Mushoku Tensei: Subjugation of the Emperor Dragon King

Chapter 8: One-on-one duel.

The Emperor Dragon King slowly turned towards Al. A low, shrill voice rang out from its
mouth.

“A small man who kills his own still-immobile child, who has to kill his own wife due to fate1,
who leaves his own people to die so that he can save his own life, is fighting against me in
single combat?'”

Shaina looks surprised. She is wondering how has the King of Dragons spoken to them. One’s
speech is but a wave of sound. One who has lived as long as the Emperor Dragon King, can
use gravity magic to be able to communicate with humans, at least to some level. It is said the
creature in the hero’s face is even able of communicating emotions this way.

'Don't be presumptuous! You humans don't even need to have the minimum of courtesy! No
manners, no etiquette! I will kill you all, even babies and pregnant women!"

It looks down at the tiny boy in front of it, enraged. Al just quietly lifts his sword.

“Then, so be it. Only my name will remain in future generations, as the swordsman who slew
the mad, rampaging dragon"

The boy’s theatrical tone, which Frau had never heard before, sent a shiver down her spine.
The tip of the sword turns to the King of Dragons.

“Angry dragon, for whatever reason, my sword will not draw”

A strange presence rose from Al's body, and the Emperor Dragon King closed its mouth.

“Sword in my right hand”

The sword in his right hand is lifted and the tip points towards the heavens.

“Sword in my left hand”

The left hand holds the hilt.

“Take with both arms, and bring about the loss of all life and a unique death”

Two-handed. He holds a long sword with a high stance.

“Incurable wounds of the North God style, Alex Ryback… forward”

1
Not really sure on this TL, but makes more sense than using other, more common meanings of 数. The
original is “数に頼んで我が妻を殺し”
The king among the dragons, who bears the name of king, is immobilized by the tiny human.

It is convinced that, were it to move right now, it would be decapitated with a single blow.

The human right before its eyes was different from the other individuals. It was clearly an
exceptional existence. The Emperor Dragon King had experienced this sensation once before.

“Ryback…?”

It was a name that sounded familiar.

Shaina can only gaze. She had seen through Al's sword skills, but she had never imagined that
he could intimidate even the Emperor Dragon King. And his school. A sense of déjà vu when
she saw him move his scabbard once. That was as it should be. The North God Style is the one
that Shaina practices and that technique is its secret technique, the fastest Battou2 technique,
where the sword is drawn with the right, the sheath is moved with the left, and the sword is
delivered without cutting back. The twenty-fold draw. Furthermore, the crowning noun before
mentioning the North God style.

Incurable wounds.

The North God school, as the name suggests, is said to have been left behind by North God
Kalman. There is already no main school3, and the way of life and its unique way of fighting,
rather than swordsmanship, is the main focus of the school. Many of the techniques used by
Shaina were not developed by the first North God but were created by later generations of
swordsmen according to his philosophy. However, the Incurable wounds of the North God
Style is of a different nature. It is a hidden art that is said to have been directly handed down
by North God Kalman to a certain demon king.

According to the heroic tale of the North God, it is the swordsmanship that defeated the
Immortal Demon King, and according to another legend, it is the swordsmanship that the
Immortal Demon King received from the North God. Because it was handled by the Immortal
Demon King, it is also known as the Immortal King Sword. It is a sword art that symbolizes
the contradictions in the lore of the North God. No one has ever seen it, but it is known only
by name, a phantom sword style.

According to those tales, this art is said to have been created by its founder solely for the
purpose of defeating that immortal demon king. According to another legend, the Demon
imitated the swordsmanship used by the North God. Either way, if the North God style that
everyone practices nowadays is an imitation of North God's way of life, then the Immortal
Demon King style is an imitation of his techniques. It is a sword art that is not only a mystery

2
抜刀, or Battou, is the art of drawing the sword from it sheathe.
3
While Sword God and Water God styles have basically one school where everyone learns the basics, there are
scattered teachers for the North God style.
but whose very existence is in doubt. No one has ever seen it for what it really is, but word of
it remains in most tales.

“It is said, every wound inflicted by that blade is incurable”

The meaning is that it is a one-hit kill. The Immortal North God style is a merciless sword style
that wipes out life with a single blow. Now that Kalman is no longer around, there is only one
person who can use this style: the Immortal Demon King, who is said to have been taught by
North God. That Demon is very rarely heard of. The conclusion to be drawn from this.

Alex Ryback is a demon king.

