Volume 7 Chapter 19 The Ancient Dragon's Battle Style
Echidna restricted the audience when facing Moruru.
"This child... Moruru, was it? Only I and Moruru will receive the ancient dragon's divine arts. It's an art that humans can't imitate, and I won't allow anyone else to attend."
"No way! Papa is coming with us!"
"Hmm... then that Wade guy, was it? I'll allow him to attend. It's a special consideration."
"Favoring your own kin..."
So, I was allowed to observe Moruru's whims.
Echidna took Moruru and entered a suitable room. I followed them. I don't know how, but the door closed and locked on its own. Convenient.
Echidna turned around, laughing triumphantly.
"Well, Moruru. Let's reintroduce ourselves first."
Echidna proudly puffed out her ample chest, placing her hand on her bosom.
"My name is Echidna! The oldest ancient dragon, Echidna! From now on, I'll teach you the ancient dragon's magic! Do your best!"
"Wow...! Wow?"
"Hey Wade, your daughter doesn't understand anything, does she?"
"Echidna, you're relying on me despite being reluctant to let me attend at first, aren't you?"
"That's a parent's job, after all. Do it."
I'm annoyed.
This guy is so arrogant, I thought, gazing at Echidna with a mixture of annoyance and admiration.
"Moruru? The reason Echidna-san came this time is to bring out your special power, right?"
"Special power?"
"That's right. Since Moruru is an ancient dragon, you have a special power."
"Ooh!"
Moruru's curiosity was piqued, and she bit into the topic. Her eyes sparkled as she faced Echidna.
"Auntie Echidna! Will you teach Moruru that... thing?"
"Um, that's right. But if you call me 'Auntie' again, even if you're family, I'll kill you."
"H-huh..."
Moruru was so shocked that her breathing stopped. I protested while hugging Moruru.
"Hey, Moruru is being raised by us like a butterfly or a flower, so don't harbor any ill intentions."
"I've never heard of an ancient dragon being raised like that!"
That's right.
"Papa~..."
"Oh, okay, okay. You're surprised, aren't you? Don't worry, I've got this. If Echidna says she's going to kill Moruru, I'll take her down."
"Huh? You think you can just look down on me because you're a reincarnator?"
I turn to face Echidna. Echidna falls silent, seeing the expression on my face.
"I can see your strength, and I know you can be killed. You're not as strong as Sieg. So if you say something that might hurt Moruru, I'll take you down."
Echidna starts to sweat, her face pale, but she still tries to talk back.
"B-but you... you lost your arm, didn't you?"
"This isn't a handicap at all. Want to try me?"
"..."
Echidna falls completely silent. I drive the point home.
"Do you understand? You're not an enemy I can't defeat, Echidna. You're an enemy I can hold back against. So don't say anything that might hurt my precious daughter. Got it?"
After opening and closing her mouth a few times, she speaks in a faint voice.
"I won't say anything anymore."
"Good."
I smile at her. Echidna trembles and takes a few deep breaths, "Haa, haa, haa..."
As I watch her, Moruru approaches Echidna.
"Sorry, Echidna... sensei. Papa is scary, isn't he? I understand."
"M-moruru~..."
Echidna hugs Moruru, tears in her eyes. Moruru, being a great angel, hugs her back with a loving expression. What a noble sight...
I'll pretend not to notice that the reason they got along is because of my intimidation.
A little while later, Echidna clears her throat. "So," she says, turning to Moruru,
"what I want to tell you, Moruru, is that, as I said earlier, it's about the 'ancient dragon's magic'."
"Yes!"
Moruru nodded enthusiastically at Echidna's response, and Echidna opened her mouth wide. She was pointing to the inside of her own mouth.
"Can you see it? Ancient dragons can change their forms, but the one thing that never changes is the 'ancient dragon's mark' engraved on the back of their throat."
"Hmm? Ah I found it! So cool!"
Moruru peeked into Echidna's open mouth. "Hmm," Echidna said, closing her mouth.
"If you infuse magic into this ancient dragon's mark and slide it with your tongue, you can take it out from your mouth. Then, you'll be able to control the ancient dragon's mark. That's what we call 'ancient dragon magic'."
"Whoa..."
"It's hard to understand just by listening, so let me show you."
Echidna said, closing her mouth. Then, she opened it again, and something came out.
A complex magic circle in the shape of a dragon.
Echidna touched the geometric pattern that appeared, and it started rotating. The ancient dragon's mark began to spin and expand, stopping in mid-air.
"This is the ancient dragon's mark. If you add various operations to this mark, you can transform into a dragon or breathe fire."
"Dragon's Breath!"
"Exactly. It's Dragon's Breath, the sharpest magic that can pierce through anything, even the shield of the gods. It's the ancient dragon's magic that can blow away anything."
Moruru was extremely excited, and Echidna was explaining with a serious face. I was also listening intently, finding the explanation fascinating.
"Let me show you a simple example. I'll just transform my arm into a dragon."
Echidna lightly touched the floating ancient dragon's mark, and then thrust out her hand. Her hand passed through the ancient dragon's mark.
In an instant, Echidna's human hand transformed into a dragon's, with black scales and sharp claws.
I widened my eyes in amazement, and Moruru exclaimed, "Amazing!"
"Echidna-sensei! This! This! Moruru can do it too?"
"Umm, of course. The magic of this ancient dragon can produce countless effects depending on how you use it. But since it's impossible to teach you everything at once, today I'll only teach you 'Shapeshifting Magic' and 'Dragon's Breath'."
"Woo-hoo!"
Moruru raised her hands in excitement, her whole body trembling with joy. I said, "Echidna, you're really good at teaching," and Echidna, pleased with herself, replied, "Don't underestimate me, human."
I thought it was okay to leave Moruru in Echidna's care, so I left the room, and right by the door, I found Roman standing there.
"Hey, what's going on, Roman?"
"Ah, no... I was just being cautious since we're close to the enemy. I was feeling pretty good, but it was pointless..."
Roman said with a wry smile. I shrugged and replied, "At least she's kind to Moruru, her own kind."
"That's true... Anyway, I should mention this..."
"Huh? Yeah?"
I stared at Roman, who had a resigned expression. He said,
"Echidna tends to betray people, so be careful to some extent. She won't do anything too extreme, but she does betray people frequently..."
"...Why did you call that traitor?"
"Ask the king."
By the way, Alex said that if you know someone is going to betray you, it's easier to deal with them. That logic makes sense, and it's true that there's no other ancient dragon like Echidna who can educate Moruru...
...Hmm...?
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