Before leaping from Set's back and landing on the ground, Rei activated the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor.
For him, this skill was something that could be called an ultimate technique. It was designed to utilize his enormous magical power to its fullest potential, making it an extremely powerful skill when fighting enemies.
Facing Rei, who had activated such a skill and was now clad in crimson mana, the golden-scaled Dragonias directed a gaze filled with ferocious intent at him. Even so, perhaps because the damage it had taken from Rei's earlier Twilight Spear strike was significant, it showed no sign of moving immediately despite being right in front of him.
...Setting aside the matter with the Twilight Spear, it was likely also true that it recognized Rei as a powerful opponent after he activated the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor.
"GUGAGARARARAARAOOOHH"
Growling in its throat while remaining wary of Rei's presence, the golden-scaled Dragonias watched him.
"Alright... first, this."
With a casual wave of his hand, Rei sent a portion of the crimson mana enveloping his body flying. Whether it sensed something from that crimson mana or not, the golden-scaled Dragonias swiftly leapt away from its position. The instant it struck the ground, a pillar of flame erupted there.
Deep Flame. One of the techniques usable while the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor was active.
What was surprising was that, despite seeing the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor and Deep Flame for the first time, the golden-scaled Dragonias had instinctively evaded them—judging them dangerous enough to inflict major damage on itself. Acting on instinct, that was what was unfolding before Rei's eyes right now.
Wild instinct, perhaps? ...At any rate, there's no doubt that this instinct makes it extremely troublesome in battle. ...Still, the fact that it dodged means it definitely judged that taking a hit would deal significant damage. In that sense, did it have an effect, I suppose?
As if to say "for starters," Rei, still maintaining the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor, swung his arm in a wide arc. The multiple Deep Flames released in doing so struck not the golden-scaled Dragonias... but the other Dragonias.
The other Dragonias, commanded by the golden-scaled one, showed no sign of moving—or perhaps it was unclear whether they simply couldn't move at all—but they took the Deep Flames head-on. In that instant, a massive pillar of flame just like before was created, and in mere seconds, the Dragonias hit by Deep Flame were annihilated in the blink of an eye.
"GUOOOOOGAAAAAAAAAA!"
One of the Dragonias nearby let out such a roar. That single strike had likely instilled fear even in the Dragonias, who were ruled by hunger.
Making that judgment, Rei turned his gaze toward the surrounding Dragonias.
"Leave."
He spoke with the intent of Intimidation, but unfortunately, even upon hearing Rei's words, the Dragonias showed no sign of fleeing from the area. Part of it was probably that they didn't understand his words to begin with, but more than that, the golden-scaled Dragonias's presence was likely the influencing factor.
"GUGARAAGAGAGARAGATAAAHAAAH!"
Whether it was displeased at being ignored or not, the golden-scaled Dragonias let out an unintelligible roar and charged toward Rei. It wasn't wielding a weapon, but Rei fully understood that the sharp claws extending from its fingertips were more dangerous than any ordinary weapon.
"You want to fight?"
Saying so, Rei, with Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear still in hand, took a step forward toward the charging golden-scaled Dragonias. He showed no sign of tension—it was a movement that made one think he was casually heading out for a stroll.
That was precisely why the golden-scaled Dragonias facing him had no hesitation whatsoever in swinging its sharp claws down at him.
...However...
"Too naive."
For Rei, who had deployed the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor, an attack of that level wasn't something that required particular vigilance. Of course, that didn't mean he could ignore it completely.
With a slash, the single strike of the Death Scythe that Rei swung easily severed the golden-scaled Dragonias's arm—so effortlessly, so unbelievably easily, that it was almost absurd.
"Gagi...?"
"You think that's the end?"
The arm, severed by the Death Scythe's strike and flying through the air, was instantly incinerated by a Deep Flame that had separated from Rei. The time it took from the Deep Flame's impact to complete incineration was barely even a second.
Whether or not the golden-scaled Dragonias realized its arm had been burned away, Rei couldn't tell, but what it did in that moment was launch an attack against him. Whether it felt the pain of its right arm being severed or not—Rei couldn't tell that either—but it likely prioritized unleashing a strike before even feeling any pain.
Rei could understand that. And because he understood it, dealing with the attack was not difficult.
Originally, Rei possessed extremely high physical abilities. On top of that, his physical abilities were currently further enhanced by the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor. Given that, while there might have been others who couldn't even follow the golden-scaled Dragonias's attacks with their eyes, Rei tracked them clearly. In fact, they even felt quite slow to him.
Using the Twilight Spear, he deflected the strike from its left hand as it extended toward his throat. What slightly surprised Rei was that, despite being deflected with the Twilight Spear, the bones in its arm didn't break. For the current Rei using the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor, it wouldn't have been strange at all for him to easily shatter the opponent's arm. And yet, it had withstood that strike—which was unexpected for Rei, but at the same time, it also demonstrated that the golden-scaled Dragonias he was currently fighting was no ordinary foe.
...Of course, just because its arm bones weren't shattered by that strike didn't mean it could do anything about the situation. With its right arm gone, it was undeniably difficult for the golden-scaled Dragonias to deal with Rei's next attack.