That's absurd. It's impossible. The Immortal Demon King Atofe is a woman. No matter how
little Shaina knows about demons, she would never mistake a man for a woman. But even if it
is impossible, if he is a Demon King, then he could overthrow the Emperor Dragon King. No,
however, the opponent is a minion of the Demon God 4 who nearly destroyed the Central
continent long ago, and not only that, but because it was the strongest warrior, it’s a creature
that received a whole mountain as a reward after the war. A dragon. Moreover, among dragons,
the Dragon Kings are renowned for their individually being the strongest race. Furthermore, it
is the King amongst Dragon Kings. The Emperor Dragon King, Kajakt. Its strength is equal to
that of hundreds of demon kings. No one knows whether it is inferior or superior. It is
impossible to know.

Kajakt opens its mouth cautiously. It had thought of something.

“I see that you are of the blood of the Immortal Demon King Atofe, aren’t you?”

Al replies.

”Indeed, I am the only child of the Immortal Demon King Atofe, son of North God Ryback…”

A gasp can be heard from the crowd of only three people.

“So that’s why, I knew it!”

The Emperor Dragon King was convinced. It had heard rumours that the Immortal Demon
King, its comrade-in-arms with whom it had fought side by side hundreds of years ago, had
been defeated decades ago. The one who defeated him was a man of the human race called
North God. Kajakt knew that rumour was just that, a rumour, that the Immortal Demon King
was alive and well, and that his magical power had not diminished a single bit. They have been
allies for quite a long time, after all. When Kajakt heard that the Immortal Demon King Atofe
had started learning swordsmanship, it tilted its head, in doubt. And when the rumour that the
Demon had given birth to a child shortly afterward, it was astonished.

The beautiful Demon King, who had been a tomboy, who had said that she would not allow
anyone weaker than herself into her body or her heart, and who had echoed a raucous laugh,

4
Referring to Laplace.
had declared that because she was a Demon King, she was a prize and that only a Demon God
could take her as a partner. The King of Dragons was curious to find out which Demon King
had broken Atofe's heart, but his existence was shrouded in a haze. He could not even vaguely
make out the existence.

More than a decade later, there was a man who challenged the Dragon King Kajakt to single
combat. His name was Kalman Ryback, North God. The duel with him is still fresh in the
dragon’s memories. He was the most powerful enemy since the demon tribe hero Lan Xiao.
He was swift and had an overwhelming offensive power that was unmistakably human. If that
North God had not shown even a moment's hesitation in this life-or-death duel, the Emperor
Dragon King would not have lived.

On the verge of death, the first North God left an excusing note to the bard he had brought
alongside him: 'The face of my son flickered in my mind'. Later, the Immortal Demon King
Atofe sent him words of resentment. Kajakt did not understand why the words were sent at the
time. He did not think deeply about the relationship between Ryback and Atofe.

But now he was sure.

“Sorry to have kept you waiting. I have changed my mind and will deal with you with all my
might”

He is their son. The one who had broken Atofe was a human swordsman with an ordinary,
weak-looking face who could cut a large tree in two. What Kajakt sees before its eyes is
someone in the middle of being both a warrior and a powerful enemy, an invincible swordsman
who combines the swordsmanship of the North God Kalman and the immortality of the
Immortal Demon King Atofe.

Alex Ryback, also known as Al, aims to be a hero. It is not that he is envious of heroes per se.
He was told repeatedly by his mother about the heroic tales of the North God heroes, and it is
true that he envied the existence of heroes. The hero Al knows is North God, who is his father,
and has already died. He still thinks it is the duty of a son to respect his father.

It is said his father was a strong man, the only person to have ever given his mother a mortal
wound. Al’s mother is alive because his father missed her. After all, it is said that the North
God was a kind and just man. No matter how much evil someone had done in the past, or how
evil people thought they were, if they showed even a shred of justice in a person's actions,
Kalman would never kill them. There are a number of anecdotes passed down in heroic tales,
and they are all true.

However, every chapter differs only in one final point. He did not kill by striking everything
down. North God never took their lives if they reformed. Therefore, he is often spoken of as a
horror story, but those who are still alive say that he is the hero. The Rock King, the Immortal
Demon King, the former Pope of Millis .... they all say that North God is a hero. But he has
failed in becoming a hero. Ryback didn't become a hero because he didn't defeat anyone and
because he lost to the Emperor Dragon King in the very end.
So the world laughs at the heroic tale of North God. That is unacceptable to Al. His father was
rightly a hero. He traveled the world alone and wielded his sword for the justice he believed in.
And the young Alex couldn’t allow his hero to be laughed at, even if his mother laughed at that.
North God laughed that he did not fight for anyone's recognition. But Al knows.

