Chapter 1: The Demon Dragon Emperor’s Arrogant Return

Night fell.

As the boisterous splendor of the day receded, a mystery descended upon the city, starkly at odds with its daytime vibrancy.

It was chilling, desolate, and fraught with peril.

With twilight as its boundary, the city seemed to have stepped into an entirely different realm.

Streetlights stood sentinel on either side of the thoroughfare, casting a frigid, pallid glow that dispelled some of the profound darkness lurking in the street’s depths.

This lingering illumination served as a solitary beacon, proof that this place remained the city people knew from memory.

The faint lights desperately sought to project an illusion of peace, yet this fragile facade was shattered by a sudden, peculiar gust of wind.

The rapidly moving air collided with the hard asphalt, producing a mournful, wailing sound akin to a child’s cry.

The lights flickered, dimming abruptly.

Like candles guttering in the wind, they wavered uncertainly a few times before vanishing completely.

A faint hum of electricity then echoed, utterly demolishing the pretense of peace.

Thick shadows then enveloped the entire street, and beneath the hazy moonlight, they seemed almost to come alive.

No, not merely ‘almost’! A black, shadow-like substance was actively seeping from beneath the ground, silently boiling and continuously churning upwards.

Then, as if receiving an unspoken signal, it began to converge at a single point with astonishing speed.

In mere moments, a colossal black cocoon materialized in the center of the street; elliptical in shape, it stood approximately one story high.

Its surface was composed of an unknown, liquid-like substance, ceaselessly flowing from its base to its apex.

From the darkness, a colossal, dark green beast-claw abruptly burst forth from the cocoon.

Accompanied by an indiscernible cold snort, the beast-claw swept sideways, causing the enormous, grotesque black cocoon to instantly dissipate into thin air, revealing a gigantic humanoid figure where the cocoon had once stood.

It was a creature resembling a human, yet its stature dwarfed that of any ordinary person.

Its body was slightly hunched, devoid of any clothing, instead covered from its neck down to its calves in bluish-black scales.

Under the moonlight, these scales gleamed with a metallic sheen.

Beneath the bluish-black scales, bulging muscles were clearly discernible, their formidable size, coupled with the creature’s extraordinary bulk, exuding an oppressive aura of savage ferocity.

Its limbs were thick and powerful, ending in beast-like hands adorned with sharp, pointed claws, undoubtedly the source of the immense bluish-black beast-claw seen earlier.

Its aberrant appearance and the knee-weakening pressure one felt simply by standing nearby, all unequivocally pointed to a single truth.

This was unequivocally a creature that did not belong to this world.

“Hoo—”

With a prolonged exhalation, the monster slowly opened its eyes, its alien gaze, featuring vertical pupils akin to a lizard’s, burning with intense vitality.

The monster cast a scrutinizing glance around its surroundings, then erupted into a bizarre and grating peal of laughter.

“Hahaha! I have succeeded at last!”

Bathed in the moonlight, the monster spread its arms wide, its face alight with undisguised elation.

Its gruff, hoarse voice reverberated on the wind, destined to reach the ears of every pedestrian within the vicinity.

“O ‘Hero’! Though you resorted to some petty tricks, I shall nonetheless commend you for the wisdom and courage that drove this King to such desperation! However, to think you could defeat me with just that, is utterly naive!”

It paused deliberately, then let out a cold snort.

“The spatial transfer technique acquired from the ‘White-Robed Figure’! A forbidden secret art rumored to have a survival rate of less than ten percent!

Yet, before this King, Jaggnuba, the ‘Demon Dragon Emperor’! It is merely a simple spell I can execute with a flick of my wrist.

Rejoice, you overconfident human ‘Hero’! Soon, this King shall return to complete the fated, unfinished decisive battle! O ‘Hero’—”

Having delivered a villainous monologue to the ‘Hero’ who was not present, the monster, self-proclaimed ‘Demon Dragon Emperor’, finally calmed its emotions.

He crossed his arms over his chest, an air of complete confidence about him.

‘Before I meet my fated nemesis (the Hero) once more, I shall begin with the conquest of this world.’

‘Though I sense no fluctuations of powerful beings, making this a rather dull world, it will suffice as a game to pass the time.’

His vertical pupils swiveled fluidly, as the ‘Demon Dragon Emperor’ internally revolved his thoughts, a common habit during his contemplation.

His bluish skin fingers rubbed together, producing a crisp, ethereal snap, and with a whooshing sound, a pair of enormous, bat-like membranous black wings unfurled from his back.

“And so, let it begin! The prelude to world conquest—”

“Ahem… well, it seems you’re rather enthusiastic, but I’ll have to interrupt.”

A somewhat languid voice, distinctly that of a young girl, resonated from behind Jaggnuba.

“Could you tell me more about that ‘White-Robed Figure’?”

“!”

Jaggnuba whirled around abruptly, the displaced air kicking up a considerable cloud of dust.

Moments later, as the dust settled, the figure of a black-haired girl became visible, suspended in mid-air.

The girl, covering her mouth and nose with one hand, gazed at Jaggnuba with a hint of disdain.

“Seriously, could you keep the commotion down? I just got out of the bath, you know…”

“Intriguing!” Ignoring the girl’s complaint, Jaggnuba rudely cut her off.

“I had thought this world utterly tedious, yet I find an interesting individual here. Human, this King permits you to state your name!”

“Huh? Never mind. My name is Bai Zhi, and regarding that ‘White-Robed Figure’—”

“A warrior from another world! This King commends your bravery!” The ‘Demon Dragon Emperor’ curled his lips into a sneer, his mouth moving up and down. “Now, perish!”

