Author: Chewyy

– Kraaaaakh!

 

Under the merciless pouring of spear blades, the chimera writhed in agony, its entire body twisted.

 

At a glance, it looked like the blows were doing damage, but in reality, they were only leaving small scratches on its hide.

 

“The original shape is like an iron wyvern.….”

 

The hide of a typical iron wyvern couldn’t stop a spear blade forged from the power of steel.

 

It appeared that during whatever modification process humans had done to it, its hide had also been reinforced beyond that of a regular Iron Wyvern.

 

“They have put so many strange things on it. Why did they cut off the perfect front legs and replace them with birds’ feet?”

 

– It looks disgusting! Get rid of it, Leon!

 

“Ugh! Don’t pull too hard.”

 

Leonhard, squinting one eye at the pain of his hair being pulled, raised his sword and lightly blocked the bird’s foot that was slashing down on his head.

 

—Bang!

 

Of course, just because it was easily blocked, the power contained in the Chimera’s feet was not weak.

 

Cracks spread across the ground beneath Leonhard like a spiderweb, and both his feet sank into the earth up to his ankles.

 

Even after taking that overwhelming force head-on without deflecting it, not a single groan escaped Leonhard’s lips.

 

“These claws look like the feet of a harpy.…”

 

Information about harpies—their species, the power contained in their claws, their weak points—flashed rapidly through Leonhard’s mind.

 

But since he wasn’t protecting a comrade right now, that knowledge wasn’t particularly useful.

 

At that moment, the force pressing down on the blade grew stronger.

 

The chimera was putting all its weight into crushing him, no matter what.

 

“Oh? You want a contest of strength?”

 

Rather, it was what he hoped for.

 

Leonhard raised one corner of his mouth.

 

Born with the bloodline of Ajas, Leonhard possessed incredible strength from birth, but he had never once unleashed his Authority at full power.

 

Whether his opponent was human, monster, or barbarian, he had never needed to.

 

But if his opponent was this massive—wasn’t it worth going all out?

 

– Don’t forget I’m here!

 

“Don’t worry.”

 

Confidence filled Leonhard’s voice as power surged into both his arms

 

His muscles swelled as his strength rose without limit, and his body hardened like steel to protect itself from his own overwhelming power.

 

“Hmph!”

 

Uncontrollable force surged through his veins like bulging cords.

 

His blood felt like it was boiling.

 

Leonhard realized instantly that if he didn’t release this power soon, the power would consume him instead.

 

‘I didn’t know because I’ve never raised my power to this level before!’

 

Sensing danger, his body obeyed its survival instincts and began to unleash his Authority on its own.

 

Not only his arms, but his entire body, even his hair, was dyed silver, giving him the appearance of a carved piece of steel.

 

– Leon! Your body looks weird!

 

He came to his senses for a moment when she heard Rake shouting in shock.

 

If he hesitated any longer, it would be too late. Leonhard tightened his grip on his sword and forced himself to push back against the weight pressing down on him.

 

—Craaaack!

 

Even without imbuing his sword with an aura, the chimera’s talon-blade couldn’t endure his raw power and shattered with an explosive crack.

 

– Kwaaaaarghhh!

 

The chimera roared so loudly that it burned his eardrums and swung its tail furiously.

 

The sight of its thick tail flying in, tearing through the air, was very terrifying.

 

But Leonhard, without even blinking, stabbed his sword into the ground and crossed his arms to block.

 

—Takkk!

 

This time, Leonhard’s feet scraped backward, dragged across the ground—but that was all. In contrast, the chimera, thrown off by the massive rebound, ended up with its hind legs in the air.

 

Leonhard didn’t miss the gap and dashed out.

 

He ran quickly, stepping over the rubble of the collapsed building and leaping, grabbing the tip of its tail with both hands.

 

And—

 

“Hwaaaaa!”

 

He released the ferocious power that coursed through his veins and hurled the chimera’s massive body to the ground with all his might, as if he were swinging an axe.

 

– Kwaaaarrkk!

 

For a moment, a sound like thunder ripping the sky apart or an earthquake shattering the earth dominated the air.

 

The crimson clouds blanketing the sky trembled, and the ground where the chimera had crashed was gouged out like the impact of a meteor.

 

– Leon! You launched me too!

 

“Don’t come! Stay there!”

 

Leonhard, who had drawn Raynbert, rushed at the chimera without hesitation.

 

The chimera, which had been squirming and writhing in pain from the impact of being hit on the ground, let out a loud scream as the pain pierced through its tail.

 

– Kyaaaaark!

 

The chimera struggled with all its might, but the sword lodged deep into the ground kept its tail anchored.

 

With its tail pinned down, it formed a direct path up to its back.

 

Leonhard quickly ran over it and climbed up onto its back, putting on his gauntlets and aiming for the largest magic stone.

 

“Haat!”

 

The solid sensation in his fist told him he had landed a clean hit.

 

At the same time, there was a loud crash, the sound of something breaking, and a foul smell stung my nose.

