Around chapter 666, during the time of “The Summer Spirit Festival.” “So I can’t go with you guys!” The silver dragon said that and flapped her large wings, pushing against the air. She kicked off from the peak of the rocky mountain with her powerful legs. Her name was Leila. And black dragon Lylah accepted this, leaving behind her master, best friend, and newly made companion to Mia in the sky to face it alone. “Diane… I’m entrusting them to you.” Dragon against dragon. And between those who had declared themselves as the last guardians of their masters’ worlds. With shared understanding in their hearts, and pride burning within that they were the strongest, black dragon Lylah let out a roar and met the silver giant’s unhesitant ascent with her own massive body.
”…Was it just a dream?”
Rylia murmured softly. Dragons do not sleep. They have no need to. Many other races believe this, and it is close to the truth. They can live without sleeping, standing or sitting, even while flying through the sky. Sleeping for long periods isn’t necessary; they wake up after just a few minutes or at most an hour. It’s not something driven by a desire for sleep. Perhaps it’s akin to what humans call “daydreaming.” But for dragons, this was also important in their quest to understand themselves. For those who possess such power that nothing can resist their will—dragons who have the strength to say they are beyond any earthly thing—it is crucial to entrust one’s consciousness to darkness and feel what lies ahead. To dream or not to dream, to experience a moment of self-loss from one’s body—that is secretly seen as an important process for objectively assessing one’s own value. “Are you reminiscing about your glorious achievements…? Even I find myself still so base.”
The violent collision shatters their scales, sending them flying. Even the dragon’s armor, which is difficult to damage with human strength, offers little protection against such a clash between dragons. But beneath it lies muscles of unimaginable power, bones that support them, and an astonishing regenerative healing ability that repairs itself before your eyes. The scales are merely one aspect of a dragon’s strength. They bounce off each other from the impact. Lyla rebounds into the sky as if she were a ball bouncing off the ground, while Rayla falls straight down due to gravity. In aerial combat, attacking from above is advantageous. However, Rayla knew this all along. “Displeasing.” While barely avoiding collision with the ground, Lyla mercilessly attacks again in a steep dive. She has an advantage in physical durability as a fire dragon. To meet her head-on at such a disadvantage on the ground would be foolish, even if it was to show resolve.
Rylia smashes into her opponent, venting her frustration. Leila avoids the blow by keeping her descent speed to a minimum and gliding just above ground level. The black dragon’s claws dig deep into the mountainside. But then, “Did you think I’d be caught?” Rylia uses the claw embedded in the ground as a pivot, swings her body in a half-circle arc, lands, and immediately sprints forward with feline agility to catch up to Leila, who is still reeling from using the ground for propulsion. Of course, when it comes to sudden acceleration, running on the ground is faster than pushing through the air. Still, if Rylia were any other dragon, she might not have been able to transition so smoothly from flying like a bird to running like an animal. “I’ve got you now.” “Not yet.” Leila pushes off with her four legs and tries to leap back into the sky.
However, Rila grabbed its tail and spun horizontally, rolling over the silver dragon as she wrapped her wings around herself to slam it back into the ground once more. The wasteland where two such massive bodies fought shook from their impact. But even after Rila’s repeated blows, they had yet to land a truly effective hit on Leila. A battle between dragons with superior regenerative abilities would not end simply because of a few deep wounds; these were merely preliminary strikes that did not amount to serious damage. “You flew off confidently but now you’re just running away.” “Not at all. …Black Dragon, I will have you fall for my master’s sake.” “Huh?” Leila severed her own tail. The silver dragon escaped as it bled profusely; this time she had regained her footing and was regenerating her tail while flying strongly into the sky to unleash a Blizzard Breath. “Nuuu!” Dragon breath is ineffective against other dragons, but ice attacks are not completely harmless to fire dragons like Rila—they can still be somewhat damaging.
Her limbs, frozen solid before her eyes, were losing their strength. For any normal race, this would be the least of their worries; the cold was so intense that it could tear apart bodily tissues in an instant. But the same went for both of them. “Don’t underestimate me.” Lylah muttered and unleashed her flames. The fire she breathed out expanded and exploded into the world around her, which had frozen over rapidly. The moisture condensed instantly from the air was turned back into steam by the scorching heat, filling the space between the two dragons with a thick white smoke screen. The damage caused by freezing couldn’t be completely healed just by warming up; Lylah poured in some of her own stamina to aid the recovery while chasing after the airborne Lylah. This time, Lylah took to the skies. Ice dragons were known for their superior flight capabilities. Perhaps she thought that if she could get enough altitude, she wouldn’t lose to Lylah. But as she chased after her, Lylah mocked her thoughts.
“Do you think I’m just a Fire Dragon or a Black Dragon?”
The reason why Ice Dragons are considered strong in the air isn’t due to their physical abilities, but rather because of their superior sensory perception that allows them to detect changes in wind flow and atmospheric conditions. This ability is crucial for long-distance flight, as small differences can accumulate into significant ones over time.
However, if all it takes is flying fast and dodging attacks, then that’s a different story. Ryira forced herself to fly faster, outpacing Reila’s movements. “Kuh!”
“I’ll give you credit for trying to outsmart me. But…” Ryira’s claws pierced into Reila’s stomach.
“To be the Dragon of Dragons is to wield violence. Without the fanaticism that allows one to bend impossibilities to their will, how can anything be accomplished?”
“You talk as if you know.”
“I have seen miracles. I’ve kept on seeing them.” Even as Rila took the counterattack from Leila, she continued to deliver another blow and inflict damage. As they fell to the ground, they separated from each other, spreading blood and scales around, continuing their conversation that sounded like roars to anyone listening. “Without more than just a stroke of luck, without something worthy enough to be called a miracle, it cannot be done. Even if you are prepared, unless you surpass yourself…” “I don’t need miracles. All I can do is…” “I will create miracles. We will create them. Regardless of who you are, follow Andy Smayson.” Once again, the two clashed. Straight on, at the same height and directly facing each other. And this time, their power difference was clearly visible. The silver dragon was clearly outmatched by the black dragon’s strength and was flung away.
“If you wish to die for your own fate, then so be it. Such a one is no match for me. An easy battle.” “Let’s see about that.”
Leyra straightened her stance and defiantly resisted the black dragon hovering in mid-air.
She swung her claws, easily blowing away stone houses, bared her fangs to bite into horses, and fought fiercely to bring Rila down to earth. But Rila’s claws stabbed first, her fists blocked Leyra’s biting teeth, and when she was burned by a close-range fire breath, Rila struck again with a spinning tail strike that sent Leyra plummeting back to the ground.
As the silver dragon shook the earth with its leap, Rila accelerated from mid-air and landed on both hind legs, stomping Leyra’s neck and flank. But even so, Leyra healed her wounds and rose up.
“Not yet… I’m not done.”
“Very well.”
In an instant, they separated.
Reila launched a spinning attack, swinging her tail diagonally at Rilla from the momentum of her wild charge. Rilla met it head-on, sending Reila’s silver body flying and rolling across the ground. “Your turn now,” she said. She followed up with an attack of her own, mimicking Reila’s tail strike. The blow landed cleanly, sending Reila flying a good distance. Even so, even then, Reila got back to her feet and challenged the black dragon once more. The attacks were not ineffective; they did reach their target. Rilla relied on this, as if praying for it to be true.
”…Or perhaps she found that way of living as an interesting one for a dragon? No.”
Rylia scratched her head and then looked around, smiling. “It’s just a pointless instinct to fight. I prefer this.” She thought of the women in her master’s arms, looking happy. Suddenly, she wondered if that dragon knew such joy.