Hellfire - A Dragon's Lifestory (Prologue)

Chap. 20 (Extra) - "At the Brink of Death"

With Boss and Garg gone, only me and Croc are left at home waiting for them. Oh, there's Mander too, but he's sleeping inside a huge tower of ice and it doesn't look like he's waking up any time soon.

Today, me and Croc found a nest full of Giant Ant eggs. But, when I went near to grab them, Croc stopped me.

Niks: "Is this not lunch?"

Croc: "No, Niks. Not lunch. We find something else to eat."

Niks: "Why?"

Croc: "Don't ask. Come."

Croc never fully explains the details. But, I trust him enough to follow him. He saved my life after all. He once asked me if I'd want to remove the chains dangling on my neck, but I said it's fine since it doesn't really bother me much anymore. And, if I heat it up along with me, then my flame becomes even hotter with this metal increasing the heat. For some reason, the chain doesn't look like it's melting after all the times I've flamed myself up. I wonder what it's made of... And before I realized, we arrived at a swamp.

Niks: "Lunch here?

Croc: "Yes."

Looking closer, there are actually very large snakes underwater. Their skin color blends well enough that I didn't notice them until I had to look closer. I guess we'll be eating snakes today.

I was expecting a large haul... but, Croc only caught one. When the other large snakes left, Croc didn't go after them.

Niks: "Croc, why you let them go?"

Croc: "........."

Niks: "The bigger ones got away. Why you not catch them?"

Croc: "............"

Niks: "Croc?"

Croc: "............... Niks. Have you already forgotten?"

Niks: "Hm? Forgot what?"

Croc: "When you were poisoned and dying, did you forget what you felt that time?"

Niks: "...... Hm?"

Croc: "............... Nevermind. Let's go back."

Croc is acting... weird today. Of course I remember that time I got poisoned. You were the one who carried me to Boss and pleaded with him to save me. I also remember how energized I felt after taking in Boss's scales. Or, were they his claws? I'm not sure...

The next day, we went out to hunt for food again.

Niks: "Croc, look. The eggs yesterday broke."

Croc: "They've hatched...... that's good. Let's hunt at a different place today."

Ooh! A different place! New hunting grounds mean new food. I wonder what we'll find today~

Niks: "Croc, what that?"

Croc: "......?"

Up ahead, there is a tall red thing walking near the trees. It's standing on two legs just like the humans we saw at the cave before. It's even holding a huge wooden stick.

Croc: "It's an ogre. And, it's carrying a bludgeon. Niks, are you fine with eating that?"

Niks: "Is edible?"

Croc: "Of course. It's rich in meat."

Niks: "Then, yes!"

Croc immediately rushed at the ogre at full speed. The ogre saw us and readied its bludgeon. When it raised its bludgeon high up, Croc was already directly below it and jumped at the ogre's neck. Croc bit the neck and ripped its head out of its body. It all happened within the span of less than ten seconds.