Chapter 21 – The Evil Dragon Leaps into the Past with Her Sons 【Part 1】

It was the night that her son Ryuuji had magnificently defeated the boss monster.

Karma was in the living room, agonizing by herself.

hmmm…

“This is strange… Why would that be…? It’s a mystery…”

Then, a certain someone… shing… The elf observer, Chekiita, appeared behind her without a sound.

“Hiii, Karma. What’s this mystery you’re talking about?”

“Your ninja-like skills are the real mystery here.”

“Oh, come now. So, what’s wrong? If something’s troubling you, you can always talk to your big sis, you know.”

“What do you mean, ‘big sis,’ you old hag.”

“Oh, come, come now. Why don’t you tell me? Sometimes talking to someone helps you realize things you hadn’t noticed before.”

Relying on this elf was intensely irritating.

Still, she had hit a wall trying to figure it out on her own.

Karma gestured for Chekiita to take a chair.

After watching the elf sit down across from her, she began to speak.

“Actually, Ryu-kun has been down in the dumps ever since he beat the boss.”

“Ahhh…”

Chekiita was the evil dragon Karma’s observer.

The fact that Karma had been in the dungeon meant that her observer had also been right there, watching.

“Yeah, about that. That was kinda your fault, Karma.”

“What? You’re saying it was my fault?”

That’s a complete shock, Karma thought.

“This girl’s dead serious… Good grief. And she has the nerve to call herself a mother.”

Karma shot Chekiita a glare as the elf chuckled.

“So you’re saying Ryu-kun is depressed because of me? How, exactly?”

“Mmm. Well, if I just tell you, it won’t really help you grow, Karma.”

“Don’t be coy with me. Just spit it out.”

“Well, it looks like Ryu-kun is genuinely down this time, so I’ll give you a special piece of advice.”

Chekiita crossed her arms and legs.

squish

Her overly large breasts were squashed by her arms, creating an absurd-looking situation.

“To put it simply, Karma, Ryu-kun wanted to beat that boss on his own.”

“? But he did beat it on his own.”

“You can’t call that ‘on his own.’ Because you were glaring at it, the boss monster was going incredibly easy on your son Ryuuji the whole time.”

“????”

Karma couldn’t quite comprehend what Chekiita was saying.

The elf gave a wry smile.

“Alright then, Karma. Why don’t we take a look at that recording you made?”

The two of them watched the Orb of Recording.

The boss monster, completely terrified of Karma, was clearly holding back against Ryuuji and the others.

“…You’re right.”

Karma muttered, stunned by the video she was seeing.

“Now she’s completely floored. That’s what’s so flooring, if you ask me.”

hee hee

Chekiita let out a wry laugh.

“I didn’t mean for that to happen. Ryu-kun said he wanted a rematch, so I just revived the Kabuto.”

“But the Kabuto had the memory of your terrifying power burned into its mind. So when you glared at it, it got intimidated and went easy on them, I’d imagine.”

“…I see, so that’s what happened. I just thought Ryu-kun had gotten ultra-super-duper strong.”

Karma had been mistaken, thinking not that the Kabuto was weak, but that Ryuuji had attained a phenomenal new level of strength.

“It’s true that Ryu-kun and the others have gotten stronger. Just barely, though. I think they could have won with their own power.”

“…And I got in the way of that, is that it?”

“Pretty much. You might not have been aware of it, Karma, but in the end, you interfered. That wasn’t a real fight; it was a gimme. There’s no joy in winning a match like that.”

Karma looked over at Chekiita.

Her eyes seemed the same as always, but in truth, they held a sincere depth.

Not that she seemed to be blaming Karma, either.

It was more like the way a mother would look at a small child…

It was a gentle gaze.

“…That look on your face is super irritating.”

Sigh…

Karma let out a breath and looked down.

She finally understood why her son was depressed.

It was her fault.

She had stolen the joy of success from Ryuuji.

“…………AAGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! I’m such an iiiidiot!!!“

Whoosh!

Karma shot outside.

“Transform!” she shouted, taking on her evil dragon form.

FWOOSH!

She spread her massive wings and soared into the air.

On a moonlit night, a jet-black dragon streaked across the sky at incredible speed.

Eventually, upon reaching the far upper atmosphere, she roared.

【I’M THE BIGGEST IDIOT ALIVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!】

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!

A powerful breath attack erupted from her mouth.

The beam shot out in a straight line, flying far into the distance.

【Ah, crap.】

The breath had, astoundingly, completely vaporized the moon floating in the night sky.

【Oh, well. As long as I put it back, no one will know, right?】

Using her All-Creation skill, Karma made a new moon identical to the one she’d destroyed and put it back in its place.

Seeing the moon restored to its original state, Karma returned to the ground.

As Karma reverted to her human form, Chekiita approached, cackling.

“Ha-ha… that’s rich! Destroying the moon out of self-loathing. There’s a limit to how absurd you can be, you know!”

“Shut up. I put it back, so there’s no problem.”

Alright… Karma psyched herself up.

stomp, stomp…

She walked purposefully into the house and headed for the second floor.

“What are you going to do now?” Chekiita asked from behind her.

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m going to take action. For my son.”

She looked straight at the observer as she said it, and Chekiita smiled.

“Yep, with that look in your eyes, you’ll be fine. I like it when you get that look, the one you get when you’re working hard for your son.”

“Hah! Getting a compliment from you doesn’t make me the sliiiiiiightest bit happy.”

Hmph, Karma turned away and started walking again.

“Oh? Over it already? You could have stayed mopey for a little longer, you know.”

“When my son is feeling down, his Mother can’t stay depressed forever, can she?”

Karma didn’t stop walking.

She stared straight ahead and moved forward.

And then, Karma arrived at Ryuuji’s room.

“Ryu-kun!!!”

BAM!!

She threw open the door to Ryuuji’s room.

“M-Mom?!”

Her son, who had been lying on his bed, shot upright.

jolts!

“I-I’m pretty sure I locked that door!”

“Huh? A lock? Was it locked?”

Karma tilted her head, looking puzzled.

It didn’t feel locked… she thought, looking at her hand.

“Oh, it looks like the whole door came off with the handle, so it was fine.”

Oh, right. She’s a ridiculously strong idiot!

He seemed to be in shock about something, but that was irrelevant.

Karma took Ryuuji’s hand.

“Come on! Let’s go!”