Chapter 558: Royal Villa Decisive Battle 2
“You can’t fight the fate you were born with. That is the watchword of those who live in this country”
Rainer stared into my eyes and said so.
“I was born this way. Birds are birds, fish are fish and demons are demons because they were born that way……and the only way to live in this country is to live with your last breath”
Then he paused for a breath.
“Then what is the destiny I was born with. How am I supposed to live with my unparalleled military prowess and the fate of meeting a dragon?”
“…………”
“It’s not like I’m going to fulfill my petty role of 『Hero』 and protect this wretched world that I’ve given up on. If you give up on the inability to fly as your destiny, then those who were born to fly everywhere are destined to fly, aren’t they?”
“……Is that your aim……no, your principle of action?”
“Of course, there is more to it than that. There were petty sentiments and pretensions. But I was really tired of this kind of country. A broken king, a worthless princess, a foolish hero and a people who lived like insects……as a duty to the dragons who seek the responsibility of a hero, I will fulfill my duty until I capture this country. The magnitude of the fate I have in store for me is worthy of covering this continent sooner or later……as I have confirmed every time I go to the outside world”
“……Ah, if you had thought about it sooner, it wouldn’t have been a pipe dream
A dragon can destroy a small country in a day. No other race that cannot fly can resist a dragon that flies, breathes fire, or freezes everything in its path. Every race knows this from the fire dragon war. If three such dragons were to be stooped over and if more than ten more were to follow them and use them as limbs, there would be no one who could stand against them even if they advanced to Celesta, Trot, or the Southern Great Plains. Not even the last stopper, the other dragon riders, would be able to defeat Rainer. If they had not waited for me and Neia to reach Kalwin before starting their march, there might have been nothing to stop Rainer from becoming the continent’s champion.
“So, I ask you, what is it that you need to do? What do you think about the fact that you have gathered enough power to surpass even me with a dragon……? Do you think you can stay that way forever? If you remain idle, sooner or later that power will consume you”
“……Are you saying that the fact that I can gather that kind of power is a problem in itself?”
“Of course not. No matter how much you sing about being friends, there are countries that will perish without any help just because you’re in the mood. Whether you want it to or not, everyone who knows this will be yours. Be frightened by its existence and aim for it. That is what it means to ride a dragon. There is no other way to live in peace than to use your power to secure your place, to make everyone around you fall flat and to stand at the top of everything”
In the detached palace behind Rainer, in front of the gate, on the windowsill and on the rooftop, all the knights are leaping out and looking at us. And the bodyguards Neia and Anzeros who were thrown around me were also looking for an opening to get a little closer to me……but the three dragons surrounding me wouldn’t let them do that. Shario and others have one of their wings broken and cannot be regenerated, but that doesn’t mean they can be ignored. It would be easy for Rainer to grab me while they were dealing with the dragons. In order to break out of this situation, Rainer has to be able to instantly kill the dragon without any chance of me getting involved, but Anzeros, Neia, Sharon and of course Laila and Maia can’t do that. Now I have no choice but to attend to Rainer’s questions and answers.
“You and I can erase the fear of that happening. I’m sure you’re right. I am strong in a duel between dragon riders. You can deal with the powerful without force, and in some cases you can make them your allies”
“…………”
Apparently realizing from the movement of my gaze that I was paying attention to my surroundings, Rainer smiled sarcastically and shouldered his sword. There’s no need to confront me. Even from that position, Rainer could split me in two in an instant.
“Normally, I should have just thrown away this fight and gone somewhere else with Shario and the others. I don’t care where I start 『That』. Even if I let go of the dragons that I haven’t signed a contract with, I can’t. As a dragon rider, I definitely have an advantage over others. Still, the reason I’m here is to team up with you. ……Let’s hear the answer”
“Despite the fact that you’re asking me some very troubling things, you seem to be in a hurry to get an answer”
“I don’t have much leeway either. I’ll admit that I’m being hasty”
“What if I say no?”
“Do I have to answer?”
Rainer’s eyes narrowed a little. That was enough. He cut me down and then he and Shario and the others broke away. No matter how much Dianne’s persistence, a person who is not a dragon rider cannot continue to chase after them forever. That would be the end.
“I see”
I understood his intention and laughed at him. I would have liked to fall on my ass, but with Naris clinging to my back, that’s not going to happen. Besides, Rainer does not take Naris into consideration. He probably thinks she is just a small soldier who is frightened by a situation that is too frightening. But Naris has stopped shaking.
“What do you want, standing over people like that?”
“……What?”
“The honor of being remembered in history? Or women? Or food? Or do you just want to watch other people do your bidding?”
“……What’s the use of knowing such things?”
Rainer looks suspicious at my question.
“You’re using fancy words like it’s fate, but I can’t see any future prospects for you. What will you do after becoming emperor with the power of a dragon? I can’t believe you’re the one who despises and abandons your hometown. You wouldn’t think about changing the world by entering a country you’ve never seen before”
“……I don’t see the need for such a trivial reason. There is unparalleled power, and there is a world that runs on that power. Then it is only logical that we should be above everyone else”
“You’re moving and asking me what I want. Are you an idiot? Are you a naughty kid who just wants to try it?”
I look back at Rainer confidently. If King Ulysses was watching from a little distance, he would do that even one second before he died.
