The giant snake was a powerful monster, but it no match for the hero.

The snake charged at the hero like a massive dump truck.

But such a simple attack posed no threat to the hero.

Even though the snake repeated its attacks, it seemed to not understand that they were all futile. Just because it had gained great size and strength, it was still just a beast.

"Keeeee!!"

But this time, it was different. After the hero evaded to the side, the snake quickly circled around and constricted him.

This was the snake's hunting method - to coil around and squeeze its prey to death. But for a snake of such massive size, simply coiling around would be enough to devastate the surrounding area.

For an ordinary human, this attack would have swept away dozens or even hundreds. But the only one targeted by this attack was the hero.

No matter how quickly the snake constricted, the hero's speed in escaping would be far greater.

"Too slow!"

And indeed, the hero easily evaded the snake's constricting attack by jumping up. The snake then tried to strike him with its tail.

The same situation as the first clash. The snake's clumsy attacks relying only on its size and strength were useless against the hero. Especially since its attacks had already been broken once.

But the snake took a different approach.

Instead of whipping with its tail, it pinned down the hero who had jumped up.

"Huh?!"

The hero quickly swung his greatsword, slicing the snake's tail, but...

"Keeeeeee!!!"

The snake, despite its pained screams, did not stop pressing down with its tail.

Like a lid on a large pot, the snake's coiling trap was trying to envelop the hero.

"Tch!"

The hero finally realized the snake's ploy, but the snake was just a bit faster. Slow to catch on, hero.

Hmm, perhaps he's become a bit lax living comfortably in the village? He didn't react this sluggishly when I was training him.

The snake tried to constrict and kill the hero, but...

"Haaaa!!"

With the hero's battle cry, dozens of slashing attacks burst out from within the snake's coils.

From the hero's perspective, being trapped and constricted meant that he could attack in all 360 degrees, rendering the snake's attack useless.

Simply unleashing slashing attacks in all directions was enough to nullify the snake's constriction.

"Keeeeeee!!!"

The snake screamed again. It had never suffered such grievous wounds to its thick, sturdy scales before. The unfamiliar, agonizing pain was all the snake could feel.

"Phew."

The snake's coiling body loosened, and the hero emerged unharmed, having donned his silver armor.

Amidst the scorched vegetation from the snake's venomous blood, the hero stood tall and unscathed.

"Keeeeeee!!"

The snake charged at the hero once more. Its scales, constriction, and tail strikes were all ineffective against this opponent. Its last resort was to strike with its venomous fangs.

But the hero calmly observed the snake's charge, then...

"Hmph!"

Evading just a hand's breadth away, he struck the snake's left fang with the back of his hand.

The fang, sharper than any dagger, was easily snapped by the blow of the hero's armored hand.

"Keeeeeee!!!!"

Feeling the excruciating pain of its broken fang, the snake began rolling on the ground, screaming.

"Phew... Deactivate transformation."

The hero deactivated his armor, reverting his greatsword.

The once-mighty snake was now a mess of tattered, broken scales. Its tail was ragged and bleeding, and one of its venomous fangs was broken, leaking venom.

In contrast, the hero had not a single scratch on him. Only the dirt kicked up by the snake's thrashing remained on him.

Un. I did train him, and he is indeed well-disciplined. He has honed his skills to the point of being able to defeat monsters.

It was quite a struggle to train this dull one, but... The more you hammer iron, the stronger it becomes.

Even a dull one can reach this level of skill through great effort.

Let's skip over the fact that the process was quite precarious for a human to endure. In fact, there were a few times during the intense training when the hero's heart stopped beating.

Well, I could quickly restart his heart. I had even created a resurrection spell from the beginning.

Anyway, the winner of the fight was clear to anyone watching.

Seeing the snake's spirit somewhat dampened, the hero said, "This should be enough. Don't struggle anymore and leave for somewhere else."

Even after hearing the hero's words, the snake remained on guard. It seemed unable to understand human language... but gradually grasped the situation from the hero not attacking, and began slithering away slowly.

