Creating a great distance between us, I pull the trigger in my heart.

“Dragon Slayer Blood War!!”

Shouting the activation incantation for the spell, I thrust my blood sword into my own chest.

“…? Self-harm… Have you lost your mind?”

“Well, what do you think?”

The act was clearly a fatal wound. The crimson blade had indeed pierced me, and from my chest, which I had impaled without hesitation, the exact same crimson blood flowed endlessly.

Normally, that blood would merely spill onto the ground and pool there. However, instead of reaching the ground, it floated around me, stopping at a certain distance. Seeing this, the black-gray knight seemed to realize that something disadvantageous to him was about to occur and switched to an attack.

“A magical technique?!”

“Hah…! Too late to notice now──”

But it was already too late. A massive amount of blood was already freely orbiting around me, tracing a trajectory as it spun. My magic was about 40% activated.

──Given the current condition, this is my limit…

“I won’t let you──!”

Unaware of this, the black-gray knight's slash came down upon me.

“…”

I simply glanced at it absentmindedly and immediately turned my gaze elsewhere.

I didn't dodge. Rather, there was no need to. The blood chains revolving around me automatically defended me before I could even move. The clash of the longsword and the blood echoed loudly, a harsh impact that felt slightly off.

──This sound is too unnatural for mere blood…

“What is this magic…? This isn't part of the Bradley secret arts──”

While lost in thought, the black-gray knight let out a voice of shock.

He must have thoroughly researched Bradley's magic──Crimson Blood Magic: Blood Arts──since he seemed well-informed, yet he was visibly confused upon seeing the magic I had activated.

“What’s the matter? You seem awfully familiar with my family’s magic.”

But his reaction was natural. The magic I had just used was not the secret technique passed down and refined through generations of Bradley. It was an original magic technique I had created myself.

Dragon Slayer Blood War

This battle form forcefully expels most of my blood and magic through self-inflicted wounds, allowing for constant maximum output in spellcasting and physical enhancement.

It was developed to overcome two major weaknesses of Crimson Blood Magic: Blood Arts: the slow startup time and the inability to use powerful spells unless blood had already been externalized. As you can see, I manifest countless──well, four is my current limit──chains formed from my blood and magic, instantly deploying various spells through them.

“This spell was originally meant for that damn lizard… But since you're just another one of its lackeys, you’re basically a dragon yourself, right?! That means no holding back! From the very start, I’ll give it my all!!”

“Mere blood chains floating around you…!!”

The black-gray knight closed the distance behind me again. Normally, I would have to turn and counterattack immediately, or else suffer a fatal blow. However, as I demonstrated earlier, my chains are not just floating ornaments.

“Too bad for you, but this is a fully automated counterattack.”

“Tch…!!”

An abnormal sword pressure came from behind. But I had no reason to worry. The same intense impact sound rang out.

Without even checking, I knew the blood chains had repelled the attack and protected me. Anything that posed a threat to me would be blocked by these chains. Their offensive and defensive capabilities far surpassed those of the Blood Sword, making them the ultimate magic for both attack and defense.

“Now, die just enough not to actually die!!”

Gripping another blood sword I had conjured, I switched to offense.

“Tch…!”

Realizing he was at a disadvantage, the black-gray knight attempted to distance himself from me. As one of that damn lizard’s subordinates, he was cunning and had an uncanny ability to assess battlefield advantages and disadvantages.

──But my chains will never let an enemy escape.

“Even to the ends of the earth, I will hunt you down and kill you!!”

“Ugh…!!”

The moment he tried to fade into the background, vanishing like a specter, my blood chains caught his left leg in an instant.

──Time is limited. Since I’ve activated this spell, I must finish this quickly!

“I’ll be taking that arm!!”

Closing the distance in a flash, I locked onto the knight’s right arm, the one tightly gripping his longsword. There was no escape. He was still ensnared by my chains.

“Tch──!!”

With a sharp swing, my crimson blade slashed upward, aiming to sever his arm in two──

──Or so I thought.

Just moments before my blade reached him, the black-gray knight suddenly conjured a black, shadow-like wave from the ground, creating a barrier between us.

“This magic… It’s the one that defines him──”

Instinctively, I leaped backward, narrowly avoiding being swallowed by the black wave. If anything symbolized the infamous Five Heavenly Swords warrior, Tylus Arnell, it was that spell.

“Black Sea Overlord Tylus…”

Though he wields water magic, its color is not the pure blue of the sea, but an all-consuming black. In my first life, I had never seen it in person, but witnessing it now sends chills down my spine.

“Haa… haa…”

Breathing heavily, Tylus emerged from behind the wall of black waves, his face twisted in eerie delight.

“I thought this would be a one-sided slaughter, but for someone so young, you’re quite capable.”

“…What an honor. I’m just as thrilled to see the magic that earned you the title of Black Sea Overlord.”

My breathing was disturbingly uneven. I tried to mask it with a quip, putting on a front. But against a battle-hardened knight, such bravado was meaningless.

