"If you can't do it, you die."
Raon snorted as if asking why anyone would question something so obvious.
"To survive the hell that's about to unfold in this world, you need to overcome trials like this."
The war with Derus Robert and Eden would literally bring hell to this continent. They would face a desperate battle against Angels and evil spirits, so they needed to overcome challenges like dragons without much difficulty.
"Th-that's true, but..."
Dorian trembled with pale lips, knowing Raon was right but still afraid.
"How am I supposed to kill a dragon!"
He swallowed dryly, saying that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't envision himself defeating a dragon.
"If you can't see it, make yourself see it!"
Martha kicked Dorian in the backside.
"We're not trainees anymore. Do you think anyone's going to cut you slack for crying on the battlefield?"
She yelled at him to get his act together, her brow deeply furrowed.
"I agree too."
Burren nodded while making eye contact with Dorian.
"Even if the chances of defeating a dragon are slim, we still need to find a way to do it."
He clenched his fist, saying they needed to fight and win at this moment to move forward to the next stage.
"The fortunate thing is..."
Evelyn raised her finger to point at Bartius.
"The dragons down there aren't as strong as these ones."
She curled her lips, saying that the Blue Dragons at the bottom of the sea were much weaker than Bartius.
"Evelyn is right."
Raon made eye contact with Dorian, Martha, and Burren in turn.
"The dragons down there are mature dragons, far from being Ancient Dragons like Bartius here. It might be difficult, but it's definitely not an insurmountable wall." (E/N: I thought Bartius was explicitly not an ancient dragon, which was why his power was surprising)
He nodded, saying they could handle them well enough.
"Alright. Let's do it."
Burren drew his sword, saying he would follow Raon's words.
"So they're weak? Got it!"
Martha licked her lips, saying she would kill a dragon with ease.
"Hnngh..."
Dorian took a fighting stance while whimpering, as if saying he would follow Raon's instructions.
"If you're ready, let's begin."
As Bartius snapped his fingers, Valasiur, Bursiarabi, and Dariauran scattered in three directions. Woooong! The three dragons drew up mana from nature as if squeezing it out, creating a transparent barrier that encircled the vast sea.
It was a barrier preventing Azgoros, the leader of the Blue Clan hiding at the bottom of the sea, from escaping or communicating with the outside.
"This time it's Valasiur setting up the barrier, not Sirtiren?"
Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked at Valasiur, who was absent to maintain the barrier, unlike during the raid on Igni Serpang's lair.
"I should be the guide here since I'm from the Blue Clan."
Sirtiren came forward with a slight smile.
"I've been here a few times when I was young."
She raised her hand, saying that naturally, she should be the one to guide them.
"You've been here before?"
Dorian opened his eyes wide as he looked at Sirtiren.
"Since she's from the Blue Clan, it would be natural for her to visit the clan leader."
Burren shook his head, suggesting it wasn't a big deal.
"That's part of it. Azgoros is my..."
Sirtiren twisted her lips as she looked down at the sea.
"He's my father."
She raised a finger, saying Azgoros was the father who created her.
"What...?"
"Huh!"
"W-what did you just say..."
Dorian, Martha, and Burren all gaped, apparently shocked by Sirtiren's words.
"Azgoros is your father?"
Even Raon looked at Sirtiren with lowered eyebrows in surprise.
"Dragon family relationships are different from you humans'. Well, some clans get along well with each other, but at least we weren't like that."
Sirtiren shook her head with a deflated smile.
"Since we're not on good terms, you don't need to worry."
She shrugged, saying she wouldn't bat an eye if Azgoros died. Seeing her like this, it seemed that dragons, like humans, had various kinds of relationships.
"Then let's begin."
Bartius seemed to take Sirtiren's words at face value and spread his hands, signaling the start of the battle. The sea swirled violently following the movement of his ten fingers, and a path opened up, leading down to Azgoroth's lair. The sound of the sea roared like a tempest!
