Chapter 305 : A Temporary Alliance
Chapter 305: A Temporary Alliance
Aaron Stingray.
The moment Dwindrog saw his face, the first thing that came to mind wasn't anger, but confusion.
That was only natural.
Compared to the last time he had seen him, Aaron's appearance was so battered that it was hardly comparable.
“……Why have you come looking like that?”
Dwindrog asked without lowering his guard.
Aaron was still wearing the same black suit as before, but it was completely torn and soaked, leaving him looking little better than a beggar.
Liquid dripped steadily from the hems of his trousers and the tips of his hair.
At first, Dwindrog thought he had simply been caught in the rain, but the liquid was red.
Only then did Dwindrog realize that what had soaked Aaron's body was blood.
Aaron tilted his head at Dwindrog's question for a moment before letting out an "Ah," as though he had finally understood.
[It's not my blood. I ended up like this after fighting in the rain.]
“I wasn't worried about you.”
As he said that, Dwindrog examined Aaron's condition once again.
Just as Aaron had said, he merely looked somewhat exhausted. There didn't seem to be any particularly serious injuries.
Lying at his feet was a Japanese fox mask split neatly in half.
'Don't tell me... He was the one fighting those Ninjas...?'
Then again, those Ninja bastards had looked incredibly strong.
There couldn't have been many people in this city capable of reducing opponents like them to such a miserable state.
Including Aaron.
Well, that wasn't what mattered.
The important question was why he had come here.
And saying, "I've come to rescue you?"
Who was the one that had thrown him in here in the first place?
How shameless.
Or...
Did he have some other scheme?
“What are you here for?”
[Didn't I just say? I've come to rescue you.]
Shhh—
Aaron casually waved his hand through the air.
The corpses blocking his path floated upward before drifting aside.
Then, the moment he placed his hand against the glass wall, cracks spread in every direction before one side collapsed with a loud crash.
Step.
Step.
He walked toward the glass prison where Dwindrog was confined, moving slightly slower than usual.
Now that the distance between them had shortened, Aaron's presence and voice became much clearer.
“I have one condition.”
“A condition?”
Dwindrog let out a scoffing laugh.
“Wasn't it you who imprisoned me here in the first place? And now you wish to impose conditions while pretending you're doing me some great favor? There is a limit to shamelessness, mortal.”
“Don't you want to go home?”
“……!”
With that single sentence, Aaron silenced Dwindrog.
Dwindrog tried to maintain a poker face.
Of course, it was a meaningless effort.
Aaron couldn't read a Dragon's expressions anyway.
“I'll be honest. I need your help. Conversely, you need my help if you want to leave this place. If you promise to cooperate with me, I'll free you from here and even help you return to your original world.”
“……And you expect me to believe that?”
“Likewise, I have no guarantee that you won't betray me the day after I free you. Even so, I'm willing to take that risk and make you this offer.”
“……”
Dwindrog fell silent.
Just as Aaron had said, releasing him meant taking an enormous risk.
The fact that Aaron was offering such a deal despite knowing that suggested he had been driven into quite a desperate situation.
At that moment, Dwindrog roughly pieced together the situation Aaron was facing.
“Kahaha. Well, serves you right.”
“Why are you laughing?”
“From the looks of it, Chairman Stingray betrayed you. You need my help to escape that old snake's grasp. Am I wrong?”
“Your reasoning is surprisingly poor. I suppose not all Dragons are intelligent.”
“……What?”
As Dwindrog growled, Aaron brushed back his bangs and pointed behind him with his thumb toward the mountain of corpses.
“After seeing all that, that's really the only conclusion you can come up with?”
“……”
It certainly was strange.
Someone capable of wiping out enemies like those all by himself now claiming he needed Dwindrog's help.
This was a man who could probably survive even if the entire city turned against him.
So why?
Then a possibility flashed through Dwindrog's mind.
“The Sky Dragon...!”
“That's right.”
Aaron nodded.
Then he began explaining everything that had happened.
“Chairman Stingray carried out a terrorist attack.”
Starting with the sudden incident during the Stingray Annual Shareholders' Meeting...
His confrontation with the Chairman immediately afterward...
And everything that had happened since then.
After briefly explaining the events up until now, Aaron summarized the current situation in a single sentence.
“The monsters are coming.”
For a brief moment, anxiety flickered across Aaron's face.
A rare crack in his usual flawless poker face.
“You're a Possessor, so you already know. This was originally supposed to happen about two years later. Because of that, we've made absolutely no preparations.”
“No preparations...”
“My plan was to resolve the problems within the Stingray Group first, then devote myself to raising the main characters, including Airi. But because of the existence of Possessors like myself, the story has diverged too far from the original. There's no one left capable of preventing this disaster.”
“And that's why you're asking for my help?”
“Yes. Even if I somehow manage to deal with the Monster Wave, the real problem comes afterward. This is effectively my last chance to kill the Sky Dragon. I can't afford to let it slip away.”
Even under ideal circumstances, there was no guarantee he could win.
After fighting the Stingray Ninja Unit...
Then dealing with the Monster Wave...
And only afterward confronting the Sky Dragon...
Aaron judged that to be little different from suicide.
