Rei and Vihera joined the battle immediately after Set's strike kicked it off.
The descent from a hundred meters, combined with the Power Crush skill and the force of the Bracelet of Herculean Strength, produced more than enough destructive power to carve a crater into the ground where Set landed.
Naturally, the Dragonias that took the direct hit stood no chance. It was killed instantly, its body reduced to scattered chunks of flesh across the surrounding area.
Given that it had been slain by an attack raining down from the sky without any warning whatsoever, that Dragonias could perhaps be considered fortunate in a sense.
The fact that it would never feel hunger again was, in this case, a significant mercy.
However, as long as the other Dragonias were also driven by hunger, even seeing a companion reduced to chunks of flesh in a single strike would not deter them from their intent to tear apart and devour Rei, Set, and above all, Vihera.
The Dragonias initially swarmed Set, and those unable to reach him turned their aggression on Rei and Vihera respectively.
Given that each Dragonias was larger than a Centaur, even with Set as their target, the number that could attack at once was not particularly large.
As a result, those left out turned on the other prey right beside them.
(In that sense, Vihera really is the popular one, huh.)
Rei and Vihera had kept their distance so they wouldn't get in each other's way during the fight. But seeing the majority of the Dragonias that hadn't attacked Set veer toward Vihera, Rei couldn't help but think exactly that.
Perhaps her thin clothing made it easy to recognize that her body was soft, making her popular in that way. Or perhaps there was some other reason entirely.
Rei couldn't say for certain, but one fact was undeniable: more Dragonias had gone after Vihera than after him.
Given that, he would deal with the ones coming after him first — or so he thought. Instead, he dodged a Dragonias trying to tear into him with its claws while simultaneously counterattacking with the Death Scythe and Twilight Spear drawn from his Misty Ring.
However, glancing toward Vihera mid-counterattack, he immediately dismissed that notion.
The scene unfolding before his eyes was, in a way, exactly what he had expected.
"Aha ha ha ha. Come on, over here. Try and catch me."
Judging by the words alone, it sounded like lovers playing tag on a sandy beach.
But what was taking place there was a game of tag where a single misstep could cost you your life.
Naturally, Vihera wasn't just running away.
She would suddenly close the distance with her pursuers, deliver a painful blow, and then pull back to create space again.
(Ugh... that's pretty brutal.)
Rei muttered to himself with genuine feeling as he dodged a Dragonias's claw strike and severed its outstretched arm with the Death Scythe.
From the perspective of the Dragonias attacking Vihera, they surely couldn't possibly imagine that the one they were pursuing was an embodiment of death.
There was no doubt they were thinking only of tearing into her white, soft flesh as quickly as possible.
But those very movements were being controlled by Vihera.
If the Dragonias were not dominated by hunger but possessed the capacity for independent thought — or if one of the golden-scaled Dragonias like the one Rei had slain at the base were here — perhaps they might have realized they were being toyed with.
However, the Dragonias that had come here had arrived essentially by coincidence.
Under such circumstances, expecting them to act free from the domination of hunger would have been entirely unreasonable.
(This is probably the biggest weakness Dragonias have.)
Judging each individual's abilities, Dragonias were quite strong — strong enough that it took several Centaurs to handle just one.
But precisely because each one was strong as an individual and above all dominated by hunger, they were incapable of cooperating with one another.
Rei found it questionable that they still operated as a group to some extent despite this, but he supposed it was simply the way things were.
Because they were dominated by hunger, taking moderate damage did nothing to make them give up.
But by that same token, because they were dominated by hunger, they could think of nothing but satisfying their own hunger, making cooperation against an enemy utterly impossible.
(The one who rules over the Dragonias — or perhaps created them — I don't know what they were thinking in doing this. But it seems they only considered raising individual capabilities and eliminated all other factors... no, since the golden-scaled Dragonias exist, it's not like everything was eliminated, I suppose.)
Even while pondering all this, Rei had continued fighting the Dragonias with the Death Scythe and Twilight Spear.
And before he knew it, every single Dragonias that had gathered around him lay dead on the nighttime grassland, illuminated by the moonlight.
Granted, there had only been about thirty Dragonias attacking, which wasn't particularly many for Rei and his group.
Moreover, among those Dragonias, Rei had been the one attacked by the fewest.
Given the circumstances, it was only natural that Rei finished his battle first.
Glancing over at Set's side, he found it crushing the upper body of the last Dragonias with its front legs.
Yes — a strike for which the word "crush" was truly appropriate, in the most literal sense of reducing something to chunks of flesh.
Watching Set fight like this, it was impossible to think of it as the gryphon beloved by everyone.
Though to Rei, Set was simply Set.
That being the case, seeing Set in combat didn't particularly change anything for him.
"Gurururu."
Set had also finished its battle and likely noticed Rei watching.
Praise me, praise me. It approached Rei with evident delight.
Considering the battle that had just taken place moments ago, its friendliness was so extreme it was hard to believe it was the same creature.
"Thanks, Set. You always come through for me. ...That just leaves Vihera, then."
Set narrowed its eyes happily at Rei's touch.
Smiling at the contented Set, Rei shifted his gaze to Vihera.
