Chapter 21 - Quickly Becoming Stronger in the Dungeon! Epilogue

Quickly Becoming Stronger in the Dungeon! Epilogue

First, the direct damage towards the dragon.

My fists tore through its scales, ripped open its muscles and landed at the bones.

And the bones shattered.

With a snap, the sensation of the bones crushing reverberated through my hands.

Next, the mass of magical energy burst through the dragon’s body in waves of impact.

There was an uncomfortable echo of tearing throughout the hall.

—Likely, the internal organs of the guardian were now wasted.

Unlike the giant catfish, it had not opened up a crater-like hole and exploded into bits of organs, blood, and flesh in every direction. Probably due to the impressive strength of the scales.

And with a loud smash, the body of the golden dragon thundered to the ground.

And in that position, it vomited blood and began to convulse.

At the same time, I was experiencing dizziness, like the symptom of having lost too much blood.

There was a pounding headache as my knees gave in. I was now covered in a greasy sweat.

—That was cutting it pretty close… Had I not been able to finish it in a single blow…I would have been toast.

My shoulders heave up and down as I breathe.

Finally, I stand up again and look at the fallen dragon.

Again and again, I take in a deep breath.

With each time, the pain lessens a little more, and after several minutes I was somehow able to move.

Then I picked up the fallen ax from the ground.

I walk over to the dragon’s neck and raise the ax high into the air.

My gaze moved over to Lilith.

It would be so easy for me to deal the finishing blow here.

But…

“Lilith? Are you really okay with this?”

“…Yes. This what father had been wishing for.”

Well, then… I continued with an uncertain expression.

“Why are you crying then?”

Tears had not stopped running down her face for a while now.

They were like large pearls that fell to the ground and created patterns with their stains.

“…I don’t know.”

“What do you mean, you don’t know…”

“………I really don’t know why….why I am crying. My father is already dead. In that case, it would be better…to have you…to have someone young, kill him so he can become a Dragon God… That is what happiness is for dragons….”

I brooded over this. Then, looking back at the dragon—-I swung the ax downward.

It went right into the back of the dragon’s brain.

The dragon convulsed strongly, but even now, it hadn’t reached its limits of being able to act as an undead.

“Why are you crying…was it? This ceremony is holy to the dragons, none of them ever question it, all of them accept this as being normal, do they not?”

“…Yes. They become spirits and ascend into godhood. It is something to celebrate.”

“But in spite of this, you are crying…Is it perhaps because you are human?”

Even among humans, differences in skin color or religion could prevent people from understanding each other, making them attack one another.

Even if both were intelligent beings, dragonkin, and humans…There were obvious differences in thinking and feeling that had nothing to do with how they were educated.

“…Because I am human?”

In that case, Lilith should…It would surely be best to have this funeral end in a human fashion.

“In that case…you must deal the finishing blow.”

It was always the relatives of the deceased who closed the casket.

In the end, he had fought for all that he was worth as Lilith’s father… In that way, it was also validated as dragon’s funeral.

“…Me? If I did…surely the blessing of the dragon god skill will not go to you, but to me…”

“You shouldn’t worry about that.”

“….but….you….You are standing here as the result of an extraordinary resolve and determination. Then, you absolutely must become stronger. I cannot receive the skill.”

I sighed deeply and opened my mouth.

“There are many other ways to become stronger. But…the funeral can only happen once. In the end…how can anyone but you, send your own father to the afterlife?”

She thought for a moment before wiping away the tears that flowed from her eyes with her sleeve. Then she nodded.

“…..Ultimately, I still don’t know why I am crying. But…I shall send him off…the meaning of those words…I was able to understand them with my heart.”

Lilith thrust out the palms of her hands.

They were directed towards the giant ax that I had just cleaved into its head.

The magic she would use was an electric shock spell.

An attack that would pass through the metal and hit the brain directly—no matter how powerful a dragon was, having its whole nervous system fried would surely put an end to it.

“…Father. Thank you for…taking care of me.”

She continued with all the emotion that she felt.

“…I was so happy…being gently raised by you.”

The electricity struck, and the dragon’s movements stopped completely.

I tightly wrapped my arms around Lilith’s shoulders as she was about to crumble to the ground in tears.

“….Now I truly have no one else in this world…it’s a little…lonely.”

She sobbed soundlessly as she buried her head in my chest.

And so I gently caressed her head.

“It’s not a bad thing to cry… It will make you feel better if your cry for a while. So cry as much…as you want.”

“….Yes. Let me stay like this for a moment…please.”

—I could not tell just how long we stayed like that.

It felt like it could have been a few minutes, but it also felt like much more.

What was certain, was that Lilith had calmed down a little.

And perhaps it was due to her crying, but her eyes were now red and puffy.

“Well, then…we should leave soon.”

Lilith nodded and opened her mouth.

“…Yes.”

I took out the status plate.

This was to see how much experience and levels I gained from this last fight.

And then I stopped in shock.

“What does this…mean?”

My eyes widened as I did a double check, but no, the skill was recorded there.

“Why do I have the skill?”

-SKILL: Dragon God’s Blessing

The precious skill that raised your minimum status was really there.

I showed Lilith the plate, and she too widened her eyes in surprise.

“…But the last blow was dealt by…me…how come?”

Then she gasped and took out her own status plate.

“…Huh…”

She shook her head to the side as if she did not understand what she was looking at, then she handed over the status plate to me.

“What the…hell?”

-SKILL: Guardian Spirit of the Dragon God

Gives tremendous resistance to bad statuses. Greatly alters your growth rate. Adds +500 to all statuses, Attack power, Defense power, Magic and Evasion.

I and Lilith looked each other long and hard.

Then we broke out into laughter right on the spot.

“I see, I see…so that’s what it means.”

“…What does it mean?”

Lilith asked with a suspicious expression. I answered her with a smile.

“It means that your father…was that much of a doting parent. As proof, he even left his daughter a cheat skill.”

“So what does that mean?”

“Lilith… Didn’t you just say…that you had no one in the world and that you were lonely?”

“…Yes.”

I make a fist with my hand.

And with it, I knocked on the center of her flat chest—where her heart was and said:

“—Your father is right here…he is there with you.”

When Lilith finally understood the meaning of the words, she erupted into tears once again.

“You really are…quite a crybaby, huh?”

“…Shut up.”

And so I pulled Lilith by the hand and said:

“Now…let’s go home.”