“I like women, but I’ve enough of them. I love women, but I have enough of them. I have plenty of them, the best of them that would make any royalty or nobleman jealous. I have a job, I have enough to eat, I have a hometown to go back to, a home to go back to. I have friends to laugh with. I have people I can look up to, people I can trust my country to. The world in which I can live most comfortably is already complete and I don’t need to change it”
The hands of the many people I have seen are on my back. All of them support me. They affirm me as I stand here. They are all working hard to live, to protect their loved ones and to create the future. Even though I don’t have to be the ruler, I have no complaints about the future they are creating. The future I want is already there.
“What about you, Rainer Exeliza? What are you missing? What do you want? A dragon is not just a force that brings others to their knees. There is so much more that can be achieved. If you think of nothing else but fighting and pretending to be powerful, then I have no reason to deal with you””
“……You”
“Are you really nothing?”
A way of life that bows down to no one. It is enough for a reason to fight. ……My territory is different from yours. I thought we could get along well”
Rainer’s gaze showed a slight anger and disappointment and he tightened his grip on his sword. I slapped Naris’ hand that was wrapped around my stomach, then glared back at Rainer.
“Sorry, but I don’t like men who are too bossy”
With that, I switch bodies with Naris. Or rather, Naris throws me backwards.
“!!”
“Deyaaaaaaaa!!!”
Naris doesn’t kill the momentum of her spinning and swings the Crash Harken she was carrying down on her back at Riner. Rainer was amused, but not incapable of reacting and with the strength of his right arm, which had been strengthened by the sea king bracelet, he struck away the blow of the axe. No, he was about to strike it away. At that moment, Naris 「Opens」 Crash Harken. From axe mode to scythe mode. The transformation of the weapon naturally entails a change in the receiving surface. Rainer, who received it at a strange angle, was naturally bent, losing his original destructive power and losing his balance. Then, Naris struck with a series of desperate blows. No, it was a blow to Rainer with a stone thrust, without any hesitation.
“RRyaaaaa!!”
“Ku……you small fry!
“Sorry for being a small fry!!”
The blow to the gut is absorbed by the suit armor and Rainer cuts back with his sword, severing the hilt of Crash Harken. The blade goes flying, but this is where Naris really comes into her own.
“There’s more!”
“!!?”
She swung Crash Harken, which was reduced to just a stick, as if it had been a weapon from the beginning and attacked Rainer. Naris dexterously used the baton-like length of Crash Harken as a weapon and unleashed a hail of blows at Rainer. He does not even bother to use the strength of his right arm. His over-flexible fighting techniques bought us valuable time, as if he were blinded.
“Now!”
“Laila-san, Maia-san!”
Anzeros and Neia jumped out and Laila and Maia held back the silver dragons who rushed to interrupt them with their unrestrained fighting. Shario dodged and tried to jump in, but her head was launched by an uplift from Sharon’s earth drive and she staggered back.
“Naris, you did great!”
“I’ll leave the rest to you!”
“I can do it too, you know! Suck it up, you idiot!”
Naris was extremely nervous and excited, but Anzeros and Neia jumped in front of me again.
“It’s the same no matter how many times you come here!”
“Is that really so?”
”We’re not going to let you get away with it either!”
The two of them dodged and tossed the fierce slashes of Rainer with a combination and then held their swords at the same time with Rainer on the other side. And a moment later, when Rainer was wondering which way to respond, the two of them simultaneously.
“Anzeros-san!!”
“I know!”
They both released shockwaves as they ran past each other, slightly separated from Rainer. Rainer tries to withstand it by thrusting his sword into the ground, but the two shockwaves intertwine to form a tornado that lifts Rainer into the air. There, Anzeros extends her hands and raises them.
“Omake!”
Boom! Flames burst from around Anzeros, traveling through the tornado and scorching Rainer in mid-air.
“Guoooo!!!”
“Rainer-sama!”
Shario leaps her huge body and rescues Rainer from the tornado of flames. And by that time, the raiding party had also taken action. Or rather, they shot.
“Uoooooooooo!!”
“Huu!”
Boom. Two figures fall with a shout right beside us. The one who failed to land on the ground is General Amatsushima and the one who landed successfully is Great Knight Chief Lister. It seems that they have been tossed about by the super ogres of both countries.
“Are you alive, iron?”
“……Itty bitty piece of shit! ……Remember that, Vincent!”
He flew in from a few hundred meters away and looked like he fell head first onto the rocky ground, but it didn’t seem to matter. General Amatsushima got up with great energy.
“Good grief……I never expected the boss to be sneaking around in a place like this. That’s laughable”
Great Knight Chief Lister gave a contemptuous look to Rainer, who had been brought down to earth by Shario.
“Hey, Iron, will you stay here? We can’t expose Smithson any further. The War God is at my doorstep”
“Yes”
Great Knight Chief Lister says, then suddenly scrambles away and kicks Shario in the face. The gigantic Shario is tipped over on her side.
“You!!”
“You’re behind, hero. If you have to, just play with the girls”
At the point where Great Knight Chief Lister pointed, Neia and Anzeros had already stepped in and started attacking Rainer. Rainer used the power of sea king bracelet to deal with the two’s slashes, occasionally blowing them away, but they both fell flat once in a while.
“Rainer……if you say it was your destiny to have the power……!!”
“Neia Grans!”
“That I am here with Faria dead and that I met Smithson-san……all of it, was fate!”
Neia smashes Rainer’s sword between hers and the sword of Anzeros.
“I won’t be defeated this time……Faria entrusted me with and saved me……I will protect our future!”
The little hero has now finally put away all her doubts. She bears her fate and even herself and holds up the flash sword.