“What’s wrong? You seem quite out of breath... Surely, you’re not already tired, are you?”

“...”

“Oh? Could it be that you’re actually exhausted? You’ve been in such a hurry to settle this match... Ah, I see. That absurd magic you used at the start—it turns out you can’t maintain it for long, can you?”

“Tch...”

All I could do was glare at Tylus as he smugly pointed out the flaw in my magic. It was frustrating, but he was right—this Dragon Slayer Blood War came with its own significant drawbacks.

As I mentioned before, this magic forcibly expels my blood and mana outside my body, immediately converting them into other forms of magic. Naturally, this means it consumes an immense amount of energy. Not only that, but because I’m forcibly drawing out what should remain inside me, the strain on my body is immense. If I take even a single fatal blow, recovering will be nearly impossible. Since my blood and mana are being channeled externally, I won’t have the resources left for self-repair. In simple terms, it’s a double-edged sword.

—But that doesn’t matter!

“So what!? Are you going to stall for time and wait for me to collapse from exhaustion!?”

As long as I annihilate my enemy before I wear out, there’s no problem.

This magic was designed for ultra-short battles. I command my blood chains and kick off the ground again, charging low along the earth to close the distance once more—

“That’s right. If that ensures your defeat, then it’s the best strategy... Black Sea!!”

The knight of black ash plunged his dark longsword into the ground, summoning forth a wave of inky blackness. The tidal surge crashed toward me with overwhelming force, making it impossible to keep my footing.

“What the hell is this spell’s range!?”

The wave advanced from all directions, leaving no physical means of escape. Even if I wanted to defend, the sheer volume of the surge made that impossible. The only way to survive was to counteract it with a spell of equal magnitude—something on the level of Black Sea itself.

“This guy effortlessly surpasses limits... Is Five Heavenly Swords made up of nothing but monsters!?”

“Relax. Compared to Lord Scarsheid, I’m nothing more than an insect.”

“Tch... Then if I can’t take you down, there’s no point in even trying!!”

Of the four chains deployed around me, I sacrificed two to activate my magic.

“Crimson Blood Overlord: Bloodroad!!”

Was it a storm of blood? Or perhaps the violence of blood itself? A crimson shockwave erupted, colliding head-on with the approaching black sea.

“Oh...?”

“Guh—!!”

Black and red clashed. The sheer physical force generated by both attacks was enough to cancel out the oncoming tide of the Black Sea with my Crimson Blood Overlord, just as I had hoped. But the cost was too great.

“Haa... haa... haa—!!”

“To think you actually defended against that spell... You truly are remarkable.”

The knight’s voice carried genuine admiration, but it only annoyed me.

While I had barely managed to stay on my feet by using another chain to shield myself from the aftershock, he showed no sign of exhaustion.

—Is this what it means to have an overwhelming difference in raw ability?

My thoughts wavered in my dazed state. Even at full strength, I couldn’t see a future where I defeated this black-ash knight.

“Not enough... It’s nowhere near enough... I’m still far from enough—”

Everything. Everything about me was still lacking. Not even close.

If a mere subordinate of that damned lizard was this powerful, then how strong was an actual dragon?

“I can’t even begin to imagine...”

I could barely stand. My blood and mana were almost entirely drained. I was completely spent. My body instinctively deactivated Dragon Slayer Blood War, recognizing that any further use would be life-threatening. I couldn’t cast another spell even if I tried.

“Haa... haa... haa—”

My breath remained ragged.

—My throat was unbearably dry.

My body craved ■.

I had felt something similar once before—when I first completed Dragon Slayer Blood War. I had used too much blood in succession, and my throat burned with thirst. An insatiable craving for ■ had overtaken me.

A sensation I would never normally experience. Yet whenever I lost too much blood, this urge—this desire—flooded through me as if it had always been there, lying dormant.

—Even though I had no such inclination.

“—od.”

“What are you mumbling about?”

As my mind drifted in thought, I suddenly realized the black-ash knight was standing before me. He must have decided that the battle was already over, as there was no longer any trace of hostility in his stance.

—How arrogant.

It pissed me off, but more than that, the dryness in my throat consumed my attention.

■. I needed ■. I couldn’t hold back anymore. Until today, I had always been able to suppress it. But for some reason, today was different. I had never craved ■ this desperately before.

“Oh well... Farewell, Claym Bradley.”

The black longsword gleamed as it was raised overhead. I could only watch vacantly—

—And yet, my thirst remained unquenched.

“Give me blood...”

And so, the blade came down in a straight arc, set to cleave me in two—

“Stay away from Clay!!”

“What!?”

Just as a familiar voice rang out, a massive wall of ice suddenly surged up between me and the black-ash knight, dividing us.

“Who’s there!?”

“—Free... sia?”

From beyond the icy barricade, I heard the knight’s surprised voice. A faint chill brushed my cheek, white flakes drifting through the air—

“I came to rescue you!”

The very girl who had fled earlier now stood before me, her battle-hungry grin unwavering.