He knows that it was for his son's sake that he tried to defeat Kajakt. Al is half-demon and half-
human and was born with the characteristics of his mother, a demon. For this reason, his father
tried to give him the added value of being the “son of a human hero” so that he would not be
persecuted by the human race. But his father was defeated. Al did not become the son of a hero.
After he grew up, he was not persecuted by either the human or the demon tribe, thanks to the
fact that he resembled humans a lot5.

His mother laughed at his good fortune, but Al could not laugh. He felt that his father's death
had been in vain. In all those decades, Al had only been in touch with his father for a few years.
The life span of the demon race is long, while humans’ is short. Al may only live somewhere
in between, but he would still be older than his father at some point.

The time with his father remains strong in Al's mind. When in contact with his child, that father
was not North God Kalman Ryback, but a childlike father. And while he had taught him how
to live as a person, Al learned all his swordsmanship from his mother. The father he knew did
not show the bravery that his mother and the rest of them talked about. What did such a father
aim for in his travels around the world, fighting and defeating numerous powerful enemies, but
without losing his life?

Al could sort of understand that, but couldn't quite put it into words. It was something along
the lines of his father not wanting to be a hero, but that exactly makes him the one who deserves
to be called a true hero, both in spirit and in body. That’s why the current heroic tales of the
North God were unforgivable for his son. He couldn’t forgive that his father's death was in
vain, for example. The end of the thought that he arrived at, driven by these two thoughts, was
the two words hero.

Alex Ryback's aim is to become a hero. To live like his father and to leave proof that the hero
North God Kalman Ryback did indeed exist in this world. He will call himself North God and
become a hero. With that, the Heroic tales of the North God will be reborn and prove that his
father's death was not in vain.

To do this, he must first start by defeating Kajakt, the strongest Dragon King that his father
failed to defeat, making the final chapter of the heroic tales authentic and calling himself the
North God. That is why Al wants to be a hero.

The battle had begun.

Dragon and man, both glaring at each other, neither moving. Al held his head high and Kajakt
held its head low like a cat. An uninformed passerby would have tilted his head and wondered

5
In case it’s not clear, Al looked more like a demon as a baby, but as he grew he started showing a lot more
similarity to humans, so that’s why he wasn’t bullied. Here’s adult Al, btw.
what they were doing. Originally, in a one-on-one battle between a dragon and a human, the
dragon has overwhelming firepower, while the human evades it and makes a series of small
attacks. A single blow from a human cannot inflict a fatal wound on a dragon. A dragon's blow
cannot be defended against by humans. For these simple and obvious reasons, dragons attack,
and humans dodge. But currently, such theories don't work as if they were true.

Chiki and Shaina finally understood the meaning of what Al had once said, that they hadn’t
enough offensive power. Al's slash is the immortal North God style, that one of the Demon
King slayer, capable of killing a Dragon King with a single blow. It is true that if he did not
have that much offensive power, he would not be able to defeat the Emperor Dragon King.
Furthermore, Al's body has the advantages Immortal demon race, and even though he is facing
a dragon, he cannot be killed easily. In order to defeat the man, who has immortality, the King
of Dragons must obliterate his body completely with a single, wide blow. But even for such a
powerful Dragon, there are few techniques that have the offensive power to evaporate someone
like Al. Having said all of that, those are the reasons this fight can be considered “equal”.

Kajakt is a dragon that can see itself objectively. The Emperor Dragon King has an
overwhelming advantage in terms of weight and magical power, but whether it fails to strike
with its full strength, it will easily lose its life. It couldn’t attack carelessly, as the battle with
the original North God, still fresh, comes to Kajakt's mind. That horrifying slash. The King of
Dragons, who had once tasted it firsthand, did not dare to take the initiative lightly.

But from Al’s point of view, it should be the same. Being the King of Dragons, Kajakt's hard
skin would not be so easy to go through. He needed not to be overconfident. It was hard to
think that boy, whose swordsmanship is inferior, will be able to easily defeat Dragon that his
father couldn't kill.

Both sides aim for a one-hit kill.

And so, they both look for the perfect timing to begin. Al is sizzling in between by a few
centimeters. That made it Emperor Dragon King’s chance. But Kajakt cannot make a move. In
its mind is the confrontation with North God. The pain of having a careless first strike returned
with a vicious counter. Only once since Kajakt was born did it ever wish to have a fight again.
It thinks about it on the basis of this valuable experience. North Gods are different creatures
from humans. Those who have a technique that would kill such a dragon are not human. If they
are not human, then it would be best to discard the kind of planning done when fighting humans.
“It is best to think of it as fighting a Demon King with destructive magical powers”, that’s what
Kajakt thought.

