A majestic and terrifying creature was running towards the girls.
Its body was large, six meters high and ten meters long.
Its scales were hardened to withstand large amounts of weight and heat.
It had minerals or precious stones embedded in its back, tail, and the elbows of its legs.
Its head had a crown in the shape of diamonds, and its horns were horizontal, reaching its jaw.
All its skin was brown like mud.
It was a medium-high level monster known as a dragon.
To be more specific, an earth dragon.
One of the many dragon races that exist.
But one of the two most powerful types.
Only surpassed by fire dragons because they fly.
But they are superior to water, wind, and wyvern dragons.
This creature could only be faced by A-rank adventurers... but even then, victory wasn't guaranteed.
"Here it comes!"
Shouted Celia as everyone got into attack positions.
She was in front; behind her, Eli drew her sword.
Lily was in the rear, and Evelyn was beside Celia.
Evelyn was the first to attack, according to Celia.
They had no combat experience, nor in groups, but...
"Evelyn, slow down its legs!"
They had something special.
They were a harem group.
Everyone was in the same faction; there was a hierarchy, and that hierarchy had to be respected.
Eli was at the head of that hierarchy; the others knew it; not even Lily, her best friend, contradicted her.
Therefore, due to her lack of experience, Eli entrusted the leader role to Celia.
She had fought in different groups, so she knows what she's doing.
Evelyn used magic.
"Mud magic!"
The ground where the dragon was running began to melt and turned into mud.
The dragon fell into it and looked like a dog in a pool.
"Princess, your turn!"
Eli pointed her sword straight at the mud.
A bright red color of flames enveloped her sword.
"Eat this! Fire magic!"
In the shape of a crescent moon, magical fire attacks were launched.
"Flaming Slash!"
The crescent-shaped flames flew straight into the mud.
Its skin was tough; it was clear it wasn't going to work.
But they knew that.
Dragons were a class topic, so everyone knew it.
Their weaknesses, to be clearer.
The mud began to harden quickly, and the dragon became trapped.
It couldn't escape because that mud was created by magical power.
Magical power increases the strength of the mud, and with magical flames, it gains more power.
Resulting in a perfect trap.
The dragon was immobile.
It was Lily's turn.
She was a support character dedicated to healing; her role wasn't to attack.
But she didn't care about that at this moment.
She wanted to be useful.
For her sister.
For her family.
And mainly, for her beloved.
She learned something from the books about her friend.
Bringing her hands together, a faint white light covered her body, and then Lily shouted.
"Light Bindings!"
A magic circle manifested from the ground, covering the dragon's entire body.
White chains wrapped around its body, immobilizing it further.
The dragon roared because it couldn't move.
Now that it was immobile, it was their opportunity.
Celia loaded two bullets into her rifle.
One was explosive, and the other corrosive.
"Magic Rifle: Double Load..."
She aimed the gun straight at the head.
"Holocaust of Pain."
With that said, two projectiles shot out, merging.
A purple bullet impacted the dragon's head.
A great explosion resonated in that place.
The girls were protected by Lily, who created a shield.
The explosion was so large that the place was eroding.
When the explosion ended, the place stank of sulfur.
The girls stayed there until the air was breathable.
Almost an hour, just staying still.
Lily was fine, so there were no problems.
Upon leaving, they went to see the dragon.
It was dead.
Its skull was destroyed.
Its body was torn apart.
The reason for this is that magical power is the only thing that can harm it.
The girls shouted with joy.
But that joy didn't last at all, as from the depths, another dragon came.
This one was bigger, and its skin was darker.
They formed the same formation and sequence.
Evelyn first.
"Mud magic!"
Then Eli.
"Flaming Slash!"
It was Lily's turn.
"Light Bindings!"
And finally Celia.
"Holocaust of Pain!"
And as with the other dragon, this one was covered in mud, hardened by heat, bound with light chains, and a great explosion.
The explosion was small.
Everything should have ended the same way.
"Yes, we killed a dragon!"
