"…What was that?"
Riding on Set's back as it flew through the sky, endlessly raining Flame Arrows down upon the ground, Rei stopped at the sudden sound—a roar that cut through the air.
Roars had been pouring out in abundance from the Dragonias stronghold, where no fewer than ten Fire Whirlwinds rampaged without end.
But those had fundamentally been screams. Death throes, at best.
The roar that had just echoed was different.
It reverberated across the entire surrounding area—massive, overwhelming in the way it made anyone who heard it viscerally understand the presence behind it.
That was precisely why Rei had temporarily stopped raining Flame Arrows down on the ground.
"Where did that roar come from?"
In the midst of this battle—no, this one-sided slaughter—Rei couldn't pinpoint exactly where the roar had originated.
What was certain, though, was that the roar alone carried enough weight to command his full attention.
Why the enemy would do such a thing, Rei couldn't fathom.
If they considered him and Set a nuisance and wanted them gone, a surprise attack would have served far better than announcing their presence so boldly.
To go out of their way like this—what meaning could there possibly be in that?
"No, that's not it."
Rei shook his head and immediately dismissed the thought.
The meaning of that roar became obvious the moment he looked at the ground.
Until just a few minutes—no, a few dozen seconds ago—the Dragonias had been thrown into chaos by the ten Fire Whirlwinds and Flame Arrows. But now, that chaos was beginning to subside.
When he considered what could have caused it, the only explanation was that roar.
In other words, it hadn't been directed at Rei or Set at all. It had been aimed at the panicked Dragonias.
"I see."
The roar and its effect surprised Rei, but at the same time, it made sense.
As far as he knew, Dragonias were creatures ruled by the instinct of hunger.
Why, then, would such beings remain quietly in this place they called their stronghold?
If hunger drove them, it wouldn't be strange for each to wander off on its own, searching for food however it pleased.
By that same logic, the fact that the group of Dragonias which had attacked Zai's settlement, as well as the ones that had attacked the women, children, elderly, and their Centaur escorts en route here, had moved in organized packs—despite being governed by hunger—meant they were operating with a certain degree of discipline.
"In other words… so there really was a boss."
Rei had already suspected the existence of something akin to what Elgin called a Rare Species or High-ranking Species, and he had shared this suspicion with Zai and the others.
But even while their stronghold was being devastated to this extent, not a single one had shown itself until now.
Could it be that his assumption about a High-ranking Species or Rare Species being present was simply mistaken?
It wouldn't have been an unreasonable conclusion.
That said, one had now finally appeared—late as it was.
Still, it took an awfully long time to show up. What on earth was it doing? …Given the commotion, I doubt it was sleeping, but…
Ready for whatever might come, Rei drew not only the Death Scythe he'd been carrying but also the Twilight Spear from his Misty Ring.
A thrown Twilight Spear delivered a devastatingly powerful strike.
That was why he had taken it out—so he could attack immediately the moment the entity that appeared to be the Dragonias boss revealed itself.
"Set, can you tell where that cry came from?"
"Gruu? …Grururu."
At Rei's words, Set surveyed the surroundings while tilting its head.
Naturally, Set had also heard the cry.
But given the sheer vastness of this place, it had echoed considerably… and even with Set's sharp hearing, pinpointing the source had apparently proven impossible.
If Dragonias can take organized action, that would be nothing short of a nightmare for Zai and the others.
The only reason the Centaurs managed to hold their own against Dragonias was because they fought through coordinated teamwork in large numbers.
If the Dragonias began coordinating among themselves as well—to the Centaurs, there would be nothing but despair.
Still… Rei thought, with perhaps a touch of wishful thinking, maybe it wasn't something to be so deeply alarmed about.
If the Dragonias were capable of coordination, then why hadn't they done so until now?
Given that they were creatures ruled by hunger, it was safe to assume coordinated action wouldn't come easily to them.
"Gruu!"
Rei's musings were cut short when Set suddenly let out a sharp cry.
Judging from the sound, Set had likely found the very thing it had been searching for. Rei followed its gaze.
One look was all it took. Rei understood.
The figure at the end of Set's gaze was the one ruling over the Dragonias.
In form, it wasn't vastly different from the others.
Its lower body was lizard-like, and its upper body resembled a malformed Lizardman—the same as any typical Dragonias.
What set it apart were the two horns, deer-like in appearance, curving upward from the sides of its head.
Its frame was somewhat larger than the other Dragonias, though not by nearly double or anything so dramatic.
But even so, the sheer density of its presence was unmistakably different from the rest.
It was the same gulf that existed between a first-rate adventurer—or one of even greater prowess—and someone with no particular training who had simply picked up a weapon and gotten bold from being part of a mob.
Even a single Dragonias required multiple Centaurs working in concert to barely stand a chance.
Considering that, how terrifying must this individual—possessing strength incomparable to an ordinary Dragonias—truly be?
At the very least, it undoubtedly possessed enough power that even the strongest among the Centaurs, such as Zai or Dratt, would have absolutely no chance of victory if they tried to fight it.
