SWNOVELS Chapter 20: The Dragon Of Smoke
Parties and Clans.
These terms defined the typical groups in which adventurers gathered.
Among them, Clans referred to large groups formed around a common purpose or a specific person as a focal point. Naturally, the heroes from other worlds became the heart of these clans in the current era.
And the attacker who appeared at this moment was one of the heroes leading such a clan…
“Yes, that old man over there? He’s the one who crippled a subordinate of mine, the ‘Flame Dragon’.”
He was commonly known as the Flame Dragon.
The flames from his sword could create devastating blazes, and their intensity was said to be like the breath of a ‘dragon’ from legends, not an exaggerated rumor.
This fact was evident from the woman he had been conversing with, who had been burned alive without being able to lift a finger.
“Tacchia. Are you dead?”
“……”
“…Chuckle, speaking of short-lived species, there’s no order in death, is there?”
Jang laughed jestingly while mourning her death.
Seemingly irritated by his behavior, the Flame Dragon soon pointed his sword at Jang.
“Just to confirm, are you the old man who split my subordinate’s head?”
“If you’re referring to disrespectfully splitting a soldier’s head, then yes, you’ve come to the right place… Isn’t it a bit beneath a hero like yourself to come here in person?”
“If I stayed quiet after hearing my subordinate was harmed, it wouldn’t befit the dignity of a clan leader.”
From his words, he seemed like a leader who was looking out for his subordinates, but…
It was hard to take him at face value, especially with the crosses erected among the clan members he had brought with him, which were highly conspicuous.
“Well, as you’ve said, it’s annoying to come here personally, so it’s necessary to set an example to prevent such incidents in the future.”
Two crosses were erected as if to show others.
On one of the two bodies tied to them, the skull bore a large fracture, as if it had been struck with great force from the outside.
Did he consider his subordinate being beaten somewhere a disgrace to the clan?
For someone who only scolded and sent them back, it was indeed not a good look.
“…That’s a fine-looking sword.”
But the opponent, who considered himself akin to a dragon, believed he was beyond human.
As one steps on a bug, the strong trampling the weak was a natural occurrence in turbulent times.
“Isn’t the heat emitted by your sword hot?”
“Kuhuhu, such concerns are for ordinary people without inherent abilities.”
Was he pleased to have his pride’s symbol acknowledged by another?
Even after finding his target, he didn’t immediately swing his sword but leisurely explained.
“What I awakened to when I came to this world was a complete resistance to heat… It wouldn’t be strange for someone who can survive entering a volcano with my bare body to wield a sword that produces flames, would it?”
-Whoosh, whoosh.
The Ego Weapon in his hand ignited flames the moment its owner gripped it.
It was a reaction of the soul within rejecting him, but for him, who had complete resistance to heat, even that was a useful tool.
“That must be the basis for your confidence.”contemporary romance
“It’s too late for regrets, old man. If I don’t rectify my subordinate’s foolishness, it will tarnish the name of the clan I established.”
His joy in explaining his power was brief.
After that short respite, he pointed the tip of his sword and spoke in a soft voice.
“Well, even as a hero, I suppose I should at least hear the last words of an old, senile man. Do you have any final wishes?”
“Ha, ha, how magnanimous of you, befitting a hero.”
Did he expect him to beg for his life in a disgraceful manner?
To show such a scene to his subordinates and even trample him mercilessly to highlight his cruelty?
“Yes, since this opportunity has arisen, it might be good to tell an old story as a commemoration of my journey to the afterlife.”
“…An old story?”
“A fact many have forgotten. The practice of calling people like you, who are from other worlds, heroes in this world, is less than 20 years old.”
There had been dangers before, but never to the extent that summoning heroes from other worlds became an obsession.
Therefore, the term ‘hero’ referred only to the strongest individual or a small party led by such a person.
“In this world, there were those called heroes too, but they didn’t have special powers like you. It was just a title given to the strongest person or those who achieved similar feats.”
“Ha, they must have been quite mediocre beings then.”
“Compared to you, perhaps. But the heroes I knew faced a different kind of entity.”
Jang continued, squinting his eyes.
He placed his hand on his mouth, recalling the past, and began to exert force in his grip.
“Well, she was a ‘dragon’ at the pinnacle of all things, beyond the reach of mere humans.”
“A dragon?”
“Not a nickname like yours, but a real dragon.”
Ssshhh.
A pungent smell began to drift in from behind.
Unaware of the spreading odor, the Flame Dragon and his subordinates simply listened to Jang’s chattering.
“That dragon, nesting in a volcano, was once called the ‘Volcano Dragon,’ and also the ‘Firewood Dragon,’ for she burned herself in battles against heroes.”
Yes, they hadn’t realized.
At that moment, spreading among them…
Something more lethal than any poison was slowly seeping into their bodies.
“Do you know what remained after she burned everything against her formidable enemies?”
“Cough!”
A moment later, harsh coughs began to escape from their mouths.
The Flame Dragon prepared to exert force on the sword in his hand after realizing that something was amiss.
“You, what have you done…?!”
“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust… Even the grandest form must ultimately crumble and vanish from this world.”
No, it wasn’t this old man.
The source of the strange smoke spreading around them emanated from behind them, where the woman he had previously burned to death lay.
“However, her inherent nature compelled her to persist in this world, even in such a state.”
-Crackle, thud.
Her body rose, and as the ash fell away, the form within began to reveal itself.
Gray scales of a reptile remained where her skin had burned away.
Though the eyes that covered it were cloudy, they locked precisely on her attacker.
Then, her mouth opened to attack him.
“Having lived in this world, even in such a shattered state, I personally call her this…”
The Dragon of Smoke.