“I concluded that resolving this crisis requires someone at least as powerful as I am.”
“So that's why you chose me.”
Aaron silently nodded.
“Answer quickly. Will you help me defeat the Sky Dragon? Or will you remain imprisoned here?”
“That's not even worth answering.”
Dwindrog snorted.
“If everything you've said is true, then all I have to do is wait. The monsters will overrun this city. Humanity will disappear. This place will eventually collapse as well. If everything will fall into my hands sooner or later, why should I join hands with you?”
“If necessary, I'll explain.”
“First. You wanted to defeat the Sky Dragon and return to your original world. To accomplish that, you concealed your identity and stayed away from places under public authority. Even though you're also a Dragon, that's proof you can't defeat the Sky Dragon in a one-on-one battle. You need help.”
“……!”
“Second. I don't know the Sky Dragon's true objective. I don't know why it's using humanity as puppets. But at the very least, that suggests it's unlikely to wipe humanity out completely. Do you really think it'll simply ignore the Monster Wave?”
“That...”
“Third. Judging by your reaction, you didn't know the Sky Dragon's Will was contained within Anti-Rain either. That explains why you concealed your identity yet casually wandered through Sector E—the Sky Dragon's territory—while standing in the rain. Which also means, unlike me, you possess no method of materializing the Sky Dragon.”
As Aaron calmly continued his explanation, Dwindrog found himself speechless.
When he had first learned of the Sky Dragon, the only things he knew were that it was unimaginably powerful...
And that it was preventing any path back to another world from opening.
Unable to defeat it head-on...
He had planned to open a Dimensional Gate by using the life force of Sector E's residents.
Only for Aaron to stop him.
Starting that plan all over again now...
Was impossible.
Even if he stubbornly insisted on that method...
He would almost certainly have to confront the Sky Dragon in the end anyway.
Ultimately...
He did need another option.
Some overwhelming new power...
Or...
“……Very well.”
“Fourth. Once this incident is over, my younger sister, Kalia Stingray, will most likely become the new Chairman. In that case, this facility—”
“I said I understand! That's enough! Your explanation has been more than sufficient!”
Dwindrog growled irritably.
“I'll cooperate. So release me.”
“……Are you serious?”
“What now? You're still looking at me like that? Enough already. Just hurry up and free me. I'm sick of this damned prison.”
“You won't betray me?”
“……”
This bastard is irritating.
He had already listed countless reasons proving Dwindrog couldn't betray him...
Yet he still insisted on asking until the very end.
“……I won't betray you.”
“And why should I believe that?”
“I swear upon a Dragon's honor.”
“Weren't you originally human?”
[Then I swear upon my soul. I give you my oath.]
His final words were spoken using the Dragon Tongue.
The primordial language of Dragons possessed immensely powerful magical properties.
Simply speaking it carried profound meaning, and in practice, it invoked powerful mystical effects.
With those words...
Dwindrog's oath became engraved upon his soul.
An absolute Dragonic Decree that could never be broken.
Should he violate that promise...
He would pay an enormous price.
“……Satisfied now?”
“Yes.”
“Then release me.”
“……Very well.”
Nod.
Aaron nodded once before quietly murmuring,
“Module Online. [Techblade].”
A razor-sharp blade instantly materialized from Aaron's fingertips.
He casually swung it with one hand.
A streak of light sliced through the air.
Then—
Slash!
The enormous glass cage imprisoning Dwindrog split apart cleanly before crashing to the floor and shattering into countless pieces.
The prison that hadn't shown even the slightest sign of breaking no matter how violently he struggled...
Had been destroyed so effortlessly.
Dwindrog couldn't help feeling rather conflicted.
“So this insignificant thing managed to imprison me...!”
“It was designed specifically to absorb impacts generated from the inside. There's nothing for you to be ashamed of.”
“……”
Without answering, Dwindrog looked around the laboratory once more.
Then a question suddenly occurred to him.
“Why did you choose to destroy it? Couldn't you have simply used those black tentacles?”
“You mean the [Black Out] Module?”
“I don't care what it's called. While I was trapped here, I saw something black writhing inside that operating room. I merely assumed it was your ability.”
“Well, as you said, I could've hacked the computer connected to the cage. There would've been no need to destroy it. But...”
Aaron shrugged.
“Wouldn't breaking it make you feel more at ease?”
“……What an unpleasant fellow.”
Dwindrog muttered bluntly before spreading his folded wings wide.
The powerful gust they created sent nearby objects flying in every direction.
“Come. Lead me to the exit.”
“Wait.”
Aaron stretched out his hand.
A corpse floated over from among the bodies piled inside the operating room.
He reached toward the back of its neck and roughly tore something free.
“What are you doing?”
“There's something I want to test.”
That was all he said.
After pocketing the object, Aaron looked at Dwindrog again with an oddly playful smile.
“Come on.”
“Let's go.”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“There's a line I've always wanted to say.”
Aaron lightly tapped Dwindrog's side scales.
Tap.
Tap.
Then he said,
“‘It can't be helped. This is a temporary alliance.’”
“……”
Dwindrog thought to himself...
This bastard...
Was quite a strange fellow.