Overgeared

The absolute nature of a dragon was innate. They rightfully reigned with their innate body, magic, and powers.

Then what if that innate absoluteness became useless?

'It is annoying.'

First of all, his freedom was suppressed. He couldn't show the speed of crossing the continent with just a few flaps of his wings.

Hayate responded. The Dragon Killing Sword not only often neutralized his absolute defense, but also blocked his movement. The waves contained in the blades that pierced that scales caused the body to stiffen. It was safe to say that Hayate's very existence was a contradiction to the dragons.

Rumors were usually exaggerated, but in his case, it was the complete opposite. The rumors were far short of his actual skills.

Then what about Marie Rose, who broke in one step later? She was the rightful successor of Beriache. She had an ability with a low chance of mutating, blood absorption, and was equivalent to the Three Evils of the Beginning, but she suffered no penalties on the surface. This was extremely threatening.

Did she consume some of the blood that Hayate shed to embody some of the power of a Dragon Slayer? There seemed to be no exaggeration to the rumor that Beriache exerted the power of 10,000 demons alone when she fought against Baal for supremacy of hell.

Marie Rose's intervention made Bunhelier feel like he was dealing with two Dragon Slayers. His movements were blocked more easily and his absolute defense and scales became neutralized more often. He used a Breath to try and reverse the situation, but even the result of that was disappointing. The influence exerted by the Sword Saint, who was still a child, was slightly annoying.

Was his name Kraugel? He interacted with Hayate's sword energy and read Hayate's intentions. It was like a sword that moved on its own. He was a person that Hayate wielded along with the Dragon Killing Sword.

The performance of the one who cut at Bunhelier's breathing at every moment and stopped the activation of the Breath was fatal when combined with the performances of Hayate and Marie Rose. There weren't many means Bunhelier could rely on to escape this frustrating situation.

First, magic. Dragons could cast multiple spells that they understood without any restrictions. It was a talent with a very good compatibility with Bunhelier, who was an old dragon and liked planning. By studying the magic of species inferior to him, Bunhelier could cast hundreds of thousands of spells simultaneously. He used this ability to easily put Hayate into danger.

However, Marie Rose's presence put limits on his magic. The magic power that was mixed with demonic energy failed to disobey Marie Rose's will and rebelled against Bunhelier. He couldn't complete the magic.

Second, physical strength. An old dragon was huge and fast. It was safe to say that there was no limit to the power exerted by a body that reached up to several hundred meters, including the tail. Additionally, he was like an immortal creature and had the ability to regenerate at high speed. It meant that there was no problem even if his absolute defense and scales were pierced and he got hurt. A natural disaster would occur if he wielded this invincible body and the enemy would naturally be killed.

It was only a story of when the attack hit. It had a large attack area, so the dragon's hit rate was practically close to 100%. It was just that the opponents were too bad this time. Both Hayate, who had advanced to the point of facing Martial God Zeratul head-on, and Marie Rose, who controlled the flow of magic power, didn't easily allow any attacks.

'They are like flies.'

The winged beast thought while spitting. In the end, there was only one answer.

Dragon Words—he had to reverse all the disadvantageous situations with the strongest of a dragon's powers. Of course, it wasn't easy. If Bunhelier could use powerful Dragon Words like other old dragons, then the situation wouldn't be so disadvantageous.

Unfortunately, there was a flaw in Bunhelier's Dragon Words. It was even worse than the Dragon Words of some of the top dragons. It was natural. As Cranbel had said, Dragon Words were something tempered through the fulfillment of the covenant.

It was the only power among all the powers that a dragon was born with that needed training. Bunhelier had enough problems with his heart to the point of degenerating to an evil dragon, so the number of times he fulfilled a covenant was naturally small. This meant his Dragon Words didn't grow properly.

'I have to train it this time.'

Bunhelier saw the crisis as an opportunity. He vowed to use today's humiliation as a stepping stone for transcendence.

[I will kill 10,000 humans.]

It was sudden nonsense. The moment Bunhelier spoke, Hayate's group felt their bodies becoming light. They realized that the pressure of the Dragon Words that had been crushing them was gone.

"……!"

"Hmm."

Marie Rose, Hayate, and Kraugel immediately noticed Bunhelier's intentions. Their level of understanding was the same, regardless of the level of their skills. It was their reaction that was different. Marie Rose just yawned, while Hayate immediately descended to the ground. Kraugel…

He broke the White Tiger Sword. The ultimate in growth-type items that was made with Grid—he permanently lost the myth-rated item that had developed with him over the years. It was in order to protect Hayate.

The reason why Bunhelier failed to maintain the speed of light was the Dragon Killing Sword. He was only temporarily slowed down before he became stiff whenever he collided with the Dragon Killing Sword. Outside of the range of the Dragon Killing Sword, Bunhelier was still free. The speed of the bastard who aimed at a place without Hayate couldn't be perceived by the civilians at all.

"……?"

It felt like the black dots that flashed in a dizzying manner and embroidered the sky became slightly larger. By the time the humans on the ground had this thought, Bunhelier's shadow was already covering the ground.

The sight of the giant dragon just in front of them frightened people. However, the speed of the storm was much faster than their screams. It was a storm created by Bunhelier who simply 'moved.' It swept away the crowd before people could even scream. It contained a destructive power that could easily tear apart human flesh and bones. It happened as people's skins were cracking and blood flowed…

Hayate chased after Bunhelier and landed among the crowd. He enveloped the people with the waves of the Dragon Killing Sword that was split into particles and spread. The people were protected thanks to this.

