My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero's

Thank you all for your various opinions and impressions!!

Also, bookmarks suddenly exceeded 2,000 — I couldn’t be happier.

Some readers pointed out a few contradictions with already-posted chapters.

I’ll correct them as they come up. The overall flow of the story won’t change, but there’s a chance some parts might be significantly altered.

Sorry for the inconvenience; if anything bothers you, please reread the revised parts.

Thank you always for reading!!

I appreciate your continued support!

Sorry for the long preface.

I drove the "night blade god" into the dragon’s throat, and felt a slight sense of discomfort.

"Akira! Get away!!"

'GURAAAAAA!!!'

"...Tch!"

Amelia’s scream came a beat late, and the dragon’s attack struck me at close range. Its tremendous force blew me away like dust.

"Akira!"

Amelia’s voice, almost a shriek, drifted from afar. My back hurt fiercely. The dragon must have crashed down and slammed me into the boss room’s wall. Fortunately, the "night blade god" I’d been holding in my right hand seemed to have come free and was undamaged, shining black. The blade was smeared with what looked like dragon blood. Amelia rushed over as I struggled to my feet.

"Akira, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'll live. Even though I cut its throat, it's still lively."

"Dragons are high-tier demonic beasts. The minotaur and chimera you fought don’t compare."

As she said that, Amelia checked me over for serious injuries, touching here and there.

I landed on the ground and glared at the dragon, which watched me. Its golden eyes glittered in the dimness.

"That was supposed to be a full-power strike."

"Gravity magic being gone and it still not flying away means your attack did have effect. More than that, I’m amazed at the blade’s sharpness."

Amelia looked at my right hand. I lifted the "night blade god" a little. I’d never cut a dragon before, so I couldn’t compare, but it felt like the blade had sliced through the scales surprisingly easily.

"Well, this one’s a custom piece."

Commander saran’s smile when he gave this to me flashed through my mind. I’ve never cut a dragon, but if it’s a sword forged by the first generation hero, maybe this isn’t surprising.

"Are you hurt, Amelia?"

"I’m fine. Akira protected me."

"Ah... I don’t remember."

If she doesn’t remember, it was probably unconscious. In any case, I was glad Amelia wasn’t injured. Good job, past me.

"Now then, what should we do with that thing?"

"That dragon’s a bit off."

"What do you mean?"

"It’s too weak for a dragon. No matter how much you trained, Akira, it’s only been a few days. Yet your attacks cut through it easily."

Indeed, compared to typical dragons, this one felt oddly underwhelming. Its toughness—surviving a slit throat—was impressive, but as a high-tier demonic beast it left something to be desired. The status display in my sight clearly marked it as a dragon, but the sense of wrongness wouldn’t leave me.

"...Let’s try something."

"Do what?"

"Just bait it a little."

"…Bait?"

Amelia tilted her head in puzzlement. I nodded and took off running.

'GURURURAAAAAA!!!'

As if trying to keep me away, the long-range attacks that had paused earlier resumed.

I ignored the wounds on my right foot and back and kept dodging, making my way to the dragon’s massive feet. Even a dragon won’t attack where it might hit itself.

The dragon reared up and brought its foot down to crush me. I dodged at the last moment and climbed up along the descending leg.

'GURAAAAA?!'

I was stabbing my blade into its slippery black scales to climb, and the dragon thrashed in pain.

"Ugh!!"

"Gravity magic!!"

Just as I was about to be knocked off, Amelia used gravity magic to halt the dragon’s movements. Its huge body sank slightly toward the ground. It teetered but, perhaps out of pride, it held on and tried to heave me off. Even under unimaginable G-forces, it could still move—truly a dragon.

But I was starting to doubt that this was truly a dragon.

"Alright, checkmate."

I climbed to its head and drove the blade in deep into its golden eye.