Hmm... Although the hero is kind, letting such a monster live and escape... is not acceptable.

That thing will surely attack other people later even if it flees now. Hmm.

Should I remotely finish it off if the hero lets it go? Judging from how it doesn't seem too pained despite being cut by the hero's sword, it doesn't seem to have a fragment of darkness.

I could just end it with a bolt of divine punishment lightning. Just in case, I'll do it without the hero knowing.

Just as the giant snake was slowly putting distance between itself and the hero,

"GROOOOAAARRR!!!" 

A tremendous roar echoed, and a massive shadow blotted out the sky.

"Keueug?!"

"Kkeeeek!!"

The hero covered his ears from the thunderous sound, and the giant snake hastily coiled its tail and began fleeing.

But the massive shadow, as if not letting the snake escape, shot a fireball that struck the giant snake, engulfing it in an explosion that sent it flying far away.

"That is... a dragon...?"

No, it's not.

It's not a dragon, but a wyvern.

It only has one pair of legs, doesn't it? Flapping its wing-like forelimbs to fly, while using its hind legs and tail to balance. Definitely a wyvern.

Only, its size... was about three times larger than a normal wyvern. Large enough that one could mistake it for a rather small dragon at first glance.

"Could that creature also have been driven out by the dragon...?"

So you're saying it's not a dragon, but a wyvern? I guess you can say that since you haven't seen a real dragon!

Tch. Not that I can reveal my true form either. Ugh...

"Grrrrrr....."

Flames flickered around the wyvern's jaws. But the wyvern's gaze was no longer on the giant snake.

Instead, it was fixed on the hero, on the hero's sword.

Hmm... Could there be a fragment of darkness within that wyvern?

Is it sensing the fragment of darkness inside the hero's sword and targeting it?

I'm not sure, but it seems possible. 

"KYAAAAAAAHH!!!"

The wyvern roared again, and the hero covered his ears once more.

A roar that seemed to make the very air tremble - it was likely a signal that the wyvern would hunt the hero.

"keueug."

The hero gripped his sword again. He had already fought once, but showed no signs of fatigue.

However, the massive wyvern before him would not be an easy opponent. An already formidable wyvern large enough to be called a dragon, andoring a fragment of darkness to boot.

But... the hero should be fine. I didn't raise him to be so weak. 

So he'll be alright.

I stood up from my spot, ready to instantly teleport out at any moment, and began watching the hero's battle.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The wyvern struck first.

"Grrrr.... KYAHAAAAAHH!"

With a gurgling sound, it spewed a fireball at the hero.

The hero swung his greatsword, cleanly bisecting the fireball which exploded harmlessly behind him.

Hmm. Such fireballs alone won't be enough to harm the hero.

I threw far more powerful fire orbs at him during training.

If he was vulnerable to these wyvern flames, my fire orbs would have crisped him.

They lack speed, heat intensity, explosive force and range. 

No, now is not the time to compare fire power against a wyvern.

The hero leaped towards the wyvern, and the wyvern scratched at the hero with its hind claws.

Kaaaaaang!!

Sparks flew between the sword and the claws, and the wyvern's claws were shattered and scattered.

Hmm, even if it was reinforced with a fragment of darkness, the wyvern's claws could not cut the sword.

The wyvern then distanced itself from the hero. It seems to have thought the hero could not fly.

But.

"Haa!"

Thanks to my intense training, the current hero can leap into the air a few times!

Of course, it's possible because his power is enhanced by magic. It would be difficult without that.

"Kyaaaaaa!!"

The wyvern turned its body greatly and swung its tail, and the hero thrust his greatsword into the tail.

Pooooosh!

The greatsword tore through the wyvern's hide and penetrated deep into the tail, and the wyvern began thrashing in pain in the air.

The violently swinging tail. The hero tried to cling to the wyvern's tail by pushing the greatsword in deeper, but in a situation like being at the end of a whip, he could not endure for long, and the greatsword was pulled out.

"Kuh!"

And so the hero fell towards the ground.