"We'll be known as dragon slayers!"
"The profits from killing one will be huge!"
Everyone celebrated with joy.
Evelyn ran straight to the carcass to check which parts weren't destroyed.
That was her worst mistake.
"Well, Eve—"
An object flew out at great speed, impacting against a wall.
Turning to see what it was, the faces of the three were mortified.
"lyn..."
Celia looked at the object embedded in the wall. Her face slowly distorted at what she saw.
"Huh?"
Lily collapsed to the floor with tears in her eyes.
While Eli...
"EVELYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYN!!!"
Screamed in horror at what she saw.
Her friend, Evelyn, had her stomach pierced by a large stalactite.
The entire stomach area was destroyed.
Blood came from her eyes, mouth, nose, and ears.
Her legs and arms were broken.
Eli tried to walk to check if she was okay.
She staggered.
Celia grabbed her by the shoulders.
"We need to leave right now, Elize!"
"But... what about Evelyn?"
"She's no longer here; we need to leave as soon as possible!"
From the depths, Celia watched as, little by little, the dragon rose without injuries.
Due to its resistance to that damage, it must be an alpha dragon, a dragon king.
Dragon kings were the epitome of monstrous strength in a dragon nest.
They were only surpassed by dragon gods.
Not even an ancient dragon can defeat one.
"Something like this is normal in adventurer work!"
"We were too stupid and overconfident!"
"We need to get out of here and request reinforcements!"
Eli was crying.
Something like this was impossible to imagine.
Her legs wouldn't respond.
Celia left Eli to grab Lily, who was still vomiting on the floor.
Grabbing both their hands, they ran as fast as they could.
"Shit! Shit! Shit! Damn it! Damn it all!"
Her breathing was heavy from the recent event.
"You have got to be fucking kidding meeeeeee!!"
Tears ran down her cheeks.
She had lost companions, but they weren't people close to her.
Evelyn was someone you could get attached to because she was cute and fragile.
Now she was nothing more than a piece of meat.
Everyone ran crying to get out of there for their lives.
But that being wouldn't allow it.
The earth dragon king made a great leap and placed itself in their path.
Stopping, they could all feel the cold embrace and caress of death surrounding them.
The dragon's mouth opened, and a light emerged from the depths of its throat.
Celia closed her eyes; Lily cried, screaming Razel's name, while Eli wanted her mother.
The end of these girls had come.
... Or so it was supposed to.
A large object jumped from behind and bit the dragon king's neck.
Celia opened her eyes and couldn't believe what she saw.
"Another earth dragon?!"
A different earth dragon appeared and bit the dragon that was trying to kill them.
The new dragon tore off the scales and then the skin of its prey.
Red blood splashed, painting the walls like a fire hose.
After a few seconds of the fight, it was all over.
The golem lamps were with them; they shone intensely to illuminate the creature.
A beautiful dragon that looked like a wolf stood before them.
Its scales were reddish like bricks.
Its claws were red, and the tips of its tail looked like a spiral of spikes.
Its back had no minerals or anything, but on its sides, it had something similar to wings made of rainbow-colored quartz.
Crystals grew from its neck, giving it the appearance of hair, and its head was shaped like a wolf.
Its eyes were golden and like a normal reptile.
It had four horns: two frontal pointing downwards and two rear pointing backwards in a U-shape.
It was majestic to see.
But at the same time, the girls were terrified.
The danger wasn't over yet.
Celia swallowed saliva.
"Princess, I'll act as a decoy, and you two escape."
"Huh? What are you saying!"
"It's the only way for someone to escape; I have magic grenades, so I can be a perfect decoy. Consider this my way of contributing to your house."
Celia's resolve was clear; her sacrifice was imminent.
"Now, go!"
She let go of the protagonist's and villainess's hands so they could flee.
She wasn't a character from the game, but from this world.
She was showing that she at least wanted to protect someone before dying.
But, at the moment they separated and Celia took a grenade.
(What do you think you're doing?)
She stopped because of a mysterious voice.
