I Became the Only Reptile in the Community

Chapter 43

#Only READ at DarkstarTranslations
—–CROW—– 

*Drip. Drip.*

What, what was happening?

Pain accompanied the sensation of a hot liquid flowing from his throat.

Blood, red like his eyes, flowed down his neck, gradually staining his black scales crimson.

He should have been holding his own in the fight against the Dragon King.

He’d refined the techniques learned from his previous battle with the Dragon King’s daughter, and finally, he’d even used Lion’s Roar to create an opening and land a successful attack.

‘No, could that even be called a success?’

He hadn’t perceived it.

An imperceptible attack that pierced through his Lion’s Roar.

It had sliced his throat in an instant, inflicting this wound.

If he hadn’t sensed something amiss midway and twisted his neck, the wound could have been deeper, potentially life-threatening.

Even if he had managed to injure the Dragon King, allowing a counterattack like that made this closer to a failure than a success.

*Gulp.*

The one fortunate thing was that his body was recovering in real-time.

Well, the same seemed to be true for the Dragon King.

Since both of them wielded the power of the Yeouiju, it was only natural that the level of recovery would differ, but the ability itself was of the same kind.

“[But… who are you?]”

However, the reason for this momentary lull in the fight was this mysterious being who had suddenly appeared.

An unidentified figure cloaked in an unknown black substance, whether darkness or shadow.

“This is our first time meeting like this, isn’t it?”

The figure, whose gender was difficult to discern from both voice and appearance, waved a hand at him in a friendly gesture.

That reaction, as if they knew him.  Could this be the presence he’d occasionally sensed before, only for it to disappear?

“Darkness shrouding your entire body, and black wings. Yes, I’ve heard about you.”

“Hmm? About me?”

As the figure tilted their head, scratching their cheek, the Dragon King rotated his arm, now fully healed from the earlier injury, and spoke.

“I hear there’s someone who recently inflicted significant damage on the Wind Spirit King and stole the item he was sealing. And that culprit, like you standing before me, is cloaked in darkness and has black wings.”

“Hmm~ It could just be a coincidence, a similar ability or characteristic leading to a misunderstanding, right?”

“Yes. You could be right.”

*Rumble.*

“But I doubt there are two individuals with such unique traits among those powerful enough to defeat the Wind Spirit King.”

“Aha?”

*Swish.*

A thin, thread-like line appeared on the figure’s head as they reacted to the Dragon King’s words, as if realizing something, and their head split in two along the line.

‘That attack is definitely the one that sliced my throat.’

Back then, it had been obscured by the Lion’s Roar, preventing him from seeing it clearly, but this time, he caught it perfectly.

It was just a swift flick of the wrist, as if creating and launching a slash from a sword.

A near-perfect technique achieved solely through physical strength.

“[I’d like to copy that, but my body wouldn’t be able to handle it.]”

If he were to try, the power would likely be inferior to the Dragon King’s, and the body part used would be severely injured.

“Haha! That’s an interesting attack!”

Despite having their head split by the Dragon King’s attack, the figure didn’t die. Instead, they began to laugh as if amused.

*Splatter.*

Like clay being molded together, the darkness gathered, and the figure returned to its original form, as if the Dragon King’s attack had never happened.

The Dragon King’s face contorted into a strange expression, and his dragon eyes gleamed sharply.

“What is that power?”

“Curious, aren’t you?! But I won’t tell you. This is a success I’d call my masterpiece! Of course, depending on the quality of the ones I’m creating now, it might lose that title! Ah, maybe I should call it a temporary masterpiece?”

“If you don’t intend to tell me, then disappear.”

The Dragon King’s hand moved swiftly again, and another thin line appeared on the figure’s body, splitting it apart.

*Splatter.*

“Hey. You can’t kill me with this.  I don’t call it a temporary masterpiece for nothing!”

Of course, the figure immediately regenerated once more.

After this same exchange repeated several times, the Dragon King finally stopped attacking.

“Why are you here?”

“I was passing by and saw something interesting.  I sensed the power of someone I fought a few days ago, so I came out of curiosity, and hehe.”

If they were referring to the power of someone they fought a few days ago, were they talking about the Wind Spirit King’s power within the Typhoon’s Jewel?

The sheer scale of that power made it hard to deny their claim.

The Dragon King himself had likely arrived here thanks to that massive typhoon.

“Then you should have just watched quietly. Why interfere?”

“To stop the old eel’s tricks, of course.”

Old eel.

At that clearly sarcastic remark towards the Dragon King, his daughter, who was watching the fight from behind, yelled.

“Who are you calling an old eel?!”

“Quiet, little eel! You don’t ignite my research spirit at all.”

*Creak.*

“If you annoy me, I might just kill you.”

*Swish.*

“Oops. Did I say something wrong?”

