Heheheh... the dragon laughed in the aftermath of his Fire Blaze attack. I’ve enjoyed our little battle, Wataru...!
The time was 6:30 in the evening. The soft light of the moon illuminated the vast desert beneath the night sky. The sand where the dragon had directed his Fire Blaze was scorched black by the intense heat.
The dragon slowly landed on the ground and folded his wings.
It’s rather hot down here, isn’t it? Perhaps I overdid it...?
The dragon found the level of heat strange. The desert at night is usually an extremely cold place, but even accounting for the Fire Blaze, all around him the air felt warm—hot, even.
Too hot!
This is far hotter than it should be!!
Something’s wrong... Something is definitely wrong about this...!
The dragon held his breath and listened carefully to the desert night around him. As he did, the clouds of sand fell back down to the ground, until all was still and he could see the horizon in every direction.
—!
The dragon could not believe his very eyes!!
How... is this possible...!?
It was a most surprising turn of events! Two hundred meters away, in the same direction that the dragon had just blasted a pillar of fire, stood none other than Wataru! The sand all around him glowed a deep crimson, casting a red light on his face that made him look like a Nio come to life!
How—How can this be!? My Blaze was a direct hit!!
The dragon was unable to hide his surprise, and was most dismayed by this turn of events! The ground directly around Wataru was pitch black; clear proof that the Fire Blaze had been on the very spot the boy was standing!
But he was still alive!
Not only that, he looked even livelier than he had before!!
There was no mistaking it—Wataru had used his killer technique and activated every ounce of “Hot-Blooded” heat he’d had inside of him, and fended off the dragon’s attack!
However, he looked very different from the time when he had used this very technique against the Demon Lord! His trademark black hair had, for some reason, instantly grown longer!
His hair... All of a sudden, it’s grown over a meter longer......? Impossible......
The dragon was at a complete loss for words upon seeing Wataru’s transformation!
“......!”
Wataru, on the other hand, said not a word in response to the dragon’s surprise, and merely started walking towards him slowly. The tails of the red hachimaki around his head and the wild black hair, now stretching down to his legs, billowed in the wind behind him.
I can’t... tell what he’s thinking......!
The dragon watched the approaching Wataru very carefully, but no matter how he tried to read the human’s mind, he could not pick up a single thought! The dragon felt as though he was staring into a lake with a perfectly flat surface, where not a single ripple could be perceived—Wataru had become, in the truest sense of the word, “single-minded”!
“It is pointless to try. My mind has absorbed the strength of your fire power, so much so that not even you can read my mind!!” Wataru said, his voice as majestic and forthright as that of a king rising from his throne!
You “absorbed my fire power”...? What the blazes does that mean!?
“Hmph! I got you monologuing during the battle! You told me all about your battle techniques!!”
How daring of him, to rebuke a dragon! The smile on his face was bold as brass as he told the dragon how he had survived!
Hmmm, I did indeed!
The dragon understood what Wataru had done! Still, I think our Dear Readers might get lost here if we don’t explain something first!
Wataru has activated his Exploding Bloodrush! But this was no normal Exploding Bloodrush!
This was...... Exploding Bloodrush: Main Event Edition*!!
(*Exploding Bloodrush: Main Event Edition: One of the great secrets of the “Exploding Blood Style” passed down through the generations of the Ito family. Once activated, every ounce of hot-blooded energy inside the body is released, strengthening the user to an extreme degree. When Wataru faced the Demon Lord Deus, he used this technique to power up enough to be able to defeat his opponent.)
And yet, Wataru had been unable to activate the full power of the Exploding Bloodrush technique when fighting the Demon Lord. Exploding Bloodrush requires a “special activation condition” in order to be utilized to its fullest extent. What, you may ask, is that “special activation condition”? Why, it is being engulfed in flames.
As I said just earlier, the Exploding Bloodrush is a technique that enables one to release all the heat inside one’s body in one go. What’s not very well known, however, is that when Exploding Bloodrush is activated, the user is capable of absorbing any heat from their immediate surroundings and transforming it into further hot-blooded energy!
In other words, if there was a raging fire surrounding the user when they activated the technique, they’d instantly be able to transform that power into their own and use it themselves, strengthening their Exploding Bloodrush. The hotter the flames, the more heat that could be absorbed, empowering the user even more. Once they achieve peak power, they are said to have activated Exploding Bloodrush to the fullest extent. Doing so causes the user’s hormonal glands to leap into overdrive, causing sudden hair growth and toughening their muscles. This secret technique is one of the strongest from the mysterious Exploding Blood Style. [9])
“All right then, here I go... I’ll show you that I am the strongest, hottest, craziest badass in this entire fantasy world!!” Wataru glared at the dragon with a fierce glint in his eyes!
To Wataru, being engulfed in his enemy’s flames was not a disadvantage—it was the most optimal situation he could have been in!
“We’re settling this once and for all, dragon!!!!!!”
And, of course, it barely even merits mentioning, but Wataru began sprinting towards the dragon at a raging two hundred kilometers per hour!
Bring it on, Human!!
The dragon spread his wings and leapt into the air, full of exhilaration and thrilled for the coming fight! He bared his sharp talons and spiraled downwards, right at Wataru!