Dragons

Two minutes before Alesha killed the King

Lounging in a private booth in his humanoid form, Orochi happily snacked on some chili-pepper popcorn as he watched the stream of Max, the Hero who'd gotten the "Incarnation of Fire" class. Max was currently sparring with Sheldon, the wolf beastman Holy Knight, who had started off rather overweight but recently became quite fit. The shy Holy Knight's transformation from fat to handsome wasn't what interested Orochi, though. What was interesting to him was that this fight had started because of a girl.

Harriet (the Elementalist) had been the instigator. Once Sheldon became handsome, she dumped Max, who she'd been dating, and started hanging around with Sheldon instead, flirting with him and wrapping the naive boy around her finger. Max wasn't the type to two-, four- or even six-time with women like Jake, so, naturally, he'd gotten rather attached to Harriet during their time together. After being dumped, Max pressured the shy, handsome Holy Knight into this current fight in an attempt to win her back. After all, she had told him that the reason he'd been dumped was because he wasn't as good as Sheldon, so he was desperate to prove himself and win her back.

Not that this was possible to begin with.

Sheldon was a cautious fighter, testing Max's defenses and making sure he understood his opponent before going on a true offensive. Though Max's class was powerful, the Incarnation of Fire wasn't well suited for duels; most of his spells affected such a large area that he couldn't risk using them in the training grounds. He'd gotten in trouble for trying it before. Thus, he used the hand-to-hand combat skills he'd sloppily learned and wreathed himself in flames.

The Holy Knight was, of course, a terrible match for him. An expert in CQC (close quarters combat) might have been agile enough to dodge Sheldon's sword techniques and get in close enough to be effective, but Max was no such thing. He was a mage. Sure, he was a rather buff one, but he was a mage nonetheless; and one who'd been lazy in his combat training.

Before the conclusion of their duel, the display of the PAD in Orochi's hands suddenly turned a dark maroon color, subtly textured with a light rhombus pattern. "Hey!" Orochi shouted, sitting up with a start. "What the?!"

As he was shouting, beautiful cursive letters with a subtle chalk texture rapidly wrote themselves across the display.

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Notice: the Special End Condition of the "Hero Summoning" Story has been discovered and met! 

Would you like to replay the relevant events?

┅ Yes

┅ No

=====

Orochi's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. The "Hero Summoning" Story had a Special End Condition? He didn't know that.

Curious, he selected "Yes."

----

An unspecified planet far away

Krogor licked between his teeth with his forked tongue, freeing a piece of meat that had been wedged there. The sweet, metallic twang of blood lingered in his mouth. 

He snorted, looking down at the destruction all around him. Where a grand city had used to stand, there was now only rubble; everything had been so thoroughly demolished that there wasn't a single fully intact remnant of civilization for miles around. Vehicles were smashed, buildings torn down, signs knocked over, cultivated plant life burned, statues destroyed, and streets either buried in rubble or dug up. Corpses mangled beyond recognition littered the area as well, their innards strewn about like the discarded toys of a 5-year-old after a long day of playing. 

A gentle breeze rustled Krogor's short mane, carrying with it the scents of smoke, dust, and death.

The great chaos dragon yawned, his wide rectangular maw opening wide, great tusks and sharp teeth glistening in the setting sun as he sat atop a pile of rubble and corpses. His body, covered in short fur that was glued together with dried blood in many places, was rim-lit by the sun and the blazing city. The city burned with natural, orange flames instead of his iconic rainbow-white fire. His garish coloration was entirely imperceptible due to the low light, and he was visible only as a pitch-black silhouette.

One of his long, furry ears flicked absentmindedly. His tail, which was tipped with a spiked club reminiscent of a christmas tree, thumped against the ground. The action sent broken remnants of a building tumbling down the pile on which he sat.

After a joyous day of battle, Krogor was bored.

A series of quick pitter-patters signaled the approach of the messenger, Berp. Krogor turned his head slightly, which allowed him to look down menacingly at the pitifully small creature. Of course, the mutant Chaos Lizardman messenger wasn't actually all that small, being about 2 meters in height, but Krogor was currently more than 6 stories tall, so, naturally, he dwarfed the creature. 

He could have changed size to make it easier on the messenger, but he didn't bother. Why should he? He was a High General, and the messenger was simply that: a messenger. There was no need to be considerate of its comfort.

Berp's sinuous body bobbed and swayed as he skittered over on two legs, curved claws and lizard-like feet allowing for easy navigation through the destroyed terrain. A pair of smallish fins on the sides of his head opened and closed slightly with every step, while a sail-fin with a reverse curve swayed back and forth on his back. His long tail counterbalanced his movements. He wore a jean-colored messenger's cap and carried a brown satchel, which was strung over one shoulder, crossing his body. His yellow slitted eyes glanced up at Krogor nervously several times but mostly focused on the ground as he moved.

"Messenger," Krogor said, his bass voice reverberating through the air, "What message do you bring?"

Stopping and standing erect, Berp saluted by forming a fist with his right hand and extending his arm in an L-shape perpendicular to his body, thumb facing forward. Speaking with a slight lisp, he said loudly, "Berp comesth with a messthage! Berp'sth messthage is 'Well Done! Now return!' That isth all."

Krogor sighed, wondering at the fickle nature of his Goddess. "Was it really necessary to send a messenger just for that?" He muttered. Despite speaking lowly, his voice still carried. Perhaps it was due to the quiet that had fallen over the land after his rampage. Or, perhaps it was simply due to his size.

The messenger had left immediately after giving his message, but after moving a fair distance away, he returned. 

"What now?" Krogor asked lazily.

Saluting again, Berp reported, "Her Goddessthnessth hasth changed Her mind! Berp'sth new messthage isth thisth: 'Go to any human-owned sthar near here and desthroy it any way you pleasthe!' That isth all!"

Krogor's eyes narrowed as he grinned widely, exposing his wickedly sharp pointed teeth. "Now that's what I like to hear," he proclaimed, getting up and shaking loose the debris that had clung to his fur in places.

In the dimming light of the setting sun, Krogor extended his wings and roared, the sound so loud that it caused Berp to stumble, trip and fall, landing upside-down propped against a large chunk of debris. The dragon didn't notice.

It was time for another slaughter. 

And the best part?

Krogor would get to massacre humans, his worst enemy and the target of his never-ending vengeance, in any way he pleased.

This was going to be fun.