The people on the city wall erupted in cheers.
Neither His Majesty the King nor Arthur or the others had been able to land a single blow on the purple-haired man—but Kaien had injured him. Now they finally understood why the dragon had flinched from Kaien's earlier strike.
There was still hope. Humanity could defeat a dragon!
The king stared in disbelief at the scene.
"He hurt a dragon… without even using Dragon Slayer Magic? This… this is unbelievable!"
"As expected of Yoriichi—no, of Mr. Kaien! That swordsmanship has already reached the peak!"
Arthur was trembling with excitement. Every time he witnessed Kaien's swordsmanship, it completely redefined what he thought swordsmanship could be.
"What a monster…" Clay muttered.
He had attacked the dragon himself. He'd tried to sever its neck—and ended up breaking his own blade.
Yet when Kaien attacked, the monster had no choice but to block.
The purple-haired youth looked down at his bleeding arm, and his face twisted in fury.
"You little brat… you've really pissed me off!!"
"ROOOOAAAAARRRRR—!!"
With a furious roar, his body began to change. It swelled in size rapidly. Dragon horns burst from his forehead, purple scales spread across his skin, wings sprouted from his back, and a long tail extended from his spine.
In the blink of an eye, a gigantic purple dragon—dozens of meters tall—stood before them.
"SKRAAAAAAAH!!"
The massive wings spread wide as the dragon let out a sky-shaking roar.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—!!
A terrifying shockwave exploded outward from where the purple dragon stood.
The earth shattered and erupted. Every tree nearby was splintered, shredded by the force.
Even the beasts in the Forest of Monsters scattered in fear.
The ground quaked violently. On the city wall, everyone ducked behind cover to avoid the blast.
Looking up at the sky-darkening form of the dragon, humanity once again fell into that familiar emotion:
Despair.
Just a roar—only a roar—had caused this much destruction. How could something like this possibly be stopped?
"Would you shut up already? Has no one ever told you how awful your voice sounds?"
"You arrogant little human. I only got hurt earlier because I let my guard down. Now that I've returned to my true form, your attacks won't do anything. Die."
The purple dragon opened his jaws wide and unleashed a devastating blast of violet dragon breath.
Kaien gripped his blade tightly and slashed.
Swoosh—!!
A flaming arc of swordlight erupted from his blade, splitting the dragon breath in half.
"What?!"
The dragon was stunned.
Before he could react further, the flame slash struck him directly.
"GRAAAAAAH!!"
He roared in pain. A gash opened on his body—not deep, but it burned terribly.
"You… you bastard! How can a mere human's attack pierce my scales?!"
The purple dragon's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at Kaien. Not only had his breath been cut in two—he'd actually been wounded.
And Kaien wasn't even a Dragon Slayer Mage.
"This… this is impossible!"
"Don't keep saying 'mere human' like that," Kaien replied coolly.
"Wasn't it a 'mere human' who wiped out your dragon race? What gives you the right to look down on us?"
"As for your so-called scale defense… is it really that strong? Doesn't feel like it."
"You bastard—DIE!!"
The dragon raised a claw and slammed it down.
BOOM—!!
The earth exploded, collapsing in massive chunks like the end of the world.
"Sun Breathing: Fifth Form – Flame Wheel!!"
Kaien had already moved behind the dragon, releasing an arcing flame slash.
Squelch—!
"GRAAAAH!!"
The dragon howled. Though the injury wasn't severe—just a shallow cut—the burning pain was unbearable.
He quickly spun around.
"Sun Breathing: Tenth Form – Beneficent Radiance!"
Kaien dove downward, his body spinning in a high-speed spiral slash.
"RAAAHHHHH!!"
From his chest to his abdomen, the dragon was carved open with a series of wounds. The pain was blistering, forcing another scream from his throat.
Gritting his teeth, the dragon lashed out with both claws to grab Kaien—intending to tear him apart piece by piece.
"Sun Breathing: Third Form – Raging Sun!"
Kaien slashed two symmetrical arcs left and right.
BOOM!
The dragon's claws were forced back. Gashes appeared on the palms of his hands.
"AGGHHHH!! YOU DAMNED INSECT!!"
"Sun Breathing: Sixth Form – Burning Bones, Summer Sun!"
Kaien followed up with no pause. A rotating flame slash blasted into the dragon's abdomen.
BOOM—!!
The impact sent the massive dragon sliding backward several dozen meters.
Roaring through the pain, the dragon charged again, a fist wrapped in dragon energy hurtling toward Kaien.
"Sun Breathing: Seventh Form – Sunflower Thrust!!"
Kaien didn't flinch—he met the blow head-on.
BOOM—!!
The dragon's fist collided with the tip of Kaien's blade.
Squelch—!!
The blade pierced into the dragon's knuckles.
But to such a huge body, that was like a toothpick.
Kaien was sent flying—he had overestimated his strength in a power clash.
The dragon grinned and flapped his wings, launching after him.
Kaien eventually regained control in midair.
"Sun Breathing: Eleventh Form – Dragon Sun Halo Head Dance!!"
He erupted into motion like a blazing flame dragon, streaking across the dragon's body.
Squelch! Squelch! Squelch!
Wound after wound appeared across the purple dragon's flesh.
"YOU DAMNED WORM!!"
The dragon went berserk, slashing wildly. The ground, the trees—everything around him was reduced to rubble.
Kaien lowered his voice.
"It should be about time now."
Dragons had incredible hearing.
Even though Kaien spoke quietly, the purple dragon still heard him.
"About time?"
A chill ran down his spine.
A bad feeling welled up inside him.
Kaien gripped his blade with both hands. His expression grew solemn. His breathing grew deep and focused. It felt like his whole body was igniting.
Alazham—the demon dragon—suddenly sensed mortal danger.
'No. I can't let him finish!'
"Earth Rupture!!"
Alazham's claws pulsed with power and slammed into the ground.
BOOOOM—!!
The land shook violently. Within a hundred-meter radius, the ground exploded upward into chunks of stone.
Kaien stood on one of the flying platforms—upside-down, now hurtling toward the sky.
Even in this chaos, his expression didn't change.
His eyes remained locked on Alazham.
His mana gathered at the tip of his blade.
"Sun Breathing: Thirteenth Form!!"