹Noooooooo! You fool! Do you have any idea what you’ve done?!›
“…If the Demon King Noah were allowed to live, further tragedy would have ensued. This is a necessary sacrifice…”
‹You dare call yourself a hero?! You are no savior of humanity, you lunatic!›
“I have known that for a long time. I never wanted to be a savior of humanity. I just wanted to protect those I cared about.”
‹Even if it meant destroying your entire country?!› I howled and swung my claws at Mia.
“Yes. Although that…was not my intention.” Mia showed no interest in me, instead staring blankly at the intensifying light of King Noah’s crystal.
‹Damn you!›
The paw I swung in her direction disappeared, and a deep slash was carved across my body. I didn’t even see it coming.
“Grrrraaaaaaaaaagh!”
“The Demon King Noah is dead. After this, many more humans will die as well… I have had enough death for today. Therefore, I will let you live. I hope that you won’t kill any more humans in the future… Holy.”
My body was enveloped in white light. The same light enveloped Mia.
“With this, we will be able to endure the Demon King’s Light of Ruin. This era’s war between the monsters and humans is over.”
‹I… I didn’t ask for this…! Now, at the end, I should be with my king…!›
The Light of Ruin spread all throughout the area from the crystal in King Noah’s chest. Everything the light touched was turned to sand. In the blink of an eye, mountains were reduced to ash, rivers dried up, and all living beings turned into nothing more than bones. King Noah was no exception: His flesh was stripped from his bones and scattered to the wind.
Only Mia and I remained. But I was blown far, far away, as if repelled by the flash of light. Meanwhile, Mia stood there, looking on.
It was then, as Mia and King Noah grew farther and farther away from me, that they changed. King Noah, who was at this point nothing more than a lump of stripped flesh and bone, suddenly covered Mia.
‹Wh-what?! How are you still moving?!› Mia shrieked. I was shocked too—I had thought Noah long dead.
‹If my curse will not work on you, then instead I will use my Tainted Blood. Now you will become an Undead and drag your rotten body along with you…›
Those were King Noah’s last words. When I came looking for him later, all that was left of him was his carcass, buried in the sand.
All at once, the Harunae Empire was wiped out by King Noah’s skill. What remained in its place was the Harunae Desert, where not a single tree nor shrub could grow.
Part 15
...SO ENDS MY STORY from five hundred years ago.
After that, Mia the Hero, who was bathed in the Demon King’s blood and thus became a deformed Undead, was abandoned by the humans. She managed
to kill Saint Lumira after a long and bitter struggle, battled with human forces around the world, and even came to be called the Demon Queen. By that time, there was no trace of the Mia the Hero of old. And one day, after many repeated and senseless killings, Mia simply vanished. Ha! A miserable ending to her tale.
Ever since the Demon King was cut down, all I could think about was following him to the grave. But then, one day, I heard a revelation from the Will of the World. It said that it would raise the next Demon King, and this time, he would destroy the humans. In order to serve the Will of the World, I am still waiting here on the giant tree island, waiting for the next Demon King to appear.
‹…Which is why I must reject your offer to leave this island with you. I will never again leave this place.›
“Hyooo…” The Nomadic Dragon cooed sadly in response.
Bonus Story 2:
The War Between the Right Head Faction and the Left Head Faction
EVEN AMONG the seemingly equal members of Illusia’s party, a power dynamic existed. It was late afternoon on the island at the edge of the world. Allo, Nightmare, and Treant remained in the den they had dug in a tree while Illusia headed off to hunt. Allo and Nightmare were standing face-to-face on a branch just in front of the den.
In terms of appearance, Nightmare—who had evolved from a petit-nightmare and had a total length of over two meters—had the advantage over Allo’s small, slender form. Even so, Allo was clearly the more intimidating of the two. If they fought, Allo would have won a hundred battles before Nightmare won a single one. Allo looked up at Nightmare’s head, widening her eyes as if she were trying to peer into the depths of its face. Her crimson eyes seethed with magical power.
“Nightmare…why are you always so cold to the Dragon God?”
As Nightmare flinched back, Allo took another step forward. The relationship between the two of them was not particularly bad, but their personalities clashed to no end.
Free-spirited Nightmare’s behavior was somewhat incompatible with Allo, who put the Dragon God above all else. They also had different objects of affection. Although they both adored the same two-headed dragon, Allo adored the gentle right head while Nightmare adored the more unfettered left head and treated the right head with a significant amount of contempt.
“Shh…Shhhh…”
Nightmare lowered its head. It was against Nightmare’s way of life to change its behavior at the insistence of others. However, Nightmare was not a fool; it knew Allo was much stronger than it was and that Allo was usually quite calm and sensible. However, it also knew that when Ouroboros’s right head was involved, Allo’s words and actions could get a bit rash. Normally, Allo was quiet in the presence of the Dragon God, but now, the Dragon God’s eyes were not watching. If it made it made a mistake here, the worst-case scenario was that Allo would send it tumbling after Gyva, whom she had knocked off the branch with her magic.
“Thank goodness… I’m glad we could agree.” Smiling, Allo caressed Nightmare’s lowered head with her arm, which she had made huge with her own experimentation.
“Good spider…”
With this, the long struggle between the Right Head Faction and Left Head Faction ended with the complete surrender of the Left Head Faction through armed intimidation by the Right Head Faction. Nightmare breathed a sigh of relief when it saw that Allo had backed down.
Treant, who was watching the scene, was also inwardly relieved.
“Come to think of it… Treant? Which side are you on?”
Allo turned around to look back at Treant, who shivered and shook its trunk. Green leaves fluttered down from its branches. It quickly attempted to mimic an ordinary tree by elongating its body, but trees obviously didn’t grow on the branches of the Great Tree.
