243 day 243

After resting, our group was in an excellent state. Most of our mental and physical fatigue was gone, our mana was replenished, and my comrades were eager for battle. We were ready for the forthcoming battle with the boss that was undoubtedly going to be difficult. We checked the state of everyone in the group and examined all of our equipment.

We repaired even the smallest damage to make sure we didn't lose because of it. We were fortunate that the main damage we sustained were small holes in our clothes. After checking over everything several times, we had breakfast as usual. After finishing his mission of protecting us, the [Black Taurus Demon Lord] was served as breakfast with vegetables and rice that we had gathered in the maze. We ate for longer than usual to enjoy its taste.

The breakfast took place in silence. We all understood that, depending on how this battle plays out, one or more of us could die. Naturally, we're not going to lose, but this could be our final meal together. Knowing this, our faces were filled with determination.

What lay ahead of us was not just the strongest monster here, but the original source of all the power in this place, a being that was on a higher level of existence than us. Thinking about our overall safety, the right option would be to retreat here.

By now, we had achieved a good result, and there was no need to take a risk that had such a high chance of death. Besides this dungeon, there are still many places where you can gain power and then come back with confidence. But that wasn't our style, and there was not even one mention of turning back.

Besides, did any one of us even know how to return back from here? Probably not. All those that were gathered here were fools for not thinking about that earlier. Having finished a long breakfast with a little break, we proceeded to the top.

The end of the spiral mountain road was a hundred meters from the caves, but there were no monsters in sight. At the end of the long path was the volcano crater, looking like the entrance to hell. We were so close to the lava that it would be hard to get any closer without starting to burn. If you were unfortunate enough to fall down you wouldn't even reach the bottom. Long before that you would burn up and be turned into ash. Despite drinking the[Cooling Liquid]and wrapping themselves in heat-resisting cloth, the skin of Kanami-chan and the others slowly began to roast.

At the center of the crater, there was a huge lump of iron floating in the air. As it was flat and round, with a diameter of up to several hundred meters, it was a place suited for battle. It looked like someone had prepared a God's Arena.

Several blocks of steel led to the arena, but the boss was nowhere to be seen. From what I could tell, stepping onto it would cause the path to it to immediately disappear. This would be followed by the appearance of the dungeon boss in the center. That is, the identity of the boss would only be revealed after we stepped onto the arena. But once that happened there would be no turning back. All this was well understood, and we exchanged glances and nodded silently. So the decision was made and we set foot onto the floating chunk of iron.

Hovering on a fiery abyss was the arena on which we were going to put our lives on the line. Truly a suitable place for the boss of the dungeon. On the way to the arena, as expected, the lumps of metal immediately fell straight into the abyss.

A few seconds later, after we were on the scene, all of them were gone. The place was shook by a deafening roar so powerful, it seemed the world was about to crumble. This roar, not just imposed for all to hear, had various bad effects - in the worst case, it could even kill.

After that first attack, I used[Phased Array Radar]and[Sense Area]before detecting a huge living being directly above us in the volcanic crater. Looking at the black clouds, I saw a scarlet coloured flying object.

With folded wings, he dived into the arena. When he was almost at the surface, he spread his broad wings to significantly soften the blow of the landing. The wind generated by this sudden deceleration was immense. Seiji-kun and Kugime-chan almost flew off the arena.

It was still not fully able to reduce the momentum of the fall, resulting in a very strong impact. I thought that he was going to flip over the entire arena. Fortunately the shaking did not last long, and when it stabilized, a few dozen meters from us stood the creature that we had come to slay.

The creature that had fallen from the sky was a huge scarlet [Wise Dragon]. The official name of this place was Flames of Fire Dragon Mountain, so it should have been expected. I really did not want to be surprised after meeting a dragon here. The length of its body, which exceeded 100 meters, was flawlessly covered with beautiful scarlet scales. The membranes on the wings looked like they were made out of steel, and his muscled legs easily supported a body that weighed several tens of tons. Overflowing with energy, these same legs ended in huge claws, which were not inferior to demonic swords.

Behind his back were wings that easily exceeded 200 meters in length. From his neck that was as thick as his body, there was a head resembling a cross between lizard and a crocodile. He curiously studied us with his nine golden dragon eyes. From his huge jaws, capable of swallowing a whole house and armed with sharp white teeth, came a burst of dragon flames. It was a titanic sentient being, with a gaze able to rob foes of their fighting spirit. Now that gaze was set upon us.

『Well done for getting here to the final test. My name is Ignatos, proud heir of the[Red Flame Dragon Emperor], I am the[Crimson Dragon Emperor]. Under the oath between me and my wife and God, I stand here as the owner of the mountain.』

『If you don't want to be wiped out by my fire, you can try to take my life. I am putting my life on the line, so I'll fight you with my full strength.』

He made his statement in a deep, resonating voice. Originally, dragons, on par with the giants, were the most powerful race in the world. And even among others, this eye-catching Crimson Dragon Emperor was equivalent in power to natural disasters. He was indeed was the ruler of Flames of Fire Dragon Mountain.

Standing before the Emperor of Red Dragons, and influenced by only one thing, Kanami-chan and the company swallowed their saliva while tightening their grip on their weapons. We fully understood the wonder of this creature, but right now we were preoccupied with other thoughts.

How would his thick legs taste? If we were able to split his thick skull and eat its contents, would we still experience the same pleasure? If I absorbed his inner power, how strong would it be? If we were to snatch his heart and fry it, what would it smell like? And how many days would it take us to gobble up such a behemoth???

Thinking only of this, we looked at the Crimson Dragon Emperor as a rare and super high quality ingredient. Faced with this unprecedented attitude towards himself, the Crimson Dragon Emperor looked on with discontentment. Well, who cares? Now, we only wanted to eat the crimson dragon. This was the most delicious of all the ingredients that had been shown before us!!! We would eagerly devour the flesh of the Crimson Dragon Emperor!!! Thus, for the sake of satisfying our appetite, we started to hunt the dragon.