She didn't understand what she heard, but she didn't care.
(I hope you're not going to do something stupid like that.)
(Again!) Celia began to get scared because of the mysterious voice.
(I'm here.)
Her eyes moved forward, in the direction of the dragon.
Before she could press the button for the explosion countdown.
(Is this how humans thank someone who saves their life?)
She dropped the grenade.
(You lot are truly the worst race on the planet.)
And it spoke fantasy words for a fantasy world.
"... It spoke. The dragon spoke."
"Eh... eeeeeeehhhhhhhhhh!"
Celia's eyes nearly popped out.
Eli and Lily stopped for the same reason.
"Eeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhh!"
None of them could believe what they saw.
(What's wrong with you humans? Is this the first time you've seen a talking dragon?)
"IT SPOKE!"
"THE DRAGON SPOKE!"
The dragon looked at them as if they were strange bugs.
(What unpleasant humans.)
◇◇◇
Several minutes passed once they calmed down.
When their hearts no longer felt like they would leap out of their chests, they heard the dragon.
(My name is Fanoss. I am the earth dragon king of this territory.)
The words didn't come from its mouth, but from its pharynx.
(Since dragon kings are very advanced beings, we developed the ability to communicate with other species. You hear a reconstruction of different sounds that I make with my pharynx at high speed.)
None of them knew what to say as it became more and more surreal.
(If you wish to know about me, I was given the name by a legendary warrior many moons ago. If I'm not mistaken, it was about 600 moons.)
(That warrior defeated me and gave me a name as a reward for a good fight. I was happy; it was thanks to that individual that I became a dragon king.)
(As time passed, I aged until I became a wise dragon.)
"Wise dragon, you say?"
(That's right. Wise dragons are those that can speak and reason. Those that don't are just beasts that kill.)
"Uhm... Mr. Dragon." Said Lily timidly.
"Why did you help us?"
The dragon, Fanoss, looked at them.
(It's normal for fools to come for my life; there were a few today; two who fled from my power have already met their fate. And, when I saw you in danger, I felt bad for you.)
Celia lowered her head.
"If only you had appeared earlier... one of our friends wouldn't have..."
Everyone looked at the ground because of the tragedy.
(Did something happen?)
"One of our friends was killed by the dragon you killed."
Said Eli, looking at the ground.
(Is that so?)
"Yes. Her body is over there."
Celia pointed in a direction.
Fanoss turned his head and said.
(There's only a stain there.)
"Well, it is, but there's also a pierced body."
(I know humans are strange beings, but are you also blind? Your companion is with you.)
"Stop mocking us! A good girl was killed by one of your kind..."
(No. As I tell you, there are four of you in front of me.)
"You're very unpleasant, you know."
"Here, Celia-chan."
"Thanks."
Celia accepted a handkerchief handed to her from behind her back.
After taking it...
"Huh?"
She realized something.
By her side was Lily, and on the other side, Eli.
Then, whose hand was that?
Turning around.
"I'm glad you're all okay."
Evelyn, her face covered in blood, was smiling at her.
"GGGYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!"
Eli and Lily also looked behind and screamed.
Everyone screamed again.
They watched Evelyn, covered in blood with her clothes torn, but her wounds were healed.
Everyone stood up and began to grope Evelyn.
Lily touched her stomach, Eli her face, and Celia groped her breasts and butt.
"Kyyyyyaaaaaah!"
Evelyn screamed, and all the others stepped back.
"Evelyn... is that you, right?"
Evelyn, the girl who should be dead, smiled.
"Yes. I'm sorry for worrying you, but... I didn't want you to find out my secret."
The girls had many things to say.
But Evelyn calmed them down by saying.
"This is a secret that only my father should know."
She moved her hands towards her chest.
And, as if it were a sealed food container,
She opened it, and everyone could see something unimaginable.
"Evelyn... you..."
Where a heart should be, there was a red magic stone.
"Are you a Doll?"
She shook her head.
