Chapter 682: Tohru's Shock and Choice! Repaying Kindness or Becoming an Enemy!
Tohru struggled to get up, her claws digging into the scorched earth, attempting a final, desperate struggle.
Simply because she didn't want to die at the hands of a human. Her pride as a dragon of the Chaos Faction would not allow such an ignoble end.
Unfortunately, she no longer had the strength to get up. The divine energy of the Holy Sword embedded in her back was like a poison, sapping her vitality and sealing her magic.
She fell back down after standing up halfway, her massive body crashing against the ground with a bone-jarring impact.
Rumble!
When her massive body fell, the ground shook violently, sending tremors through the nearby trees. Dust and debris billowed into the air, choking the night.
Kobayashi was also shaken, trembling as she clutched a nearby tree for support. Her alcohol-addled brain was trying desperately to process the impossible sight before her.
But it also sobered her up a bit. The sheer absurdity of the situation acted like a bucket of ice water.
At least her consciousness wasn't as blurry. The fog of drunkenness receded, leaving behind a sharp, terrifying clarity.
She rubbed her eyes and looked closely, squinting through her glasses.
This time, she recognized Tohru's form—not as a hallucination, but as a living, breathing creature of myth.
"Is this… a dragon???"
Kobayashi's mouth opened wide for the first time, and her body recoiled repeatedly in shock. The scales, the wings, the sheer size of the beast—it was undeniable.
"Am I dreaming? I must be dreaming. I drank too much… that's it."
Her first thought was that she was dreaming, and she even wanted to pinch herself to confirm. It was the only rational explanation for a dragon appearing in the mountains of Japan.
Ren merely smiled at her behavior, his expression one of amusement. He stood calmly amidst the destruction, his presence unshakeable.
His attention remained on Tohru. The emerald-green dragon stared back at him, her eyes filled with a mixture of hatred and fear.
"You think I'm here to kill you, but unfortunately, I'm not." Ren's voice was calm, cutting through the heavy atmosphere like a blade.
"Not here to kill me?"
Tohru's dragon eyes, glowing with a fierce inner light, gazed at Ren. Her pupils narrowed into slits.
She had witnessed human cunning and insidiousness and had fought with humans for thousands of years. In her world, humans were enemies, thieves, and liars.
So Tohru did not believe Ren's words and remained constantly vigilant, her muscles tensed for a final strike.
Ren merely shrugged at her vigilance, unbothered by the killing intent radiating from her.
"It doesn't matter whether you believe it or not, but it's best not to try to resist. Even if your father, the Emperor of the End (Damocles), came, he wouldn't be able to save you."
"You know my father!!!"
Tohru displayed strong emotion for the first time, her voice booming like thunder. The mention of her father, the leader of the Chaos Faction, shook her to her core. How could a human from this world know of him?
"I know many things. More than you can imagine."
Ren was too lazy to say more on this point, and even less inclined to prove anything. His power spoke for itself.
He told Tohru, "You should be clear that this is not the world you were in before. The mana density, the laws of physics… everything is different."
"..."
Tohru was speechless. She had sensed it the moment she crossed the boundary, but hearing it confirmed made it real.
That's right, this was an Otherworld she had never been to before. A world without magic, or so she thought until she met this man.
"Aside from women, my greatest interest is eliminating anomalies that ordinary people might come into contact with in the world. You, my dear dragon, are a very big anomaly."
"Anomalies…"
Tohru was somewhat angry, smoke curling from her nostrils. "Then you still want to kill me?"
"Tsk, who told you that eliminating anomalies only has one path: eradication? That's such a primitive way of thinking."
"Huh?"
Ren glanced at the bewildered Tohru, his golden eyes shimmering with a mysterious light.
"Controlling anomalies in your own hands is also a way. Taming them, making them yours… that's much more interesting."
As he spoke, he also hooked his finger.
"!!!"
Tohru, who was still contemplating the meaning of Ren's words, suddenly realized that the Holy Sword stuck in her body had loosened. The agonizing pain that had been her constant companion began to fade.
The next moment.
Schwing!
The Holy Sword was suddenly pulled out without warning. It flew through the air, rotating gently, and landed into Ren's hand.
Ren examined the Holy Sword in his hand. It hummed with a pure, white light, rejecting his touch but unable to resist his power.
"Another god. They always leave their toys lying around."
Everyone can call themselves a god, truly. But in front of the Infinite Tree, they were all pretenders.
This was divine power from Tohru's Otherworld. A fragment of authority meant to slay dragons.
She felt the sealed power rapidly returning after the Holy Sword was pulled out. Her magic circuits flared to life, mana rushing through her veins like a torrent.
"Roar…!"
Tohru, feeling completely at ease for the first time in days, spread her wings, wanting to let out a loud roar of triumph and freedom.
But Ren merely cast a cold glance.
A pressure heavier than the mountain itself descended upon her.
Tohru immediately felt a bone-chilling coldness invade her. It wasn't magic; it was pure intent.
Her dragon roar was forcibly cut short, turning into a pathetic whimper.
Ren said coldly, "I told you not to flaunt yourself so brazenly. I can save you, and I can also eliminate you. Do not forget your place."