With another slash, the next moment, its torso was effortlessly bisected by the Death Scythe, and it crumbled to the ground.
"...Is that the end?"
Gazing at the sight of blood and viscera spilling from the bisected torso onto the ground, Rei wondered if it was truly over.
The golden-scaled Dragonias was certainly strong. That was an undeniable fact. But even so, considering that Rei had used the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor, was it really enough to defeat the one leading the Dragonias? When he thought about it, it was only natural to have doubts.
At any rate, judging from the current situation, it was an undeniable fact that the golden-scaled Dragonias had been commanding the others. But still, given the circumstances, was it really fine to defeat it this easily? It was only natural to harbor such doubts.
"...Well, I can think about that later. Set!"
Storing the bisected Dragonias corpse in his Misty Ring, Rei dispelled the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor and called for Set.
During this time, the other Dragonias showed absolutely no sign of attacking Rei. He couldn't help but think they could have at least attacked a little, but looking at them, it was easy to surmise that they had been faithfully following the orders given by the golden-scaled Dragonias.
Though that said, Rei had no intention of doing anything about it. In the first place, even without Rei moving, the rampage of the ten Fire Whirlwinds was still ongoing. Given that, rather than doing something here, it was certain that leaving this place as quickly as possible was the better choice.
"GRURURURURUU!"
At Rei's voice, Set approached from where it had been sheltering. Seeing it come straight toward him, Rei could tell that it was probably worried about him.
That said, from actually fighting, the golden-scaled Dragonias hadn't been all that powerful an enemy. ...No, of course, since he had used the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor, which could be called his ultimate technique, an opponent that would give him trouble with that would have to possess power equivalent to an S-Rank Adventurer.
"Sorry for making you worry. Anyway, I'm fine, so don't worry. More importantly, we should get away from here now. I don't want to get caught in the Fire Whirlwinds."
"GRUU!"
At Rei's words, Set let out a cry as if to say "Understood!" and took off from the spot.
During that time, the Dragonias didn't move at all. ...As if they were still bound by the golden-scaled Dragonias's orders, or perhaps they had simply resigned themselves to death faced with Rei's strength when he used the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor, and even now with it dispelled, they believed they would be killed if they moved.
Rei couldn't tell which it was. However, having them stay still in this situation meant fewer complications for him, which was definitely a help.
Riding on Set's back, he headed toward where Zai and the others were waiting.
The original plan had been to reduce the Dragonias's numbers with the Fire Whirlwinds, and then kill the surviving red-scaled Dragonias, which were likely resistant to fire, one after another. But as a result, Rei's expectations were exceeded in a good way. Even after killing the golden-scaled Dragonias, the other Dragonias remained obedient to its orders and showed no sign of moving at all.
What exactly they were thinking to end up like that, Rei was quite curious about.
Probably, since they're ruled by the instinct of hunger, they have no choice but to obey the orders of a superior... something like that, I'd guess?
His time interacting with the creatures known as Dragonias was short, but even so, judging from how they had acted earlier, he concluded that was likely the case. Right at that moment, Set arrived at the location where Zai and the others were waiting.
"GRUU."
"Yeah, thanks."
Expressing his gratitude to Set, who rumbled in its throat as if to say they had arrived, Rei timed his dismount from Set's back as it glided down toward the ground.
"...Sorry to keep you waiting."
"...No. More importantly, the fact that you're back, Rei, means what happens next? According to the original plan, we were supposed to kill the surviving Dragonias."
Saying so, Zai turned his gaze toward the Dragonias stronghold—toward where the ten Fire Whirlwinds were still raging.
If they were to follow the original plan, they would need to head there and attack, but at least Zai... no, even the others, could hardly bring themselves to dive into a place like that.
Rei could naturally understand and agree with those words, so he nodded without voicing any dissatisfaction. What was currently happening at the Dragonias stronghold was nothing short of what one would normally call a natural disaster of despair. Entering such a place and killing the surviving Dragonias would be nothing but a suicidal act. Even the red-scaled Dragonias, which possessed strong resistance to fire, were dying one after another from causes other than fire, making it all the more unnecessary to go there now.
"For now... stand by. Once the Fire Whirlwinds subside, if there are any still alive after that, we'll attack."
At Rei's words, Zai and the others accepted that there was no doubt they wouldn't be needed.
Looking at the situation unfolding before their eyes, it seemed questionable whether anyone could survive that. Rather, if there were any survivors in that situation, they would undoubtedly be either a formidable warrior... or someone blessed with heaven-sent luck. Whether they could handle such an opponent was another matter entirely.
Of course, if they were to leave everything entirely to Rei, it would become unclear why they had come here in the first place. But even so, charging into the area where the Fire Whirlwinds existed was something they simply could not bring themselves to do.
"Rei-san, was there a Dragonias leading the others?"
One of the Centaurs who had come this far as a guide asked. The Centaurs had also noticed that something was there. The cries of what appeared to be fighting Rei—a presence clearly different from an ordinary Dragonias—had reached all the way here.
"There was. It had golden scales. And two horns growing from its head. ...Its strength was probably considerable, I think."
The reason he couldn't firmly state that it was strong was likely because he had defeated it using the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor. Looking slightly hesitant to say so, Rei continued his explanation.