Shut Up, Malevolent Dragon! I Don’t Want to Have Any More Children With You

Vol 8. Chapter 23: A Brand-New Move

Father and daughter took their positions.

Noa started warming up on the spot and said, “Feels like it’s been a long time since I sparred with you, Dad. I think the last time was the Black Gauntlet exam.”

At that, Leon arched a brow with a smile. “You actually remembered?”

“Do me a favor, Dad—”

As she spoke, Noa stood, clenched her fists, and set her magic surging. “Next time you cosplay, at least try to make it look convincing.”

Skewered so cleanly by his precious daughter, the old father could only give an awkward smile.

Back then, time really had been tight. He’d been worried the exam would throw another curveball, so he’d hastily thrown on a proper black-and-gold warrior outfit to impersonate a proctor. The disguise had been obvious enough, and being called out years later still stung Leon’s pride a little.

He changed the subject. “Sounds like you’re looking forward to a match with your old man.”

“Of course. The moment you proposed this deal, I’d already decided to fight you this way.”

Noa set her stance. “That’s why I agreed to take part in this joint exam.”

So the Youth Division kids weren’t “dragooned grunts” like Aurora had claimed. Each of them volunteered to come, each with their own reasons. Moon was probably here for the fun, Aurora purely for mischief. As for Noa, just like she said—she came as a “grunt” to find a chance to fight her dad.

“Fifteen minutes to grab the two cards on your belt, and I take those plus the forty from earlier. Otherwise, I only take the forty.”

“Floor guarantee.”

Invisible currents of magic began to rise and roll around Noa. “Then... I’m coming in, Dad!”

The words had barely fallen when Noa dipped, pushed off with her right foot, and in the next instant her figure became a black blade. Her speed was so extreme that Jane and Claire watching nearby couldn’t even track her motion.

In barely a fraction of a second, Noa blitzed right up to Leon.

That pre-engagement burst alone had cold sweat beading on Jane’s neck. “S... so fast... my eyes can’t keep up with her at all.”

He swallowed, murmuring, “If I’d run into her out there, Claire and I would already be—”

It all depended on whether she felt like throwing a strike.

Claire’s pupils trembled. “How can a dragon child be this strong...”

“The gap is huge. Even if I gave it everything, I don’t think I could ever beat a girl like that...”

“Actually, if you both train hard...”

Rosvisser eased down behind them, resting a hand on each shoulder and speaking gently.

“You can ignore those temporary gaps between you and the stronger, and even surpass them. More importantly, surpass yourselves. Jane, Claire, cultivation isn’t just to protect what you cherish. It’s also so you can face yourselves, examine yourselves, and, in the end, accept yourselves.”

Jane raked his hair. “I don’t really get it... but I’ll remember, Auntie Rosvisser. I’ll understand when I’m older.”

Rosvisser narrowed her eyes in a smile. “Good.”

As they spoke, a violent surge rippled from ahead.

They looked up...

Noa was already unleashing a storm of high-speed strikes on Leon.

In the past two years, Noa had shot up in height, nearly to Leon’s chest. She couldn’t play the same small-and-nimble card to press a purely crafty offense anymore. Growth in body was more boon than bane. Even if she wasn’t as slippery as before, every facet of her ability had climbed with age.

She no longer needed borrowed advantages. After two years of training, she’d forged a combat style and technique of her own.

Exactly what Leon had hoped to see back then. Noa’s attacks were lightning fast, her fists and feet leaving Leon almost no openings to counter. Dodge one, and the next was already there.

“Such speed, Noa. Looks like you’ve improved a lot these two years.”

Leon defended as he slipped aside, speaking with real satisfaction.

Noa fired a straight punch that met Leon’s palm squarely.

Fist to palm, they locked for a brief clash of strength. Noa used the moment to answer, “If you think I’ve improved a lot, that just means you haven’t supervised my training the way you used to.”

Yikes... that sounded a little tart.

Leon pressed his lips together and didn’t answer right away. He glanced toward Rosvisser, who was watching the spectacle.

The queen only shrugged, as if to say, “What are you looking at me for? The child’s right.”

Leon: →_→

He bit back a sigh and looked to Noa again. “So you mean your old man hasn’t been watching your back like before?”

“I know your love for me hasn’t changed, but these last two years you... just...”

With every break in her sentence, Noa poured a little more force into the lock. She even shifted Leon a fraction.

“You’ve barely paid attention to me!”

With a shout, white magic burst from her body and blasted Leon off his feet.

He rolled in air, corrected, and ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ landed smoothly, then looked up at Noa—at her hair now a sheet of snow-white—and murmured, “You can enter Primal Mode in an instant now...”

“She really has improved so much.”

Before, Noa needed a short charge, or the ancestor’s guidance in her consciousness, to scrape together the Primal power. Now, with just a few words, she could nearly snap into it.

No one knew better than Leon—who’d trained alongside Rosvisser—how hard mastering Primal power was.

