"I can see you~ perfectly clearly~"
Mila O'Rei's laughter rang softly as she spoke, her dragon tail—stretching for thousands upon thousands of meters—swaying gently, as though expressing her current ease and delight.
Meanwhile, Kurose Akira's gaze had already been drawn to the structure of her draconic body.
A colossal dragon exceeding ten thousand meters in length—even with only her lower half visible—was enough to leave all living beings in awe. Every slight movement she made carried the force of quaking earth and trembling skies.
"You're… even bigger than Maré Rhine…"
Kurose Akira muttered in disbelief.
Though he could only see half of Mila O'Rei's form, he could roughly judge that her dragon body was slightly larger than Maré Rhine's.
At least… from his perspective.
"Oh~ no, no, no~"
Mila O'Rei chuckled, lazily swaying her tail as she replied,
"Actually, I'm a bit smaller than Maré Rhine. In a certain sense… I'm the younger sister."
"The younger sister?"
Kurose Akira blinked, clearly unconvinced. Maré Rhine—that airheaded dragon—was the older one?
No matter how he compared them—voice, intelligence—it just didn't add up.
And more importantly… how could Maré Rhine possibly be bigger than her?
Even if he had only seen Maré Rhine's skeleton and that illusory body within the soul space… judging from the bones alone, Mila O'Rei clearly seemed larger.
"Yes~"
Mila O'Rei smiled as she explained,
"She's the elder sister, and her body is indeed larger. As for why you feel otherwise… I suppose it's because…"
She paused, her tone turning teasing.
"…my hips are bigger?"
"???"
Kurose Akira nearly choked on his own breath.
But when he thought about it carefully… his judgment had been based on pelvic size…
Cough.
"So," he said, trying to regain composure, "why did you bring me here? So I could admire your… rear?"
"Of course~ of course not~"
Mila O'Rei smiled gently.
"But if you'd like to take your time appreciating it… I wouldn't mind."
"???"
Kurose Akira fell silent.
He had absolutely no interest in a dragon's backside!
"Hehe~ just joking~ maybe?" Mila O'Rei noticed his abrupt silence and smoothly shifted the topic. "Alright~ the reason I summoned you here is simply to let you witness my true form."
Her tone suddenly grew solemn, her voice lowering as her presence rose to something lofty and imposing.
"The one you intend to challenge… is the Dragon of Life who embodies life and lightning. A being who holds a divine seat of life, who once defeated the Dragon of Destruction, and who stands at the very pinnacle of dragonkind."
A faint arrogance colored her words, as if she were addressing him from the vantage point of a higher existence.
It was somewhat similar to Maré Rhine… or perhaps, this was simply the nature of dragons.
But—
It had no effect on Kurose Akira.
After a brief silence, he slowly lifted his head and met Mila O'Rei's gaze directly.
A faint smirk tugged at his lips.
"Why not?" he said calmly. "Sooner or later, Maré Rhine and I will surpass you… and then defeat you."
"Defeat me? Hahahahaha~!"
Mila O'Rei threw her head back and laughed. There was excitement in her laughter—along with a trace of pity—but not a hint of contempt.
When her laughter faded, she continued,
"Child, I look forward to that day. You really are similar to Maré Rhine… just a bit less reckless."
"I can grant you countless opportunities to challenge me. But there is one condition~"
"What condition?" Kurose Akira asked, curiosity flickering in his eyes.
She… wanted to negotiate?
"That would be…"
Her voice suddenly trailed off. Her thick dragon tail swayed from side to side, sweeping just above Kurose Akira's head.
A few seconds later, her tone softened, almost gentle.
"Take me out of here."
"I've been imprisoned in this pitch-black world for thousands of years. Do you understand what that kind of loneliness feels like?"
"Every day, all I can do is talk to my own tail! Or count my scales! I'm bored out of my mind!"
"I want to leave! I want to eat fragrant Phoenix-feather birds! I want—!"
Her emotions spiraled rapidly, growing more and more intense.
Kurose Akira could feel it clearly—
She was on the verge of losing her mind from isolation.
And… he understood.
