From the Dragon Gate emerged a massive dragon covered in dark, dusky scales. Walking upright and built somewhat like a human, he looked more like a giant lizardman with wings than a traditional dragon.
He let out a booming roar—so loud it shook the space around us. It was a sound that could have been a laugh or a battle cry, filled with unrestrained glee as he scanned the surroundings.
"GWAHAHAHAHAHA! It's been ages since I came through the Dragon Gate! No one's been foolish enough to summon me lately! So then? Who's my opponent this time? There's gotta be someone here, right? Someone stupid strong just the way I like it!!"
Yeah, no. I wanted to tell him to go back where he came from.
"G-Grendel!? That's the legendary evil dragon who was slain by the hero Beowulf!" Ravel cried out, stunned.
Grendel's gaze shifted toward us at her voice.
"Huh? Three devils and one human? Don't tell me... these are the ones I'm supposed to fight?"
The hooded man replied calmly to Grendel's question.
"The opponents we've arranged for you will be arriving in waves. Among them, the human over there is said to be the strongest for now—so we brought you here. It'll still be a while before reinforcements arrive. If you waste time, your most entertaining opponent might be gone before they show up, and they'll have no reason to come here at all."
Strongest? He means Kuroka, doesn't he? Well, she hasn't fought as much, but the fact she took down Thanatos definitely made an impression. Though in terms of consistent power, she's the more reliable one.
"Oh? So all I gotta do is play with this one until the real fun starts? Fine by me! Hey you, try not to break too easily before the others get here, alright?"
A "toy," huh… To this guy, anything involving battle probably qualifies as a plaything.
Weapons, blood, wounds, life and death—it's all just part of the game for him.
Despite the overwhelming hostility aimed at me, Ravel was still drained from earlier. We were up against at least Great Satan- or Dragon King-class enemies, possibly stronger now. I figured Grendel was the only one I'd have to deal with, though. So, logically, I'd hold him off until Issei and the others arrived, and then we'd finish him with a full-force team attack.
Thankfully, Grendel's attention was fixed on me.
"You three, fall back. He seems to have chosen me, so I'll take him on. Keep an eye on both him and the other guy—analyze their fighting styles as much as you can. Shirone, take care of Ravel's recovery. And Gasper... go hide in your cardboard box."
"Yes! I'll protect them both!"
"...Understood."
"Ugh... I got too fired up and ended up dragging you into this. I'm sorry… Please be careful."
Shirone and Ravel looked worried, while Gasper eagerly pulled his personal cardboard box out of subspace and dove right in. Is that... fine?
Shaking off the tension, I stepped forward to face Grendel head-on.
"GUHAHAHA! I never thought the first fight after my resurrection would be against a human! But hey, it's all the same to me—strong is strong! LET'S DO THIS!!"
With a violent aura flaring around him, Grendel crouched low and lunged at me with a wild, straightforward punch.
Fast! Despite his massive frame, there was no sluggishness to his movements.
I leapt to avoid the punch, running up his outstretched arm and slashing at his face. My blade only managed to slice some scales and skin—barely a scratch.
Yeah, I figured he'd be tough. I even aimed for the eye, but he dodged. His reflexes are solid too...
My stats put me at high-tier devil level, while he's closer to a tanky Dragon King class. I can't match him with brute force, so unless I focus and use high-penetration attacks, I won't land a hit that matters. And he's huge!
Against human-sized foes, my strikes would be fatal if they landed cleanly. But against someone like him? My slashes probably feel like paper cuts from a box cutter.
Basically, unless I use Ittou Shura, I'd need to slice him hundreds of times to bring him down—and even then, he might keep fighting with just his head left. A war of attrition isn't in my favor either. He's got the stamina of a dragon, and I'd be forced into a series of high-risk, precise maneuvers just to stay alive.
In short, I'd likely lose through attrition.
For someone like me, without buffs, a "giant tough enemy" is the worst possible matchup.
Sure, Thanatos is stronger overall, but I couldn't land a decisive blow on Grendel. And don't even get me started on the original Cerberus—that was another nightmare.
