Inside the pseudo-sun. There was a tiny world created by the roots of the poison Junerva.

　The eyes reflected a strong green color with a dense hint of evil. There was not a shred of human civilization in sight, and the era of tribal nations of demonic nature was spreading.

　There is no order or law here, only faith and the principle of the weak and the strong. This immature world is enjoying the freedom of chaos to the fullest.

　In the center of the world, there was a temple made of earth and mud.

　Spires protrude from the temple on all sides, and many huge statues stand side by side as if in praise of something. There was a combination of unfinished beauty and exquisite solemnity.

　Looking down on the long trees around it, the temple enshrines a single god. The great god of the sun and wind, no longer even named.

It's been so long. So this is your ideal world.

　The original is made up of the fundamental desires of those who possess it. Therefore, the world created from the original is the ideal itself. Just as Drigman desired a world of control, so Junerva longed for this chaotic freedom.

　The inside of the temple is dimly lit. The only source of light is the sunlight streaming in through the cross-shaped windows in the ceiling. But the shadows created by the little light gave the place a kind of mysteriousness.

　Junerva stood in the temple and opened her beak. Her fierce eyes focused only on Shadrapto, the bronze dragon, for the moment.

That's right. The weak feed on the weak and the strong feed on the strong. There's no order there. That's what magic is, and I think being free is the proof of magic.

　Junerva's original text was, in other words, endless freedom itself. There is no order in the world, the code has been lost, and discipline is not even allowed to exist in the primitive world. It was the time when gods and other creatures were closest to each other.

And I don't want to live in a world where magic is so thin.

　A large bird's face spews out a cloud of miasma. A large bird's face blew out a cloud of miasma, a sign that it was repairing the damage it had sustained from the dense magic.

　No, there's more to it than that. Shadrapto noticed that Junerva's face and body were slowly transforming. It was as if he was trying to return to the past.

　Shadrapto took human form, his lips pursed as he said.

Junerva ......, what is the matter with you? The days of being a god are over, aren't they? What's the point in trying to regain your divinity if you can't?

　Shadrapto looked into Junerva's eyes and stepped back, wondering if he wasn't just dancing around the intentions of the gears. Sand flew around his feet.

　There was a reasonable distance between them, but it was no longer a distance for either of them. With a single step, he could reach his opponent's throat. This is no longer a distance between us.

　Shadrapto can't possibly escape. No, there is no one in the world who can run away from Junerva. Even so, he crawls with his gaze as if to find an opening.

　Junerva was even highly offended by this. Her voice, laced with emotion, echoed through the temple.

"Shadraupt-- the bronze dragon. I'm the one who should be asking. I've been asking for hundreds of years. Why did you run then? You abandoned your friends and everything!

　I didn't need to tell you what time it was.

　The human hero Althea, the great demon Vriligant, and the dragons, demons like Junerva, and their dependents were all involved in the war.

　And then, of course, there was the battle where Shadrapto turned into an insect and ran away.

　Why?

　Junerva knew that she sometimes showed an unusually speculative side. But on that day, Shadrapto would have gone to the front herself. So why did he run away?

　And because of that, the front fell into chaos. The humans, as if they knew about the chaos, launched an offensive.

　As a result, the land was covered in dragon's blood, and many of the demon birds under Junerva's control threw away their lives. The presence of Vriligant had kept the battlefield intact, but some of it had been close to a massacre.

　In response to his question, she answered simply and lightly.

Maybe because you were scared. And it's foolish to confront a monster like Althea.

　I was afraid.

　Foolish.

　Junerva felt a stupefaction in her chest, and at the same time a terrible heat in her eyes and brain.

　What would she say? That was what Junerva had been thinking about for a long time. Was there a reason? Or had she really betrayed him?

　She could only say that she was afraid.

　A moment later, rage slammed into Junerva's heart as raindrops. The beak was no longer going to stop. The miasma clung to her body, transforming her more and more.

It's like the time of the ...... Vriligant. Why did you choose to be subservient instead of fighting back?　There were many other ways to go!



　Shadrapto cowered his shoulders and responded in an obvious way.