He stepped forward slowly. “I’m sorry, Noa. I really have neglected you a bit these two years.”

“I understand, Dad. I just... haven’t found a chance to tell you how I felt.”

Her tone held no anger, no edge—just a touch of sourness, a little spoiled complaint. In confessing feelings, this child took after her mother: steady emotion, clear needs, no escalation.

“But...”

Noa curled her small fists, drew a deep breath, and let it out. “That’s family business. I’ll deal with you when we get home.”

Deal with him when they got home?—of all the things to learn from your mother...

He was still grumbling inside when Noa went on, “Next, Dad, I’ll show you my biggest improvement in these two years—”

Leon sobered. “Your biggest improvement...”

He was eager for the surprise.

“That’s right. Watch closely, Daddy. Don’t... get scared.”

She widened her stance, bent her knees, clenched her fists, and crossed her forearms before her chest.

She gently closed her eyes. White magic streamed out of her, like countless threads wrapping around her. Her black-and-silver hair lifted and drifted, like sprites dancing on the wind.

The high-purity Primal magic pooling around her began to change the world.

Clouds gathered thick above her head, veiling the sun.

Pebbles at her feet trembled, then drifted up against gravity.

The wind swelled, making the grasses hiss and old branches roar.

Even without being sensory mages, Leon and Rosvisser could clearly feel the power radiating off Noa growing stronger and stronger.

Claire nearly collapsed to the ground; if Rosvisser hadn’t shielded them, she and Jane would’ve been swallowed by that pressure already. Wind whipped the silver in Rosvisser’s hair as she narrowed her eyes at her “daughter” drawing in power.

“What is she doing... and this pressure feels familiar... it’s not just the crush of sheer force. It’s more like—”

Rosvisser thought for a beat, then her eyes widened. “Dragon’s Might.”

But how could a kid barely into her teens have Dragon’s Might? That aura and pressure belonged to adult dragons after they reached a certain level.

And now it was appearing... in Noa.

Leon, too, held his breath and watched.

“That’s not Primal Mode... it’s something beyond it... what is it?”

As the Primal force condensed, Noa changed again.

A white aura sheathed her tail. Under that halo, the tail lengthened. Two rays of light formed above her head. At first they had no shape; as the energy climbed, the lights slowly solidified into...

Dragon horns.

“She’s thirteen, and a viviparous dragon at that. How can she have horns?”

Leon looked to Rosvisser in bafflement. She was just as lost.

They were both stunned. The ground shuddered violently, yanking their thoughts back to the present.

Leon steadied himself, stared at the quaking earth, and felt a bead of cold sweat slide down his temple.

“I should have paid more attention to Noa these two years...”

“When did she master power like this?”

All Biyun Valley felt the force humming off Noa. Birds burst from the canopy; dangerous beasts everywhere grew restless.

Across the valley, candidates and proctors alike sensed the overwhelming aura.

“What is that? Did someone trigger the final boss?”

“Damn... to gather magic that pure in under a minute... whoever’s over there is no joke.”

“...”

Muse lifted her head. “That’s... big sis? Big sis ran into Dad?”

“Hmph hmph hmph, if anyone can make big sis go all out, I can’t think of anyone but Dad.” Aurora shaded her eyes on a treetop and peered into the distance.

In the high-difficulty zone, Constantine looked east and felt quietly. “What terrifying Primal force... hey, girl, go on then, give your old man a proper beating.”

...

Horns, tail, and Dragon’s Might nearing that of a grown dragon...

Leon knew the Noa before him wasn’t on the same level as two years ago—she was far beyond even her war-with-the-Void self.

Just as he braced to see what new form of battle she would unveil, Noa abruptly cut off the Primal buildup.

The magic ebbed. The horns faded. The tail shrank back to normal length.

The ground stilled. Clouds thinned. Sunlight poured back over Noa and Leon.

“Brat. Not yet, little whelp. Even a brand-new technique has to be used at the right time. Only in absolute necessity. Understood?”

In her consciousness, the ancestor was serious for once. The warning was solemn, no joke. A pity—but Noa chose to obey this time.

“Alright, I know. I just wanted Dad to—”

“No need to say it. You wanted your father to see your growth, to feel proud of you, didn’t you.”

The ancestor spoke low. “Judging from his face right now, you did it.”

The words fell, and the ancestor booted Noa’s awareness back out.

Before Noa could react, she saw her dad not far away, looking at her with pure relief and pride.

“No new technique or new form, Noa?” Leon asked.

Noa scrunched her nose with a little tsundere tilt. “Hmph. Not telling you.”

“Trying that on your old man?”

“Not telling you. Tch.”

She reset her guard. “I’ll snatch those cards even without that brand-new technique.”

“Baby girl, I love that ferocity most of all. Just like the old me.”

“That’s terrible then.”

Leon: ?

Rebellious girl. Time to give you a proper lesson!