“In these kinds of encounters, the first one to move is the one that loses”

That was the next thought in the King of Dragons’ mind.

Once it was Al’s chance, he started setting it up. A tremendous killing rush. Kajakt was
completely surprised. A divine step, how fast can a human being move? The momentum of the
lower body transfers to the upper body, travels down the shoulder to the arm, from the arm to
the sword, and the tip of the sword disappears. The Dragon could not see where the tip of the
sword had gone.

It just couldn't move. The fear of a hole appearing in its defense filled its usually prodigious
mind, and that left its body without response. And yet, Kajakt was alive. A moment later, the
King of Dragons found itself surprised to find that its head was still attached. Had it defended
itself unconsciously? It would be ridiculous to think so.

Feint.

That’s right, it had been but a feint. It had been as Kajakt had thought, for the boy was not
incautious enough to launch an all-out attack so carelessly in a fight where the first one to move
loses. And as it realized, a small irritation arose in its mind, as it hadn’t read the feint itself. It
was so bad, that it couldn't even defend itself by concentrating its gravity magic. If that had not
been a feint, but a full-throated blow aimed at the Emperor Dragon King’s neck, this duel would
have already been done.

Kajakt gazes at Al’s eye. They are eyes that show no hesitation. Reminiscent of the hero Lan
Xiao, they are the eyes of a man who simply looks calmly at the battle situation and makes a
ruthless move. An opponent with such brilliant feinting skills, he probably realized that his
opponent had failed to react. Nevertheless, there’s nothing to be proud of. If you feint and the
opponent does not move as a result, it is the same as if the feint failed. He had no regrets, for
his face showed he had expected his feint to be a failure from the very beginning. Kajakt
shuddered at his courage.

Al keeps stepping forward. He had been prepared for this, after constantly talking to himself
about this day coming. He had been confident, even with a lack of evidence, that his sword
was absolutely the strongest and that he would be strong enough to defeat the Emperor Dragon
King. But behold him, laid the huge body of his enemy, Kajakt. Its muscles are so enlarged
that it cannot even be regarded as a beast. The overflowing magical power that seems to be
able to blow away an entire mountain. The seamless stance of King of Dragons. And yet, Al
was prepared to finish it off with a single blow.

He thought that were he to engage in one-on-one combat, the Emperor Dragon King would
swing its legs with the same slow movements as other Dragon Kings, build up a flaming breath,
and subdue him with force. He thought that if his own body, with its immortality, was prepared
to phase in, he would be able to withstand it and strike a one-hit-kill counter. “That's how you
win, it's easy”, he said. It can only be called naive. Even if called groundless confidence, the

6
Not sure about this one.
boy was caught in the grip of such a naive rationale. That is why when Al saw the Kajakt still
not moving first, and when then, it was still not moving when he entered the motion of attack,
he stopped his attack. There is no feint in the Immortal North God style since it is a sword
handled by the Immortal Demon King. Feinting is a technique used to break down an
opponent's defense. The immortal North God is a sword style that slashes through the enemy,
whether they’re guarding or not. The only weakness is that it is vulnerable to counters, but Al
has the unlimited defense and durability of an Immortal Demon King. No matter what he does,
be it that he is countered or not, he does not have to think about what his opponent is going to
do. He can counterattack and win even if he is countered. Or maybe, in his father's North God
style, which Al did not know, the art of feinting may have existed at an advanced level. But for
the Immortal Demon King Atofe, this was unnecessary. With her defense and durability that
defied counters, she only needed to extract the purely offensive part of her power. Hence, in
the immortal North God style handled by her son, there is no such technique as feinting. Oddly
enough, it was a mere coincidence that the earlier movement turned out to be a feint.

That coincidence defines the course of the duel.

King Dragon King Kajakt has the attacking power to kill the Immortal Demon King Atofe with
a single blow. That is why he feared a counter. If his opponent made full use of feints, it felt
that it could not move on its own, even more so. It is the discernment between feints and actual
attacks that makes the difference. Kajakt concentrated its magical power in front of him for
defense. It went on a defensive stance.

“Hey, hey, come on now, really?...”

“That guy… he sure’s doin’ some crazy stuff right there, ain’t he…?

