Chapter 117: Happy Birthday to You (3)

Looking at the map marked by Tubby and Weakling, I arrived near the new criminal organization's building.

"What's this? There's someone at the entrance. Everyone stop for a moment."

Swish-

I raised my arm to stop the heroes. Then I carefully observed the person who had come out to greet us.

'Hmm, something's off. Is he a villain?'

Muscular body. A huge sword on his back. One faded eye. An aura that looks quite strong at a glance.

I raised my voice and shouted at the man in the distance.

"Hey, you there. Did you come out to greet us because you knew we were coming?"

"..."

The man stared at me for a long time without saying anything.

'His gaze is a bit uncomfortable.'

I'm not into that.

A man's gaze isn't very welcome. Just as I was starting to feel a bit annoyed,

"It would be better to beat you up moderately."

The man muttered something and drew the sword tied to his back. And then.

Crack-!

He stepped on the asphalt ground and sprang up like a spring. Then he swung the huge sword at me and said.

"Are you a dragon?"

"...!!"

...He knows about dragons?

I bent my waist like a scene from The Matrix to avoid the huge sword. Then I barely dodged the man's following attack and retreated backward.

"What the hell, who are you?"

"Answer the question. Are you a dragon?"

"This guy's crazy."

He's completely insane, especially the one eye looking at me is the craziest.

It's like looking at a gambler from the slums.

'All those bastards deeply obsessed with something had eyes like that.'

It's the kids' birthday today and I needed to get back quickly.

It seems like it'll be later than I thought.

"Why does this have to happen on such an important day?"

Sigh-

I sighed and said to the heroes waiting behind me.

"You guys go to the places marked on the map. I'll handle this one."

Even if there are many heroes, it's not a good situation.This guy is hard for even me with dragon magic to handle.

'If that was him holding back... This fight might be tough.'

In the worst case, I might not even be able to attend the kids' birthday party. So, I sent the rest of the heroes to other locations and faced off with him alone.

Only then could I ask comfortably.

"You asked if I was a dragon earlier. What's that about?"

The man answered without changing his expression.

"It's exactly as I said. Are you a dragon enjoying amusement?"

He even knows about amusement. He seems to know quite a lot about dragons.

I said, sweating slightly.

"No. I'm not a dragon."

"Then are there dragons around you?"

"...No."

"That's strange. If you're not a dragon, you shouldn't have such magic power."

Swish-

The man raised his huge sword again and shouted.

"Then if I cut open your belly, I'll know what you are."

"This guy's just crazy! Who the hell are you?!"

"I'm a Dragon Slayer."

With those words, the man swung his sword precisely at my belly.

I summoned dragon magic and quickly moved backward, but the man who called himself a Dragon Slayer kept swinging his sword without giving me a moment's rest.

Sometimes he swung the sword straight, sometimes diagonally.

His swordsmanship was quite irregular, making it difficult to dodge perfectly. Because of this, cuts started appearing on my tough skin, and areas where blood flowed increased.

'Even so, with my regeneration ability, it should heal quickly... Huh...?'

It's not healing.

For some reason, the wounds from his attacks weren't healing, and blood kept flowing.

As I was slightly flustered, the man said to me as if it were obvious.

"Only dragons can kill dragons. My sword is made from a Black Dragon's tooth. You can't use regeneration abilities that use dragon magic."

"Damn it...!"

I retreated, sweating profusely. And one certainty flashed through my mind.

'Is this guy really a Dragon Slayer...?'

He seems to have actually killed dragons.

Even while facing me, he didn't look tired at all. Rather, if he wanted to, he could easily kill me.

The only reason he's not killing me is.

"Before I cut open your belly, I'll ask. Tell me the location of the dragons near you. If you tell me, I'll let you live."

Dragons. He wants to know my daughters' location.

I panted and raised a finger to answer his question.

"...F*ck off."

"Such foul language. I don't want to waste time. If you don't intend to talk, I have no choice but to kill you."

At that moment, the Dragon Slayer's one eye changed.

The back of the huge sword, which had been somewhat dodgeable until now, struck my waist hard.

"Ugh-!"

Feeling a pain I'd never experienced before, my body flew into an old building in an instant.

Boom-!

"Cough- Damn it..."

Blood flowed from my mouth. I tried to move my body, but I couldn't.

The Dragon Slayer walked slowly towards me and asked me once more.

"If you tell me the dragons' location now, I'll spare your life."

"Cough-"

I've always considered my life important. I've struggled to survive from the bottom, considering my survival more important than anything.

But.

'How could I abandon my children?'

I've changed since meeting them.

I started feeling happiness in life, enjoying each day, and dreaming of a future where they grow up. There's no way I could abandon them to save myself.

I raised my trembling arm and gave him the middle finger.

"F*ck... off..."

"The same answer. Well then, farewell."

Swoosh-

The huge sword flying towards me to cut me in half.

'I wanted to see those idiots grow up more.'

Feeling regret, and sorry for making them experience the pain of losing a parent like I did, I quietly murmured my final regret.

"My daughters... I couldn't even wish them a happy birthday..."

"..."

Pause-

Is the Dragon Slayer wavering at my words about having children?

His eyes shook for a moment and he stopped his sword. But as if he had regained his resolve, he raised his sword high to strike down. This time, as if he would kill me properly without hesitation.

But did that brief hesitation create time?

"Hey, get your hands off him!"

Crackle-!!!

Suddenly, lightning struck from the sky, piercing through the Dragon Slayer's body.

The Dragon Slayer staggered for a moment and turned his head towards the direction of the voice.

"This lightning... and this magic power..."

"A Dragon Slayer bullying an ordinary human with children? Your actions don't live up to your name, do they?"

"Yellow Dragon...!!"

