"I-I’m not holding back, got it?! This is a deity going all out!! Are you sure about this?!"

The Dragon God, desperately trying to avoid a full-on battle with Kikyou, shouted in panic.

"I have no objections. A fierce battle and my victory will definitely earn Halt-sama’s praise. As a capable wife who even defeated a deity, I’m sure I’ll receive a wonderful reward.”

At this point, Kikyou’s mind was entirely consumed with one thing: getting Halt’s praise. She was already daydreaming about what kind of reward she’d get, completely lost in her own fantasy.

"Now then, let’s begin."

"W-wait a sec! Hold u—!"

But it was too late. Johann, the B-rank adventurer acting as the referee, had already given the signal to start. Seeing Kikyou enter battle mode, the Dragon God had no choice but to throw up his strongest defensive magic with everything he had.

"To start, receive this hit for me."

Kikyou’s nine tails fanned out, each one glowing with dense, swirling magical energy that gathered at their tips. Then, she brought all nine together in front of her.

A moment ago, just one of her tail beams had destroyed the Dragon God’s teleportation gate. Now, she was firing nine towards the thousand layers of magic barriers that stood between her and the Dragon God.

All those layers melted in an instant.

Without losing any power, Kikyou’s nine-tail beam attack slammed into the Dragon God.

"HngggghhhhhhhHHH!!!!"

The Dragon God crossed his arms in front of him, bracing with everything he had. He could have dodged—it was possible—but he knew better.

Kikyou’s tail beams chased their targets.

Once fired, there was no escaping them.

"I… I survived!"

Barely managing to hold his ground at the edge of the arena, the Dragon God had withstood the attack. He exhaled in relief and looked forward.

Kikyou wasn’t there.

"Never let your guard down just because you blocked an enemy’s big attack—I taught you that once, didn’t I?"

".....Eh —"

Kikyou had already moved in a blink of an eye — she was now positioned to his right. And this time, even more magic was stored in her tails.

Then, before the gawking Dragon God could react, she fired with an unbelievable speed.

The third nine-tail beam tore through the arena, carving deep trenches in the ground before crashing into him. Dust and debris exploded into the air with a deafening roar.

"Oh my? Don’t tell me that’s all you’ve got? A deity, taken out this easily… How pathetic."

Kikyou could sense it—the Dragon God’s energy was fading. She couldn’t hide her disappointment. Had she really become this strong? The dragon she once raised had fallen so easily, it was honestly depressing for her.

"Well then, I suppose I should help with your regeneration—Oh!"

Before she could finish, a fireball shot out of the dust cloud, narrowly missing her. It smashed into the protective magic barriers surrounding the arena, causing them to tremble violently.

The impenetrable defenses were set up by Anna and Halt, an absolute cheat-level mother-son  duo, yet the Dragon’s God’s attack was strong enough to shake the barrier.

"...Oh? So you still want to play with me?"

"Nah. I’m done. I’ve hit my limit."

Emerging from the dust was a massive dragon, its entire body covered in blazing red scales.

This was the Dragon God’s true form.

"As a deity, I now declare—Kikyou. You are an enemy of the divine. And as a deity, I will use my full power to obliterate you!!"

The ground trembled under the weight of his rage. His fury turned into heat, setting the entire arena ablaze.

And yet, in the midst of that —

"A deity’s full power, is it… Very well."

Kikyou remained perfectly calm.

"By all means, do give it your best shot. That would be much more fun. That aside…"

She smiled, and in that moment, the air turned ice-cold from the aura of her freezing bloodlust.

It rendered the Dragon God’s searing killing intent frozen solid.

"Did I ever give you permission to address me without honorifics?"

"Hiiiii!!"

A short, terrified squeal escaped the Dragon God’s lips.

Memories came flooding back—

Back when he was just a young wyrm, Kikyou had been his guardian. She had always been kind, tolerating his pranks and mischief with a smile. However, there was one time she had genuinely gotten mad. It was when he had carelessly called her by name without any respect.

She had always allowed only those she deemed worthy to call her that. And back then, the young wyrm was definitely not worthy.

That moment had left a scar—a deep, terrifying trauma that even his ascension to godhood had not erased.

"I-I’m sor—"

The Dragon God’s voice shook from terror as he tried to beg for forgiveness, his body refusing to move an inch.

However, in just an instant, Kikyou was already right in front of him.

"There won’t be a next time, alright?"

Her fist connected with the massive dragon’s snout.

A single punch—delivered from her delicate-looking arm—sent his enormous body flying.

The Dragon God slammed into the magic barriers around the arena before crashing to the ground.

It was a total knockout.

"If you ever call me that again, you won’t just be defeated—you’ll cease to exist."

Looking down at his unconscious form, Kikyou delivered her final warning.

"A-and the winner is… Familia’s Kikyou-san!!"

"Fufufu. Thank you."

She was still a little annoyed that the fight had ended so quickly, but hearing Johann’s victory announcement put a smile on her face. With a light step, she turned and walked back to Halt’s side.

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