"Wrong, I am something very different. Perhaps you know it as the ultimate advancement of alchemy magic."
Eli remembered something from a while ago; her mouth opened.
"Homunculus."
No one could believe that.
"But, that was supposed to be just an urban legend!"
"Creating a human being through such an ancient practice is impossible!"
(It's not impossible if you have the right magic stone. My father found it years ago, a source of great magical power capable of supplying electrical energy for decades, or perhaps centuries, the legendary...)
Eli completed Evelyn's words.
"Philosopher's Stone. But, something like that is an urban legend; the reason alchemy is nothing more than a memory is precisely because of that."
Evelyn smiled as she closed her chest.
"My father told me that he wanted to have a family; he had spent so many years trying to have children with different women, but it was useless. Then, one day, he found the solution to create a living vessel that ages using ancient medicines."
"The materials were different, but the oldest and most vital of them was a tulip that grew in Vanfield Forest."
Celia remembered a certain mission of her father's that she couldn't go on.
"It can't be."
"Yes."
Evelyn nodded.
"Thanks to that, my father was able to create a false human body that can pass itself off as a normal human being."
An awkward silence arose.
"Please don't judge my father; he just wanted to have a daughter. He had me; I thank him for everything he did, and I will never regret it. I would like to ask you as a favor, please don't divulge this; if you wish, I will leave, but I ask you to—"
Lily quickly stood up and hugged Evelyn.
The next to do so was Eli, and finally Celia.
While she cried, everyone shouted at her in that order.
"You scared me!"
"Don't lie to us again!"
"You're not dead because that stone can heal you, right?! Don't be an idiot; just because the stone heals you from everything doesn't mean you're immortal!"
"Huh, you're not angry with me for lying and not being human?"
"Of course not! I'm glad you're alive!"
"I really suffered for you; I don't want to feel that again!"
"Don't ever hide anything from us again! You hear me?"
Evelyn began to cry.
"Yes... I won't lie again."
Fanoss saw that and seemed to smile.
(This is a very touching moment.)
◇◇◇
"Where are you taking us, little dragon-chan?"
Fanoss was carrying them on its back straight to the exit.
Lily became familiar with him very quickly.
(You are very fragile; you would be easily devoured.)
"Thank you."
Eli thanked him from the bottom of her heart, but the mission assigned by the palace not only didn't end, there were also no earth-eating worms.
Bad things would happen if they returned empty-handed.
Eli didn't know what to tell the palace.
She was very worried about that.
(We've arrived.)
She prepared to get down and go straight home, but upon lifting her face,
She observed a secret area of the cave.
Her red eyes shone with the rare minerals hidden here.
(I don't like these things; they are very bright and keep me from sleeping. The other dragons you saw are intruders. I can deal with them myself, but only if you promise to come visit me.)
The girls didn't understand why a dragon was helping them so much, but they believed it was because it was lonely.
If that was the case, they didn't mind coming to visit it.
"With this, the Rosenberg Household can sell in bulk and at a great price for our funds!"
"Yay, money~!"
Everyone was happy and hugged Fanoss.
A dragon helping humans is crazy, let alone a friendly one.
But it had a reason for doing so, and it was simple.
The serious expression on its lizard face contorted until it showed the face of a dirty old man.
(Cute girls are the best! Their bodies are so soft!)
(Their thighs are so plump and pink! Their butts are so soft that when they ride me, they generate a pleasant sensation!)
(Best of all is the pressure of their breasts against my body. Ah, this is wonderful!)
Those horrible thoughts had only one explanation, and that was:
(I never expected to use my game avatar as my real name! Fantasy worlds for losers supported by their mothers are the best!)
That he was a reincarnated person.
And not just any, but a disgusting, overweight hermit over forty years' old who died while having fun with his body pillow, but a heart attack ended his life and he ended up here.
As an earth dragon king, who coincidentally was one of the strongest pets of a demon king.
Undoubtedly, the girls must never find out about this.
For their own good.
(Soft schoolgirls are the best!)