Volume 6 Chapter 11 Volcano Dragon Fornas
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”The white thread, it wraps us up and up, around and around. Like bandages, all wound and tangled, and then we’re stuck together forever,” the girl whispered, voice barely more than breath.
A voice rang out—thin, translucent, like glass.
”Round and round and round~,” she sang.
Wrapped inside a sack of ashen feathers.
Not alone—there were two. Skin pressed so close he could feel her warmth, a bliss so deep it bloomed out to every edge of him.
It was warm. The dainty girl gave a shy little smile.
She stared at him with eyes clear as crystal, and even though it was a face he saw every day, his heart gave a sudden thump.
”Don’t wanna get out of the bedding. Don’t wanna go back either,” she murmured. “If we could just live here forever, that’d be best. If it’s two together, we could do anything—but we’re always one and one. If we could ever become two, then even if the dragon-san tried to eat us with his big mouth, we wouldn’t care at all. Living, dying—we’d do it together anyway.”
Her brows drooped, troubled.
She turned his way, let out a tiny roar—growl~—and moved to smother his lips.
Connected.
Even if only for now, they were sharing one body.
Maybe, doing this, they really would die together. This close, in this moment, they felt like one.
And when it came time to be eaten—at least it would be both of them.
But… should they really be doing this—?
”────Hah?!”
Thud—a full-body jolt.
One of the carriage wheels slammed into a rock, lurching the whole wagon into the air.
A narrow trail, barely a road at all—the kind they’d been told to avoid. Wagon wheels clattered over it, the horse’s ragged breathing sharp in the air.
”Whoa! You’re still after us?! Damn persistent lizard, huh!!” Klock shouted from the driver’s bench.
A voice barked from behind. “Lady Gildegant!! What in the world is this?!”
Despair laced through the shock, tossed up like a question.
Their voices snapped him back—back to the chaos.
And then darkness fell, swallowing everything.
Klock, half-standing with reins clenched, glanced skyward—and froze.
”────That’s freaking huge?!”
Massive wings. A body stupidly enormous.
Hard to tell in the shadow, but it was a dragon—brick-red and brown, all muscle and menace.
Size? Unknowable. Too big to make sense.
The sky itself was sealed off, swallowed in the looming shape above. Like an island had risen up and blotted out the sun, leaving only its shadow.
”Klock!! Stick to the forest—keep outta sight however you can!! Suzette, back me up!!” Gildegant barked.
They scrambled into motion, fast and frantic.
Suzette was already overturning the luggage, digging for weapons.
”And watch out for the roar,” Gildegant warned. “That kind of dragon’ll knock you out cold just by yelling. Plug your ears the second it screams.”
Only now did Klock understand.
He’d blacked out earlier. Thought maybe lightning had struck—but no. He’d just lost consciousness.
”Sis!! What the hell is happening?!”
”Huh?! Slow the hell down, would you?! We’re being attacked, come on!!”
At Gildegant’s bark to get it together, he twisted to look behind—
And his face went tight.
Clinging to the rear of the wagon was a monster.
Its eyes bulged, staring them down.
A head massive enough to bite a person in half. Horns twisted into something grotesque.
Its underbelly was white and sleek, the kind of smooth that made your skin crawl. Scales armored like a turtle shell.
A dragon.
Red-brown. At least five meters long. Latched to the wagon’s ass.
”Sir Klock!! Swerve—throw them off!!” Suzette yelled.
Was this a nightmare?
More dragons came behind—same kind—several of them.
Beating their wings, they darted through the treetops, gaining fast.
”Get off, you shitty lizard!! You got fare money?! No free rides!!” Klock shouted.
The thing’s head loomed—monstrously huge.
Gildegant grabbed one of its horns, yanked hard, then drove her fist into the base of its neck.
Boom—sparks burst from the impact.
Slam. Slam.
She hit it twice, fast, then pressed her palm into the same spot.
Flames exploded.
”Kya!!” Suzette yelped, whipping back, nearly tumbling from the wagon.
The dragon tore free, hit the ground, bounced, and tumbled into the trees.
Klock blinked. He’d just been terrified of the dragon.
Now the person he was riding with was even scarier.
Gildegant flared, fire curling around her.
One foot braced, ruined left leg suspended in air, the one-armed girl wrapped her good arm in flame and hurled it skyward.
