"Get out of the way." Muria swung his hand, knocking the dragon hunter, whose head was rapidly regenerating, off the severely injured white dragon. Under Muria's human form's mere swipe, the hunter was sent flying, crashing into a distant mountain, creating a deep, dark cavern as rocks tumbled down.
"Such immense power, even in human form! What a powerful dragon!" The blood and bone fragments that Muria had shattered moments earlier surged toward the cave where the dragon hunter had crashed, as if they had a life of their own.
Under Muria's watchful eye, a sinister-faced human staggered out. His head and chest, previously destroyed by Muria, were rapidly regenerating.
"What terrifying strength!" The hawk-nosed dragon hunter tore off his deformed armor, revealing the robes underneath, and looked at Muria with a sense of resignation. "It seems today is the day I die."
"You have some self-awareness," Muria said, glancing at the white dragon beside him, whose eyes had regained a glimmer of hope. His gaze was cold. "But aren't you going to try escaping? You might get away."
"No, there's no need. I've toyed with so many dragons, knowing that someday a stronger one would kill me," the sinister-looking dragon hunter said with unexpected acceptance. "So, running isn't necessary, but I still want to resist."
As he spoke, a faint blood flame ignited on the hunter's body, and his aura quickly rose. A cold, dark black serpent coiled behind him, growing larger as he burned his blood energy.
"Futile."
"You dragons are always so arrogant. If you had just shown a little more concern for us insignificant humans, there wouldn't be someone like me today."
The hunter disappeared, replaced by a massive black serpent exuding a foul, poisonous miasma. The mountains and snow it touched hissed as they corroded. The serpent roared, charging at Muria with a desperate determination.
Muria said nothing more, drawing a sword just over a meter long, engraved with ancient divine runes. He slashed it diagonally at the enormous black serpent, sending a pale golden crescent-shaped sword beam that quickly expanded, engulfing the serpent's vision.
In the eyes of the dying white dragon, as the sword beam appeared, the entire world seemed to darken, leaving only the golden beam, which became the sole focus. When the beam struck the human-turned-serpent, it cut through its body like a hot knife through butter.
"My dragon-hunting journey ends here," thought the dragon hunter, whose body was destroyed instantly. There was no regret in his heart; he had prepared for this day when he first started hunting dragons.
As a dragon hunter, he could have enjoyed a life of luxury in human kingdoms, being a major deterrent just by existing. But he chose the path of dragon hunting, the most rewarding yet dangerous path.
His initial motivation for hunting dragons was simple revenge—for the family devoured alive by a dragon beast and the hometown destroyed by a vicious dragon. That was all.
"I've killed enough dragons," the hunter reflected as the black serpent's body exploded into a gray mist, revealing him once more. He looked up at Muria, standing atop the crystal dragon, looking down on him.
"But it's never enough. I haven't killed enough dragons." The dragon hunter's face twisted into a grotesque smile, like a demon. The blood flames on his body, which had been dying down, flared up again but seemed weak. Then, a new force joined the flames, his life force manifesting as translucent blood flames.
"Burning your soul, huh? What good will that do? It's just a futile struggle."
"What good?" The hunter's smile became increasingly bizarre and then somewhat ferocious. His body became ethereal. "I can leave a mark on you, a great dragon, so you'll remember this insignificant human."
With those words, the hunter's body vanished, becoming a small black spike that shot towards Muria's forehead with deadly resolve.
"Pointless." Muria reached out to catch the black spike, lightning crackling around his hand. As he grasped it, a harsh sizzling sound filled the air, with black smoke rising from the clash between the spike and Muria's lightning. The spike gradually shrank and eventually dissipated.
"Too weak, you didn't leave a mark." Muria spread his hand, showing his unblemished, delicate skin.
"What a pity. I wanted to make him experience the torture he inflicted on dragons, but he's dead now. He got off easy."
"You could try it on other dragon slayers." Hearing Muria's words, the crystal dragon at his feet suggested, "Let them die in endless pain, that would be the best."
"Can you stand?" Muria asked, his gaze seemingly devoid of any emotion, looking at the white dragon whose eyes gleamed with joy. "That guy used a lot of methods to torture you. Did you remember them?"
"My body remembers all of them, respected one," the white dragon replied, hatred on its face. It had experienced the most painful tortures for dragons: scaling, skinning, tendon extraction, and bone removal.
"If I asked you to use those tortures on humans, could you do it?" Muria inquired.
"Yes," the white dragon responded firmly. It had already guessed that these two powerful dragons were here for revenge on behalf of their kind.
"Then come with me!" Muria waved his hand, taking the two dragons away from the snowy mountain to track down other dragon hunters. His mission this time was to sweep away those who killed dragons for sport among the human Legends.
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