The Guardians protecting Azgoros's lair rose to the surface despite the water's disappearance, baring their fierce teeth with blazing killing intent.
"I'll erase those."
As Evelyn raised her finger, a butterfly wing-like shape appeared behind her. Each stripe forming the wings was magic. When Evelyn's distinctive magical bombardment fell, Azgoros's Guardians rushing to eliminate the intruders were erased without a trace of flesh remaining.
"Now let's go down."
She smiled slightly as if saying she would handle all the troublesome tasks.
"Thanks."
It was when Raon nodded to Evelyn and was about to descend into the sea.
"As expected, his words are never wrong."
"He's one of the wisest among the Ancient Dragons."
"Of course, we didn't expect betrayal from one of our own kind."
From beneath the sea rose two young men and one girl with flowing blue hair. They were different from the Guardians who only showed beast-like killing intent. They were the mature dragons of the Blue Clan that Azgoros had summoned.
"Somehow it didn't fit, the way you flattered the Ancient Dragons. So this was your real intention?"
The blue-haired girl twisted her lips as she looked at Sirtiren.
"Saphiren."
Sirtiren muttered the name of the dragon disguised as a blue-haired girl, seemingly familiar with her.
"You'll go down in history. As a fool who betrayed her clan and sided with humans."
The dragon called Saphiren shook her head as if pitying her.
"No."
Sirtiren snorted as she looked at the blue-haired girl.
"I'll probably be known as the smart one who kept the role of mediator and dealt with those leeches who sided with the Angels."
She twirled her finger, telling them to think about it carefully.
"Hmph! You might have planned a surprise attack, but what about this?"
Saphiren jerked her chin toward Sirtiren and Bartius.
"Lord Azgoros already knows you've come."
As she looked down with a sneer, the sea began to pulse. With a vibration that seemed to resonate throughout the entire continent, a massive shadow surged above the surface of the blue sea.
A pair of wings erased the horizon, and an endlessly rising neck blocked the sun - a magnificent being. Azgoros, the leader of the Blue Clan, revealed his majestic body.
[Trash who don't know their place have come.]
Azgoros lowered his sapphire-like brilliantly blue gaze. Just meeting that gaze made the humans unable to breathe, as if time had stopped.
"Th-this one is a monster too..."
Burren pressed down hard on his dried lips. Blood trickled down along his jawline.
"Th-the pressure seems much worse than before..."
Dorian clutched his chest, saying he felt like he was suffocating to death. His expression suggested he might really collapse from inability to breathe if left like this.
"Endure it! There's no point in wielding a sword if you can't even withstand this much!"
Martha shouted at them to endure somehow while gripping her sword hilt so tightly it might break.
"He is indeed leader-class."
Even Evelyn twisted her lips thinly, seeming to feel considerable pressure.
"Phew."
Bartius also slightly wrinkled his brow, finding it difficult to breathe.
"..."
Sirtiren raised her gaze with narrowed eyes, as if completely unaffected by Azgoros's enormous pressure.
[Sirtiren.]
Azgoros exhaled an angry breath as he looked at Sirtiren.
[I was going to give you one last chance, but you continue to make foolish choices!]
He emitted a chilling aura, indicating there were no more chances left for Sirtiren.
[And by borrowing the power of vile humans, no less!]
Unlike Igni Serpang, Azgoros seemed to immediately recognize Raon's existence as he rolled his cold eyes.
"Rather than hiding at the bottom of the sea as the Lord's footmat, I'd rather live freely with my human friends. Ah, of course, Lord is also a leech sucking the blood of Angels."
Sirtiren let out a refreshing smile that didn't match the situation, saying she didn't want to live in an ugly way.
[You've completely lost your mind. Since I created you, I'll tear out your throat with these fangs!]
Azgoros released his mana as if he would kill Sirtiren himself. A more terrifying wave than his enormous body spread, causing the entire sea to heave. Just as mana-wrapped waves were about to crash over everyone, Raon stepped forward.
