I've heard of migratory birds traveling distances of several hundred kilometers per day, but what I'm doing now is on another level. While it uses up a lot of energy to fly like this, I can see the scenery underneath me changing swiftly. The Mineva Republic's geography looks quite similar to the Kingdom of Lares' in that it's mostly covered in hills and forests, with some rolling plains and land claimed for fields when near villages or towns. Large cities are similarly rare, generally only reaching the size of Hovsgaerden at their largest.

We've traveled a whole day without rest, and Hestia has taken her meals while riding on my wide back. It seems that she's actually quite comfortable, once I realized that hard armor is not too great to sit on for long distances, and created a fur cover for her from the template of a Vularen. Once again, I have to thank maou-mama for her mistake in sending me to the Dark Continent, because that wolf-like creature was the single most versatile genetic template I gained throughout my time in this world.

I don't feel a hint of fatigue since I mostly glide over large distances and at a constant descent, before having to employ my wings to gain some altitude again. Even the largest of birds don't dare to approach me, and we make great progress at an incredibly fast rate. Asoko periodically checks the map to see our location, and soon tells me that we have put half the distance behind us, using the last town as a starting point. This means it'll take another day to reach the capital of the kingdom. The goal is in sight.

Flying through the night and using night vision, I don't lose my way, while Hestia falls asleep on my back. I barely feel the weight of the two I'm carrying, but I can tell that she's lying down comfortably. Asoko remains awake, but due to our speed, we can't really talk to each other without screaming. Thus, we spend the time silently, concentrating on traveling as quickly as possible.

I know Kamii is safe, but after Senka's unexpectedly honest display of loneliness, I can't even begin to imagine how the little dark elf must be feeling. While it's true that without imminent danger, it's no longer a matter of seconds. But for emotions, the cycle of day and night acts like tides of the sea. I picture her shivering in bed all alone, missing my presence next to her, which she has grown used to ever since I freed her from that cage. That thought is what keeps me going as fast as I can.

When the sun rises to my right, I feel like I'm speeding up further. I want to reach the kingdom and Kamii's side before the sun goes down again. But then I spot a flying animal in the distance and focus my eyes on it. It's still far away, but there's no doubt about it: It's a dragon. And it appears to be of a different species from Dregana's, which I'm copying visually. Its carapace is a bluish green, and it has a more pointed head. But... isn't it coming towards us? Did I violate its airspace or something?

With a mighty roar that splits the skies, the real dragon is approaching at an incredible velocity, although I can't really tell whether it's as fast as I am. In either case, I don't really want to get bogged down by an aerial battle against a being that's clearly dangerous. Considering the fact that Dregana's species can shoot streams of fire out from between its armored plates, I wouldn't be able to digest her in time before it causes an explosion inside me. If this new dragon is similar in that aspect, I can't use my strongest asset that is my body

"We have company..." I announce in a deep growling voice and wake up Hestia in the process. I'd prefer to run, but if it's faster than I, it may be able to catch up, fly behind me and attack her. I'm not too worried about Asoko, since she should be able to defend herself to a certain extent. And she's physically much sturdier due to not having a rigid skeletal structure like the fallen angel does. "Prepare for battle and brace yourselves for evasive maneuvers." While they can both fly, they're slower than me, and therefore, would present better targets, if they should actually fall off my back. I could take them both inside me if I wanted to, but that'd be the last resort.

The dragon is now close enough for me to see that its armor plates seem more streamlined than mine. It opens its mouth wide and from its depths I see a burning light rising to the surface. It's about to spit fire at us, but considering the distance, I doubt the flames would hit me. And I'm still a moving target that can dodge something as slow as a breath of fire. But then it closes its jaws again and for a moment I think it may have come to the same conclusion as I regarding effective range.

Then a stream of light shoots out from a small opening at the tip of its mouth. I can't even react in time when it hits my tail and evaporates a part of it in the process. It hurts!!!

One part of me is able to analyze calmly that the reason only my tail was hit is thanks to our different vectors and its miscalculation of my speed. In other words, it will correct that mistake with the next shot. Also, I've seen something just like this before: Luna's laser beam spell, which she used against the double fire affinity mage during the battle in the slave traders' hideout. And worst of all, fire seems to be a Crawling Chaos' greatest weakness, since it simply burns away our organic bodies and can cause extensive damage. I'll fight light with light!

"Spirit Spear!" I roar and a lance of light, larger than any I've summoned before, appears above me. Does this have anything to do with how loudly I chant or is it in relation to my body size? In either case, if that hits, it should be game over for that dragon. When I look at it, it's preparing to fire another beam while beginning to align its flight path with mine. Oh no, you don't!