At the entrance of the cave, Barkol and the Blue Leopard appeared next to Shaina, who was
watching the duel with bated breath. They lent each other their shoulders to support each other's
bodies, and, having healed their legs, they took the opportunity of the Emperor Dragon King's
pursuit of Shaina and her party to leave the cave, escaping from this deadly place.

“Look closely, that fellow, isn't he the young master of the Atofe territory? The battle between
the Immortal Demon King's bloodline and the Emperor Dragon King Kajakt. ... If you've seen
this fight in person, you'll be proud of it for generations to come”

“That is if that kid over ‘ere doesn’t die since we’re all dead if he loses…”

'Well, these legs can’t stand running the whole distance either way. Let's watch. Whichever
side wins, it's not every day you get to see something this interesting."

Shaina looked sideways at the exchange and returned her gaze to the front. It may sound out
of place to say 'exciting', but single combat with a dragon is a fairytale dreamed of by anyone
who has learned to use a sword. It is no different for someone like Barkol, who is an expert in
proper swordsmanship, or for someone like Blue Leopard, who has even mastered the blind
sword style. Men will always be boys. Even if what is in front of them is unrealistic, they still
have a twinkle in their eyes. Shaina, who is not a boy, had no such feelings in her heart, though.
Al was willing to go on the offensive. Whatever the counter. Whether he was careless or not,
whether he had a poor outlook or not, he had no choice but to attack. If he lost with his high,
offensive attitude, there would be simply no way to fight against this Emperor Dragon King.

Scrape…

“…”

And thus, the distance grew even closer. The sword is still too far away to reach its fabled rival,
even if using but the tip of the sword. If the boy wanted to go for a clean, one-hit kill, he would
need to close the distance to the point where he can reach it with his palm. While paying close
attention, he closes the distance millimeter by millimeter. If Kajakt moves, he maintains a
posture ready to counterattack at any time and closes the distance only. Kajakt's timing had
already passed. Al could read the intentions of the King of Dragons. It would use its gravity-
magic barrier to repel each slash, pull back to its own spacing, and then burn the defenseless
prey in the air with a fire breath that possessed the maximum possible attack power.

This configuration is the same as when North God fought Kajakt. What is different from Al is
that the first North God was a mere human, and when these events took place, the Emperor
Dragon King suffered serious wounds in various parts of its body, including its hind legs, and
was unable to move. Probably, North God had studied Kajakt well, and had achieved this feat
through careful strategy building and image training up to the day before. After crushing the
limbs and the interval, all that remained was to strike down the head with a slash that could not
be prevented with the defensive barrier of gravity magic alone.

Having cornered the field to that point, North God made a mistake in his definition. No, it
should be said that the King of Dragons, Kajakt was a cut above the rest. In a desperate situation,
he used gravity magic, which is normally used for defense and movement, to attack and
delivered a coup de grace. It is a technique made possible by its outstanding fighting sense and
wealth of experience. If he had taken one more step, or even half a step, or even a few
centimeters deeper, North God would have won. It must have been such an exquisite tactic.
Otherwise, Kajakt, the King of the Dragon Kings, would not have shrunk like a tortoise and
put up a defensive stance like that. It is afraid. Since it is an intelligent creature, there is no
reason why death should not be terrifying for it. What is important is discernment. Just a few
centimeters of misjudgment can tip the scales.

“…”

The sound of Kajakt’s heartbeat could be heard. It was a powerful sound. One that his opponent
decided to stop.

“…!”
As he thought that, the Royal Dragon raised its head by just a tiny margin. It was a very slight
movement for the dragon, maybe fifty centimeters7 or so. The movement was so natural that it
was almost audible, as if it was riding on the pulse of the heart, as if it was taking its breath
away. Just like that.

Al's chance disappeared.

His stance is the Daijodan8. To cut an opponent who is as tall as the tip of your sword, you
have to jump up in order to get closer, so that you can actually land the hit.

“Should I back down and enter a new stance…?”

No, no. That's not good enough. Maybe strategically, but no. It beats the feeling. Do you back
down every time you get into a disadvantageous situation? Is this the kind of opponent you can
win against with such a run-away attitude? No! Besides, it's not hopeless yet.

“…”

Al relaxed his shoulders. The sword falls. Counterclockwise, with a click, the tip of the sword
pointed to his lower right, five o'clock. North God Style, Junpo Gedan Stance. If the opponent
raises its head, an opening can be made below. Lay down the sword, let it gouge out, and cut.
To do so, close the gap further. For the next time, were it to put its head down, the swordsman
won't let him get away with it. The immortal North God style has its own technique. If it raises
its head more, the sword will reach its stomach, which is not protected by the scales.

