Only six of the original twenty hunters remained alive. And now, with Saburo's death, chaos completely engulfed the survivors. They screamed and ran around like headless chickens, driven mad by fear. Irritated by the sudden noise, the dragon exhaled a small breath of fire, incinerating more humans where they stood.
Renji gritted his teeth as the flames washed over him. He realized there was no escape. He would die here.
But then, something flashed in the corner of his vision. An altar—previously hidden beneath the massive body of the dragon—now revealed itself fully. Upon it burned a small blue flame, but the fire burned with a ferocity and will that made it seem… alive. His instincts, which he deeply regretted not trusting an hour ago, screamed at him now. The blue flame was the key.
And with nothing left to lose but his life, Renji launched himself forward.
The dragon, having just finished off the rest of the humans, finally noticed him. An almost human smile crept across its jaws before it swung its claws toward the lone surviving hunter.
Renji shoved off the ground, barely dodging the razor-sharp claws by a hair's breadth. But before he could advance further, a massive tail appeared in front of him, swinging with lethal speed while he was still mid-air. Unable to dodge it, Renji twisted his body and opened his hand. With a few swift movements, he redirected the tail slightly, just enough so that instead of crushing his torso, it struck his left arm.
He winced as the force completely tore apart his arm.
Landing on his feet, he stumbled slightly—his body now off-balance. But what might take others weeks or months to adjust to, Renji recalibrated within seconds. Even the dragon noticed. The human, though maimed and bleeding profusely, stood firm, unshaken.
The two stood in silence, as if daring the other to move first.
Renji moved. He ducked, his body nearly parallel to the ground, as the dragon's jaws snapped above him. He retaliated with a kick to the underside of its chin, but the strike didn't even leave a scratch.
Realizing that attacking the beast was pointless, he turned his focus back to the altar.
Then—blinding light.
Something hot and blinding rushed toward him. Trusting his instincts, Renji leaped back and dove behind a large piece of fallen rubble just as a torrent of dragonfire engulfed the chamber.
He clenched his eyes shut. It felt like they might pop from the sheer heat. The fire melted most of the rubble into slag.
Panting, he caught his breath, heart pounding. He needed to escape—but if he ran now, the dragon would turn him to ash. Then, he noticed something—a corpse beside him. A hunter.
Without hesitation, he grabbed the sword still clutched in the corpse's grip and swung it a few times, getting a feel for its weight. Once he understood its balance, he stepped back and tensed every muscle in his remaining arm. He couldn't see his target from behind the rubble, but he knew where to aim.
With a loud cry, he hurled the sword like a javelin.
It whistled through the air, aimed straight for the dragon's eye. For a brief moment, the dragon focused on it, then casually swatted it away with its claws.
Disappointment flickered across its face, as though it had expected more.
It retaliated with a searing, focused beam of fire, obliterating the rubble entirely.
But Renji wasn't there.
In the split second the dragon had been distracted, Renji had slipped away—now launching himself through the air, level with the dragon's massive head.
He poured all his remaining mana into his right arm. His gauntlets had long since shattered under the dragon's blows. His skin tore. His muscles split open. The concentrated mana ravaged his body.
But even as every nerve screamed in agony, he punched.
The dragon didn't flinch. Of course, it didn't. A D-Rank hunter could never harm an S-Rank beast. No matter how much mana or will he possessed, the difference in rank was an unbreakable wall.
But hurting the dragon wasn't his goal.
The recoil from his punch hurled him backward like a slingshot. With a crash, he landed right at the foot of the altar.
Breathing heavily, he dragged himself forward. His broken, mangled body reached out, just inches from the blue flame.
Then, he coughed and blood poured from his mouth.
Looking down, he saw a claw impaling him through the chest, straight through the heart.
He had no strength left. The dragon lifted him gently and placed him over the altar. The blue flame entered through the wound, seeping into every fiber of his being.
A colossal wave of mana surged from the dragon. He realized, at that moment, the beast had been toying with him all along.
Then, something impossible happened.
The dragon opened its maw and spoke again in monster tongue. Renji didn't know how, but he could understand it—at least partially.
"Finally. A vessel worthy of the essence of a Monarch."
Before darkness took him, he saw a radiant golden light engulf his vision. And standing before the dragon was an angelic being.