Ha-

Yellow Dragon. Yunari looked at the Dragon Slayer with playful eyes.

The Dragon Slayer looked at me and then glared at Yunari with hatred-filled eyes.

"Did this human's magic power come from you?"

"Ah, that? I just gave it for fun because I was bored. I thought it would be interesting. But you've ruined all the fun. This amusement is ruined."

Grind-

The Dragon Slayer gritted his teeth, watching Yunari answer with a light attitude. That eerie sound seemed to show the Dragon Slayer's hatred for dragons.

"You dragons are always the same. You enjoy amusement with a light attitude and cause chaos in the human world. That's why I can't help but despise you."

"Ha, what does my enjoyment have to do with you? Are you jealous because I'm enjoying myself alone? You're enjoying yourself with your Dragon Slayer concept too."

"...Further conversation is meaningless."

Crackle-!

A storm of magic power began to surround the Dragon Slayer's sword. At this, the Yellow Dragon pointed at me and said.

"You rest. When you wake up again, everything will be over."

Zap-!

Electricity flowed from the Yellow Dragon's outstretched finger. I was hit by that electricity and my whole body went limp, my eyes starting to close.

I couldn't witness the battle between the Dragon Slayer and the Yellow Dragon, but I was certain that the battle wouldn't be a one-sided victory.

'Damn it...'

***

When I opened my eyes again.

"Oh? This bastard is smiling? Must have had a good dream?"

In front of my eyes was Yunari, covered in wounds, grinning. Throwing away the lower-class image, it was a typical Yellow Dragon appearance full of mischief.

I immediately asked Yunari.

"That Dragon Slayer... what happened to him...?"

"Him? He ran away. He noticed that higher-ranked heroes were coming with the Association President's support."

"That's a relief then..."

I'm glad the Yellow Dragon didn't die.

I thought so, but unlike me, the Yellow Dragon's reaction wasn't good.

"No, it's not a relief."

"Why...?"

"First of all, that Dragon Slayer. He's a very cool-headed type. Even with that much desire for revenge, he doesn't lose his reason when seeing a dragon right in front of him. He's the type to wait for the next opportunity to take revenge."

"Ah..."

"And, I have to end this Yunari amusement too! The lower-class play was fun! I'm so disappointed!"

Hmph-!

The Yellow Dragon stomped on the ground, making a fuss for no reason. Come to think of it, the surrounding buildings were quite collapsed.

'Did some typhoon come and go...?'

The whole surrounding area was completely destroyed.

As I was briefly distracted by the surroundings, the Yellow Dragon appeared holding a human that looked exactly like her.

"What's that...?"

"This is a Yunari doll. She's a dead person from today. She died after getting caught up in the incident."

"Does she really have to become a dead person...?"

"Even if it's a fun game, there needs to be an end. Otherwise, I'll keep wanting to play. The beginning and ending are important in amusement."

The Yellow Dragon said this while stuffing the Yunari doll under a building. Then, she held out her hand to me and said.

"You should go to the hospital for treatment too. Ugh, my body's a mess. I can't even regenerate."

"What about you, Yellow Dragon...?"

"I need to treat my wounds too. I'll sleep a bit and then start another amusement. I have so many concepts I want to try."

Giggle-

I wonder what concept she'll choose next. The Yellow Dragon seemed both amazing and scary.

"Ah, right. More importantly, what time is it now?"

"Now? Around 11 or 12 o'clock?"

"This won't do... The work is all finished, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then I'm going first! Thanks for the help. I'll contact you later!"

"Hey, where are you going in that condition other than the hospital!"

"I have something to do!"

Dash-

I ignored the Yellow Dragon telling me to go to the hospital and ran.

Before this day ends, I have to celebrate the children's birthday.

'I look terrible.'

But.

To celebrate the children's first birthday, I barely dragged my creaking body, holding the cake I had hidden in front of the door.

Creak-

"Dad's here! Happy Birthday! Kids, happy birthday!"

To celebrate their first dragon birthday, I handed the delicious cake to them.

The children who had been waiting for me brightened up.

"It's Dad! He came to celebrate our birth-"

"You had 1 minute left, Dad. We thought we weren't impor-"

"Father, welcome home! We were waiting... huh...?"

"Woof-! Whine..."

But that was only for a moment. Seeing my body full of wounds, they all froze.

The kids supported my body as I was about to collapse and asked.

"Dad, what happened to your body?! W-Who? Who on earth did this to you! I'll kill them instead!"

Hwaryeon's horns turned red with anger.

"Those trash humans... How dare they... do this to Dad...?"

Was the shock too big for Suryeon? The sound of hail falling along with rain could be heard from outside.

"F-Father... W-What are these wounds...! I-I'll lick them to heal you...! Don't be in pain- W-Why isn't it healing...? W-What should I do... F-Father can't die..."

Choryeon tried hard to heal my wounds, but her pupils shook and she started to panic when my wounds didn't heal.

'Still, it's comfortable to be home...'

Home is the best after all. I'm glad I wasn't late for their birthday.

Thinking this, as my eyes slowly closed, I said.

"Happy birthday, everyone..."

"D-Dad!"

Thud-

And so my body collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. As my consciousness faded, I could only hear the children's urgent voices.

"D-Dad! Who on earth did this to you! I-I'll kill them all!"

"Hwaryeon. Calm down. We need to solve this c-calmly... We need to take Dad to the hospital... I remember the location..."

"Q-Quickly, let's take Father to the hospital! Father can't die! Absolutely not! If Father isn't in this world, it won't be beautiful! B-Birthday cake...! I'll make a wish...! Please save Father...! Please..."

And so.

With the voices of the children urgently taking me to the hospital, I completely lost consciousness.