But the battle taking place there was also nearing its end without question.
Vihera had initially let the Dragonias chase her, separating them one by one before dispatching each individually, but now things were different.
Perhaps because the number of Dragonias had dwindled, she was now fighting all the remaining ones — though that said, there were only about three left.
Naturally, even with three remaining, Vihera had no intention of holding back.
And the Dragonias made no attempt to cooperate, single-mindedly throwing themselves at her.
Even if they accidentally ended up in something resembling a coordinated attack, ultimately their own hunger took absolute priority.
Under those circumstances, to a Dragonias, members of their own kind were not companions but rivals — no, it would be more accurate to call them enemies.
Vihera dispatched the Dragonias one after another.
When she unleashed Magic Impact Palm into the torso of the last one, destroying its internal organs, a refreshed smile surfaced on her face — one for which the word "refreshing" was the most fitting description.
Granted, the surrounding scenery was hardly one for which such a word would be appropriate.
Vihera approached and spoke to Rei.
"Did I make you wait a little?"
So she said, but her eyes still held an expression suggesting she hadn't fought enough.
The number of attacking Dragonias had likely been fewer than expected.
If possible, she would have preferred to fight more.
Though Vihera's attitude conveyed as much, she at least had enough sense not to suggest continuing the battle right here and now.
"Nah, not really. A fair number came after me too, and after I dealt with them, I was watching you fight alongside Set."
"Oh, then I should have fought in a way that looked a bit more impressive."
So Vihera replied, but her fighting style — clad in thin garments, battling as though dancing across the grassland under the pouring moonlight — had been a sight for which the word "ethereal" was a fitting description for anyone watching.
What had actually been taking place, of course, was full-scale combat.
"All the Dragonias are down. Should we head back to the campsite? They're probably pretty worried over there too... ah."
Rei's words were cut short because he spotted Zai approaching from the direction of the campsite, leading those who were still capable of fighting.
Now that he thought about it, he recalled telling Zai to gather those responsible for cooking and miscellaneous tasks first, and then to come reinforce them if there was room to do so.
Following Rei's instructions, Zai had done exactly that before arriving with the fighters.
Technically, Zai was the one leading the Reconnaissance Unit, but when it came to making split-second decisions, Rei — who had survived countless battles — was evidently the better choice.
"...There was no need to come. Though I suppose it was only natural to think so."
Zai, having reached Rei's side, muttered while surveying the surroundings.
The only light was the moon, but even so, it was plain to see that not a single Dragonias remained standing anywhere in sight.
Strictly speaking, the Dragonias' forms were still present.
Many had been rendered unrecognizable by the Death Scythe, the Twilight Spear, front legs, Hand Gauntlets, Foot Guards, and other such weapons.
The most intact corpse was one whose internals had been destroyed by Magic Impact Palm.
"So what do we do with these...? We can't just leave them here, can we?"
At Zai's words, everyone including Rei nodded in agreement.
The campsite they were currently using was one they planned to continue utilizing for some time.
Given that, leaving corpses nearby was obviously something to be avoided.
As time passed, the stench of decay would begin to drift in, and the possibility of other monsters or animals being drawn to the Dragonias corpses couldn't be denied.
Under the circumstances, doing something about them was necessary, but...
"Burning them is probably the quickest way."
If they were burned so thoroughly that not even bones remained, there would be no need to worry about the smell of decay, nor any concern about Undead.
(Huh? Do Undead exist in this world too? Language and such carry over normally, so it seems like they probably do, but...)
Puzzled by this, Rei asked Zai, and it turned out that Undead did indeed exist in this world as a matter of course.
In other words, leaving corpses as they were was dangerous in more ways than one.
"That said, burning the corpses in our current situation... is probably something we should hold off on."
Since Rei had Night Vision, it wasn't a problem for him, but it was currently nighttime.
In such conditions, a campfire was one thing, but gathering and burning thirty Dragonias corpses all at once? What would happen if they did that?
The flames would be visible even from quite a distance away.
Particularly because they lived on grasslands like this — or perhaps it was a trait of the Centaur race — they had excellent eyesight.
(Ah, but if it's Centaurs, that's not a problem, is it? Though that depends on whether any are actually in this area.)
This area was already well within what could reasonably be considered Dragonias territory.
Given that, the presence of enemies was a given, and any foes drawn by the flames would be of that sort.
Though honestly, Rei had no idea whether Dragonias dominated by hunger were even capable of recognizing fire as fire.
"Burning them will wait until tomorrow. But I'd like to gather the corpses in one place now if possible..."
"Ah, I'll handle that. You all have done more than enough out here already."
Taking Zai up on his offer, Rei returned to the campsite with Set and Vihera.
Riding Set across the grassland, they arrived in no time at all, as was to be expected.
And when Rei and his group returned, the Centaurs who had remained at the campsite tentatively emerged from the deeper recesses of the site, looking fearful.
"Um, the enemy that was approaching..."
"Yeah, it's fine now. About thirty Dragonias came close, but we took them all down."
At Rei's words, those who had stayed behind at the campsite breathed sighs of relief and raised their voices in joy.