— — — — — —
With each side holding the other's weak point in their hands, a fight was no longer possible.
At least, a serious all-out battle wasn't.
Once Great Red understood Ophis' position, he realized the situation was already beyond his control.
Dealing with Ophis alone was manageable. But add Ryo, whose true strength remained impossible to gauge, and defending the planet became a losing proposition.
"Let's discuss terms." Great Red raised his enormous head. His jagged fangs gleamed as he spoke in a cold voice.
Ryo looked up at the dragon, studied it for a moment, then asked, "Do you enjoy being that huge?"
"..."
Great Red fell silent.
Then he glanced down at Ophis before his body began to change.
A moment later, a man appeared in the air.
He looked almost like an older version of Ophis.
Except he had crimson hair, crimson eyes, and he was a man.
After transforming into human form, Great Red instinctively started to drop to all fours.
His knees bent halfway before he awkwardly straightened back up. "Walking with only two legs is really inconvenient. Are humans always this troublesome?"
To Ryo's surprise, Ophis immediately agreed. "They are. Walking without twisting your body feels strange at first."
Great Red's true form resembled a Western dragon, built much like a giant lizard. Ophis, meanwhile, was closer to an Eastern dragon, more like a winged serpent.
Their methods of movement were fundamentally different.
"Twisting your body sounds way more troublesome," Great Red muttered.
He couldn't imagine slithering around on the ground like Ophis. He usually moved on four limbs. Or simply flew.
"Walking is worse."
"Twisting is worse. Feet are faster. Wings are even better."
"Twisting is fun. Walking isn't. And flying doesn't need wings."
"Twisting is—"
"Enough!"
Ryo finally raised his voice, stopping the two dragons before they could start hurling insults at each other.
Are all pure-blood dragons this difficult?
He rubbed his forehead.
Then he looked toward Great Red. "Let's discuss terms."
Great Red grinned, flashing white teeth. "I only have one condition."
Awkwardly, he pointed a finger at Ryo. "You. You must leave this world."
"Sure." Ryo nodded immediately. "Then what?"
Great Red blinked. "...What?"
"What are you offering in return?"
"...?"
Great Red froze.
It was obvious he'd never even considered the possibility of paying a price.
"Oh?"
Ryo laughed.
Then he patted Ophis on the shoulder.
Ophis immediately lifted her chin, fixed Great Red with a cold stare, and dragged a finger across her throat.
Ryo almost smiled.
Patting her shoulder again, he said, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't my side the one holding all the cards?"
"...That's true."
Great Red didn't argue.
One-on-one, he could reliably defeat Ophis.
But Ryo was another matter. He couldn't judge this outsider's strength at all.
So if it became two against one, he knew he'd lose.
Under those circumstances, Ryo's side clearly held the advantage.
Still, Great Red had no intention of yielding too much.
After thinking for a moment, he said, "You may propose two equivalent conditions."
Ophis' eyes visibly brightened. She immediately tugged on Ryo's sleeve.
The meaning couldn't have been clearer. She liked this offer.
Ryo felt his eye twitch.
Are dragons really this innocent?
Or maybe the two dragons were just hopelessly simple-minded. Despite their immense power, they were still children at heart. Nothing had ever been difficult enough to teach them about manipulation, deception, or the art of demanding a higher price when all the leverage was on their side.
Thinking about it, that seemed accurate.
Ophis rarely asked for anything. Aside from reclaiming her home, she cared about almost nothing else.
As for Great Red, nobody had even asked him to do it. He had voluntarily patrolled the Dimensional Gap for countless years, fighting off invaders from other worlds to protect this world.
When all was said and done, both dragons were absurdly straightforward.
The realization made Ryo sigh.
For the first time, he felt vaguely guilty. Negotiating with them felt suspiciously similar to tricking children.
"What? Are two conditions still not enough?"
Seeing him sigh, Great Red frowned. His voice grew serious. "This is my limit. If that's not acceptable, then we'll just call everything off and hurt each other instead."
Apparently, concepts like bargaining and negotiation didn't exist in his head.
Faced with that attitude, Ryo glanced at Ophis. He wasn't particularly optimistic about her request, but he said it anyway. "Fine. First condition. You withdraw from the Dimensional Gap and return it to Ophis."
"No." Great Red rejected it instantly. "She isn't strong enough to guard it yet."
Then he looked directly at Ophis. For once, his expression was completely serious. "If I handed it back to you now and you returned, you would die."
Ophis inhaled slowly.
Then exhaled.
Black sparks crackled from her breath.
Clearly, she was furious.
Which was understandable. The person occupying her home was not only refusing to leave, but was also telling her she'd get herself killed if she returned.
Anyone would be angry.
"I have to admit," Ryo said with a strange expression, "you're remarkably talented at making Ophis angry."
He understood exactly what Great Red meant.
The ExE world had discovered this universe long ago and had attempted to invade.
Great Red had intercepted those invaders in the Dimensional Gap, preventing them from entering the world proper.
In a sense, the Dimensional Gap had become a battlefield.
A frontline between Great Red and powerful enemies from another world.
Compared to them, Great Red was actually weaker. Yet through his home-field advantage and his authority over dreams, he had managed to hold them back and keep the war outside the gates.
Ophis was different.
Her Authority over Infinity made her excellent in a war of attrition. But in terms of versatility, she simply couldn't compare to Great Red. And she certainly couldn't compare to the even stronger enemies lurking beyond.
If Ophis returned to the Dimensional Gap right now, it would be like moving back into a house whose keys had already been copied infinitely and distributed to every burglar in existence.
Death would only be a matter of time.
"I wasn't trying to anger her." Great Red spoke calmly. "She really is just stupid."
The statement landed like a tactical missile.
Seeing Ophis' expression darken even further, Ryo immediately stepped in.
"So what you're saying is... You drove Ophis away because of those outsiders?"
"Of course." Great Red answered without hesitation. "If you saw a stupid child sleeping in a dangerous place, wouldn't you kick her in the butt and tell her to get out?"
Ryo's mouth twitched.
Without another word, he reached out and planted a hand firmly on Ophis' shoulder. Pinning her in place.
"Let go." Ophis struggled a few times.
Then she fixed Great Red with a cold, snake-like stare. "I am going to kill him."
"Brat."
Great Red folded his arms. "You can't beat me. A kid like you? I could handle five of you with one hand."
"Will you shut up already?!"
For the first time in his life, Ryo truly understood how irritating a big child could be.
The situation was already bad enough. And this idiot was still pouring fuel on the fire.
.
.
.