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The Next Day.

Kafal soared over the land that had been cleaved by the flow of water since morning.

In a land where relentless, murderous rain fell incessantly, the light piercing through the gaps in between adorned everything, from the flowing water to the islands it bathed, like precious gems.

It was a radiance fundamentally different from the land inhabited by humans, a brilliance born of wild forces.

“By the way, won’t they get angry if we hunt here? This is the hunting ground of the Sylnir Sea Group, right? Is it because it’s the group my mom married into?” Lucella suddenly voiced her question. Despite becoming a dragon’s foster daughter, Lucella still had much to learn about the society of dragons.

This was the southeastern region of Setulev, near the Sylnir Sea. Although the scenery already stretched out like a sea, this place could be considered a lake, or perhaps a river, or even a colossal pond… Regardless, it was not yet the sea. If one went further south, they would reach the real sea, the Sylnir Sea, which was the territory of the Blue Dragons along the coast.

Generally, places uninhabited by humans served as hunting grounds for dragons. Land adjacent to the territory of a group was undoubtedly the most important hunting ground. Therefore, there was anxiety about whether they might come to assert their rights.

In human society, the rights generated by the land were rigorously managed. Even adventurers picking up firewood in the forest for camping sometimes led to trouble.

“Even I would be scolded if I hunted on the Sylnir group’s territory without permission. But here, it’s just a hunting ground, not a territory, so it’s fine. There’s only a faint flow of dragon aura, and there are no Variants here. If they wanted to monopolize it, they would have marked it as their territory. The fact that they haven’t done that means they either deemed it not worth managing as a territory or intentionally left it as a buffer zone.”
“I see.”

From a human perspective, it was tranquil and idyllic. But perhaps this was also because dragons were dragons. Maybe due to the small number of dragons or the lack of any real benefit in excessive hunting, they could afford to be lenient without causing problems.

Lucella, perched on Kafal’s back while she flew horizontally, looked down at the shimmering water below.

The wind whipped Lucella’s hair into fiery tendrils.

“There are strange waves forming in the four o’clock direction.”
“Which way is four o’clock?”
“…Slightly to the right and back.”

Upon hearing Lucella’s words, Kafal tilted her body diagonally and changed their flight direction. Strange waves formed on the water ahead, and a flock of birds (or perhaps bird-like monsters) had gathered.

Lucella remembered that when something was in the water, chasing after schools of fish, birds would gather like this to scavenge the leftovers.

“…It’s there.”

Kafal’s growl, sounding like the wind stirring, was clear words to Lucella.

As they got closer, Lucella could see it too. The water had a different color… No, there were shadows there. Something about the size of a dragon was swimming in circles. The agitated water foamed ominously, and the shimmer on the water’s surface rippled.

*“Hold on tight!” *

As soon as Kafal spoke, a strong force pushed against Lucella’s body. Kafal folded her wings and gave a single powerful flap, accelerating. Guided by gravity, they rapidly descended in altitude. And then…

“Oooooohhhhh!!”

Before the approaching dragon aura and colossal form, the prey had no time to react. Kafal released a piercing breath resembling a ray with so much heat and light that the surrounding scenery seemed to distort, and it pierced the water’s surface.

Immediately afterward, an explosion occurred. The water’s surface was pierced, creating a large hole, and water quickly flowed in, forming a massive wave.

“Wow, that was spectacular.”
“…It was a failure. I intended to immobilize it with that last attack.”

Kafal flapped her wings and gracefully ascended in a trajectory that skimmed the water’s surface. Amidst the rising water vapor, lifeless waterfowl and charred fish floated. However, these were not the kind of prey that a dragon would specifically target.

The colossal shadow beneath the water was still alive, swimming away below the surface, trying to escape Kafal.

“I’ll drive it into shallow waters. Lucella, try to finish it your way.”
“Got it!”

Kafal soared, pursuing the colossal shadow.

With each deep breath Kafal took and exhaled in small bursts, fireballs shot out like cannonballs, creating splashes and water vapor. The wave-like attacks aimed at the nose of the colossal shadow beneath the surface, forcing it to zigzag around in its attempt to escape.

With that colossal body, there was no way for it to escape through the narrow waterway. Furthermore, this area was shallower than the open sea. While it was large enough for a massive aquatic creature to inhabit, it wasn’t so deep that a dragon’s breath couldn’t reach. As the colossal shadow fled, it was eventually driven into a shallow area with an inlet-like terrain.

“I’ll be right back!” Lucella called out as she kicked off from Kafal’s back.

Wrapped in a sense of weightlessness, the rapidly approaching water surface seemed to draw nearer and nearer. Although she felt it would be fine to be slammed into the water at this rate, she was still afraid, so Lucella summoned the water.

As the daughter of a Blue Dragon, Lucella possessed the ability to call upon the power of water. In this inhospitable realm, free from the constraints of the Regalia, it was as easy as breathing.

