Barbarian in a Failed Game

The master of the Sea Dragon Archipelago was, as usual, lost in sleep.

He or she.

An existence that couldn’t be defined by any means had always been this way, protecting its own peace by obliterating any mortals that disturbed it.

And now, the master of Sea Dragon Archipelago slightly opened its eyes to the commotion happening above the sea.

『……How dare you.』

A transcendent voice resounded clearly from the depths of the sea. The will embedded in that voice was unmistakable.

Anger.

Rumble……!

As the master arose, the insignificant creatures parasitizing its body scattered and fell off. It was as if a colossal rock formation was stretching out.

Thus, the true form of the master of Sea Dragon Archipelago was revealed. Its entire body was covered in scales that were harder than any steel refined by dwarves.

Even in the dimmest, darkest deep sea, its sky-blue scales shone brightly. And as its eyes slowly opened, the dragon’s eyes (龍眼) were unveiled.

It was said that even a transcendent being couldn’t escape the gaze of a dragon. The master of Sea Dragon Archipelago, from the profound depths, read the commotion on the surface completely.

『Those grotesque beings.』

The master of Sea Dragon Archipelago narrowed its eyes. It immediately understood the cause of the disturbance. Intelligent beings, corrupted by a monster of abominable nature, were fighting in its domain.

Rumble……!

The arrogance of these long-lived intelligent beings had grown so vast that it diluted the fear that had been etched into them for so long. The master of Sea Dragon Archipelago, filled with rage, slowly surged upwards.

As it fumed, the sea monsters circling around him fled in terror, and the currents of the sea began to grow turbulent. Then, as it surged faster and faster towards the surface, the master of Sea Dragon Archipelago emerged, biting off an entire ship.

The sky-blue scales covering its entire body were harder than any mineral known to this world. Its sharp claws emitted a terrifying aura rivaling that of a swordmaster, and its tail was long enough to wrap around a large vessel with room to spare.

An ogre, much larger than combining two ordinary trolls, looked like an infant in comparison to its overwhelming majesty. An ancient transcendent species, one of the two that survived to the present along with the demons.

『Who dares to disturb my land!』

The dragon, master of Sea Dragon Archipelago, roared with its tremendous draconic gaze.

***

“What the hell is that crazy…!”

William cursed harshly as he hurriedly increased the speed of the pirate ship.

“A dragon? That’s a dragon, right?!”

The master of Sea Dragon Archipelago had revealed itself. If it were just that, they wouldn’t have been so surprised because they expected it from the start. However, its true identity was far beyond their wildest imaginations.

A dragon.

Not just a giant sea monster, but an actual dragon.

“Damn… That really seems like the real deal…?”

Ron had never seen the golden dragon at Argon Castle, but he had seen lesser dragons like basilisks or wyverns before. From Ron’s perspective, the master of Sea Dragon Archipelago was clearly a different species than those lesser dragons.

First of all, it’s monstrously huge. Lesser dragons are usually smaller than ogres, but this one dwarfed an ogre by comparison. Moreover, the state of the sea had been unusual ever since the master of Sea Dragon Archipelago appeared.

“The sky…!”

Neria’s short scream drew everyone’s gaze upward. And what they saw was shocking.

“A… storm?!”

Dark clouds had suddenly filled the sky over Sea Dragon Archipelago, and in the distance, a waterspout was spiraling upward as if it would reach the heavens.

Unbelievably, the moment the master of Sea Dragon Archipelago revealed itself, a storm began to rage.

“We need to get out of here fast! What the hell is he doing over there?!”

William’s voice was almost a scream. Given that they were now face to face with a dragon thought to be more of a legend than a real creature, it was no wonder. The fact that William hadn’t suggested they abandon Khan was a testament to his tenuous grip on reason.

However, retrieving Khan was easier said than done. Khan, having escaped the ship destroyed by the master of Sea Dragon Archipelago, was now on another ship, mowing down the elves left and right. It was as if the dragon’s sudden appearance meant nothing to him.

『Rude!』

The master of Sea Dragon Archipelago, flapping wings as large as ships, roared with fury and slammed its front paw down.

Boom!

It seemed to strike the sea, but the impact was overwhelming.

Crash…!

A sudden tidal wave surged toward the elf fleet. The wave, towering twice as high as the ships, washed over the elves who had been charging at Khan, forcing them to hastily use spirit magic.

But there was no way they could withstand it.

The tidal wave raised by the master of Sea Dragon Archipelago swallowed one ship whole without losing momentum, and only after destroying four more ships, leaving them in pieces, did it finally subside. Even then, it was only because the spiritists of the six families had exerted all their strength.

“R-run…!”

The elves, who had lost their reason and were fighting due to the Alchemist’s Stimulant, finally regained their senses.

