I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 641

◈ 642. The Pure Scale of the Black Dragon

A dragon has a reverse scale.

It grows in the opposite direction of the other scales that make up its body, and just touching it can drive the dragon mad with rage. That is a reverse scale.

But, what if.

There was a dragon whose entire body was made of reverse scales.

And if there was a single scale on that dragon’s body that grew in the normal direction.

For that dragon, what would be the real reverse scale?

What is right, and what is wrong? Who decides that?

問世間 理爲何物 直敎正逆相許

I ask the world, what is reason, that it distinguishes between right and wrong?

The True Black Dragon, Night Bringer, is said to have every scale on its body as a reverse scale.

As befitting a dragon of defiance, the direction of its scales is completely opposite to that of ordinary dragons.

And just as a typical dragon has a single reverse scale on its body, Night Bringer had a single scale growing in the normal direction.

That is the pure scale.

Night Bringer tore off this pure scale with his own hand and threw it into the Milky Way.

What was born from that torn pure scale is this very being, Skaerian.

***

…While recalling this rather useless information from the setting book, I muttered to myself.

‘Wait, shouldn’t it be a ‘normal scale’ instead of a ‘pure scale’?’

The ‘pure’ in ‘pure’ is the ‘pure’ as in ‘untainted’, and the ‘normal’ in ‘normal’ is the ‘normal’ as in ‘in order’.

Shouldn’t the opposite of a reverse scale be a ‘scale in order’? Why did a ‘pure scale’ pop out?

Anyway, even while going over these useless settings, I was racking my brain to find any weakness of the dragon that had landed in front of us.

Kugung…

As the massive body of the Eastern-style dragon landed on the ground, a thick cloud of dust rose.

Flapping its long whiskers on both sides, the dragon—Skaerian—looked at us with its round golden eyes.

《…….》

“……”

A tense silence flowed between the monster and the humans.

We were fully prepared to rush at him and swing our weapons at any moment, while Skaerian calmly looked around at us.

Then, the giant dragon’s mouth slowly opened, and finally, it spoke.

《Umm… I’m really sorry, or rather, my bad…》

“?”

《Um, I… no, I… ahem. I left my glasses at the lair…》

“……?”

《I was in such a hurry to get out that this happened… I’ll be right back, so would you mind staying here, please…?》

“……”

…What the hell is this guy talking about?

‘Is he perhaps offering to step back on his own?’

If that’s the case, there’s no reason to refuse, so I nodded hesitantly. Then, Skaerian’s face brightened, and he immediately kicked off the ground.

《Just wait a moment, just a moment! I’ll be right back!》

Then, he flew away with terrifying speed… and quickly came back, panting. He was wearing large glasses that didn’t suit his dragon face.

《Ah~ Now I can see a little better!》

Skaerian, with a noticeably awkward voice, said that loudly for no reason and turned his head around.

Then, Skaerian scanned us with his big eyes behind the glasses and grinned. The giant dragon’s expression softened like a puppy.

《Ah, to think I’d meet you in person! I’ve been wanting to meet you! The Guardian of the Mortal Realm and his heroes!》

“……?”

《I’ve been following your exploits without missing a single detail! It’s amazing, how you’ve managed to defeat these monsters with those small, tiny hands…》

Is he being sarcastic? Or is he genuinely impressed?

While I was unable to judge, Skaerian slowly raised his front paw. Our surprised heroes all put up their shields, preparing for defense.

《I like you all, but the hero I like the most is… you!》

The one Skaerian pointed at with his front paw was…

《Violet!》

“…Huh?”

Violet, who was hiding behind me, let out a dazed sound.

A strange mechanical sound came from inside Parekian’s body, who was carrying Violet. It was a sound that seemed strangely wary.

Skaerian shyly spilled out his preferences.

《Is it because I’m a dragon? I feel a strong attraction to thieves. Is it because they’re bad opponents who might raid my lair at any time?》

“……”

《And then, that thief is moved by a great cause and participates in a great war to save the world… I love this kind of story! It’s delicious!》

Violet, who had suddenly become the enemy’s one-pick favorite character, muttered with an indescribable expression.

“No, I don’t know anything about a great cause, and I don’t particularly want to participate in a war, I was just dragged along…”

“……”

“Um, more than that, why am I… I’m not popular with human men, but why am I like this with dragons?”

Should she be happy that someone likes her, or should she be angry that it happens to be an enemy dragon… Violet was confused, unable to figure it out.

In this bizarre atmosphere, I rubbed my aching forehead.

‘What the hell is this dragon doing…’

He doesn’t show even a shred of the dignity of an evil dragon like Winged Huan… Well, maybe it’s easier to deal with if he doesn’t…

I sighed and spoke in a serious voice.

“I’m not interested in whatever interest you have in us, dragon.”

《Ah, of course, I like Ash too! Your unyielding will! And your terrible talent! I like that too, a shabby talent that definitely doesn’t suit a hero, but you twist your body trying to fight with it…》

“No, I said that’s enough! Stop talking!”

I know my stats are terrible, so shut your mouth, you damn dragon!

I snapped in annoyance.

“If we’re here to fight to the death, stop the nonsense and let’s have a go. We’re quite tired from killing your brother earlier.”