“Are you even listening to me?!”

A bluish-black orb of magic rapidly coalesced in Jaggnuba’s palm, then shot towards Bai Zhi, who was still hovering in mid-air, with astonishing speed.

This was the signature technique of the Dragon-Demon race, a ‘Dragon-Demon Missile’ forged from their unique bluish-black magic.

Though outwardly unremarkable, its destructive power rivaled that of spells specialized in lethal damage.

Moreover, a ‘Dragon-Demon Missile’ unleashed by the ‘Demon Dragon Emperor’, the strongest of the Dragon-Demon race, boasted power several orders of magnitude greater.

Legend claimed that the ‘Demon Dragon Emperor’ once razed a small town to the ground with a single ‘Dragon-Demon Missile’.

“Hmph, take pride in being the first in this world to perish by this technique! O nameless warrior from another realm!”

Jaggnuba confidently turned his back, yet the anticipated thunderous explosion did not follow.

Instead, the girl’s somewhat irritated voice rang out.

“I already told you my name, didn’t I? Listen properly when people are speaking, you lizard man!”

“What! How can this be?!”

Jaggnuba spun around in astonishment.

The black-haired girl before him still wore an expression of half-disdain, half-impatience, and the ‘Dragon-Demon Missile’ he had fired moments ago seemed to have simply vanished, leaving not a single scratch on her.

The ‘Demon Dragon Emperor’s eyelids drooped slightly, and he exhaled a puff of hot air.

“Impossible! No one has ever withstood this King’s attack without a scratch! Who exactly are you?!”

“I already told you my name is Bai Zhi—”

“So that’s it, I underestimated you, did I? Oh powerful one from another realm, forgive my previous insolence, and now bear witness to my true full power!”

“Hey, are you actually listening to me…?”

“Behold my attack! ‘Demon Dragon Star-Shattering Cannon’!!”

The ‘Demon Dragon Emperor’ paid no heed whatsoever to the girl’s words, instead launching into his own offensive without preamble.

His body was seen to swell once more, and the scales that had previously clung tightly to his form now flared open and vibrated, emitting a grating sound akin to metal grinding against metal.

Accompanied by a deafening roar, a pillar of purple light shot skyward, engulfing Bai Zhi’s figure.

“Hah—hah—”

Even the ‘Demon Dragon Emperor’ felt a degree of weakness after unleashing that technique.

He reverted to his original size, his breathing becoming ragged.

“H-how was that? An attack that channeled nearly half of this King’s magic! Even you, it’s absolutely impossible to…”

Jaggnuba’s words trailed off mid-sentence.

His eyes widened, staring forward in utter disbelief.

Within that pillar of purple light, a dazzling white speck suddenly appeared.

Then, the furious attack, which had concentrated half of the ‘Demon Dragon Emperor’s magic, trembled abruptly before swiftly vanishing into the white radiance.

“Th-this, is it absorption? No, that’s not right! It’s a high-density magic entity… Did she forcibly neutralize this King’s attack simply by releasing an even greater amount of magic? How could such a thing be…?”

“This is your final warning, lizard man.” The girl’s voice sounded distinctly angry.

“Originally, I should have thrown you back the moment I found you.

However, you mentioned that ‘White-Robed Figure’, and I’m rather interested.

So, if you’re willing to honestly explain, I can forgive your previous rudeness and send you back using the gentlest means possible…”

“Wuaaaoooohhh!!!”

Interrupting the girl once more, Jaggnuba’s aura surged dramatically.

The shadows spread across the street stirred to life again, gathering around Jaggnuba and coalescing behind him into a colossal, intensely oppressive phantom of a bluish-black demon dragon.

“If that is how it must be, then I shall use this technique.

The ultimate trump card, usable only by the leader of the Dragon-Demon race: transforming oneself into an ancient demon dragon!”

“Though its use will plunge this King into a century-long period of weakness.

If it means successfully annihilating you, then I shall not hesitate!”

“Take this! O powerful one from another world, wuaaaoooohhh!!!”

“!!!”

However, Jaggnuba’s imposing roar suddenly ceased.

He was astonished to find that the black-haired girl, who had just been before him, had abruptly vanished.

In the very next second, the girl’s exquisite face appeared eerily before his own eyes, and her chilling voice reached his ears.

“Two things, engrave them properly into your lizard brain.

First, my name is Bai Zhi, so please stop calling me by strange titles! Second—

Put on some damn clothes! What kind of perverted, chuunibyou lizard man shows this to a teenage girl?!”

Amidst the girl’s furious roar, Jaggnuba saw Bai Zhi’s pupils, which had turned crimson due to her surging magic.

“A girl with flames residing in her pupils, you are the legendary—!”

Bang!!!

Before he could finish his sentence, a tremendous impact struck his cheek.

The girl’s delicate, tender fist delivered a level of destructive power utterly inconsistent with its appearance.

Jaggnuba felt his consciousness blur for a moment, then his entire body spun like a top, sent flying backward.

“Whew—it’s been a while since I encountered someone so infuriating; I accidentally used a bit of my real power.”

Bai Zhi let out a long sigh, her crimson pupils returning to their usual color.

Immediately afterward, she began to feel a headache coming on.

Upon seeing Jaggnuba, who had been sent flying, his massive body having carved a hundred-meter-long trench in the concrete, Bai Zhi’s face was utterly contorted into a mask of anguish.

“And now, how am I going to deal with such an obvious mark?!”

The girl’s lament faded into the night sky.

On the unknown streets, the night of San City continued.