A fading symbol of legend that was permitted to persist in this land only in form as its life neared its end.
“Smoke Dragon, Tacchia Pheloi.”
The ashen breath exhaled by this being soon engulfed the clan members, including the Flame Dragon.
A massive attack, like a pyroclastic flow that erupts from a volcano, overwhelmed them.
-Kwaaaaah!!
The clan members fell, unable to scream, exposed to the pyroclastic flow.
The clinging ash hardened their bodies, solidified their insides through their respiratory systems, and cooked them with the hundreds of degrees of heat it carried.
Even the Flame Dragon couldn’t escape such an attack.
“Keh, huk, euk.”
He could withstand the heat due to his abilities, but the inadvertently inhaled pyroclastic flow was still damaging his lungs at that moment, spreading throughout his body in place of oxygen and making movement difficult.
“Ah, aaaaah!”
Yet the Flame Dragon tried to resist by setting his own body on fire and soon swung his sword, spewing flames toward the being who had risen from the ashes.
But she didn’t burn.
Swept up in the flames, the woman, already stripped of her outer skin, crossed her arms, fully embracing the fire.
“Why, why… How?”
His attack, which he believed would burn any defense, was futilely blocked.
The Smoke Dragon spoke, facing the desolation of the Flame Dragon.
“Does ash burn when burned?”
Even though there was nothing left to burn in a body already consumed by fire.
Wasn’t it laughable to think that these flames could kill her?
“Keh, huk, euk.”
Unaware of this fact, he soon fell, suffocating.
As his consciousness faded and his powers waned, the ability that had earned him the name Flame Dragon disappeared, and his body was swallowed by the ashes.
In the end, a bit too late, he became indistinguishable from the other shattered statues around him.
“Tsk, tsk. Is it because his life was nearing its end? He’s become far less impressive than the last time I saw him.”
Jang, the only one who had successfully shielded himself at the scene, removed the hand that had been protecting his respiratory system and turned to look at the Smoke Dragon.
The shape of the once fearsome dragon had become a mere shadow of its former self.
“…Seems I’m also nearing my end. To think I’d be mocked by a kid chasing that foolish hero.”
“It’s not mockery. I’m actually worried you might die sooner than me.”
In the past, threats like demons, undeads, werewolves, or vampires didn’t exist.
She was once considered the greatest calamity, and beings from other worlds weren’t needed to fight these threats.
Now, as her life reached its limit, she couldn’t exert her former power.
This proved that even the brightest light was destined to fade eventually.
“Hey, kid.”
But even so, she remained a being that mere mortals dared not compare themselves to.
Soon, she directed a question to the comrade of the hero with whom she had once fiercely battled.
“Is this world, where such fools brazenly strut about, really what that hero wanted?”
Trampling their own kind with power and mercilessly killing even comrades who swore loyalty to them, all in their self-absorption…
Was this the path humanity chose after all her sacrifices against the hero?
“Is there ever a cause that doesn’t start off as noble? It’s just that people have different perspectives, and the frequent clashes prevent things from unfolding as planned.”
“Can you give me even one reason why such a chaotic world should be allowed to continue?”
She had a moment of skepticism toward such realities, subtly discerned while observing the new era’s hero.
Faced with this, Jang couldn’t provide a definitive answer, instead quietly responding with a question of his own.
“What would you do if there were none?”
“I would do anything.”
If she couldn’t be stopped, she would take it upon herself to destroy what he most cherished.
The contract made during her battle with the hero still stood.
For the time being, she simply wished to watch from the shadows, seeing how the world he protected would evolve.
“I will do whatever is within my power.”
Yet one of his successors is now parading their power, having forgotten their true purpose.
In a world where the leaders indulged in opulence and pleasure, oppressing those beneath them, what was the point of continuing to be a mere onlooker?
“Then why not take action right away?”
Why hesitate to step forward and obliterate humanity at this very moment?
Confronted with Jang’s question, Tacchia gazed silently at the sky, contemplating someone.
“I’ll take on the challenge.”
Despite being overlooked by heroes consumed with pride and vanity.
A courageous underdog wanted to venture out into the world.
“Really? Are you aware of the potential consequences if you proceed with this?”
“Yes, I understand, but I also don’t want to give up the chance to use my abilities.”
To enter this world as an underdog.
A being capable of maintaining objectivity, untouched by pride or vanity.
“Moreover, possessing this weapon naturally affords me the opportunity to encounter Ms. Tacchia again, doesn’t it?”
And possibly the most foolish human she had ever met.
“…A chance to meet again?”
“Yes, I like Ms. Tacchia. She’s blunt, but she listens to what I say kindly, which is nice, haha.”
…Liked for being kind.
Even though she was only rushing her tasks because her lifespan was running out.
Wasn’t this a major misjudgment of character?
“For now, I have to wait for that guy to return.”
But since she had made a promise to such a fool, she would wait.
“The promise of a dragon is absolute.”
If, by any chance, he failed to keep his promise for any reason, then she would continue with her planned actions, quietly burying this thought in her heart.
Meanwhile, in a tent located in an alley at the border of the empire.
“What… what’s this?”
The fortune teller, preparing for business away from the guards’ surveillance, began to sweat coldly at the sight of the crystal ball in front of her.
Certainly, her intention had been to check her future as a precaution.
Why had she, who had been performing her mission calmly in the city, suddenly been replaced with a vision of herself lying tragically in the middle of a burnt city?
“Has the future suddenly changed?”
The observed future could be changed, but that was only when the observer attempted to change it.
But without any such attempt, there was only one possibility for such a sudden change.
“…Transcendent beings.”
Even prophets receiving revelations from the heavens struggled to predict their movements.
Their sudden whims could often lead to disasters that would engulf the world…
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