Several months passed in that manner. As summer faded into autumn, I visited Rivendell with Arwen. Having grown close to the Elves there, they no longer guarded themselves against me as they once had.
"Welcome."
Elrond greeted us warmly.
"Since you live so close, do try to visit more often."
"It seems the house felt empty without your daughter living here," I remarked.
"Ahem..."
Perhaps I had hit the mark, as Elrond let out a dry cough. Seeing this, Arwen hid a smile behind her hand.
We shared a meal and talked over tea.
"At the last White Council meeting, Gandalf mentioned that Sauron is gathering strength. I am deeply concerned," Elrond said.
"So that's why Gandalf has been traveling all over the place."
"Indeed. I fear war may break out once again."
Elrond took a sip of his tea and looked at me.
"If war does come, would you be able to help us?"
He knew that my assistance would be a tremendous asset, and though he knew I was a dragon, he asked out of a desperate hope.
"Hmm... I promise to protect Rivendell's Elves until my father-in-law and the rest depart for Valinor. But beyond that, I cannot interfere."
"I see. Understood."
Elrond accepted it immediately without further questions. It seemed he hadn't let his expectations get too high.
Arwen and I spent several days in Rivendell. While we were enjoying tea in the warm sunlight, a young boy approached and asked a question. It was Aragorn.
"Mister! Are you really a dragon?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Whoa~! Then can you transform into a dragon for me just once?"
Aragorn, who looked barely ten years old, made the request with innocent curiosity.
"I'm sorry, but if I transform here, many people will be frightened. I'll show you another time."
Aragorn's face fell with disappointment. Then Arwen, who was sitting beside me, spoke up.
"Everyone already knows he's a dragon, so wouldn't it be fine?"
Upon hearing that, Elrond chided Arwen.
"Arwen, you are still so immature even after getting married. Arkad Cassian is right. We must consider the panic it would cause the residents if a massive dragon suddenly appeared in the territory."
Arwen seemed a bit sulky, perhaps because it had been a while since she'd heard her father's nagging. To brighten her mood, I stood up and spoke.
"Fine then. How about we go down to the plains below the territory and I'll give you a ride?"
At those words, Arwen smiled and Aragorn was overjoyed. Hearing this, Elrond glanced at Arwen before making a quiet request of his own.
"Ahem... Might I join you? I am, after all, concerned about Elessar's safety."
Elrond made excuses, but it was clear he wanted to experience riding a dragon himself. I suppressed a laugh and agreed.
We descended to the plains, where I transformed into my dragon form, took the three of them onto my back, and flew slowly into the sky.
"Wow~ Look over there! I feel like I can see the entire Misty Mountains!"
"Elessar, do not get too excited. Hold on tight."
Though he spoke firmly, Elrond's heartbeat sounded even more excited than the boy's. I flew slowly, circling the nearby Dragon Tower before returning to the plains near Rivendell. After letting them off, I returned to my human form.
"How was it? Was it fun?"
"It was so much fun!"
I patted the head of the thoroughly delighted Aragorn.
"Now, let's head back to our home."
We returned to Rivendell and enjoyed dinner. Aragorn talked incessantly during the meal about the scenery he had seen, still buzzing from the experience.
'He's still just a kid.'
The next day, Arwen and I gave Aragorn some sweets, said our goodbyes to Elrond, and returned to the Dragon Tower.
Another month passed. While I was talking over dessert with Arwen after a delicious dinner, a signal suddenly came from the [Nano Buckle].
"Arwen, I've received a signal from Thorin. I think I have to go."
"Really? That's unexpected. To think a Dwarf would actually give up his treasures."
Arwen also seemed surprised that Thorin was willing to give up half the hoard to ask for my help. Truthfully, I was a bit surprised too.
"Tell me about it. Anyway, a promise is a promise, so I'll be off."
"Please be careful."
"Don't worry."
I gave Arwen a ring identical to the one I had given Thorin.
"Oh! This is the same one you gave Thorin."
"Yes. If anything happens, just crush the gem."
"I understand."
I stepped out of the Dragon Tower, transformed into my dragon form, and flew across the Misty Mountains. With my [Flight] and [Telekinesis] abilities, I was able to fly toward the Lonely Mountain where Erebor was located at an incredible speed.