The spirit spear flies towards it at blinding speed and I'm ready to celebrate when I see it about to hit the target, when the dragon dodges at the last second, causing it to disappear in the distance harmlessly.

"Spirit Spears!" This time I create more than a dozen of smaller ones arranged in a circular formation, so that they can't be dodged so easily. I fire them like a shotgun blast, increasing their scattering the further they travel away from me. However, the dragon folds its wings and rolls in midair, minimizing its surface area, so that only a single one of the spears grazes its armor plates. I notice that it doesn't cause any notable damage, as the light is dispelled instead of erasing everything in its path. Huh? Does that mean dragons have high magic resistance in this world, like in so many fantasy games I played? That's unfair! I only have magic to fight back with and I don't have a real dragon's genetic template which would grant me the same resistance in this form!

The beam whips towards me and I frantically dodge by folding my wings and diving downwards. It cuts through the air above me and disperses after a distance. While these attacks may not be able to kill me in one shot, I don't want to risk either of my passengers getting hit by one. Hestia would be melted in an instant by the size of that beam, and even Asoko, in her current form, might get completely obliterated by it, too. Even if I had more than enough mass to grow that tail back, I'd rather not be hit by that anywhere on my body or wings either.

I need to get close and attack it physically. At a range, I'm at a great disadvantage, as I have nothing to fight back with. My greatest spell is completely ineffective and the dragon can attack repeatedly, seemingly without tiring. The only saving grace is that it's a pinpoint effect and has a rather low firing rate. I can predict when it's going to shoot again, and go with a wide dodge.

Just when I think that, the opponent charges up again, but instead of closing its jaw, it keeps it half-open. A volley of beams appear from between its teeth, spreading out like a shotgun blast, as if in an imitation of my previous attack. I see no way to dodge it and immediately change into the Fata template while pulling both Hestia and Asoko inside my body. With my much smaller size, I weave through the space between beams and tumble towards the ground at an incredible velocity.

Surprised by my sudden transformation, the dragon stops in midair and watches my descent. But I immediately take on the form of a dragon again, this time copying its very own appearance. Spinning around, I spread my wings and catch my fall, before speeding away just above the forest canopy. I don't have any of its genetic material, so I can't copy its abilities, meaning that nothing has changed about my situation. All I did was delay its pursuit by confusing it.

A roar from behind me denotes the end of that confusion and I see it readying another attack. I put some distance between us, so it should be the pinpoint long-distance beam this time. At least I can dodge that more easily.

"Hey, let me out!" A voice inside me says. It's my own voice and I would have thought that I've gone crazy from the pressure of the situation, if I didn't know that Asoko is inside my body right now.

"This isn't a good time!" I reply and dodge the beam, which cuts through the forest under me and evaporates a line of trees in its wake. Hey, you're going to cause a forest fire in your territory, dragon! Apparently it doesn't care about that possibility, as it comes after me and prepares another shot - most likely the shotgun version again, as it has closed the distance considerably with a steep dive.

"I know a countermeasure, so let me out!" Asoko yells and struggles in vain. But I open up a hole on my back, through which she's able to climb out. "Undo your transformation!" I do as I'm told and she hugs me closely, causing us to roll in midair, before she changes into her Fata template. In that short while she speaks into my ear for only me to hear. "I'm the bait, you attack it!" She lets go of me, spreads her wings while wearing an expression of trust, and salutes me. She casts Ventus to gain altitude, and shoots up into the sky, while I fall towards the forest below.

I watch as the dragon stops for a moment and looks between the two of us, before deciding that the winged one is the real me and the more important target. Then I cover my body in a shell of bone hardened to its utmost limit, right before hitting a tree and crashing through the forest like a cannonball. Once at rest, I immediately let Hestia out from inside me and change into her template.

"Onee-sama?" She gasps for air as she looks around and then up to me in confusion.

"Wait here, I'll take care of that dragon. Ventus!" I shout and an immense gust of wing launches me into the air before she can try and say any more. Sorry, but I don't think this is an opponent you should even try to fight, even if we have the numbers advantage. I don't want to risk you getting hurt...

Rather than fly, it's really more like propelling myself forward at the expense of tearing my wings with every subsequent high-powered blast of Ventus. I can see the dragon spewing its shotgun blasts of plasma at Asoko, who barely avoids them by balling up and tumbling through the sky. She's really lucky, but that will run out sooner or later. I don't have time to waste on thinking about losing some of my mass and the pain in my wings is nothing special. I grit my teeth and rise up into the sky behind the dragon, flying at an incredible speed as I approach their battle.

