Chapter 20
The day after returning from Hokurin, the heat had already set in by morning, the air shimmering with mirages.
Under the harsh glare of the sun, Ando stood on the imperial beach, his expression tight with tension.
Facing Ando was Tien—a female Dracoserpens counted among the mightiest in Tatsuno, second only to Yuki herself.
The Dracoserpens were a long-lived kind, with lives that often stretched close to a thousand years.
Normally, they hatched in their draconic form—their true shape, born for battle. Over the next century, they learned to take on an upright form better suited to life beyond war, honing mind and spirit alike until they could move between the two as naturally as breathing, without ever losing themselves.
Ando had never followed that path.
He alone had been born already in an upright body, and only later awakened the ability to take draconic form—suddenly, and far later than he should have. Because of that, he never learned to fully master it.
Each time he transformed, his grip on reason began to fray.
Remain in that form too long, and eventually the urge to destroy would consume him completely.
There was only one way to overcome it.
Master Ko’s answer was mercilessly simple:
Keep him transformed for as long as possible, and little by little, extend the time he could remain himself.
Yuki had been the first to volunteer for the training.
“And you already have enough work piled up as empress.”
Master Ko had shut the idea down with his usual calm practicality, leaving Tien to take her place instead.
Ando stood rigid on the beach, listening to the steady roar of the surf.
Tien smiled and gave his shoulder a light tap.
“Don’t hold back. Half the imperial palace has already been smashed apart and rebuilt thanks to Yuki anyway.”
“Hey! I heard that!”
Yuki’s voice rang out from somewhere far behind them.
Dark clouds immediately began boiling up along one edge of the sky.
Just as quickly, though, they vanished again. Apparently someone had dragged Yuki away while placating her with sweets.
Tien ignored the commotion entirely and bent slightly to meet Ando’s eyes.
“You became friends with Kito, didn’t you?”
“…Yes, ma’am.”
“Then do the same for the dragon inside you. Start there.”
Tien stepped back.
“—Here I come.”
In the next instant, her body expanded violently, swelling into her draconic form until its vast shadow swallowed the beach.
Wind roared across the shore.
Her immense body coiled through the air like a great serpent before soaring skyward.
Ando made his choice—and gave himself over to the transformation.
Bone ground against bone.
His body lurched larger by the second, muscle and scale swelling violently as searing heat ripped through his back.
Then came the pain.
The scar where his tail had been cut away felt as though it were being torn open all over again.
“Aaaagh—!!”
The cry that burst from him no longer sounded human.
A draconic roar thundered across the beach and rolled through the sky above.
Tien swept low around him, circling as if to steady a panicked animal.
But in Ando’s transformed state, her presence grated on him like an endless buzzing at the edge of his senses.
His eyes darkened into a murky red.
Hostility flooded them bare and raw.
The beach shattered beneath his feet.
His draconic body hurled itself skyward with explosive force, climbing high enough to reach the air where Tien waited.
His jaws snapped shut a hair short of her.
Tien smiled.
“That’s it. Let’s work some of that out, shall we?”
Ando crashed back onto the sand. Tien descended after him at an almost leisurely pace.
Even in her draconic form, her voice remained warm.
“Come on. You’re all right.”
Ando lunged at her.
Tien received the attack as gently as though taking hold of a child’s hand.
Fangs slammed against claws.
As she guided aside each frenzied bite, she kept speaking to him in the same calm voice.
“You’ve always wanted to strike back at all the unfairness forced onto you.”
He lunged again.
This time, Tien caught him head-on.
“—So don’t reject that part of yourself, either.”
Whether her words reached him or not, there was no way to tell.
Ando was completely out of control.
Fangs flashed.
Blood sprayed from Tien’s arm.
Still, she never flinched.
Her long body coiled around his, binding him fast despite his violent thrashing.
But Ando fought like something cornered and feral, twisting violently, biting, raking at her with his claws.
Even then, Tien continued speaking to him softly.
“Don’t give in.”
And then—
His draconic body suddenly collapsed inward.
The transformation broke.
A much smaller body tumbled onto the beach below.
“Ando!”
Kiba and Master Ko ran to him at once.
Ko checked his pulse, then his breathing. After examining his leg as well, he let out a slow breath.
“…He should be fine. But the exhaustion is severe. We stop here for today.”
Kiba gathered the unconscious Ando carefully into his arms.
Pressing his horn lightly to Ando’s forehead, he smiled through the strain in his expression.
“You did well, little one. I’m proud of you.”
Tien had reverted from her draconic form as well. Azu stood beside her, supporting her by the arm.
“…Hey.”
Azu glanced up at her, hesitant.
“…Isn’t he absurdly strong?”
Blood streamed down Tien’s arm. The scales of a Dracoserpens—scales strong enough to turn aside steel—had been ripped open by Ando’s fangs.
“Of course he is,” Tien replied with a tired smile. “He’s a Dracotyrannus.”
Azu pressed a cloth firmly against the wound while Tien let him tend to it.
“I expected this much, at least.”
Azu stared at the blood-soaked wrapping, his face tightening.
“Next time, I’m helping too.”
Tien lifted a brow.
“…You know it won’t be easy.”
“I’m helping.”
He repeated it flatly, then added,
“Besides, we’re not done with his swimming lessons yet.”
That earned a faint laugh from Tien.
“…All right. I’ll take all the help I can get.”
But a moment later, the humor faded from her face.
“If I go down, your job is simple—bring Yuki. Understood?”
Azu gave a single nod.
Neither of them said anything more.
The road ahead already felt exhausting enough.
Before long, the two of them made their way back toward the palace in silence.