 

‘This….!’

 

He quickly raised his gauntleted hand to shield his face, but he couldn’t stop the sticky liquid from splattering all over his body.

 

Szzzzzt! 

 

With a hiss, not only his clothes but even the gauntlet melted away in an instant.

 

Leonhard clicked his tongue briefly and threw away everything, including his tattered shirt and gauntlets.

 

Thanks to the power he reflexively unleashed, he avoided serious injury.

 

– Be more careful! That was dangerous!

 

“I didn’t know they would hide such a trap between the magic stones.”

 

But Rake was right. He should have anticipated this trap and been careful, so it was his fault for using his power without thinking.

 

– That’s why Nell worries about you.

 

With a sigh, a semi-transparent blue barrier formed around Leonhard’s body.

 

Then, feeling a light weight settle onto his head, Leonhard stomped on the magic stone beneath him and muttered,

 

“It’s going to be a bit wild. Hold on tight so you don’t fly away.”

 

  • If my feathers get pulled out, that’s on you

 

And just as he said, Leonhard went berserk—with a tiny bird dangling from his hair.

 

—Craaack!

 

His punches and kicks caused the magic stones embedded in the chimera’s back to burst out.

 

Among them, there were quite a few trap magic stones with powerful attack magic or curse magic installed, like acidic liquid exploding.

 

But with his Steel power and Rake’s protective magic, they were all cleanly nullified.

 

– That’s already three barriers gone! You’ve almost died three times!

 

“Strawberry cake! Seven layers!”

 

– Watch out! It’s dark magic!

 

Pitch-black darkness swallowed Leonhard’s vision—but not even for a moment did it rob him of his sight.

 

Thanks to Rake’s protective magic.

 

Even in that situation, Leonhard felt a little elated.

 

It was the first time he’d rushed in so recklessly, without any thought for the consequences.

 

After all, what danger could he fear when a dragon was protecting him?

 

“Did you know? My childhood dream was to become a knight who fights while riding a dragon.”

 

– What? Are there any other dragons besides me?

 

“Nope. That’s why it was just a childhood dream.”

 

—Clang, clang!

 

A simple steel blade wouldn’t have done much damage to the chimera’s hide, but in Leonhard’s hands, it was different.

 

The sword coated with a sharp aura forged through honed determination, and combined with Leonhard’s brute strength, even the hardest magic stone would shatter like fragile ice.

 

– Kyaaaaargkh!

 

– Don’t tell me you want me to carry you on my back?”

 

“No. It’s a little different from what I imagined, but… in the end, I did become a knight who fights alongside a dragon…”

 

The chimera struggled violently, trying to throw Leonhard off its back, like a horse stung by a bee.

 

Every time that massive body rampaged, the ground caved in.

 

Thanks to that, Rayenbert—who had been impaled by its tail—was shaken loose, but Leonhardt, though he swayed and nearly lost his balance, did not fall from the chimera’s back.

 

Thud—!

 

Only because he’d jammed his spear ruthlessly into the chimera’s back and was using it as a handhold.

 

“I’m a little excited.”

 

– Kwaaaaak!

 

At last, fully enraged, the chimera turned its head toward its own back and opened its jaws.

 

Rake, recognizing the energy gathering within those gaping jaws, chirped furiously.

 

– It’s a breath attack! That thing’s trying to imitate a dragon!

 

Leonhard swallowed his desire to retort that breath attacks were not exclusive to dragons—disregarding the difference in scale—and summoned the power of his Authority.

 

“Rake, Level 9!”

 

– Trust me!

 

Just as several layers of defenses surrounded Leonhard and Rake, a volcanic, boiling lava-like acidic breath, accompanied by a terrible stench, shot out at them.

 

– Krrrrraaaaaaah!

 

However, the acid breath failed to penetrate the defenses set up by the dragon, Rake.

 

As a result, the chimera had effectively just inflicted a horrific wound upon itself.

 

“I’ve never seen such a strong acid before.…”

 

– It stinks! It’s terrible! Disgusting!

 

It was no wonder that Rake opened his beak and gurgled, saying that the smell was terrible.

 

The acid that had been poured all over the chimera’s body was melting away its thick, hard hide.

 

The only thing that was still intact was the part where Leonhard had stood, and the part where the acid had been directly poured had melted away the skin and flesh, showing even the bones.

 

– Gaak…, gaaaaak…!

 

The numerous magic stones were almost all broken.

 

Her painful cries sounded even more pathetic than before-interrupted by intermittent breathing, sounding almost like the sound of a last gasp.

 

‘Now is the time to end it.’

 

Leonhard, having made that decision, gathered the power of his hands and created a huge steel spear.

 

A black aura covers the sharply sharpened steel spear.

 

Leonhard instinctively aimed for the chimera’s weak point, the center of its elongated neck, and leaped forward.

 

But at the last step, just as he was about to thrust his steel spear towards the one point he was aiming for—

 

The chimera spread its folded wings and flew into the air.

 

* * *

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