"It's because Vriligant's power was strong. It is only natural to follow the strong.

"...... Nonsense. Shadrapto, Shadrapto!　You were never like that!

　You were not like that!" Junerva shouted, and at the same time her body reached the peak of its transformation. Its wings grew longer and longer, and its body no longer resembled that of a bird.

　It was a giant snake, if you will. A feathered continental serpent that no one believes in anymore, and even those who know about it are few.

　There was a wailing, nameless god there.

"...... Stop it. I'm not sure what you're doing. There's no point!

　Shadrapto's eyes twisted unconsciously at the sight of the familiar figure. There, along with the miasma, was the image of the man he had been when he was a god.

　The demonic pressure emanating from his body was incomparable to that of the time when he was a demon. A single city could be contained by him if he opened his mouth. He could shoot a demon or a demon-beast with just one look.

　Shadrapto's thought in the face of such a great figure was that it was terribly sad.

　At this moment, he has regained his divinity. This was partly due to the influence of this ideal world, and perhaps also to the guidance of that gear.

　But no matter how he used the original, this time is too fragile for him to be a god.

　He will only be able to maintain his current form for a short time. There is no telling what will happen after that.

　Shadraupt's expression is tragic. And even the unnamed god in front of him was grief-stricken in his rage.

　Why, they seemed to ask. A longing erupted here, making him lose his reason.

　Why did you run away then? Why did you give in then? Isn't it strange? Why?

　Why didn't you choose to come with me?

　--The roar of an unnamed god stirs the temple. The mud and earth began to disintegrate and a rain of sand grains flew.

　A feathered continental serpent opens its great jaws and leaps to swallow Shadrapto. The void itself spreads in its mouth. Those who are swallowed become nothing and disappear.

　The full fury of the giant serpent that had once swallowed a continent was now poured out for the sake of just one.

　There was no way for Shadrapto to escape. Even if he could escape for a moment, annihilation awaited him next. It was already upon him, right in front of him. No matter how much dragon power he had, escape was impossible.

　Shadrapto was just sad.

　It was so sad that he would take such a step to destroy himself.

"--

　Shadraupt called out his former name. In a moment, their encounter would be over.

　It was not a game. It was just the weak being swallowed by the strong.

　That's just like the freedom that this world idealized.

"I have taught you many times since you were a baby.

　In the crumbling temple, a voice echoed. The red copper dragon said as it ripped out the heart of the continental serpent.

The red copper dragon said as he ripped out the heart of the continental snake, "Demonic, no, you were born into this world, you sleep, you eat, you breathe, you even run away, everything is a struggle.

　The eyes of the red-bronze dragon in human form were extremely cold. The heart was still alive in her mouth, but she silenced it with her mighty fangs.

If you had poisoned yourself with all the true poison you had, you would have been dead in a few hundred years. You could have won if you had just kept running for that long.

　How foolish of you to throw away your chance of victory and challenge me to a foolish short battle. How foolish. That made Shadrapto sad. You can't even run away. You're too cowardly.

　The continental snake was on the verge of losing its life. The continental snake was on the verge of losing its life. It was spewing blood all over its body, but it still looked at Shadrapto and shed a single tear.

"...... Why. Why you?

　Shadraupt took this as a continuation of his earlier question. He crossed his legs over the giant body of the continental snake and said, "I told you so.

I told you so. You are foolish to challenge a monster. Besides, a man would be dead in a hundred years. Why should we risk our lives to fight them?

　Vriligant is like that. A being who wields great power without concealment will eventually be confronted by a being of equal or greater power and mortally wounded. There is no such thing as an eternal being. We knew we were doomed to perish.

The only thing this world allows is a perfect victory. I'm afraid I can't take it. I'm afraid I'll die defeated. Perfection trumps everything. Pride, honor, and dignity are meaningless in the face of defeat.



　The red copper dragon said in a high voice, sadly. In the end, there is no one who can understand this. Shadrapto sighed heavily as he watched the crumbling temple and the end of a world.

　There was only one thing to be happy about: now there were fewer people left to kill.