The color of its scales… gold?
Rei hadn't fought that many Dragonias, but having battled ones with scales of various colors, he had never before encountered one with golden scales.
Or perhaps it was precisely because of those golden scales that this Dragonias commanded the others.
Regardless, a golden-scaled Dragonias was undeniably a dangerous foe.
After all, with a single cry moments ago, the other Dragonias had already begun to recover from their panic.
If that was the case, this one needed to be dealt with as quickly as possible.
Reaching that conclusion, Rei channeled magical power into the Twilight Spear—and hurled it.
He wasn't standing on the ground; he was atop the back of a flying Set. The throw's speed and power would inevitably fall short of his usual standard.
But even diminished, the strike carried more than enough velocity to kill, and it tore through the air toward the golden-scaled Dragonias.
"GRUOOOOOOHHH OOHHH OOOHHH!"
With a war cry, the golden Dragonias swung its fist.
You fool.
Seeing that, Rei nearly smiled at the enemy's miscalculation.
He knew better than anyone just how much destructive force the Twilight Spear carried.
It was a tactical weapon compared to the strategic-scale devastation of the Fire Whirlwinds and Flame Magic… but even so, it possessed more than enough power to bring down a single Dragonias—even one that was clearly a cut above the rest.
That was why… yes, precisely because of that.
"Eh?"
At the scene unfolding before his eyes, a bewildered voice slipped from Rei's mouth.
He knew full well that Dragonias scales were resilient.
He knew that, but he had still believed the Twilight Spear would punch through without issue.
The golden-scaled Dragonias, however, did not die from that single strike.
It hadn't completely withstood the blow, nor had it evaded it outright.
Instead, it had deflected—a technique requiring an even higher level of skill than either.
Its golden scales were undoubtedly sturdier than those of other colors.
But they weren't sturdy enough to fully stop the Twilight Spear.
In fact, the point of deflection had its golden scales spectacularly scraped away.
Even so, compared to taking the strike head-on, it was undeniably a far lighter injury.
"…That was unexpected, but you've got some skill. Even so…"
After a few seconds of silence, Rei collected himself and recalled the Twilight Spear—still half-buried in the ground—back to his hand.
"You only managed to deflect it, and you still took that much damage. If that keeps happening… what then?"
Once again, Rei poured magical power into the Twilight Spear.
High above, Rei and Set… and the golden-scaled Dragonias fixed its sharp gaze on Rei in particular, who held the Twilight Spear that had scraped away its scales.
Unlike the other Dragonias, it wasn't governed by hunger. Its gaze held what could only be called a savage intelligence.
"Come on… here I go!"
"GRARARARARAAA AAAGH!"
At the sight of Rei winding back the Twilight Spear, the golden-scaled Dragonias let out an intimidating roar.
Immediately, a blue-scaled Dragonias some distance away began to move.
It positioned itself in front of the golden-scaled Dragonias—no, it became a shield against Rei's attack.
What would happen if it did such a thing was painfully obvious.
The thrown Twilight Spear skewered the blue-scaled Dragonias's body with effortless ease.
Like tearing wet tissue paper—that effortlessly.
However… even piercing through that easily, it had still punched through a sturdy, three-meter-tall body.
With that being the case, the Twilight Spear's speed and power naturally diminished—albeit only slightly.
Through that sacrifice… that meat shield, the golden-scaled Dragonias succeeded in evading the strike.
"Annoying trick."
Defense was out of the question. Even deflection left scratches on its scales. Evasion was difficult.
So what the Dragonias had chosen was to buy a fraction of a second—less than a single heartbeat—through a meat shield.
Even a fraction of a second was immeasurably significant in the heat of combat.
The golden-scaled Dragonias, which couldn't have dodged a direct attack, had used that fleeting moment to successfully evade the Twilight Spear.
Rei understood this perfectly, which was exactly why he'd muttered about the annoying move under his breath.
That said… even now, while the Flame Arrows had ceased, the ten Fire Whirlwinds continued to rampage across the area, and at this very moment, scores of Dragonias continued to fall victim to them.
In that case, if I drag out this standoff, will the number of Dragonias available as meat shields also dwindle? …No, that won't work.
Recalling the Twilight Spear once more, Rei dismissed the idea.
Right now, the golden-scaled Dragonias was watching him intently, ready to respond to anything. But if this stalemate continued, it would eventually make a move of its own.
Or perhaps the Fire Whirlwinds would reach the golden-scaled Dragonias first.
How much resistance to fire it possessed, Rei couldn't say.
But he found it hard to believe it would die just from being caught in a Fire Whirlwind, the way Dragonias with non-red scales did.
If so… then in this situation, there was only one thing to do.
"Set, put some distance between us, just to be safe."
"Gruu…"
Perhaps understanding from Rei's words what he was about to do, Set watched him leap from its back with a hint of worry… and then, following the instruction, withdrew from the area.
As he descended toward the ground, Rei heightened his magical power, compressing it, condensing it…
"Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor."
The moment his feet touched the ground, he activated the skill.