In this sealed space, there was nothing but darkness and deathly silence.
To remain here for thousands of years… might be more unbearable than death itself.
"Calm down first!"
Kurose Akira quickly tried to soothe her, instinctively reaching out his hand—only to realize he couldn't touch the colossal dragon floating above him.
Before a dragon of such immense scale, he was no more than an ant.
For the first time, he truly felt the gulf created by size.
She was… far too large.
"Yes—yes! I got too excited~"
Hearing his voice, Mila O'Rei quickly reined in her emotions.
Her tail swayed gently again as she smiled.
"My apologies. I've been here for far too long… I haven't seen a clear blue sky in ages. It's only natural my emotions would start to unravel."
"I understand how you feel," Kurose Akira said. "From now on… things will get better. I promise."
"..."
Mila O'Rei fell silent for a moment.
Then she smiled faintly.
"You're an interesting little one. No wonder even Maré Rhine is willing to listen to you."
"If she actually listened to me, that'd be great."
Kurose Akira shrugged. He didn't believe Maré Rhine truly obeyed him—if anything, that foolish dragon still had a strong rebellious streak.
"Hehehe~"
Mila O'Rei's laughter chimed like silver bells.
"I see what you mean. Still… we are enemies. Making a promise like that to your enemy—one that sounds like something between lovers… you've got guts~"
"How is that anything like a lover's promise…? You're overthinking it."
Kurose Akira raised an eyebrow, exasperated.
"Then let's call it my wishful thinking~"
Mila O'Rei didn't seem bothered.
"Treat this conversation as a secret between us. I imagine… you wouldn't want Maré Rhine to know about our connection, would you?"
"I'll keep it secret," Kurose Akira said. "But can I make a suggestion?"
He raised a hand, his tone suddenly serious.
"Go on~"
"Can't you change your form?" he asked. "Like… turn into a human when talking to me? Or at least shrink down a bit. Talking like this feels… strange."
As he spoke, he rubbed the bridge of his nose.
Their entire conversation—
Had basically been him staring at her back.
No… more accurately—
Her butt.
And not just any—
A butt spanning thousands of meters.
Even though he firmly believed in the philosophy of "bigger is better, and better is bigger"—
This level of absurdity made his mind feel like it was crawling with ants.
"Does it feel that strange?"
Mila O'Rei responded immediately.
In the next instant, her body rapidly shrank—and transformed into a human form.
But in doing so…
What now faced Kurose Akira was a full, round, voluptuous lower body—
Completely exposed.
No covering whatsoever.
His pupils contracted instantly as he reflexively took a step back.
And notably—
Even in human form, she still only had her lower half.
"…Is this better?" Mila O'Rei asked.
"Can you… put on some clothes?" Kurose Akira shot back.
"You sure are demanding for a little one~" she complained lightly. "But unfortunately… I can't."
"…?"
Kurose Akira frowned.
She could shrink a ten-thousand-meter body at will—but couldn't put on clothes?
Did she think he was a three-year-old?
"Then go back to your dragon form!"
Kurose Akira said immediately—though his eyes couldn't help flicking once more toward her human form.
Whether dragon or human—
Mila O'Rei's proportions perfectly matched her voice and temperament.
Especially those hips that far surpassed ordinary women—
If one were to unleash holy light judgment upon them…
It would probably feel like falling into an endless abyss.
To the point where—even without seeing her upper half—
One could already imagine the overwhelming, surging spectacle.
"Oh? So you prefer the giant-breasted dragon-girl look after all?"
Mila O'Rei shot him a sidelong glance, teasing.
Then she returned to her dragon form.
But her words made Kurose Akira frown.
"Where did you even learn terms like that? Wait—this is blatant slander!"
"Hehehe~"
Mila O'Rei laughed lightly.
"Your search history."
"…."
Silence.
After a brief pause—
Mila O'Rei released his consciousness, returning him to the guild hall.
"I'm always in your heart~ message me anytime~"
With those final words, her voice faded away.
Left alone on the guild hall sofa, Kurose Akira sat in a daze—his eyes glimmering with a strange pursuit of truth.