Water—blue tinted orange—splashed up.
Like it shattered midair. A wave of molten flame fanned wide.
It struck the legs of a pursuing dragon—lava-like fire licking its claws.
Instantly, the beast’s limbs went up in flame.
It shrieked, crashed into its wingmate, and both tumbled into the trees.
Another followed suit, slammed into the trunk, fell in a heap.
”Die and rot, you steak bastards!!” Gildegant roared.
One remained, untouched, coming fast.
She floated upward, closed the distance, flame twining her arm once more.
The flying dragon spotted her, jaws yawning wide.
”I’m a Flame Human! Fire don’t work on me!!” she shouted.
T/N: Flame Human, 炎人族 – a race of fire-resistant people.
A breath attack.
Flames burst from the dragon’s mouth—blue at the edges.
Gildegant charged headlong, unflinching.
She hurled her arm forward. Fire met fire. She swung with all her strength.
”She’s tough. You kidding me?” Klock muttered.
The Fire General’s charge slammed the dragon sideways, sent it crashing through branches and down into the forest.
Dragons—supposed to be the highest of monsters—blown away like pests.
Klock just stared, stunned.
Compared to the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon Lord’s Army, Gildegant stood far, far above.
If Klock were the one fighting, he’d be inside their bellies by now—blood, tears, and snot running together. No contest.
”The brat-dragons are scattered. Move—quick, let’s get outta here,” Gildegant called, floating back.
”Sis, seriously, you’re strong as hell,” Klock said, piling on the praise as she landed. “Think I’m falling for you, for real. Is it cool if I stick by you forever or what?”
He’d learned fast—boost her ego whenever you could. That was survival.
”Hah hah hah!! Proposing to the boss? Don’t kid yourself, bastard! First learn to polish my boots and scrub my back!” she laughed, clapping a hand to his back like she’d won Olympic gold.
The monster had fallen behind. For now, they were safe.
But overhead loomed the real problem.
Looked straight up—white underbelly, red-brown shell.
Something so big and awful it pressed the breath out of them, filled the sky with wings and mass.
”Hey, sis. What’re we doing about that?” Klock asked.
All three stared skyward, frowning.
Gildegant had just steamrolled danger, given them a breath of calm. But some problems didn’t have answers.
”Even I can’t handle Fornas, yeah? And what’s with the temper on this guy—”
”Fornas… Is that the volcano dragon, Fornas?” Suzette asked, eyes narrowing.
A name neither of them had heard before.
But dragons with names—that meant trouble.
”Yeah. This guy’s a named one. Used to hang around the Demon Continent. Slipped over here a few years back—been hiding or whatever.”
A memory flashed through Klock’s mind—three months ago, the sea.
Sea Dragon Belgerona. A monster the size of a mountain.
The thing above them—it was the same type.
Made sense. Just the tip of its claw could smash the wagon to splinters.
”Um, why’s it even angry? Did something happen?” Suzette asked.
Now that she mentioned it, Gildegant had been muttering about that. Calling it persistent.
Klock looked at her.
Suzette, too—eyes sharp, focused on Gildegant.
Both of them were thinking the same thing.
Under their glares, Gildegant turned away, gaze locked on some far-off point.
Not her usual style.
A bad feeling crept in—fast, and heavy.
”…Sis. What did you do?” Klock asked.
After a beat, he pressed again.
”Well… look, you know how dragon meat’s got those healing effects…” she said.
”Uh—” he started.
”There were a lot of kids. I figured it’d be fine. Just a little, right?” she added, scratching her cheek.
Suzette and Klock traded looks.
Yesterday—the dragon in the soup.
The one Suzette butchered, grilled up for steaks.
The comment jogged his memory.
Now that he thought about it, that one, just like the guys before, had that same red-brown color… probably.
”…Why, of all things, that lunatic’s kid?” Klock muttered.
”Huh? Well, that’s just ’cause strong ones are more effective, y’know—” Gildegant said.
Like hell that’s related. What the fuck are you even doing.
He wanted to scream out a tsukkomi [T/N: sharp retort/comment in a comedy duo] loud enough to rattle the sky—but swallowed it, barely.
Gildegant had been all cool, kicking enemy ass—
But they were only getting attacked in the first place because of her.