In front of the dragon that could control storms and tidal waves at will, they had come back to their senses. However, the master of Sea Dragon Archipelago had no intention of forgiving the mortals who disrupted its peace.

『Kneel─! Insects!』

As the roar filled with anger resonated, a loud thud was heard from the direction of the elf fleet. It was the sound of over a hundred elves simultaneously falling to their knees.

“Screee! Spare me…!”

“My knees! My knees─!”

Hundreds of elves groaned in agony.

The dragon’s roar was merciless. Despite the immense pressure that shattered their knees, the elves, in a kneeling position, couldn’t move at all. All they could do was plead for their lives.

『And who are you?』

However, there were mortals who resisted the dragon’s command and did not kneel.

There were the Sixth Branch in her spirit manifestation form and the group that had stayed far away following Khan’s warning.

But it seemed that the Sixth Branch had paid a heavy price for her resistance, as blood dripped from her mouth, while the group’s resistance was thanks to Elena’s holy magic just barely holding up.

And as for Khan…

‘This is incredible.’

Amid the elves moaning with shattered knees, Khan knelt and watched the situation intently.

‘It doesn’t seem like I was affected by the stimulant.’

The first thing Khan did was to observe the dragon’s emotions using Karyan’s eyes. Luckily, the power of the eyes worked even on a real transcendent species, confirming that the stimulant had no effect on it.

Which meant…

The red jade stone was a trap prepared specifically for the elves.

‘They’ve been betrayed.’

It was obvious without even looking. They intended to provoke the master of Sea Dragon Archipelago by offering up a hundred elves and an elder of Paradise.

Without informing them of the true nature of the plan.

‘How well they play with each other’s treachery….’

Indeed, it was fitting to call it a collaboration between the scheming elves and the mages. The joint work of the leaders of Paradise and the Alchemist had achieved its intended effect.

“Ugh…!”

And realizing that she had been used as a sacrificial pawn, the Sixth Branch’s face was twisted in a grotesque fury, having regained her reason due to the dragon’s roar.

She must have accepted the risk of death from the moment she came here to provoke the master of Sea Dragon Archipelago. But realizing that she had been pushed into it without knowing the full extent of the plan, she couldn’t help but feel enraged.

As he inwardly mocked the grotesque nature of their alliance, Khan remained vigilant. With a chilling premonition, the whole world began to turn red.

『You. You weren’t affected by my command.』

The culprit painting the entire Sea Dragon Archipelago red was none other than the dragon. It seemed the dragon had discerned that Khan was only pretending to be affected, and its draconic gaze fixed straight onto him.

『No signs of resistance at all. How did you manage that?』

The master of Sea Dragon Archipelago, seemingly curious about Khan’s unscathed condition, moved its enormous body towards the ship where Khan stood.

『Speak, mortal.』

Even as it approached, the master of Sea Dragon Archipelago continued to spread its commanding presence. It appeared determined to confirm whether Khan was truly unaffected by its words.

Just then, the dormant marks on Khan started to glow again, perhaps interpreting the dragon’s approach as the start of battle.

『That aura… Minions of the gods? No, wait….』

The power of the dragon’s gaze could penetrate even another transcendent being. The master of Sea Dragon Archipelago seemed to understand exactly whose aura the marks on Khan held.

It stopped speaking abruptly and halted its flight.

『That can’t be…. No, this is impossible…!』

Surprisingly, the master of Sea Dragon Archipelago was trying to deny what its eyes had seen. A being capable of controlling storms and tidal waves, and neutralizing a hundred elves with a single word, was now questioning its own abilities?

No one would have believed the current situation, except Khan.

‘Could it be…?’

In an era where power levels were vastly inferior to ancient times, dragons were practically living disasters.

The guardian dragon of the empire, Akardnil, had once said, “The limit to what mortal beings of the current age can oppose is a hatchling dragon.”

Thus, it was not a lie. Anything beyond that required breaking the transcendent barrier or possessing transcendent-level power.

In other words, it would be normal for the master of Sea Dragon Archipelago not to be surprised or flustered even if he accurately assessed Khan’s strength. But the master of Sea Dragon Archipelago showed signs of fluster after his draconic gaze examined Khan.

‘It can’t be that he found out I’m a possessor, so what element could surprise a dragon….’

Khan cast a sidelong glance at the dazzling stigmas that boasted their presence and then stood up with a resolute look.

The master of Sea Dragon Archipelago cast a wary eye but didn’t attack.

Seeing this cautious reaction, Khan was convinced his guess was correct.

‘I initially intended to use Akardnil’s name….’

Plans always change according to the situation. The plan remains the same. Only the name intended to be used has changed.

“To the Master of Sea Dragon Archipelago, a descendant of Karyan addresses you──!”

It was the beginning of a bluff, not against anyone, but a dragon.