Water flowed down from the void above, forming a double helix, creating a path for Lucella to descend. She grasped the watery path with both hands, slid along it, and bent her falling trajectory, ultimately landing on the land that surrounded the shallows.

At the exit of the shallows, Kafal had taken her position, keeping a watchful eye from above. The colossal shadow swimming around seemed to be avoiding the aim of the breath attack, as it twisted and turned in the water. Even just the massive fin protruding above the water’s surface was larger up close than Lucella had expected.

—This place allows me to use the full extent of my water powers, but since the opponent is also adapted to the water, I don’t know if I can overpower it with my abilities alone. In that case…

Lucella called upon the element of fire rather than water. In a place filled with the presence of water, she wished for even the slightest presence of flame.

There was a sensation as if her blood were igniting. A power radiating into the world. The island sustained by the roots of aquatic plants heated up, sporadically erupting in small, hive-like patches.

And like a rabbit emerging from its burrow, the ground began to melt, and small lava formations rose slightly. One, two… nine in total. Soon, they were cooled by the swirling water, becoming swords made of lava rock, imbued with flames.

Lucella took a step onto the water’s surface. With each step, ripples spread out, marking her path on the water.

Around Lucella, the water swirled, forming a tornado-like vortex. The swords made of lava rock danced within it, following Lucella’s lead. Using water as her arms, Lucella wielded the nine swords.

“Shhhhhhh!!”

As Lucella advanced, the water surged and then split open. Rising from the water with colorful fins was a dragon-like head, adorned with azure scales that seemed to melt into the water.

A sea serpent. Given its size, it could rightfully be called the Sea Serpent King among its higher-ranked kin.

Despite being a Minor Dragon, the Sea Serpent was surprisingly intelligent, at least on par with a human. It had sensed the threat in Lucella’s presence alone and immediately attacked, judging that it had better chances now that she wasn’t flying above but confronting it like this.

With sharp, powerful jaws capable of easily tearing through a ship’s hull, the sea serpent lunged toward her. While the Sea Serpent’s trademark was a tidal breath attack akin to that of a Blue Dragon, for a Sea Serpent living in this inhospitable water realm, its sharp fangs were likely its deadliest weapon since all the creatures around it were adapted to water.

Into those jaws, one of Lucella’s controlled streams of water propelled a lava rock sword, which hit its mark without deviation, sewing the sea serpent’s long tongue to its lower jaw.

“Gigooooo! Kiaaaaaa!”

For most creatures, the inside of the mouth was a sensitive area with concentrated nerves, and it seemed the Sea Serpent was no exception. It recoiled in pain, spraying blood-tinged saliva as it averted its head and fled into the water.

The sound of the massive head scraping against the bottom of the shallows echoed to the surface, muddying the water.

Simultaneously, the Sea Serpent rotated its body, whipping its massive lower half and tail fin like a whip, aiming them at Lucella.

Seeing the approaching colossal mass with a giant wave, Lucella propelled herself with water, leaping sharply instead of bouncing. She increased the rotation speed of the water currents surrounding her and, targeting the massive body sweeping below, she launched herself with her current momentum.

She forcefully drove the lava rock swords into the Sea Serpent’s body, puncturing it. Eight swords, like pins holding insect specimens, lined up next to each other, piercing the Sea Serpent’s sides beside its dorsal fin.

However, these swords were at most the size Lucella could swing. For the massive Sea Serpent, they wouldn’t be fatal unless they hit a critical spot. Despite writhing in intense pain, the Sea Serpent approached Lucella once again.

The lava rock swords had already been depleted and used as projectiles. Perhaps it thought there was no further counterattack.

“Flare up!”

The lava rock swords, infused with the power of fire, simultaneously melted away. They poured their heat into the scales they had pierced beneath.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaa!”

The Sea Serpent convulsed and leaped out of the water, emitting a scream so piercing that Lucella felt her eardrums might burst. Smoke rose from burning flesh and fat, carrying a delicious aroma of grilled fish to Lucella’s nose.

In a way, it was akin to a remote fire breath attack. The lava rock swords, born from Lucella’s flames, still contained fire within them, even after taking on the form of rocks.

The Sea Serpent, seared from within its body, thrashed about wildly for a while. Its haphazardly released Tidal Breath struck the water’s surface, creating waves.

Even after Lucella had come ashore, the Sea Serpent continued its frenzied rampage without seemingly noticing her presence. It took a while, but eventually, its strength waned, and it floated on its side, quivered a few times, and then went still.

“…Huh?”

Lucella then noticed something peculiar.

“Well done, Lucella.”
“Wait, Mom, there’s something there!”

Exhausted, the Sea Serpent’s head dangled, with its tongue half-charred and trailing in the water. Like a pillow for its head, there was a smooth, square, artificial object that still protruded from the rippling water’s surface.