From a certain perspective…
Dragon girls really did offer better value for money, didn't they?
"…Cough!"
He shook his head sharply, snapping himself back to reality. His gaze shifted to the clock on the wall.
It was already seven in the morning.
Everyone should be waking up soon.
Just as the thought crossed his mind—
A sudden chill brushed against the back of his neck.
He turned his head.
Xue'er was clinging happily to him, sprawled across his neck with a blissful expression.
"You little rascal—when did you get here?"
Kurose Akira pinched her snow-otter tail between two fingers and lifted her up.
"Hehe~"
Xue'er beamed with delight at his actions, her silly, adorable smile widening.
Her jade-like hands waved gently in the air, as if trying to convey something.
"You seem unusually happy today," he said, poking her soft cheek. "What's got you so excited?"
"Mm-hm!"
She nodded eagerly, her soft voice barely above a whisper.
"Butterfly~ phoenix butterfly~ happy~"
"…?"
Though fragmented, Kurose Akira immediately understood.
"You mean… the phoenix butterfly's metamorphosis is almost complete?"
"Mm-hm!"
She nodded vigorously, her snow-white face glowing with joy.
Upon hearing this, Kurose Akira immediately carried her toward the incubation chamber of the Demonic Flame Silver Phoenix Butterfly.
Ever since it had cocooned itself again, its second metamorphosis had already lasted nearly a week.
And now—
At last—
It was about to emerge.
As its master, Kurose Akira couldn't help but feel immense anticipation.
What form would it take after this second transformation?
[Time remaining until emergence: 6 hours…]
"Six hours… almost there!"
A smile spread across his face as his imagination began to run wild.
Perhaps its wings would become even more dazzling—shimmering like a galaxy.
Or perhaps—
Its body would begin shifting toward a human form, becoming something like a butterfly fairy?
Just as he was lost in thought—
Xue'er leapt down from his shoulder and landed atop the cocoon.
She sat astride it with her chubby little legs apart, her porcelain-like hands gently swaying as if performing some kind of ritual.
"Hm?"
Kurose Akira watched curiously.
What exactly was she doing?
The next moment—
The air in the room began to drop in temperature.
Then—
Crystal-clear snowflakes began to fall, filling the space.
The scene was dreamlike.
Beautiful.
And utterly shocking.
"…What is this?"
Kurose Akira's eyes flickered with astonishment.
Each snowflake—
Contained terrifying power.
The purity of the ice element within them was so refined, it could rival even the Elf Queen.
This reminded him of what Lucia had once said—
Xue'er was the incarnation of the strongest witch on the Magic Continent—the Witch of the Frozen Wastes!
She possessed the purest form of ice magic.
A bearer of the truth of frost itself.
A being capable of shaking the entire world.
But the question remained—
What exactly was she doing?
Kurose Akira stroked his chin, watching as she danced lightly atop the cocoon. Her cute snow-otter tail swayed behind her, glowing faintly like a delicate magic wand.
Just as he became fully absorbed in her slightly clumsy yet enchanting dance—
A system notification appeared in his vision.
[Your Demonic Flame Silver Phoenix Butterfly has received the Blessing of the Gift of Ice and Snow. Its power is rapidly increasing!]
[Your Demonic Flame Silver Phoenix Butterfly has acquired Forbidden Magic — Frostflame Ignition!]
[Your Demonic Flame Silver Phoenix Butterfly has broken through to Level 55! Its attributes have increased significantly!]
"It jumped straight past the Level 50 cap?"
Kurose Akira's eyes widened in surprise as the level skyrocketed to 55.
The next moment—
A full status panel appeared before him.
[Demonic Flame Silver Phoenix Butterfly (Legendary)]Level: 55 (0/33000)Race: Insect MonsterStrength: 1250 / Agility: 1340 / Magic: 1896 / Constitution: 1651Growth: 12 (Each level grants +12 to all attributes)Skills: (Expand)Traits: [Silver Powder][Phoenix Butterfly][Feathered Butterfly Fairy]
"…?"
"Feathered Butterfly Fairy?"