“…”

Slowly, Al walked towards it. The King of Dragons was now so close that he could almost kiss
it. No one in history has ever come this close to a living dragon.

“…”

The heartbeat became quieter and quieter, and, at one point, Alex couldn’t hear anything
anymore. That’s when he thought it was time to do it.

No one will forget this moment for the rest of their lives.

The distance had closed, and so, the time had come.

The tip of Al's sword rises as if a string that has been drawn to its limit is released.

“…ah!”

Whose voice would that have been?

7
Kinda puts in perspective how massive Kajakt is.
8
Kendo posture, where you hold a sword above your own head. Example.
A movement so subtle that it made someone raise a small cry, the Emperor Dragon King raised
its head to meet Al's sword. The chance isn’t gone. The slash transmitted from the right foot
had such a tremendous speed that made it impossible to be avoided.

And that’s how Alex managed to not let his chance escape. It wasn’t possible to escape from
the Sword of Death. Kajakt's movements still do not stop. As it raises its head, it lets out gravity
magic, at its full power. Directed right downwards. Al's sword easily cuts through the torrent
of magic, but the overwhelming gravity makes his body creak. But, but, but it does not stop
there, his attack is relentless. To that extent, the definitive technique the North God has created
does not stop. The deadly slash approaches with a speed that seems to cut through time itself.

The tip of the sword touches Kajakt's lower neck.

“We won!”

It was then that someone definitely thought that.

And then, by just a few centimeters, Al’s foot slipped.

No one had noticed. Or, if this had been a battle between humans, Al might have taken it into
account from the start. But when it’s dragons and humans, there is an overwhelming difference
in strength. Whoever wins or loses, the causes of their victory or defeat will be sketchy and
ambiguous. It is fair to say that small factors rarely make the difference between winning and
losing. That is why.

That is why none of them turned a blind eye to the fact that the rain was making their feet
muddy. People sometimes don't care about small things in the face of huge things. They don't
expect to be taken advantage of at the last minute over such a small thing. And who would
have guessed that this would happen in a situation where both sides were aiming for a one-hit
kill, a counterattack? He was caught, literally, flat-footed.

The King of Dragons had been two or three steps ahead of the boy, as it did not miss even the
smallest changes, due to its expectance of a last-minute definition. Or perhaps this was due to
its experience with Kalman and Lan Xiao, that is, experience with strong opponents, that made
Kajakt always read two or three moves ahead. Even Al is not trained to maneuver on a field
this muddy. The slip was only a few centimeters, or even less than a few millimeters. But that
was enough.

Now, Kajakt's eyes caught sight of Al, who was in a slumped position and lit a fire in its mouth.
It takes less than a second to burn out the enemy in front of you. A Flame Breath using all of
the body. The crimson flame generated by the ignition organ in the body and amplified by
magic power is so powerful that even the Immortal Demon King Atofe would stop to take a
glance at it.
One-hit kill. Kajakt understood very well that he could not finish off the Immortal Demon
King's bloodline otherwise. It won’t be able to be avoided in time. The duel would end with
the victory of the Emperor Dragon King.

A distant sound of explosions. Followed by a rising, distant burning red pillar of fire. Fang Li
looked up, his face seared by a fire that made it seem like it was midday. He mutters a few
words.

“This one wishes he’d had been there to see it, he does…”9

Hao Long, who overheard this, then called out.

“Isn’t it fine if you just went to see it?”

“This one has a responsibility to oversee, he does…”

The members of the martial arts organization “Phoenix's Nest” had started to withdraw. They
were here to train. They have been strictly ordered not to fight with the Emperor Dragon King
because they would never win.

“Well, this one’s going home, since he’s homesick10… Ahh, this one can’t wait to see his father
again”

In a theatrical tone, Hao Long urged Fang Li to get off the mountain. He would have been there
himself if he had been a little younger, covering for Al. But the head of the martial artists knows.
Now Al already has friends.

As he felt the heat around him, Al was stunned.

Still alive.

Why?

Is it burning?

Has it been put down? Who did it?

Impossible? People? Black?

Emperor Dragon King? Maid clothes?

