Chapter 17: The Finals Part 2

(TN: our mc name will become hades scorpion from now on.
Hades means underworld emperor and it is part of Greek methodology.
)

(POV change)

The explosion caused by the collision of the sand wall created in a moment of desperation by the hades scorpion and the dragon’s breath raised a massive amount of sand and filled the inside of the barrier that was encircling the arena.
Although the audience knew the outcome, they held their breath and waited for the sand to settle.

After about a minute, the sand finally subsided, and the crowd could now see the aftermath.
The attack’s landing site revealed a large crater that had been gouged out of the arena floor, and in the center of it lay the burnt and charred pincers of the hades scorpion.

The pincers were burning and were barely holding their shape.
It was evident that the scorpion’s body had been completely incinerated, leaving nothing but debris and a pincer behind.
In other words, victory belonged to the Rock Dragon.

“Groooaaarrr!!!”

The Rock Dragon roared with joy.
It couldn’t help but be pleased since that annoying little insect had used a strange technique to stab itself with its poisonous stinger, making it feel uncomfortable.
But now it had disintegrated right before its eyes.

As the Rock Dragon walked, it stepped on the only remaining pincer of the scorpion and crushed it persistently, over and over again.
Although no one thought it was a fitting behavior for the strongest species, there was no denying that it was the winner.
The sparse applause was about to grow louder from the audience when they heard a small but impossible-to-ignore sound.

Just after that, the arena was filled with the Rock Dragon’s screams.
The ground where the remnants of the pincer lay had transformed into sharp, long thorns as if timed to the moment when the Rock Dragon stepped on it.
With over twenty thorns, the Rock Dragon stepped with all its weight and strength, piercing through its own body.

Although a few thorns broke before piercing, the rest had penetrated its foot, revealing the pointed ends from its instep.
The Rock Dragon’s right foot was riddled with holes, and it would be unusable unless treated.

While screaming in agony, the rock dragon tried to pull its foot out of the needle-like spikes.
However, before it could do so, a transformation occurred within the spikes.
New subsidiary spikes emerged from the sides of the original spikes, causing further damage to the already wounded right foot.
The result was a horrific and gruesome state of damage.

With a shriek, the rock dragon lost its footing and fell to its right side.
The spikes remained lodged in its foot, broken and unable to be removed.

As the rock dragon writhed on the ground, the bases of the remaining spikes crumbled into sand.
Slowly, something began to emerge from beneath.
It was the hades scorpion, which had lost its left pincer.

◆◇◆◇◆◇

(POV scorpion)

Oh, I thought I was going to die.
Realizing that I couldn’t prevent the imminent breath attack, I created a wall of sand and turned the ground beneath my feet into sand before diving under it.
While diving, my left pincers were burned, so I cut them off myself and left them on the ground as a decoy, which seemed to work well.

Later, I turned the spot where the dragon stomped on my pincers, thinking I was dead, into a pile of sharp, needle like spikes.
The sand spikes had been infused with my poison, so the rock dragon had absorbed a large amount of poison into its body through its right foot.
This dose was several times larger than when I poured it in from its reversed scale.

As expected, the movements of the rock dragon writhing around gradually slowed down.
The poison was circulating inside its body.
However, the opponent was a dragon species.
The fact that the poison did not have much effect indicated that it had high resistance, and it was not surprising if it gained more resistance while I left it alone.
I was convinced that there was that much of a difference between me and the rock dragon.

(That’s why I can’t let this opportunity slip away…!)

Despite losing one of my pincers and being off-balance, I didn’t wish to miss this chance and started rushing.
I had already used up almost all of my fighting spirit and spiritual power in this battle, so if I were to prolong it any further, I wouldn’t have another chance to win.
Hurry, hurry, hurry!

Despite my fatigue slowing down my movements and my injuries causing a mental attack of pain every time I shifted, my insect legs, powered by my fighting spirit, propelled me forward with powerful kicks against the ground.

“Guooo…gyaaoooooo!”

As I approached, the rock dragon’s reaction was nothing short of pathetic.
It dragged its trembling, immobile right leg and stepped back, finally realizing that its own life was at stake.

The creature’s repeated poisoning had dulled its senses, making it difficult for it to even stand up due to a wound on its leg.
The wound was bleeding heavily, and the dragon needed to stop it to save its own life.
I believe that this was the first time the rock dragon had ever felt cornered like this.
Creatures born strong often live without ever experiencing the fear of death, but now the dragon was forced to confront its own mortality.

That’s why the shock of experiencing the fear of death for the first time must have been huge.
In addition, the fact that I, whom it thought it had killed, was alive, may have been terrifying to the rock dragon.
Faced with my existence, which threatened its own life without dying for some reason, the rock dragon chose to escape instead of fighting.
This meant that it had succumbed to fear.

If I calmly considered the situation, the injured rock dragon still had the upper hand, especially since we were enclosed by the walls of the arena, leaving me with no chance to flee.
Nevertheless, I chose to run because fear was making me appear much larger in the eyes of the rock dragon.

The sensation of being frozen with fear and unable to move was completely foreign to me.
Despite being weak, I was born with the mission of “surviving for a hundred years.” As a result, it was natural for me to think of ways to survive in any situation and to act recklessly to avoid death.
Hmm, I can’t sympathize with fear at all.

