BOOM—!!
Kaien Blaze shot through the sky like a fire dragon, his feet stepping off the crumbling sky-floor as he launched himself at the demon dragon.
Arazham, the demon dragon, never expected Kaien to be able to launch an attack midair—let alone with such speed. Before it could even react, Kaien was already in front of it.
Still, Arazham wasn't particularly worried. At most, the human's attack might sting a little—it wouldn't cause any real harm.
"Rin-ne!!"
Kaien shouted as he flashed past the dragon's massive body, his figure trailing like a fiery serpent around it.
Squelch—Squelch—!!
"ROAAAAAAR!!!"
Arazham let out a pained, bloodcurdling scream.
It had misjudged—terribly.
Kaien's slash hadn't just cut skin. Each strike had gone bone-deep. Worse yet, many of the dragon's internal organs had been damaged. Just one strike had left it severely wounded.
"Damn it! How is this possible?! You could barely pierce my dragon scale armor earlier, and now you've gravely wounded me in one move?!"
Arazham glared at Kaien, eyes full of hatred, as if it wanted to devour him on the spot.
Kaien looked at the dragon calmly and said,
"My attack did only break through your dragon scale defense. But that doesn't mean that's all it can do."
"Breaking through your scales was just the start. That kind of shallow damage only enrages you—it doesn't make you afraid. It tricks you into thinking I can't truly hurt you."
"So when I attack again, you let your guard down."
"And did you think that I broke through your defense by accident? Look at where you're injured."
Arazham froze and looked down at its body—its pupils shrank.
The most critical injuries were exactly where Kaien had struck before.
Which meant… Kaien had calculated everything.
He'd first cracked the strongest part of Arazham's defense—then launched his follow-up attack at those precise weak points to cause massive internal damage.
"You bastard!!"
Kaien raised his sword again. "Now that you know, you can die in peace."
He prepared to finish it.
"You think a mere human like you could kill me?! Don't underestimate a dragon!!"
Arazham roared furiously and beat its wings, shooting high into the sky.
Once airborne, the demon dragon took a deep breath. Its chest swelled to an enormous size.
Erza's face shifted.
"That… That's—!"
She immediately shouted toward Kaien.
"Move, Kaien!! That's a Roar!!"
Having known Natsu for so long, Erza was naturally familiar with Dragon Slayer magic. The "Roar" was a nearly universal spell among dragons—and its power was devastating.
"Disintegrate!!"
Arazham unleashed a deafening roar, opening its mouth and firing a massive beam downward.
A giant purple energy wave erupted from its jaws.
BOOOOOOM—!!
A colossal explosion tore through the forest.
A hemisphere of purple light expanded in a terrifying shockwave, obliterating everything in its path.
CRACK CRACK—!!
The city's hundred-meter-high walls began crumbling from the top under the sheer pressure.
"Uwaaaaahhh!"…
All the soldiers and swordsmen had taken cover behind the city walls.
But the monstrous shockwave had already entered the city.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—!!
Everything in its path—houses, roads, structures—was annihilated in seconds.
Only after a long while did the explosion finally subside.
Clatter—Clatter!!
People crawled out from under the rubble… only to be stunned by what they saw.
"The… the city… it's gone!!!"
Half the city had been reduced to ruins. Only the arena near the city center remained standing, protected by a magical barrier.
This was just the aftershock of the dragon's Roar—and it had devastated half a city.
Now, they truly understood why dragons were said to be able to slaughter cities and annihilate nations.
If Arazham had used this move at the beginning, not a single person in the city would've survived.
"Kaien!!"
Erza immediately looked toward the area outside the wall.
There, she saw a massive crater. The entire surrounding terrain had turned to sand.
The sheer devastation showed just how terrifying the Roar of a dragon truly was.
"No way…"
"Mr. Kaien… could he really be…?"
The king trembled at the destruction. If he had known dragons were this powerful, he might never have dared to plan against one.
"…"
Silence fell over the crowd.
A dragon's Roar had that much power and that wide of a range. Kaien's chances of survival were virtually zero.
"Hahahahahaha!! Damn brat! You finally died, huh?! Not even bones left! Hahahahaha!!"
Arazham's voice echoed from the sky.
Everyone who heard it felt a deep sadness and growing fury.
Kaien—the one who had saved them twice now, their strongest swordmaster—had been slain.
Then, the massive form of Arazham began descending.
BOOOOM—!!
The dragon hit the ground with a thunderous crash.
"Uwaaaaah!!"
"Ahhhh!!"…
Many people couldn't keep their balance and were thrown to the ground.
"It's the demon dragon!!"
Everyone looked at the enormous creature in fear and rage.
Even though it was heavily wounded, they knew—a wounded dragon was still far beyond anything they could handle.
"This time, that annoying little punk is really gone. So now, all of you can die as well!"
Arazham was done toying with humans. It wanted to wipe them out and then find a place to recover.
It began channeling magic into its mouth, preparing another breath attack.
Suddenly—
Rip—!
A black line appeared in the air. Then came a sound like cloth being torn.
Everyone stared as the space along that line began to unravel like strips of fabric—ripping vertically.
A moment later, a dark rift opened up.
Inside it stood a figure in white, hands in pockets, looking completely relaxed.
Kaien raised his hand and waved casually.
"Yo. What a coincidence—everyone's here."
"Kaien!!!"
Erza and the others shouted in joy the moment they saw he was alive.
The humans were overjoyed—while one very specific dragon… was not.
Arazham's expression changed instantly.
"Y-You… You're still alive?!"