Just by Raon taking a step, the raging sea slowly began to subside.
[Raon Zieghart!]
Azgoros murmured his name as if he had indeed known about Raon.
[The Lord may have evaluated you as dangerous, but I think differently! No matter how strong you've become, a human is still just a human!]
He emitted a brilliantly blue radiance as if to demonstrate the result himself. It was a spell faster than light. But Raon sliced through Azgoros's invisible magic with a single sword.
The magic split by the Heavenly Drive fell into the sea, causing a massive explosion.
[Hmph!]
Azgoros narrowed his eyes as if he had expected that much, and an orb blooming with frost formed above his head. Countless spells poured down from the white flickering orb. Azgoros was trying to erase Raon without leaving a trace.
"So all clan leaders are about this level."
Raon calmly nodded and extended his Heavenly Drive. The red blazing blade cut through all the spells falling like a downpour and even shattered the white orb floating in the sky.
When the orb that Azgoros had created with all his might shattered, silver snow fell from the sky as if winter had arrived.
[Huh...?]
Azgoros gaped his massive jaws wide, as if he couldn't have imagined that his orb would break with a single strike from Raon.
[Y-you!]
He gnashed his teeth and spread his wings, seeming both flustered and enraged. Following Azgoros's anger, the sea vibrated and rose. The sea rose with a blue flash, with enough momentum to swallow the continent and more.
[Die!]
He dropped a tsunami from the sky as if to crush Raon and those standing behind him with the sea filled with his mana. When Raon unleashed rotating flames from his blade, Azgoros's wave magic, which was descending as if to swallow the continent, evaporated as it burned in the flames.
Normally water would extinguish fire according to elemental affinities, but that principle didn't seem to apply in this moment.
"These are the spells I saw when catching the mad Kaivar."
Raon lowered his completely dry Heavenly Drive.
"Don't you have anything different?"
He jerked his chin, asking for something more interesting.
[Don't worry!]
Azgoros's voice came from within the white current rising as the seawater evaporated.
[Because there won't be a next time!]
With Azgoros's angry cry, a brilliantly white breath poured forth. The Blue Dragon's strongest weapon, Ice Breath. He seemed to have prepared this cold breath immediately, as if anticipating that his wave magic would fail.
The snow-white breath that could freeze even the air rushed toward them. Even though the cold hadn't reached them yet, it felt as if their bones and flesh were starting to freeze.
No matter how strong one's martial prowess was, an Ancient Dragon's breath was still dangerous.
'Of course.'
Raon shook his head as he pressed down the undulating waves with his left foot.
'I just need to cut it before it reaches me.'
He put strength into the Heavenly Drive that he had tilted downward. With the blade burning red again, he drew a high and straight sky while scraping up the waves of the sea. Azure Sky Sword technique - Azure Sky Drive.
Under the sky, everything inevitably becomes small. The sword strike containing the vast firmament pierced through the cold that threatened to freeze the entire world, and penetrated the neck of the scoundrel hiding behind it.
Azgoros, the leader of the Blue Clan, like Igni Serpang, couldn't believe his own death and dropped his head while staring at Raon with eyes filled with shock.
[I-impossible...]
Azgoros sighed as if in disbelief even as he died. With ordinary swordsmanship, he could have used mana to reattach his severed neck, but Raon's sword had already transcended that level, making it impossible to withstand even with an Ancient Dragon's high-purity mana.
As Azgoros's corpse fell into the sea, terrifying waves spread in all directions.
"Ahh..."
"L-Lord Azgoros!"
"W-what is this..."
The three Blue Dragons that Azgoros had summoned trembled their eyes as if they couldn't believe what they were seeing.
"Clean up one of those dragons."
Raon flicked his finger at Burren, Martha, and Dorian.
"We need to kill the Dragon Lord today too, so..."
He flicked his finger while checking the position of the sun in the sky.
"Within an hour."