She Believed Chaos Would Be No Exception

The pitch-black tentacle returned to its original speed.

When it was less than half a meter from the green dragon scales, the tentacle suddenly went rigid, then dropped limply to the ground.

Watching the fallen tentacle, Chaos's legs gave out, and he collapsed helplessly onto the ground.

So sleepy. So tired.

The little stream of mana inside him had been drained dry, without a single drop left.

Splash!

With no one controlling them, the two giant serpents dissolved into clear water, drenching Bamokangla's motionless corpse, which occupied half the riverbank.

A third of Bamokangla's enormous head was missing on either side. Clearly, the creature could not have been any deader.

But none of the dragons cared about that now. Every hatchling was watching the Green Hatchling lying on the ground with his eyes closed.

Unless they had been mistaken, this Green Hatchling's left pupil had turned golden just now, with clock hands spinning wildly inside it, like a golden pocket watch.

Those two giant serpents had been strange, too. They had appeared in front of Bamokangla's head in an instant, seemingly out of nowhere. Before Bamokangla could even react, each serpent had taken a bite, tearing away two-thirds of the creature's head.

It was as though a stretch of time had gone missing.

Almost every hatchling had come to that same conclusion.

But there was an exception.

The plump White Hatchling hurried over to the Green Hatchling.

"Hmph-da~ Hmph-da~!"

White Chubby kept rubbing a round head against the Green Hatchling's, seemingly trying to get a response.

"Oh, stop rubbing against him! Let me check on Chaos first."

"Hmph-da, hmph-da~!"

Scolded by Feeny, White Chubby gave two aggrieved cries, but obediently stopped nuzzling him.

Seeing that the fool had finally settled down, Feeny hurriedly landed on top of Chaos's head. She placed her little hands on an emerald-green scale, and blue light shone from them.

She sent mana coursing through Chaos's body and soon discovered the problem.

Chaos was not injured. He had merely fallen asleep from exhausting his mana.

The sleep brought on by mana exhaustion was not much of a problem, either. With his giant dragon species bloodline, Chaos would recover after some rest.

Feeny breathed a inward sigh of relief. Right, I need to tell that fool, too.

The instant she looked up, Feeny shrank back in fright.

Dozens of round dragon heads were right in front of her, every pair of eyes fixed on her.

Seeing that the little water fairy was frightened, Agatha immediately spoke to reassure her.

"Don't be afraid. We just want to know how Chaos is doing."

"M-mana exhaustion. He'll be fine after... after some rest."

She stammered out her answer.

"All right. Thank you."

Feeny's eyes widened. She... actually thanked me! Are red dragons all this polite now?

Agatha looked at the hatchlings.

"All right, stop crowding around him. Let him rest."

All the hatchlings obediently dispersed, though they still stole occasional glances at the Green Hatchling sleeping on the ground.

They could not help it. That was time-the power of time!

A power of the highest order, one that even the Dragon Mother and Dragon God had never controlled.

But how had such a power appeared in Chaos, a male hatchling?

"All right, let's gather the food first."

Agatha gave the order.

None of the hatchlings dared object. Agatha had already demonstrated her strength just now. When necessary, she could unleash power at the young dragon stage, jumping straight over two growth stages.

And the side effects did not seem particularly severe, judging by Agatha's current condition.

The hatchlings got to work. Some retrieved pieces from underwater, while others butchered Bamokangla's corpse on the bank.

Agatha did not join them, instead quietly watching the hatchlings work.

It was not because she wanted to slack off. That burst of power from a later growth stage had left her in poor condition, too.

She reached out a claw, dragged a section of tentacle in front of her, opened her jaws, and began gnawing on it.

Rustle, rustle!

Hearing footsteps, Agatha paused in her eating and glanced at the crimson figure approaching her.

She and Hera were the only two red dragons in the entire dragon group.

Hera walked up beside Agatha, looked straight into her crimson slit pupils, and slowly voiced the question troubling her.

As a red dragon, she preferred asking directly to turning guesses over in her head.

"Was everything you said that day true? Is Chaos really the only male hatchling left in this plane?"

"Why do you think I'd waste time lying to you?"

Hera froze. After thinking it over, she realized that did seem to be the case. As the strongest member of the dragon group, Agatha possessed overwhelming strength. She had no need to gain anything by deceiving them.

The two Red Hatchlings held each other's gaze.

"Then what's your purpose in doing all this?"

"Survival. I want the giant dragon species to live on. It's that simple."

After answering, Agatha saw Hera's jaws part.

Then Hera turned her head slightly, glancing at Chaos, who lay resting a short distance away.

"So you're doing this for the entire giant dragon species?"

"Yes."

"All right. I believe you, and I'm willing to help you. But..."

Agatha said nothing, quietly waiting for Hera to finish.

Looking back, Hera met Agatha's gaze again. Those crimson slit pupils held none of the volatility their red dragon species ought to have. That was another of Agatha's distinctive traits.

"I want mating rights to Chaos!"

"That's not for me to decide. If you want mating rights to Chaos, you should ask Chaos, not me."

"So you won't stand in my way, right?"

Hera stared intently into Agatha's crimson slit pupils. They remained perfectly calm.

"No. Not just you-any hatchling who wants to can approach Chaos." Agatha paused. "Of course, I can't make that decision for Chaos, either. Whether he agrees will depend on you."

(￣~￣) Chew!

Agatha resumed eating.

Her original plan had actually been different.

For the current dragon group, the best option would have been to raise Chaos to adulthood, then have him mate with all the hatchlings, allowing the bloodline of the entire giant dragon species to continue.

That was both the best and the easiest option.

But it would no longer work...

Chaos was mastering the power of time far too quickly. He was still only a hatchling, yet the power of time within him had already awakened enough for him to use it.

He was highly attuned to the power of time in his bloodline. Otherwise, he could not possibly have mastered its basic use so quickly.

At this rate, once he reached adulthood...

She would probably no longer be a match for Chaos.

Of that, she was certain.

Since keeping him under her control would not work, she could only take another path.

Let the hatchlings win him over themselves.

"That's fine. That's enough."

Having achieved her goal, Hera turned and walked toward Bamokangla's enormous corpse.

Male dragons all thought with their lower halves once they reached adulthood.

She believed Chaos would be no exception.