However, Hayate revealed a gap. From the perspective of Bunhelier, who was simply trying to strengthen his Dragon Words by fulfilling the covenant, it was an unexpected windfall.

Killing 10 thousand human beings—his Dragon Words wouldn't grow dramatically even if he fulfilled this covenant. In a situation that was unfortunate for him, Hayate's actions became self-defeating. This was a great fortune for Bunhelier.

He immediately slammed his foot down toward Hayate. He accurately grasped that Hayate had weakened in the aftermath of dispersing the waves of the Dragon Killing Sword and he quickly targeted it.

However, the attack failed. Fragments of something that was as transparent as glass combined with Hayate's strong self-defense. The fragments of the White Tiger Sword filled up the gaps in the sword energy.

Sword's Sacrifice—sacrifice a sword to protect a target. The utilization was low due to the restriction that the target needed to have sword energy, but the stronger the rating and power of the sacrificed sword, the greater the effect. Thanks to this, Hayate was able to hold on for a long time even after being trampled by Bunhelier's huge foot.

"There is no one normal among the old dragons."

"……"

People couldn't close their mouths. The dragon's foot that was bigger than a house—they stared blankly at the back of the Absolute, who lifted something that should've crushed him like he was an ant.

The scattered Dragon Killing Sword gathered again and took the form of a sword. It was held in Hayate's hand and dug into the sole of Bunhelier's foot little by little.

"You don't even know honor. It is disappointing."

[A rat who has been hiding for over 1,000 years is talking about honor?]

Bunhelier reacted emotionally. It was proof that he had little room for relaxation in his mind. It was because the senses he spread across the continent noticed Nevartan waking up. That guy was coming soon. It was impossible to get rid of everyone in front of him.

However, simply retreating was a serious problem. There were too many witnesses. The act of fleeing would become the achievement of those who participated in the battle and he would suffer a great deal of damage to his status. He could even regress.

The point was simple. It was enough if he didn't seem to be running away.

[I will punish you.]

Bunhelier spoke with rough breathing before his momentum changed in an instant. It was the result of focusing all his senses that he had spread across the continent. Hayate, who had been pushing Bunhelier away little by little, became startled and stepped back. Then Bunhelier's gaze shifted upward.

He caught sight of Marie Rose, who had become quiet at a certain point, dozing off. Bunhelier tried to ignore it. He stared at Kraugel, who had become ragged and couldn't even breathe properly.

"……!"

Hayate read Bunhelier's aim and was about to jump out in a hurry, only to stop. It was because Bunhelier utilized the magic power that had been freed after Marie Rose was struck by the Curse of Sloth. Hundreds of thousands of spells were cast at the same time and aimed at humans. Hayate couldn't ignore them.

In the sky, Kraugel was smiling. It was as if he was saying not to worry about him.

A dark pillar soared. The Dragon Breath turned Kraugel's body into ashes. At that same time, Hayate screamed in a desperate manner as he cut down the magic shot at the humans.

It was the moment when the winner and the loser were decided. The people who hadn't been able to read the flow of the battle in the first place perceived the winner as Bunhelier due to this moment.

[Look forward to the next punishment.]

Bunhelier turned his back, spread open his wings, and left. He was clearly running away, but in the eyes of the people, it became glorified as the winner's leisure.

Hayate couldn't chase after him. The Dragon Killing Sword might have a superior advantage over a dragon, but Hayate's body was weak when compared to Bunhelier's body. Every time he collided with Bunhelier, he felt pain as if his bones and flesh were separating and his physical strength was rapidly consumed. Even if a human transcended and became an Absolute, how could they compare to an old dragon?

Just as Bunhelier was nervous due to being conscious of Nevartan, Hayate was nervous because he knew his physical strength was limited. He realized that he couldn't buy enough time if he chased after Bunhelier in his current state.

'I would've pursued him if the vampire duke was with me.'

Unfortunately, he couldn't expect anything from her, who was already half asleep. Hopefully, Nevartan would succeed in chasing Bunhelier and they would deal devastating blows to each other.

Hayate's face was full of remorse as he stood still and looked at the horizon.

Kraugel—the present day Sword Saint and Pioneer. Hayate lamented that Kraugel sacrificed himself for Hayate while helping, rather than being able to rely on Hayate.

"I am fine. It is enough as long as you are safe."

"……"

Kraugel quickly returned to the scene thanks to the close resurrection spot and cooled the atmosphere for a moment, but there were no major problems. Hayate understood the characteristics of the players.

In any case, Kraugel's expression wasn't bad. He might've lost his sword and more than half his experience bar, but he gained a higher status and a title. It was a right that he earned by fighting an old dragon to defend Hayate. It was safe to say that it would be a benefit in the long run. Of course, this was the story when trying to interpret it positively. Unlike his outward appearance, Kraugel's insides were burning.

'My sword…'

It was the ideal sword that Grid had made according to his wishes. It was a sword that developed together with him from the normal rating and was reborn as his soul companion. It meant he had lost his most precious treasure.

Kraugel was comforted by the fact that he helped Hayate, but it was hard for him to be in a normal mental state…