"What's wrong? That little scratch is all you've got after cutting through my scales? C'mon, this ain't enough!"
Shouting that, Grendel launched a dragon breath toward me from a short distance. A searing fireball large enough to swallow a man whole came hurtling my way.
"Tch! If he's the strongest you've got, I'm not expecting much from the rest!" he mocked.
Before he finished his sentence, I slashed at the back of his neck. But again, his combat instincts were on point—I couldn't reach the artery.
The fourth secret sword, Mirage, used to require breaking a sacred gear every time. But now, thanks to a little trick inspired by Fate's Emiya and his Overedge, I figured out how to detach the blade's "feather"—really a piece of metal shaped like one. It means I no longer need to destroy a gear each time I use Mirage. That's huge.
"Huh? I thought that one landed for sure..."
"Sorry, but I'm good at running and dodging. You said I wasn't enough? Fine. I'll just keep striking while evading—hundreds, thousands of times if I have to. You'll be having fun before you know it."
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee... and escape like a cockroach! That's my basic strategy.
"GUHAHAHA! You talk big! Just don't keel over on me, yeah?! Keep slicing me up till I'm having a damn good time!!"
Trying to keep the heat off Shirone and the others, I goaded him with the whole "let's have fun" angle—and it worked. He started coming at me harder and faster.
Goddamn it. Can I cry yet? I've unlocked my brain's limiter just to dodge, but he's too big to counter effectively. He doesn't flinch when hurt, so I get no breathing room.
My entire counter-based fighting style is useless when size and toughness alone can steamroll it!
Still, while my perception is accelerated, all I can do is stack damage.
"This guy! I've never seen anyone dodge my attacks so nimbly! Nice! Really nice! I'm getting into this now!"
Grendel's body was already covered in shallow cuts, leaking blue blood. But they were only surface wounds. Worse, the more he bled, the more fired up he got. His moves were getting sharper.
My headache was getting worse too, so I dialed back my limiter—but that immediately made dodging Grendel's superior speed and power nearly impossible.
"C'mon! Hit me back already! Fight meee!!"
If I could, I would! I'm doing my best just to stay alive here!
Then Grendel took a deep breath and puffed out his lower abdomen—he's charging a breath attack!
I quickly launched a foxfire blast to intercept and buy some space with Mirage again—
—but what came out of his mouth wasn't fire.
GRUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
What came out was a deafening dragon roar, unleashed point-blank.
Expecting flames, I was caught off guard by the sheer concussive force of the sound blast. My body froze for an instant.
Don't underestimate it just because it's sound. That roar came with an actual shockwave—more than enough to burst a normal human's eardrums. It was worse than a coordinated sonic bomb detonation!
And of course, Grendel had predicted this. His massive arm swung in a wide arc, catching me squarely.
"ZZZUGAAAAAAAN!!"
"Guhah! That hurt like hell!!"
I hit the ground hard, my body groaning under the impact. I scrambled to roll away just in time—couldn't see much through the smoke, but I could feel him homing in on my general position for a follow-up stomp.
"Finally landed a hit! Hell yeah! Now this is what a real deathmatch feels like—blood for blood, life for life!"
He grinned wickedly, eyes gleaming with twisted pleasure. Damn it—his sheer size was a problem again.
His fists and feet were practically the size of my entire torso, which made concentrated energy defense nearly impossible. Even Cao Cao's True Longinus hits harder, but at least I can block that!
And because his strikes hit so broadly, the shock ripples through my whole body—making it impossible to use the third secret sword, Perfect Circle, to lessen the damage through redirection.
God, the whole Secret Sword series really is designed for fighting humans, huh?
Man... am I even going to last until Issei and the others get here?
When I'm fully armored, my durability's still lower than Issei's. One more clean hit like that, and something's gonna give out.
I could probably beat Grendel with Ittou Shura...
Kuroka should be guiding the others here via Izuna's beacon now. If I'm going to call for backup, I better do everything I can first...
Though—what the hell can I do?
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100 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter
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