Upon arriving, I saw Smaug devastating Lake-town with his breath. Fortunately, it seemed he had only just started burning the town, as about two-thirds of it was still intact.
I flew straight toward Smaug and spoke to him.
"Hey! Stop this and leave this place at once. If you don't, I will take your life."
Smaug seemed quite startled to see another dragon for the first time in a long while.
"A kinsman I haven't seen in ages. But judging by that scent of Elves on you, you must be the dragon that recently settled in the Misty Mountains."
I wasn't sure when he had heard such news, considering he spent most of his time napping atop gold and silver. I guessed he had probably heard it from magical creatures.
"I'll let you off once since we are of the same kind. Begone. I cannot forgive this town."
"Then I have no choice. I'll have to deal with you as promised."
"Promised? What promise? And you, with that small body, think you can handle the great Smaug? Know when a joke has gone too far!"
Smaug was certainly larger than me. I stood at about 70 meters thanks to my transformations and abilities, while he appeared to be well over 100 meters including his long neck and tail. Fortunately, I had a muscular and solid build, whereas Smaug was leaner and more elongated, so physically the gap wasn't as massive as it seemed.
"Quality over quantity, as they say."
"You certainly talk big. You're the one who came into my territory to pick a fight. Do not regret this!"
Smaug glared at me, opened his maw, and began to spew fire. I quickly banked to the side to dodge the breath and attempted to strike back with my own. Since it was the first time I was using the breath, I didn't regulate it, and the resulting blast was overwhelming in both scale and power. It couldn't even be compared to Smaug's breath. It was truly the power of the breath stolen from the Black Dragon, Milaboreas.
Startled, Smaug frantically surged upward to evade my attack.
"How can a creature smaller than me unleash such a breath?"
Smaug barely escaped my breath and was visibly flustered.
"Do you see now? I don't wish to kill my own kind either, so leave this place. Do so, and I will spare your life."
At those words, Smaug's pride seemed to be wounded, and he roared at me in a fury.
"Shut up!!! I am stronger than even Glaurung, the Father of Dragons, now! There is no way I could lose to the likes of you!!!"
"Oh dear... Smaug, your father would be sad to hear that."
Unable to contain his rage at my mocking words, Smaug lunged in a straight line. I also charged forward, and we clashed in a brutal physical struggle. However, that was his mistake. My physical strength and defense were beyond imagination.
We clung to each other in mid-air, spinning and attempting to claw and bite. It must have been an incredible spectacle for any onlookers. Unfortunately, as a participant, I couldn't appreciate it.
Regardless, Smaug knew a bite would be fatal, so he desperately avoided my jaws even while suffering claw strikes. I also played along with the flow, avoiding his bites while tearing at him with my talons. The funny thing was that despite all the clawing, neither of us seemed to take any real damage.
Even though I had my [Armament Haki], Smaug's scales were not destroyed by my attacks, leaving only marks. His scales boasted incredible defense, and since I was fighting in the air with a body I wasn't fully accustomed to, it was difficult to put my full weight behind my strikes. So, I decided to settle it with pure strength; I grabbed Smaug's reaching arm and wrenched it in the opposite direction with all my might.
CRUNCH!
"GRAAAAAH!!!"
As his arm twisted into a grotesque angle, Smaug let out a horrific scream. Realizing things were going south, he desperately bit into my shoulder. However, there was no way his teeth would penetrate a body hardened by [Armament Haki]. I immediately channeled both [Armament Haki] and mana into my teeth, bit into Smaug's neck, and clamped down hard.
Creeeeeak!
As I bit and crushed his throat, he couldn't even manage a full scream, letting out only pained groans as he quietly begged for his life.
"Urgh... Sp-spare me..."
"It's too late for that."
Holding his neck in my maw, I pressed my weight down on his body with my feet and dove rapidly toward the ground near the lake.
BOOM!!!
SNAP!!
As the two massive dragons crashed into the ground, a sound like a heavy artillery shell exploding rang out, sending dirt and stone flying in all directions. From the impact, Smaug's spine and neck snapped, and he died instantly.
Ding~!
[(S) Dragon Breath], [(S) Fire Resistance], [(A) Dragon Skin] abilities obtained.