(Even if the opponent is frightened and fleeing, I won’t show mercy.
I don’t want them to realize that they are actually still stronger than me.)

I did not hesitate in the face of the frightened rock dragon.
As I ran, I used my remaining spiritual power to create a sand-made tail segment that was as thick as the neck of the  rock dragon.
I wrapped the injured leg of the rock dragon, which was still bleeding heavily, with the huge tail segment growing nearby its body, and pierced its wound with my tail.

Although there was no poison on the sand made tail , unlike the real thing, the sharpness of the needle remained the same, and the sand-made tail only differed by its increased length and thickness.
The rock dragon, whose wound had been reopened, let out a pathetic scream again.
While struggling to escape from the restraint of the tail segment, I dove back into the ground, turning the soil into sand, and approached the rock dragon as if swimming through it.

Even though I was buried in the ground, I could accurately grasp the location of the rock dragon.
Despite feeling afraid, I still possessed a vast amount of fighting spirit and spiritual power.
By sharpening my senses, I could clearly perceive not only the distance between us but also the shape of its body.
Taking aim, I burst out of the ground with great force.

“(Die!)”

I concentrated the remaining fighting spirit into my right claw and tail, then attacked from behind at arrow-like speed.
I jumped onto its back and pierced the weak spot, the nape, with my claw.
As it dug deep into the flesh, I quickly pulled it out and then used all my strength to stab the rock dragon with my tail.

The tail segment tore through the flesh, and even though the poison needle at the tip shattered, it pierced through the skull and reached the brain.
Finally, using the little remaining spiritual power, I generated a small ball of sand at the tip of my tail segment…..
and made it explode inside the brain.

The rock dragon screamed in agony, “Gugigigii! Agaga… Kaaa…”

After sustaining brain damage, the rock dragon convulsed once and then stiffened, its body becoming as motionless as a broken puppet.
Knowing the resilience of dragon species, I pushed my tail deeper into its skull, stirring it around before finally pulling it out.

Even after the wet sound of the tail coming loose, I remained alert on top of the rock dragon, not letting my guard down.
Brain matter stuck to my tail and dripped onto me, making me crave food, but I couldn’t afford to let my guard down in case the dragon moved while I ate.
So I gritted my teeth and endured until its spiritual power and fighting spirit had completely dissipated.

“Ke…ke…this is it!!! An unexpected reversal! Unbelievable victory! The winner of the ‘Rookie’s Battle’ and the new ‘Rookie King’ is…the Hades Scorpion!!!”

“WWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH!!!”

Though I had been ready in the back of my mind, the moment its spiritual power and fighting spirit completely vanished, the manager declared my victory.
I was covered in wounds and was honestly at my limit of exhaustion, but somehow, I had managed to win.

With this, I could finally relax my muscles.
I sat down on the head of the rock dragon and released the tension in my limbs, sipping on the brain fluid that had attached to the tail segment while chewing on the flesh I had gouged out of the wound on the back of my head.
Wow! What is this? It’s insanely delicious!

It seemed that dragon species were considered top-grade ingredients as well.
I became completely absorbed in savoring the taste of the rock dragon’s meat, ignoring the cheers from the spectators.
Ah, it’s delicious… it’s seeping through me… It’s amazing to be alive and to be able to taste this.
Being alive is wonderful!

I wanted to eat a little more, but apparently I was ordered to return by Georg.
As I tried to eat, a sharp pain shot through my body, and my body naturally headed towards the exit.

Although I was getting used to this pain, I would never get used to the humiliation of being reminded that I had no freedom.
I was finally able to enjoy a decent meal and a good mood… they could have at least treated me a little better, that damn old man.

“You did it! Amazing! To actually beat a dragon species!”

When I returned to the cage, the excited Wodsorrel hit me with her tail.
Since I was already exhausted, even a light hit from her tail was quite painful.
I couldn’t use telepathy to communicate, so all I could do was endure it for now.

After a while, her excitement subsided, and a serious atmosphere emerged.
It seemed like we were going to have a serious conversation.
Despite my fatigue, I focused on her telepathic message.

“Now that the tournament is over, security will be loosened soon.
So, it’s time to say goodbye,” Wooodsoorrel said through telepathy.
Her tone was somewhat sad.
I had only helped her out of my conscience, and it was also my wish for her to enjoy her freedom.
There was no need for her to be sad.

I wanted her to go home to her family and celebrate their reunion with a smile; that would be enough to keep my pride intact.
If she could also tell the story of the kind scorpion she met along the way; that would be sufficient.

“Thank you so much.
If it weren’t for your kindness, I would have died in the preliminary rounds.
I can’t thank you enough.
I’ll never forget this debt.
I may not have the power to save you now, but I’ll definitely come to help you.
So don’t you dare die before then, okay?”

With those words, Woodsorrel got off me and gracefully landed on the floor without making a sound.
Her silence was due not to her spiritual powers, but to her agility.
She left without making a sound, and although the journey to her hometown might not be easy, I wished her the best.

“Oh, by the way, when you become free, have a child with me.
A strong daughter will be born, I’m sure of it.”

“Huh? What? A child? What do you mean? I’m a Hades Scorpion; I can’t make a baby with a fox demon, can I? It’s impossible, right? You’re kidding, right?”

However, I couldn’t shake the serious tone of Woodsorrel’s message, which left me pondering the true meaning of her words until I was thrown back into my cage and left to my own thoughts.