"Hmm…"
Although Ren did nothing but speak, Tohru instinctively feared him.
That pressure was far stronger than what she had experienced from her own father. It was the pressure of a being that stood at the apex of existence.
Tohru lowered her head, not daring to make any unnecessary movements. She curled her tail around herself submissively.
But she still stubbornly whispered, "I can use magic to hide my presence. Perception blocking is basic magic."
"Hm?"
Ren glanced over again, his eyebrow raised, and Tohru immediately dared not say more. She shut her mouth, fearing she had angered him.
Seeing her settle down, Ren turned his attention to the sword.
Ren exerted a slight force, his hand glowing with a chaotic energy.
Crack!
The Holy Sword shattered. It didn't break into pieces; it dissolved, crushed into countless specks of golden light.
These specks then surged into Kobayashi's body, swirling around her like fireflies before merging with her.
"Eh? What is this?!"
Kobayashi was surprised by what was happening to her. A warmth spread through her chest, dispelling the chill of the night and the hangover.
Not only did she feel lighter, as if she could fly, but it also felt like many warm things were entering her body, filling a void she didn't know she had.
"Am I really dreaming? This feels too good to be a dream."
Otherwise, how could she see a dragon, how could she meet a handsome man who controlled magic, and how could she feel this power coursing through her?
Tohru's dragon eyes narrowed as she watched the process.
It wasn't just Ren's effortless act of crushing the Holy Sword that shocked her. It was the casual bestowal of such power.
"Why did you give the Holy Sword to this human? That is a weapon of the gods!"
Ren shrugged, dusting off his hands. "I don't care for such a small trinket. It's useless to me, but it might help her survive in a world that's about to get a lot more interesting."
This amount of energy was not even comparable to dust in his eyes. But for a human, it was a miracle.
Compared to the issue of the Holy Sword, Ren was more interested in Tohru's Otherworld.
It was another thing that appeared in his Cognitive Doomsday. A blip on his radar that had suddenly become a beacon.
As he grew stronger, he could increasingly feel the terror of Cognitive Doomsday. It was a sensory overload of potential threats and opportunities.
Information that was originally inaccessible suddenly appeared before his eyes. Secrets of the multiverse laid bare.
An Otherworld that should have been sensed instantly, but if it didn't appear in his Cognitive Doomsday, he would never discover it. It was hidden, veiled by dimensional barriers.
This was the horror of Cognitive Doomsday. It revealed what was hidden, forcing him to confront it.
But now that he knew of the existence of this Otherworld, he naturally still needed to observe it. Knowledge was power, and Ren was greedy for both.
He raised his hand and opened a spatial passage. The air twisted and tore, revealing a swirling vortex of colors that led to another realm.
"This spatial passage leads to your original world. Do you want to go back?"
Ren turned to ask Tohru, his expression neutral.
"..."
Tohru was no longer surprised by Ren's abilities this time; she was already numb to the impossible.
Instead, her gaze at the spatial passage was very complex. It was a door home, but also a door back to the war.
She… didn't want to go back.
Hovering on the brink of death allowed Tohru to see her true feelings for the first time. The near-death experience had stripped away her illusions.
She no longer wanted to continue the endless wars and slaughter; she was tired, very tired. The fighting, the killing, the politics of the factions—it all felt meaningless now.
For a moment, Tohru even felt that death might be a form of liberation. A peaceful end to a violent life.
But now she had survived, and her body was gradually recovering. The will to live burned anew, but differently.
Because she had to face her dragon life again. The expectations, the obligations.
Originally, she could have used the excuse of being unable to return to this world as a means of escape. Stranded, lost, free.
But now, the human who saved her placed an unavoidable choice before her. He had opened the door.
Therefore, Tohru's feelings for Ren were very complex. Gratitude, fear, resentment, and curiosity swirled together.
Ren raised an eyebrow: "It seems you don't really want to go back?"
Tohru gazed at Ren for a long time before speaking again, her voice low and rumbling: "If I don't go back, will you eliminate me as an anomaly of this world?"
"No."
Ren shook his head. "I already told you, I prefer to collect."
Tohru's eyes lit up, but it only lasted for a second.
Because Ren's next words chilled her to the bone.
"Not only are you an anomaly, but even the world you are in is an anomaly in my eyes. A chaotic variable."
"...You, want to destroy my world?" Tohru's voice was hoarse and deep, vibrating with suppressed fury.
If that were the case... she would become his enemy. She would fight him to the death to protect her home, even if she hated it.
Even if she was tired, she didn't want to see her world destroyed. It was still her home.
"Tsk, why does it feel so difficult to communicate with you?"
Ren slapped his forehead, saying helplessly: "As long as your world doesn't affect this world, that's enough. Why do you only think about problems in terms of killing and eliminating? Is that all dragons know?"
"Uh... Mm!"
Tohru realized she had been thinking in the wrong direction and hung her head in shame.
No choice.
She had fought for thousands of years, so it was inevitable that her thoughts would resort to the simplest and most brutal methods of killing and eliminating. It was instinct. It was survival.
[Inorin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/InorinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/InorinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]