The Demon Lord’s Army general—maybe sensing she’d pushed too far—flashed a forced “Tehe!” [T/N: cutesy ‘oopsie’ pose/sound often used for feigning innocence] as Suzette glared, eyes bloodshot, staring straight into her soul.
Klock scratched his head, at a total loss—
And that’s when the earth decided he didn’t need time to think.
rumble
Suzette staggered, grabbing the wagon bed.
Klock dropped to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
Gildegant, still floating, barely flinched—just turned to the things rising around them.
Pillars, or whatever they were.
”It’s down,” she said. “Gonna come for us—”
The dragon, hanging midair without even flapping its wings, finally touched down.
Just landing triggered a quake.
Its right foot rose—huge, slow, deliberate.
”Wait wait wait, this is bad‑ssu, big sis!! Maybe say sorry or something…!!” Klock yelled.
”Haa?! Like hell I’m apologizing!!” Gildegant barked. “I’ll say this though—your brat tasted great, except it was fucking disgusting!!”
Fornas stopped—right foot frozen in midair.
Maybe big things just move slow.
But then it started again—
The foot dropped.
Right for the wagon.
”But seriously, that’s one bad dragon-ssu!! That thing could probably pin you down and use you for a toilet, sis!! Bet it’s your future husband‑ssu!!” Klock shouted, voice cracking.
”You goddamn moron!! Like hell I’m sucking some reptile d*ck!!” Gildegant roared.
Facing death, Klock let out a scream.
Even Suzette—usually so calm it hurt—screamed too.
The thing is, gigantic creatures just slam something primal inside you.
Even a hero would shriek like a little girl with her skirt flipped.
But Gildegant didn’t shriek.
She roared—deep, chest-rattling.
”ORAAAAAAHHHH—!!!”
Call it a fire balloon.
Blazing red swelled in her hands, grew into a massive sphere—
Then launched straight at the dragon’s descending sole.
The instant it touched—
Flash.
Screaming explosion.
BOOM
Too bright—
Everyone shielded their eyes.
Ears rang with the shockwave.
Then came the wind.
It hit like a battering ram.
Klock and the others slammed down, flattened by unreal force.
”Ugh—gh!?”
The wind smashed into him like a freight train, pinning him so hard he couldn’t lift his arms.
For a second, he was flying.
Or floating.
Everything—out of body.
Then his back slammed the ground—
Air knocked out of him, gagging.
He was falling, rolling, thrown.
And even when he realized it, there was no way to stop.
Thunder cracked.
Raw. Splitting.
Eardrums on the verge of bursting.
It was a howl.
A bellow.
A cry of pure grief.
Maybe it only sounded that way because they’d said it killed its child.
Or maybe he was imagining it.
The monster’s roar turning into a scream—like it had lost something it couldn’t ever get back.
Just his mind playing tricks?
He froze.
Body shut down.
Maybe he’d rolled all the way down.
Everything hurt.
He’d probably slammed into rocks or roots, but couldn’t even open his eyes to check.
”Gu…ugh, Suze…” he croaked.
Tried to call out, but pain twisted through his gut—choking the words halfway.
His ears still rang from the dragon’s voice.
Couldn’t even tell what was real.
This was bad.
He knew that much.
If he rolled down, that meant he’d fallen off the carriage.
Right—Klock had been up on the coachman’s box.
In that chaos, he should’ve scrambled back to the wagon bed.
Too late now.
Would Suzette notice he was gone?
And even if she did… would she turn back?
”Sh…shit…”
He coughed—
And his mind reeled.
Consciousness slipped, fast.
The stink of dirt and crushed grass filled his nose—sharp, bitter.
He was falling.
Falling down, into the dark.
Don’t go.
Almost panicked. Wanted to fight it—
But there was nothing left.
He sank away.
Not ten seconds ago, everything had been normal. Peaceful, even.
Now he was one step from vanishing for good.
Life never goes the way you want—
But did it always have to be this goddamn sudden?
At least let the end make some kind of sense.
Give a guy a reason.
Something to chew on.
Is that so much to ask?
Were Suzette and the others okay?
Did the kid-dragon give up?
If it’s still coming—
Something inside him snapped.
Clean.
Final.
Notes:
• Gildegant – One of the Four Generals of the Demon Lord. Flame General.
• Suzette – The older maid from Viscount Fennec. The head maid at the Viscount Fennec’s villa. She is confident, clear-spoken, and professional.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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