“I’m just asking. Which side?”
Treant remained silent. It didn’t want to say the wrong thing. It didn’t like to get involved in pointless disputes, and it didn’t like to speak badly of either of Master’s heads. Despite appearances, Treant was a good tree who wanted to be everyone’s friend. Not to mention, Treant—a tree monster—couldn’t speak. Even if it could, whichever choice it made would cause resentment. Silence was a legitimate position. Therefore, Treant answered with silence.
“C’mon, can’t you use Telepathy? The Dragon God was wondering too. Why don’t you use it? The truth is, you can, but you don’t, right?”
Treant gave up on being silent.
‹…I cannot rank the respect and affection I feel for one master…over the other…›
That was the founding moment of the Treant Neutral Nation. In its mind, Treant bent one of its branches into a fist pump. This way, it could save face with both sides and not spoil Allo’s good mood.
“That…is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard… You can’t just say the first thing that popped into your head! Be reasonable!”
That was the moment that the Treant Neutral Nation collapsed. It didn’t last even ten seconds.
‹…The right head, then. The left head is a little harsh on me.›
And that was the moment when the three parties formed the Ouroboros Right Head Alliance.
Then, the next day…
“Gaa! Gaa!”
Ouroboros’s left head was delighted to receive a gift from Nightmare: a pillow stuffed with leaves and rolled up in spider silk.
Allo watched the scene idly. Perhaps Nightmare wasn’t hitting the right head quite as hard as before due to yesterday’s alliance, but that was it. It gave a pillow to the left head but not to the right. But Allo had no intention of confronting Nightmare about this. All she wanted was for Nightmare to change its behavior.
Suddenly, Nightmare hoisted up the web hanging off the side of the branch and pulled up a second pillow. It put the pillow on its back and settled in front of the right head. The right head pulled back in surprise.
‹Nightmare? Y-you made one for me too? Really…?›
Nightmare nodded slightly. The right head was ecstatic, repeatedly setting his head on the pillow and poking it with the tip of his nose.
‹Thank you, Nightmare! What? You’re all shy now? You’ve got a surprisingly cute side, huh? Admit it!›
The right head put its nose up to Nightmare. Although Nightmare had a flash of murderous intent for a moment, it allowed it.
(I don’t know why, but this one kind of disgusts me…)
Allo squinted and glared at the right head’s nape for a while, but at no point did he notice her. He just continued nuzzling Nightmare happily for a long time. Allo, who had been quiet long enough, walked up to Ouroboros and called out to him.
“D-Dragon God!”
‹Hm? What is it?› The right head looked at her.
“U-um, it’s just…”
While Allo was pondering how to respond, Nightmare let out a “Shh, sh!” sound. The right head jolted, and then it looked back at Nightmare.
‹Yes? What’s the matter? You’ve got a favor to ask me? Ha haaa, I see, you were trying to butter me up, huh, Nightmare? Sure, what is it? I’m in a good mood, so if it isn’t too much trouble, I’ll do it. A lackey? You want a lackey, is that it? You want another Treant?›
“Um… Dragon King?”
When Allo called out to him, the right head looked back at her apologetically.
‹S-sorry, uh, could you give me a second? It’s just…Nightmare seems like it wants to say something to me, so I’ve gotta wait until it puts it all together…okay?
Allo remained silent.
‹N-no? Not okay? Got it. Um, Partner, it seems like Allo wants to say something, so can you listen to her?›
It seemed like he really wanted to prioritize Nightmare. Allo understood. The right head was probably on cloud nine because of Nightmare’s sudden friendliness. Allo, on the other hand, spoke to him all the time. It was no surprise that her words were less important to him.
“It’s fine…”
‹O-oh? You sure? Anyway, Nightmare, you were saying?›
“Shhhh, shh.”
Nightmare looked at Allo triumphantly, and Allo knew. It was intentional. Nightmare had given the pillow to the right head as well because it knew this would happen.
Later, after Ouroboros had gone hunting, another meeting was called between the monster and the human.
“…I knew it. You’re the same as always, Nightmare.” Allo said, puffing out her cheeks and blushing.
“Shh shh shh, shhhh…”
Nightmare laughed and nodded its head slightly. When it came to deviousness, Nightmare was a step ahead of Allo.
If you ask me, they’re both scary… Treant thought as it watched the two of them.
Afterword
HELLO, HELLO, this is the author, Necoco. Thank you for purchasing Volume 7 of Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling! This volume contains the “Island at the Edge of the World” arc.
The island that Illusia and his party have arrived at after leaving the human village is a terrifying place infested with all kinds of strange-looking, high-ranked monsters. Deep within the island, at the root of the Great Tree that towers over even the most massive of dragons, someone is waiting for Illusia and his friends…
As for the contents of the next volume, I would say that this is the first half of the story about the defeat of the Demon King. The main characters in this volume are the strong, fantastical enemies who appear one after another: Eldia, Illusia’s dragon father; Lilyxila and her party, who come to scout out the island; and Gyva. Look forward to seeing more of Gyva in the future!
Anyway, with that out of the way…Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling is finally on its seventh volume. Lucky number seven! To be honest, even including all the stuff I make just for fun, this is the first full-length novel series I’ve written that’s exceeded 500,000 words. I have experience writing 300,000- to 400,000-word novels, but Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling hasn’t just passed 500,000 words—it’s over 1,000,000!
Initially, I had guessed that it would be completed in about one million words, but at the current pace, it seems it’ll take a little longer… The series may be wrapping up to an end all at once with the next volume. I think I can finally see the finish line, but I wonder how many tens of thousands more words it’ll be by then…
