Chapter 24 – Let’s Challenge It! The Borderline Between Humans and Demons!

---In the forest at night, where not even moonlight could reach, I was about to say goodbye to my precious friend.

「See you later, dragon! Go back to your beloved Snail-kun!」

「Gagwuuuuuuuuu!!!」

At my tearful words, the giant dragon in front of me roared.

Yes, the day where I return Snail-kun’s dragon back has come!

I didn’t know that the black dragon that ruled the abandoned mine was his pet and I accidentally killed it with a bomb.

As a holy lord born of a virgin conception, I must take full responsibility! So, I’ll make a bigger one compared to the original one to make Snail-kun happy!

---So, I used a lot of healing magic on a piece of dragon flesh and a strange dragon was born. A hundred meters long, all red, and shedding tears of blood.

「Gigyabuhiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!」

「Are you okay?」

Whoa, it started making some weird noises. Its whole body is pulsating like a heart and its eyeballs and fangs have started to grow out. The grass on the ground has been bathed with blood falling from it.

Yeah….it looks more dangerous than its original form but it looks rare so it should be good.

Besides, Snail-kun was wearing a bright red suit with a slightly obscure sense of style. I think it’s a good match for him.

「Okay, dragon. You can get along with Snail-kun, right?」

「Gigyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!」

「Hahaha, that’s a relief.」

I don’t know what it’s saying.

Well, Snail-kun said it was his pet so it’s probably fine. And even if it wasn’t, it’s only strong enough to be a pet so I’m sure he could beat it up. I know this sounds a little bit crazy but, please discipline it on your own!

Well, now that my job is done, I think I’ll go home and sleep! I did a good thing and I think I can have a good dream tonight!

---Scene Change---

「---All troops, advance to Beibalon!」

『Ooooooooo!』

On the prairie at night, a thousand or so soldiers let out a heroic shot.

However, their faces were bewildered and they did not seem to be in high spirits.

They were all looking at each other but their faces were bewildered and their voices lacked any sense of ambition.

「……..what’s with your cowardly voice!? Do you have any objection to this Snail’s decision!?

「E-exterminate!!!」

N-no wonder they lack the will to fight.

They were hastily assembled by Snail, who woke up from coma and sent an incomprehensible order of “GO to the neighboring territory and exterminate them”.

It would have been understandable if they had been told to attack and destroy a horde of thieves but Snail’s order was an atrocity with no cause. And to attack another territory with no declaration of war is just too outrageous.

Snail, in his bright red armor, howls at the warriors, who are in agony.

「……Thanks to that rotten bastard called Rize, I almost died from a severed blood vessel in my head! I’m glad I somehow survived but I can’t let this resentment go unresolved!!!」

「With all due respect, Viscount Snail, why don’t you just challenge him in a duel…..!? If you attack and destroy a neighboring territory without Duke Hohenheim’s permission, do you even know what kind of sanctions you will face?」

「Shut upppppppppp! That incompetent duke is also on Rize’s side and that’s a problem!」

Yes, the problem was that Duke Hohenheim, the archduke, was somehow close to Rize.

Snail is a high-ranking flame mage. At the very least, he takes pride in being the country’s top fire mage. If he were to challenge the “favorite Rize” to a duel, the duke will certainly not allow it.

It is for this reason that Snail has chosen to launch a night raid on Beibalon.

(Kukkukkuk….If I kill everyone and burn everything to the ground, there will be no evidence left behind! If push comes to shove, I’ll even burn the pissed-off Hohenheim to death!)

….reason has already been blown away. After eating a number of words from Rize, who is thought to be the bottom lord, Snail’s brain, whose blood vessels were severed because of anger, has clearly been broken.

「I’m going to kill you…..I’m going to kill you, Rize Beibalon!!! I’m going to burn you with the flames of my wrathhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!」

Snail roared, his whole body billowing hot magic power --- and then,

「--Gigiyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!」

Flames thousands of times hotter than the heat emitted by Snail, consumed some of his men---!

「…..eh, ehhhhh!?」

Suddenly Snail Froze and the other soldiers looked up toward the source of the flame.

All of them saw it…..there was a dragon with fluttering crimson wings---!!!

「Hiii………Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!? Dragon! The dragon escaped!?」

「W-why!? Isn’t offering it with sacrifice enough to make it stay in the abandoned mine!?」

「What the heck is that thing! How can it become big like thatttttt!?」

The soldiers run away screaming. Throwing down their swords and shields, they quickly fled before the enemy.

Ah, that’s normal. For the people of Django, the dragon is an absolute ruler more fearsome than their lord.

「W-wa-wait! What about getting my revenge against Beibalon?」

「Do it on your own!」

Abandoning their lord, Snail, the warriors escaped while crying and screaming.

However---fate worse than death awaits them.

「Gigiiiiii….gugagyahiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!?」

Something unexpected happened. As soon as the red dragon let out that scream, its body suddenly exploded….!

Pulsating organs spilled out and a great amount of blood rained down on Sail and his soldiers.

Everyone was stunned, not knowing what happened suddenly---at that moment.

「Ah….gyaaaaaaaaaa!!? Hot, my body’s hottttttt!!?」

「Ahhhhhhhhhh, my head, it hurts, hurtssssssssssssssssssssss!!!」

Changes occurred in their bodies.

Their skins became hard like scales, their claws and fangs grew abnormally long, and red wings sprouted on their backs---!

Thus, the moment their eyes transformed into reptilian eyes….they gave out “inhuman” roars through their throats.

「Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! Meat, meatttttttt!!!」

「Grrrr, grrr, human, meattttttttt!!!」

It was a scene from hell.

In the blink of an eye, the bodies of a number of humans transformed, giving birth to insane monsters that looked like a mix of human and dragon….!

Snail was also writhing in agony from the pain of transformation in front of the “demon dragons” that were being born one after another.

「W-what is happening…..What is going onnnnnn!!? How, how could this happennnnn………..!?」

Frightened by the unknown fear of gradually becoming less and less human, Snail had a final thought.

Ah, if I hadn’t been in a place like this late at night, if I hadn’t been trying to invade…..Beibalon, I might have never met that horrifying dragon. This might not have happened.

(If only I hadn’t invited that man to my party….if only I hadn’t gotten involved….!)

To satisfy his tiny cruelty---Snail sincerely regretted that he had decided to make a fool out of Rize Beibalon.