[Start fighting! Hurry up and fight!]

After roaring out his true name.

He turned his draconic head and surveyed the cave.

One look, and Chaos immediately wished he had never looked at all. His vision seemed to darken.

Quite a few dragon eggs stood inside the cave, but their colors gave a whole new meaning to "every color of the rainbow."

Red, blue, green, black, and white.

The full set of chromatic dragon eggs was right there.

That was not even the worst part.

The worst part was that five hatchlings, apparently hatched before him, had already surrounded his eggshell from every direction, crouching low as they crept closer.

One red, two blue, one black, and one green.

Unlike the other four hatchlings creeping forward with their bodies lowered, the red hatchling simply strode over, one step at a time.

Clearly, this red hatchling did not take him seriously at all.

She stopped in front of his eggshell and raised her head, her crimson slit pupils fixing on Chaos.

"Chaos, right? Come out."

Her voice was young and clear, carrying the coldness innate to chromatic dragons.

The little dragon girl before him spoke with unquestionable authority, her head held high. Even though she stood below him, her crimson eyes still regarded him with condescension and arrogance.

Chaos: ...

He looked at the red hatchling's body, twice his size, then silently examined his own smaller frame.

Forget it. He would not stoop to arguing with this little dragon girl. He was an adult.

He obediently crawled out of his eggshell and planted all four feet on the cave floor.

The ground was dry, dusty earth, without any dampness.

Once out, Chaos sat obediently on the ground.

The red hatchling sat down in front of him as well.

Face-to-face, the difference in their sizes became even more obvious. The red hatchling stood a full head taller than him, and he could even make out the contours of muscles in the forelegs supporting her.

Clearly, this was an exceptionally gifted red hatchling.

Ordinary hatchlings, even red ones, would not have muscles at this stage.

"Remember my name: Agatha Tiamat Thor."

After giving the green hatchling her name, Agatha looked away and walked toward his eggshell.

That eggshell was her real target.

There was no mother dragon in the lair, so these young dragons had to fend for themselves.

And the shell left after hatching made a decent meal for a hatchling.

Chaos silently watched the red hatchling rise and turn her back. If you're going to rob me, just rob me. Why bother telling me your name?

Fine, though. Agatha, was it?

I'll remember that. You'd better not fall into my clutches someday.

You're bigger now, so you call the shots. Just wait until I grow up. Heh heh heh!

He turned his head and glanced around. The other four hatchlings were all lying low on the ground, looking too frightened to approach.

The reason, naturally, was Agatha, who was twice as big as any of them.

Great. At this rate, even if Agatha kindly leaves a little shell behind, it probably won't end up in my stomach.

Crunch, crunch...

The sound of chewing echoed through the cave.

It was the sound of eggshell being crushed.

But he was not the one eating.

Saliva began gathering in his mouth, and his stomach was utterly empty.

So hungry.

To distract himself, Chaos looked elsewhere, letting his gaze wander.

There were still plenty of dragon eggs in the cave, none showing any signs of hatching.

I really wish one would hatch right now.

Then...

His emerald slit pupils narrowed slightly.

His conscience told him he should not bully hatchlings, but what choice did he have? Honestly, circumstances forced his hand.

He heard something being pushed across the ground.

Scrape...

Chaos brought his wandering gaze back and looked ahead.

A red claw had pushed his eggshell in front of him, with well over half of it still remaining.

Following the claw upward, Chaos saw Agatha looking down at him.

What is she trying to do?

At that moment, Chaos admitted he was a little confused. She was the one who had stolen his eggshell, yet now she was pushing most of it back to him.

"Eat!"

Her young, clear, cold voice uttered just that single word.

Chaos looked at the eggshell before him, then at the little dragon girl who was a size bigger than he was.

Saliva gathered faster in his mouth, beyond his control. His body was urging him to eat.

Fine, I'll eat!

Steeling himself, Chaos opened his jaws and bit straight into the eggshell.

Crunch!

The shell crunched crisply in his mouth, just like potato chips.

It tasted savory and had a wonderfully crunchy texture, too.

The sort of thing he could not stop eating after a single bite.

Whatever this little dragon girl was after, the hunger now raging in his stomach left him with only one thought: every bite he could get was another bite.

Even if it earned him a beating, he was going to eat.

At least that would give him some strength to wait for the other hatchlings to emerge.

The four hatchlings waiting nearby for food immediately grew restless when they saw the green hatchling eating like he had starved to death.

What was Agatha playing at?

She had eaten her fill, and now she wasn't going to let them eat?

"Agatha, what do you think you're doing?!"

One of the blue hatchlings was the first to voice her displeasure.

Her voice was young and clear. Another little dragon girl.

The remaining three hatchlings said nothing, but their dissatisfied gazes and lowered bodies made their feelings perfectly clear.

Facing the four hatchlings already poised to attack, Agatha pushed herself up from the ground.

Her body, twice their size, radiated an overwhelming pressure.

"The rule is, you can steal food, but no more than a third of the eggshell!"

"If you don't like it, challenge me!"

With that, Agatha stepped forward on a crimson claw!

Looking at Agatha's larger frame, all four hatchlings seemed to feel tremendous pressure. Their feet involuntarily backed away.

But after just one step back, they immediately stopped.

Their pride as chromatic dragons would not allow them to retreat any farther.

They had only avoided a fight earlier because of Agatha's size. Besides, Agatha had already stolen part of their eggshells, so just a little more food would surely fill them up.

That meant the remaining shell should go to the four of them.

Yet now Agatha actually dared to stop them from eating.

This red hatchling was sticking her nose in far too much! ×4!

Crunch...

Chaos slowed his chewing.

With some eggshell lining his stomach, he was no longer quite so hungry.

He had been silently listening the whole time.

After hearing that brief exchange, he looked at Agatha standing before him. He admitted that, at that moment, his opinion of this little girl had changed.

But...

Start fighting! Hurry up and fight!

As he shouted inwardly, anticipation rose in his dark green slit pupils.

How could a meal be complete without some entertainment? A little stool would make this even better.

"There's only one of her! All four of us, together!"

With that roar, the blue hatchling took the lead and charged straight at Agatha. The other blue hatchling immediately followed her.

The black and green hatchlings were half a beat slower, but they charged as well.

The first blue hatchling reached Agatha before the others.

Her head slammed squarely into Agatha's belly. The full-force blow drove Agatha back several steps before she barely managed to stop.

A trace of anger appeared in her previously cold crimson eyes.

Agatha raised a claw and brought it straight down on the blue head pressed against her stomach.

Boom!

That single swipe smashed the blue hatchling's head into the dry earth, making the sheer force behind it plain.

Dust billowed up.

The rising dust left Chaos helplessly stretching his neck, trying to see what was happening inside.

Naturally, he could not see a thing. His eyes could see through darkness, not through solid obstructions.

Raaah!

Roar!

Thud!

Several furious roars came from within the dust, then everything fell silent.

When the commotion stopped, Chaos warily raised his head.

Seriously? That fast?

I haven't even finished half my eggshell yet.

He stared into the billowing dust, but his mouth never slowed as he hurriedly stuffed more eggshell into it.

Because one distinct figure inside the dust was still standing.

He watched the lingering dust warily.

Although Agatha had the advantage in size and the bonus of being a red dragon, the toughest breed, she was still only one dragon. He had therefore expected her to lose. But even if she lost, her size would surely let her take down two or three hatchlings, leaving any remaining one or two badly injured.

Then he could simply finish them off. He tensed his hind legs slightly, ready to charge at any moment.

A dark, draconic silhouette gradually emerged from the dust.

Here she comes! Just one!