It was another moonlit night, the stars sparse and faint.
As usual, the blonde girl waited until everything was in place, then quietly slipped out of her home and raced toward the cliffside.
The path was smooth—almost suspiciously so. She didn't encounter a single real threat along the way. And stranger still, she passed the occasional carcass of small animals in the underbrush.
Rabbits. Hedgehogs.
Their bodies bore no visible wounds—no blood, no torn flesh—only wide, bulging eyes and stiffened limbs, like they'd died from sheer terror.
When the uneasy girl finally reached the cliff's summit, the sight before her left her utterly speechless.
The once-open plateau was now dominated by the bloody carcass of a massive bear, its hulking form sprawled across most of the space. In the moonlight, it resembled a squat, dark mountain rising from the earth.
And there, perched atop the corpse, was the same blue-and-white dragon she'd always thought of as harmless, maybe even cute. Now he sat atop the slain beast, head tilted, poking at the bear's hide with his claws—left jab, right jab—clearly trying to carve it up, but not quite sure how to begin.
"…You did this?"
The girl's voice faltered as she gaped at the bloodied corpse—still massive in death, having clearly succumbed to blood loss. Then she looked to Bluey, who stood atop the body, a little disheveled, sporting three deep claw wounds on his flank, but still full of energy.
She could feel faint traces of magic still clinging to the bear's corpse—meaning this wasn't just a beast, but a magical creature, one whose blood carried the legacy of ancient, mysterious lineages.
Creatures like this were rulers of the forest. Even trained militia units would avoid them at all costs. And yet, this hatchling had taken it down? How?
"Awoo~"
Bluey turned his head at her question, looking both proud and slightly annoyed.
That haughty gleam in his eye—mixed with just a dash of smugness—made something dawn in her heart.
This little dragon standing on top of a dead beast wasn't the adorable creature she'd always imagined.
He was a dragon.
A real dragon.
And the girl—no, the being known as Artoria Pendragon—was also, in truth, a dragon. A red dragon.
But as one born into the twilight of the Age of Gods, who had lived among humans far too long, this red dragon in human skin had no real concept of what a true dragon was meant to be.
They are born rulers. Fantastical beings that crush rebellion beneath absolute strength.
So even if Bluey was only a couple months past hatching, it wasn't at all surprising that he had the courage—and the ability—to challenge the king of the forest… and win.
"Awoo?"
"Hmm, I mean… you're not wrong. I could beat a thing like this if I had to."
"Awoo awoo—"
"Eh? You're inviting me to eat with you? That doesn't seem right… This is your kill."
"Awooo awoo awoo!"
"…Okay, okay! I won't be polite, then!"
…
With Artoria joining in, the bear was butchered far more efficiently.
The elegant swordsmanship that was meant to fell enemies on the battlefield worked just as well against a carcass. Her wind-infused strikes sliced easily through thick hide, peeling away layers of flesh and exposing the blood and bone beneath.
"So that's how it is."
"She looks human on the outside… but that sword is just another set of claws."
Bluey watched her movements with fascination, trying to imitate her use of wind magic—but to no avail. The lively air element refused to settle on his claws at all.
Maybe it's because my affinity is with Light, not Wind…?
"This bear pelt isn't bad—it has a decent degree of magical resistance. If I could find a smith who understands magecraft, it might be possible to forge it into a soft armor set."
"As for the meat… let's salt it and stew it?"
Truthfully—
The most valuable part of a magical beast like this was its blood, followed by its hide.
Its meat? Completely useless. Maybe even hazardous.
Unlike ordinary animals, magical beasts had meat that was stringy, tough, and unpleasant—and often contained toxins. Normally, it wouldn't even be considered edible.
But the two standing here were not "normal" creatures.
They were dragons.
Even magical beast meat, if treated properly, can still fill your stomach!
That was one of Artoria's core beliefs.
The dragon girl with the ravenous appetite—who'd gone her whole life without ever once feeling truly full—finally had a chance to eat her fill. Even if the food was tough and unappetizing, the energy she could draw from it was undeniable.
Burp~
From sundown to almost sunrise, the two dragons worked.
And from sundown to nearly sunrise, they ate.
By the time Artoria patted her now-bulging stomach, too stuffed to eat another bite, the corpse of the four-to-five-hundred-pound bear still had three-quarters left untouched.
"This'll last us a while…"
Eyes half-closed, Artoria gazed at the pale glow spreading over the eastern sky, her expression a mixture of exhaustion and quiet bliss.
It was the first time in her life she'd learned that eating too much could actually make you tired.
"Awoo~"
"Eh? You want me to take the rest of the meat? Why? You're not going to eat it?"
"Awoo awooo awoo—"
"Because you're going hunting again today, and don't want to waste time on leftovers? …Alright, alright. Just be careful."
"Awooo~"
Artoria looked at him with a gaze full of pride—like a mother watching her once-rowdy child finally start to show promise.
—Though she couldn't help but wonder, Was it just her imagination…
…or had Bluey gotten just a little bit bigger since a few days ago?
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T/N: me hungry now did u know i order uhhh like 7-9 burgers on uebr eats :D