Yeah. In this state, I must look laughable.
They’d just toppled a giant of earth dozens of times larger than me—of course they were riding high.
But….
“…Even now, you think I’m not worth a single punch? Kuoo.”
My body, small as a kitten’s, began to grow.
In moments, I was twice the size of the earth giant from before—an imposing, fully grown dragon.
Kang Cheon and the Espers gaped, mouths hanging open.
“Kuooooooo!”
I let out a thunderous roar.
At my roar, the castle of packed earth shuddered violently.
As they grasped what I was, their gasps broke out in unison.
“D-Dragon…!”
“Why is a dragon here…!”
“Run—run!”
Too late to run now.
“…You think I’ll let you flee? Kuoo?”
I opened my jaws wide.
Since Kang Cheon’s so confident in his fire, I ought to show him what real fire is.
I gathered a breath in my mouth.
I’d wanted to try it at least once. Breath.
I drew Mana in, pooled it in my maw, and blasted flame at the Espers’ backs as they bolted in panic.
“Aaaagh!”
“Help! Aagh!”
“Aaaaaah!”
A merciless inferno.
Flames so hot they blazed past red into cold blue engulfed every Esper but Kang Cheon; they didn’t even manage proper screams before they turned to ash and scattered.
Kang Cheon, the only one left alive among them, stared blankly at the comrades who had vanished in an instant.
I smiled thinly.
I couldn’t kill Kang Cheon easily.
Memories of my life as a killer skimmed through my mind.
I learned plenty doing that work, but one field suited me especially well.
Torture.
It matched my talents, so whenever we took jobs as a group, I usually handled the torture.
A truly meaningful set of memories.
I wondered if I’d ever get to use those skills here—and now, here we are.
“…Well then, shall we begin a pleasant little torture game? Kuoo.”
Time to pay him back for what Kim Wooju suffered.
I conjured a generous amount of the flames Kang Cheon loved so much.
At the sight of fire, Kang Cheon went chalk-pale.
Watching him, I laughed playfully and said:
“Now, this’ll sting a little.”
And so, to the sound of Kang Cheon’s tearing screams, a delightful torture session began.
***
'He’s cool… ridiculously cool….'
Kim Wooju stared blankly at me, manifested in my dragon form.
'…So that’s your real body, huh?'
It was breathtakingly attractive.
I’d thought he was cute when small, but enlarged—he wasn’t cute; he was magnificent.
The killing intent pouring off his body didn’t frighten him; if anything, it thrilled him.
Wooju watched as I tortured Kang Cheon.
Not the usual smile he often showed me, but a vicious one—this new Aru looked down at Kang Cheon, who was howling in pain.
'Mm, that’s a little unpleasant….'
He knew I was avenging him, of course… but he didn’t like that my gaze was on someone else.
Aru’s eyes had to belong to him alone.
Wherever, whenever….
Seeing me again, Wooju made up his mind.
This time, he would never lose Aru. By any means necessary, he would make Aru his….
Soft-hearted Aru would never abandon him if he played weak.
So he kept acting gentle, kept pretending to know nothing, and stayed by Aru’s side.
The urge to own Aru, the urge to lick his scales, the sticky desire to shackle him and show him to no one—he hid all of it deep, deep in his heart.
'Look at me… not at him… me.'
Whatever happened to Kang Cheon didn’t matter.
He was trash to Wooju—nothing more, nothing less. What burned was the jealousy at Aru focusing on Kang Cheon and forgetting him.
Wooju unhesitatingly approached, brought his hand to the scales of the great dragon I had become.
Cold scales met his palm, the sensation traveling up through his hand. It felt unbelievably good.
I must have felt his touch. Startled, I looked down at him.
That alone filled him with satisfaction.
A sly smile curled at Wooju’s lips.
'Yes. That’s better. You should look only at me. That’s right. Not at filth like that. At me….'
Hiding his emotions with practiced ease, he let his eyes droop pitifully and whined:
“…Stop now and play with me, Aru.”
“…Ah, were you scared? Kuoo. I’m sorry. Kuoo. I didn’t think of you. Kuoo. Alright. Kuoo. I’ll stop. Kuoo.”
He’d put on the pitiful act hoping I’d fuss over him—but I merely assumed he’d been frightened and flailed, apologetic.
It didn’t matter.
Even enlarged, I was still gentle to him—and that was enough.
My attention had swung back to him as well.
With loving eyes, Wooju watched me hurriedly cease the torture at his words and turn Kang Cheon into ash in an instant.
There was nothing left to seize my gaze.
'No one but me….'
And that fact satisfied him immensely right now.
***
For Wooju, who looked frightened, I finished Kang Cheon quickly and then incinerated the sand giant with my breath.
Ordinarily, I wouldn’t want to kill a fellow Boss. But this S-rank Dungeon had to be closed.
Even in the original, it closed with Wooju’s sacrifice in the end.
In the end, the Earth perished because Dungeons multiplied exponentially and overwhelmed it—so it was best to close them whenever they appeared.
This time, unavoidably, I closed it myself. But going forward, I trusted the protagonist, Shin Biho, to do a proper job of it.
'…Is that the end?'
Once the Dungeon’s Boss—the giant—was dealt with, the castle began to crumble, and a portal appeared leading outside.
All that remained was to leave.
I shrank back down and flew to Wooju’s side, chattering about what he had to do once we stepped out.
From here on was the important part.
This was exactly Kim Wooju’s turning point.
“When we go out, I’ll cast an illusion to make you look like you’re on the verge of death. Kuoo. So you have to act sickly and wasting away. Kuoo. You must not regain consciousness. Kuoo. Understood? Kuoo? Even if it’s frustrating, endure it. Kuoo.”
“Yeah. Got it.”
At my words, Wooju nodded with vacant eyes.
He could have been curious about why I was making him do this, but he nodded obediently, as if he trusted me completely.
It felt like a heavy responsibility—but thinking it was for Wooju’s sake, I nodded back.
'…Isn’t he scared of me at all?'
Even after seeing my true dragon form, Wooju’s attitude toward me hadn’t changed.
Did he lack the concept of fear entirely?
Everyone else who had seen my true form either begged for their lives or ran.
Well, fine. It was reassuring that he treated me as usual.
With a mindset like his, he’d pull off the acting calmly and well.
I slipped back into Wooju’s pocket, as before.
Time to head out.
Just like when we entered, Wooju carefully held the pocket I was in with one hand and walked toward the portal.
With a blinding flash, I squeezed my eyes shut. When I opened them again, my—no, Wooju’s—body was slanted on the ground.
Just as I told him, he began acting—collapsing the instant he came out of the portal.
'…Now!'
I cast an illusion, making Wooju look like a blood-soaked wreck barely breathing.
To anyone else, he would appear to be at death’s door.
All that remained was to endure like this—until the government decided to throw him away.