Just then, Asoko's right wing is hit by one projectile from the scattered beam of plasma, but at its size it spreads to her body and easily melts half of her away. She abandons the burning part of her mass but is unable to purge it all, as she begins to fall uncontrollably. Seeing that opportunity, the dragon pursues, opening its maw fully to hit her with a large-scale blast of plasma. Oh no, you don't! I employ every last bit of my mass and expand to an unprecedented size.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" I roar, the very sound shaking the surroundings in a sonic blast. The dragon looks behind itself and even though its face is more or less rigid, I can tell that it's completely shocked at my sight.

I have employed every last bit of my mass and changed into a giant version of myself, almost three times the dragon's size. And my arm is coming down at it like a massive fly swatter. There's no way for it to dodge at this range and with my reach, but it still tries to get away frantically, flapping its huge wings as quickly as it can. But it's too late, as my palm connects with its right wing and in a twist of poetic justice, completely crushes it, before I swat the entire dragon out of the air like it's just a paper airplane.

Landing on the ground and skidding across the forest floor, breaking trees with my bare feet in the process, I quickly reach out and catch the falling Asoko, before undoing my transformation. Holding her half-singed form in my arms, I see that she's showing a strained smile.

"I knew you could do it." She says weakly as half her body is bubbling to counteract the effects of the burns.

"... who do you think I am?" I respond quietly and hug her to my body. Damn, acting all cool like this, who do you think you are, Asoko? Looking up into the sky, I see Hestia circling to find us. I know that it should be impossible to miss where we are, due to the destruction my landing left behind, but I still fill up my insides with air. "HESTIAAAAA!!!" With a booming voice, much louder than my body should be capable of, I shout to get her attention.

"Onee-sama!" She comes down after hearing it and sees Asoko in a state very similar to the one I was after the fire mage burst out from inside my body in the desert.

"Take care of Asoko. I'll finish off the dragon." Handing my other self over to the fallen angel, I change into a winged form and fly up into the sky once again. From above I can spot where the dragon crashed into the ground and immediately move towards it.

From close up, I can see that its body is battered and broken, but it's still barely alive and drawing pained breaths. One eye has been pierced by a branch, but the other is staring at me in the full knowledge that it's going to die now. Not a hint of fear or despair can be seen in it, only pride and defiance. It opens its mouth, not to try and attack one last time, but to take a long breath, most likely aware of the fact that it's the last.

"... a Crawling Chaos..." A deep, rumbling voice emerges from its throat. "... it was... inevitable... heh..." The last sound he makes sounds like a laugh, but I can't really tell. His eye closes and I can tell that he's dead.

"... damn..." This is giving me a bad aftertaste. I should have known that dragons are sentient beings, considering they can transform into humanoid bodies, like Dregana did. It feels really bad to see such a majestic and powerful creature in this pitiful state. But ultimately, he attacked me and those important to me, and I did everything in my power to stop him. The fact that he didn't complain goes to show that he was prepared for such an outcome. "Rest in peace..." I offer a little prayer before his corpse.

Then I expand my body and begin to consume him. I'm sure he would have done the same, if I wasn't a Crawling Chaos but an actual dragon, so it's only proper to observe the rules of nature. I notice that he was indeed a he from the genetic material I gain this way. Now I have an actual dragon's template and should be able to breathe plasma like he was. But I think I found an even better method of transportation from my earlier desperation in getting back into the battle.

Leaving behind not a single scale or bone, I take the dragon's existence into my own, before returning to Hestia and Asoko's side. My other self has been fully healed, but since she just lost almost half her mass, she can't recreate her actual form properly. In other words, it's the return of loli-me!

"What happened to the dragon?" Asoko asks with a childish lisp, and I completely forget myself.

"How cuuute! Is this what I looked like when I was small?" Lifting her into the air and then cuddling her into my chest, I look to Hestia, who responds with a knowing nod. I can understand her now, her reaction when she saw my childish form in the desert, after I got blown up from the inside out and had to make do with less mass. Asoko looks up at me with the same annoyance that I showed Hestia that time.

"... what happened to the dragon?" She asks again, impatience filling her voice.

"I ate him." I respond in a matter of fact way, before realizing that I should have shared some of it with her. I mostly digested the remains already, too, to supplement the energy I lost due to my giant growth earlier. And apparently that's what she wanted to know, as her expression is basically screaming "why would you do that?" into my face. Umm...

"Oops tee hee..."