Confused, he shakes his head and then sees there was something covering him. It was a person.
Their black hair is burnt to a crisp at the edges, and their tattered, cracked armor is shattered at

9
I think it’s now clearer how particularly Fang Li talks. You can think of him as a proto-Badigadi. And he’s
always talked like this, even if previous releases don’t show it as well.
10
I find it hilarious how there’s a random ホームシック in the middle of his “ancient” Japanese.
the back, revealing the scars of severe burns. Is it steam or smoke rising from their body? His
eyes met those of the tattered Shaina.

Shaina started moving her mouth, trying to say something and fainted. She no longer had any
strength left, even to speak. Al understood instantly. She had saved him. When he realized this,
a warm feeling welled up in his heart. He couldn’t help but think that it was superfluous. As he
had been interrupted in sacred single combat. As a knight, there was no greater insult. But, in
spite of this, a warm feeling welled up in the boy’s heart. What was on Al's heart was not
frustration or anger, but gratitude. He was honestly grateful that his life had been saved. Now
he could still fight.

“Shame on you that are still fighting a duel where you were saved by your comrades”

When he stood up, with Shaina lying at his side, the sword in his right hand was awfully light.
The great sword he had taken from his parents' house had been snapped off at the base. It was
the work of art that Atofe used during the Human-Demon War. It is an antique that will go
down in history, so perhaps it can't be helped.

“Mother is gonna get angry at me…”

He was thinking absentmindedly, and before he could realize it, Frau had come close to his
side. Not speaking a word, she holds out a sword to Al.

“Here, use this”

What he’s receiving is a sword soaked in red blood. A replica of the Holy Sword Barrowlight.
The sword used by the Holy Knights. It probably belonged to a knight who died in the cave.
Frau did not explain where she had picked it up and immediately started treating Shaina.

“All I can do is defeat the Emperor Dragon King” while thinking this, Al stood up, looked at
Kajakt, and shuddered.

“…ah”

The Emperor Dragon King was dying. Stabbed in its jaw was a broken zanbato11. It had slashed
from the throat to its chin, and blood was pouring down. The slash must have reached the upper
jaw. Blood was also gushing from the nose. In addition, black smoke is spewing from the mouth.
Perhaps, when it was about to release his flame breath, Al's sword sewn up the top and bottom
of his jaw like a nail, causing some of it to flow back and burn internally through the wound.
The nerves behind its nose were burnt and Kajakt had lost both sight and hearing. Yet its eyes
are still powerful, glaring at its opponent. Whether it is a sign or an obsession, the Emperor
Dragon King senses that Al is still alive and is doing its best to sharpen all its senses but the
eyesight in order to find out when a counterattack will come with his bluff gaze. Perhaps it
does not even know why the boy is still alive. It doesn't even think that he was unceremoniously

11
A chinse long-handled sword. Image for reference.
saved by his comrades in the middle of their one-on-one duel, and thinks that instead, Al has
somehow disabled the flames and is now raising his sword to counterattack. No, or perhaps it
does not even perceive that Al is alive. The Emperor Dragon King, who had failed in its all-
out attack and even received damage itself from it, might have thought that with that own
incomplete attack, it could have failed to defeat the Immortal Demon King's Race.

Al's whole body was trembling. Embarrassed and horrified. How embarrassing it was for him
to have tainted a sacred duel. How terrifying for Kajakt, who still maintains its will to fight in
such a state. Al couldn’t move. Can he stand still? Normally, he should not be able to stand
like that right now.

He looks around. What's after this black charred forest? What is that dry forest, supposedly wet
by the rain, burning in the distance? The Emperor Dragon King's true fiery breath will burn a
country to the ground and create a wilderness of death that will last for decades. If you take
one step, won't those flames come flying at you once more?

“The next time… will I be able to avoid them?” Is what Alex is thinking.

“Ah… uh…”

His teeth clicked and rattled. Fear bounded his whole body. He was afraid of dying, for he was
born as the son of the Immortal Demon King Atofe, and as a member of the Immortal Demon
King's bloodline, he had lived the furthest from death in the world, without any threat. He was
overconfident in his body, which would not die even if he fell from the top floor of the castle.
It was easy not to think about it. “I am not going to die. It would be more unrealistic to die”.
What he had believed in collapsed easily. He was afraid. His legs and muscles would be able
to reach Kajakt in one step and give him a complete coup-de-grace to its head. Of course, this
was before it could fire its flaming breath again. But he can’t move his legs. He wasn’t able to
do what he had to.

“Oh, no. If I don't move, the Emperor Dragon King's sight will recover in time. That was only
temporary” are his next thoughts. Were that to happen, Al will be slandered as a coward and
this time he will be killed. He didn't want to be slandered as a coward for trying to be a hero,
and neither did he want to tarnish the name of his father, the North God, any more than he
wanted to die. But his legs shook, and he couldn’t move.