I want to cut off your head quickly and go home! I’m already on edge because of the continuous battles and overtime, so stop with the nonsense!

Skaerian, who had shrunk back at my harsh words, lowered his head and looked at me cautiously.

《Um, well… to cut to the chase, I’m not here to fight you right now.》

I narrowed my eyes. Then what?

After all, aren’t we supposed to fight for the fate of the world? If you’re not going to fight here, why did you come? Could it be that you really came to have a favorite character talk?

《Since you defeated my brother Winged Huan, you were going to come to kill me next… right?》

“……”

That’s correct.

I was planning to hunt the Black Dragon’s children in this order: Skaerian after Winged Huan, and then Ipian. I was planning to raid them in the order that we could easily catch them with the means we had.

《I have a request.》

Skaerian cleared his throat and looked at me with a serious gaze.

《Kill me last.》

“…What?”

I was so confused that I stuttered before finally asking.

“Are you saying to defeat you after killing your eldest brother, Ipian?”

《No, no. Even later than that.》

Skaerian smiled brightly.

《After defeating my father. Kill me after that.》

“…?!”

There were too many things I didn’t understand, but I asked this first.

“Why?”

I don’t understand the motive for making this request. I can’t even guess.

《Because I want to see it.》

Then, Skaerian slowly answered.

《How you will kill my brother Ipian. How you will kill my father, Night Bringer. I’m curious about that method, that story.》

“……”

《I’ll tell you in advance. I am a child of the Black Dragon. I am of a race that seeks to destroy the world, and I actually want the world to be destroyed. It is an undeniable truth that I am also an enemy you must fight and kill.》

After calmly confirming that he was our enemy.

《But more than that, I’m curious.》

He revealed his inner thoughts.

《Ipian is strong. And Night Bringer is stronger than anyone else.》

“……”

《I want to watch how you will deal with them. If we have to fight and kill each other, I want to do it after seeing the end of this story.》

Skaerian looked at us carefully.

《Guardian of the Mortal Realm. And heroes. You have fought battles that were close to impossible. There were countless battles where you should have been annihilated. But you have made it this far.》

We were still wary of him, holding up our weapons.

《As someone who has watched your journey, I cannot stop this story here. Whether you die or I die, I cannot allow the story to be interrupted here. That is my true intention.》

He stopped talking, and I let out a long sigh.

“So… you’re asking us to postpone our fight with you? Because you want to watch the story of us killing your brother and your father?”

《Yes! That’s it. How is it? Not a bad offer…》

I answered immediately.

“I refuse.”

《Eeeeeeeh!》

Skaerian was taken aback by my sharp reply. I growled.

“To kill the True Black Dragon, Night Bringer, we need the Dragon Slayer that we will make using you.”

《…….》

“We need to mobilize all the Dragon Slayers made using your brothers to barely have a chance to defeat Night Bringer, and you’re asking us to postpone our fight with you until after that? That doesn’t make sense.”

Then, Skaerian tilted his head.

《I think I can replace the role of that Dragon Slayer? No, it’s the opposite. The weapon made by killing me inherits my characteristics and replaces my role, right?》

“…Well, if you want to put it that way, yes.”

《Then, is there a need to make me into a Dragon Slayer? I can just participate directly.》

I frowned at his absurd words.

“Are you saying you’ll help us when we kill your father?”

《Yes.》

“Why would you go that far?”

《Well…》

Skaerian smiled awkwardly.

《To be honest, even if I help with all my might, I don’t think you can defeat my father.》

“……”

《Ash. You don’t know how terrifying my father is. He is different from any being you have ever faced.》

Skaerian’s voice still had that nerdy tone.

《You will die. Your companions too. Your city and your allies will be annihilated, and the world will be destroyed.》

There was an unprecedented conviction in his voice.

That we would inevitably lose in the fight against the Black Dragon.

This wasn’t like a prediction… it was as if he was declaring that it was something that would happen naturally.

“And yet, you’re going to side with me?”

I said sarcastically, and Skaerian nodded.

《That’s right, I’m going to side with you.》

“……”

《The world is going to be destroyed anyway, right? Then, isn’t it better to go with the more fun option?》

I put my hands on my hips and let out a sigh.

Then, I looked at my heroes.

Everyone was watching me. Their gazes were anxious, but also full of trust in me.

“……”

After a brief moment of thought.

I glared at Skaerian.

“How can I believe that what you’ve said so far is true?”

《Is there a need to believe it?》

Skaerian reached out and pointed at Parekian, who was carrying Violet.

《Just like you did to Parekian, you can put it on me, right? Your mind control.》

“……”

[Become Mine!] is a skill that can be used once per stage.

But this time, the monster side applied a penalty on their own, skipping a total of four stages.

Perhaps due to this effect, I am currently in a situation where I can use the [Become Mine!] skill several more times.

No, but whether it’s possible or not isn’t the issue…

“You’re willingly offering to be put under my mind control? Is this worth going that far for?”

《I told you, Ash.》

Skaerian laid his belly on the ground, spread his arms, and deactivated his mental barrier.

《The world will end soon. The day my father sets out, it will all burn to ashes.》

“……”

《If it’s my fate to be shattered along with the world at that time…》

So this is, in this dragon’s own way.

《Before that, I want to go on an adventure alongside the heroes I’ve always liked…》

It was his last game of life.