Having once again experienced being split apart, the figure asked the Dragon King as if wondering what the problem was.

“You were trying to kill the kid behind me too, weren’t you? Why are you making such a fuss?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“Oh, it is!”

Suddenly, the figure swelled with darkness, enclosing El as if creating a fence around him.

However, El sensed the figure’s intent to protect him from the Dragon King, so he didn’t resist and simply lay down within the enclosure.

“This is one of the few things that are my business in my life right now.”

“Have you met him before?”

“Of course! I just watched from afar, but still. Hehehe. Truly, every time I see him, he makes my heart race, and it’s been so hard to resist. You probably wouldn’t understand, Dragon King.”

The blatant admission of having observed him sent shivers down his spine.  He started to wonder if he should even be inside this enclosure.

Could he end up being kidnapped like this?

“So, are you going to take him with you like this?”

“No. Of course, he’s still setting my heart ablaze! But he’s not fully ripe yet.  I’ve also gathered the ingredients to soothe my heart, so I’ll hold off.”

It seemed they weren’t going to kidnap him after all.

Well, it still seemed risky, but judging by their words, they were trying to protect him from the Dragon King who wanted to kill him, so he had no choice but to trust them.

“His talent is dangerous. You must know that if he’s given more time, no one might be able to stop him.”

“Unlike you, I’m different. I actually like it when someone gets stronger.”

*Click.*

“I don’t understand old fogies like you. When a talented sprout appears, you should nurture them, water them, fertilize them, and give them plenty of sunlight.  But you try to kill them instead.  Are you all out of your minds?”

A light gesture of twirling a finger around their temple.

However, the Dragon King scoffed at their words.

“Well, there’s a limit to what we can tolerate. If their talent is such that it crushes the spirits and wills of other talented sprouts around them, there’s no reason for us to nurture them.”

“Aha. Is this that whole ‘sacrifice the few for the many’ thing?”

“Of course, I’m not saying I’ll kill him right now.”

“But judging by how you were attacking just now, it looked like you were about to.”

The tense exchange, with neither side yielding an inch, made El feel awkward just listening.

Naturally, throughout this, he remained lying quietly within the darkness enclosure, focusing on their argument… and posting on the gallery with pictures of them along with a caption.

Since he was back, he might as well post something like this.

[Is this fight for real?  My heart is pounding!]

-Author: DragonSnack

(Picture of the Dragon King and the strange figure cloaked in darkness)

They’re about to fight over me right now.

The Dragon King wants to kill me, and this unidentified dark human, Teach, is protecting me.

-?

-You’ve barely been back, and you’re already trying to die?

-Dragon King?  That uncle who looks like he’d pass out drunk on the street is the *real* Dragon King?

└lol So harsh.

└But looking at him, I can almost smell the alcohol.

└(Author): If you get close, you can actually smell the alcohol.

└Is that for real?

Naturally, the reactions were explosive.

The appearance of a jaw-dropping existence on top of his own, combined with a life-or-death situation, was bound to draw attention.

If things went even slightly wrong here, he might have to say goodbye to the gallery forever.

-So what is that black blob?

└That’s the dark human protecting our gallery owner.

└Whoa, Teach!

└Zehahahaha!

-But why is the Dragon King suddenly trying to kill our gallery owner?

└(Author): Because my talent is too outstanding?

└?

└?

└ㄷㄷ.

-Ah, so can that dark human stop the Dragon King? Is our gallery owner going to die like this?

└Teach, fighting!

└You can do it!

└lol

-That darkness and wings look familiar.

└?

└Brak Hor!

└No, seriously. I feel like I’ve seen that somewhere before.

“Why don’t you just go back? I don’t mind fighting, but what if your daughter gets caught in the crossfire?”

“…You have a talent for phrasing threats in an amusing way.”

“Threats? I’m just saying this out of concern!”

“Concern, you say?”

*Crackle. Boom.*

“Then you should have started by getting rid of that disgusting thing you created behind my daughter.”

“Oops. You caught me.”

A small bolt of lightning struck from the sky, shattering the darkness-formed thorns that were targeting his daughter.

“Sorry, little eel. I’ll aim better next time!”

However, the figure’s intent was clearly conveyed to the Dragon King through this action.

If they were to fight, his daughter would not be safe.

“Let’s see. Which of my surprise attack or assassination creations…”

“…Stop it.”

“Hmm? Weren’t you acting like you wanted to fight just now? Don’t tell me you’re already getting forgetful? An old eel with dementia! I’ve never made a creation that’s good for dementia! What am I going to do if you can’t even control your bowels?!”

*Grit.*

Whoa, are his teeth going to break?

More importantly, what were they doing, continuing to provoke like that?

You’re trying to protect me… right?

Their skill at provocation exceeded his expectations, and he couldn’t help but feel a little worried.

—–CROW—– 

#Only READ at DarkstarTranslations