“Oi, Al, what’s wrong?”

When he turned to look, he saw Chiki standing there with a number of small burns. She still
had the same diligent facial features, and the burns had made her look even more manly, but
even at a time like this, she still had her usual expression on her face. When she saw Al's face,
she started snickering.

“What a very pathetic face. At this time, even Chiki can win”

“Is it that… very… pathetic…?”

Al touched his face. He can tell a lot from just touching it. He definitely looks like he’s about
to cry now. Indeed, it's a pathetic face.

“Look at the Emperor Dragon King, Al, it’s almost there”

“But it’s a one-on-one duel…”

“You fool, why are you still scared? What was that resolve you showed when you spoke with
me in bed? If you’ve been all talk, Chiki might really despise you”

Resolve. Yes, he definitely had had that determination. No matter what, no matter what, he
would defeat the Emperor Dragon King Kajakt.

“I don't know anything about the etiquette of dueling, but I do know that the last one alive in a
fight to death wins”

“Chiki-san…”

“Do you think you can kill that Emperor Dragon King Kajakt because you are bound by pride,
honor, and other such ties? Knights and mercenaries are mistaken, but life is heavier than pride,
honor, and gold. It's all packed in there”

“…”

“That’s why whoever is the one to get the kill in this world is the hero. If you can’t do that, Al,
then give up”

“… No, that I can’t do”

The trembling stopped. If he defeated the King of Dragons here, it may call me a coward for
spoiling a one-on-one duel. Even if it didn't, the rancor inside it would not disappear. Abd the
boy will regret it for the rest of his life. This anxiety turned into a string of letters. Al held up
his sword. Touki welled up from his body.

“Emperor Dragon King Kajakt, you have won the duel. I was unceremoniously burned by the
flames, and Alex Ryback, son of the Immortal Demon King, died"

“…?”

“From now on, I’ll become the successor of the North God style, a hero, and as the disciple of
the first generation North God, I will take my revenge. That is well”

“…”

A one-sided and self-serving comment. Did Kajakt listen or not? He just opened his heavy
mouth like he was too busy with other things.
'”... When I die, give my regards to your mother, Atofe”

“… Yes”

The Emperor Dragon King hesitated, just a little bit, at that moment. Just before it struck the
gravity magic, the face of a certain person came to mind. It was its former comrade-in-arms,
and still its ally, Atofe. How many times had she saved it and how many times had it saved her
during the Great Human-Demon war. It was no longer at the level of lending and borrowing.
It was thanks to each other and their friends who had died that they had been able to fight
through that fierce war and live like that after the defeat. If it kills her husband, his son will
appear. If it killed even this son, Kajakt didn’t think that this time Atofe herself would appear.
Immortal Demon Kings live forever. They have little concept of marriage or companionship,
and when someone they love is killed, they only complain and do not seem to be angry enough
to take revenge, but it is hard to believe that she would remain silent after the murder of a blood
relative who even shared her own blood. Just as the Emperor Dragon King itself had done, she
would use the forces of the Immortal Demon King race to literally collapse this Dragon King
Mountain and turn it into a flat land.

Kajakt had thought that much and, for a fraction of a second, delayed its action. As a result,
Al's sword slashed from its throat to the upper jaw, burning its optic nerve with its own fiery
breath. Because of that momentary hesitation, the enemy's help arrived just in time. Kajakt is
not going to make excuses such as if it had not been for his comrades. An attack that would
have killed him even if his friends had come to his aid became an attack that would not have
killed him even if there was no one else because of its momentary hesitation. And even then,
his friends appeared to his aid.

Kajakt knows nothing of human manners. It has experienced one-on-one duels only a few times
in its long dragon life. Most of the time, it either crushed an insignificant human who
challenged it to single combat with a large number of dragons or crushed a large number of
humans by itself.

So, it had no intention of complaining about one or two interruptions now. It was too beautiful
a way for it to die, Kajakt thought. After thinking it would end up a lonely skeleton on a
mountaintop, or that a young male would take its place as king, or maybe that it would be eaten
by sandworms in the eastern wilderness, or even that it would have its life uprooted by a natural
disaster that came out of nowhere. It was not bad if you die a victorious death after having
played the game to the hilt.

“You may come at me”

Thus ended the defeat of the Emperor Dragon King, that had won the duel, and the North God,
who was the survivor. The curtain rises on a new legend.

End of chapter 8.