The [(S) Dragon Breath] ability has been absorbed into [(SS) Dragon Breath].
The [(S) Fire Resistance] ability has been absorbed into [(SS) Fire Resistance], promoting it to [(SSS) Fire Resistance].
[(A) Dragon Skin]
Gain skin as powerful as a dragon's.
"Now, I won't even take damage from ordinary flames."
Having gained the abilities, I stored Smaug's corpse in my inventory, thinking it might be useful later. I then flew toward Lake-town to extinguish the fires, but a black arrow suddenly flew at me from the bell tower at the town's highest point. I simply snatched it out of the air with my hand.
"How ridiculous. I help them, and they attack me!"
This was the 'Black Arrow,' specially crafted by the Dwarves of Erebor to kill dragons. As I glared at the bell tower from which the arrow was fired, Bard came out with both hands raised in surrender and shouted to me.
"O Arkad Cassian, Master of the Misty Mountains, please find it in your heart to forgive us. It was a mistake born of not knowing whether you were friend or foe."
It seemed my name had traveled even this far, as Bard knew it accurately. After a moment's thought, I spoke to the townspeople.
"Hmm... Very well! I will give you a chance. Offer up the life of the highest-ranking person in this town. Then I shall spare you all."
The townspeople began to murmur excitedly.
"The highest-ranking person?"
"The highest-ranking person is the Lord!"
"Where is the Master?"
"Find the Master quickly! If we're too late, we'll all die!"
Then, a female Elf climbed onto a rooftop and shouted to me. It was Tauriel, the woman Legolas loved. She was a character who did not exist in the original novels, but because I had chosen the movie version for the creations, she existed here.
"He is here, Great Dragon!"
Following where she pointed, I saw a fat Master dressed in finery on a boat laden with gold and silver treasures. I flew over immediately, snatched the fat Master with my claws, threw him into the air, and incinerated him instantly with my breath.
The reason I set such a condition was that in the original story, the Master died when the falling Smaug crushed him after being hit by the Black Arrow. However, since Smaug and I fought and died elsewhere, that wouldn't happen, so I had set this condition instead.
The Master was a man blinded by greed who neglected the town's development. When the dragon attacked, he abandoned his people and tried to flee quickly with the wealth he had amassed. So, I took this opportunity to kill the Master and proactively cut off future troubles.
'I've helped them enough; they can handle the rest themselves.'
Having finished my business at Lake-town, I flew to Erebor, the Lonely Mountain, where Thorin's company was located. When I arrived, the Dwarves didn't welcome me; instead, they were in a state of confusion. I learned the reason from Thorin's mouth.
"Arkad Cassian! This is a mistake! My comrades took the ring from me by force and broke it. This deal is void!"
Presumably, after they failed to kill Smaug and the enraged dragon began to devastate Lake-town, the Dwarves remembered the promise and forcibly took the ring from Thorin to break it.
Naturally, I didn't care and spoke threateningly with a growl.
"Such excuses do not work on me. I have already fulfilled my part of the promise, and you must pay the price."
With that, I immediately flew into the depths of Erebor and began sweeping the mounds of gold and silver into my inventory. Once I felt I had taken enough, I stepped back outside. Thorin sat on the battlements with a look of utter despair. I saw Bilbo beside the Dwarves and asked him.
"Bilbo, I am returning to the Dragon Tower. Will you come with me?"
Bilbo thought for a moment before speaking.
"I appreciate the offer, but I'll stay here. I'm worried about the companions I've traveled with."
He was likely worried about the discord among his friends after what had just happened. Bilbo was truly a good fellow.
"I see. Very well."
"Thank you for taking care of Smaug."
As I prepared to leave, Bilbo thanked me for killing Smaug. At this, Thorin glared at Bilbo with a furious face, as if about to say something.
"You! You..."
But in the end, Thorin couldn't finish his sentence and simply sighed, turning his head away. It seemed he felt the loss of the treasures I took as payment was too great to bear.
The contrast between Bilbo, who thanked me even as I took the payment, and Thorin, who was still lost in his greed, was stark.
'Well, Thorin does eventually come to his senses, but the problem is that it's only right before he dies.'