The moment I gained my name, my body turned a deep blue.
My body grew larger, and the wings I had lost before birth grew back.
With those wings, I flew into the sky.
--- My first flight! It felt so good!!
The ground quickly receded, and Fenrir and the others looked as small as grains of wheat.
“Gwoooooo!”
I let out a roar from the depths of my belly. It felt good.
I dove from a high position.
Straight toward the blue dragon that had lost its chance to fly, having been attacked by Fenrir.
Looking back, I had overestimated my own strength at that time.
I had felt as if I had gained incredible power with the addition of the leader's strength. And that turned out to be fortunate.
Fenrir and the blue dragon were generally evenly matched. Normally, one blue dragon would face one Fenrir, but at that time, I had plunged into a group of Fenrir.
Fenrir are intelligent and have sharp instincts, but they were overwhelmed by my unusual presence.
In reality, even with the addition of the leader's strength, I could only blow away a few Fenrir at once. Yet, about ten Fenrir avoided me all at once.
As a result, the Fenrir, who had been holding the blue dragon in their mouths, retreated.
My companions didn't miss that moment. The blue dragon, which had been suppressed, quickly flew up to the sky.
With my companions now free, I had no more interest in the nesting site.
I soared high into the sky again and started flying east.
My companions, who had realized that I had inherited the leader's power, had been circling the sky aimlessly after the fallen leader. But as soon as I took off, they all followed me.
My destination was the cave where I was born.
Perhaps there is an unconscious sense of relief in the place of birth.
The only place that came to mind when I thought of a safe place after losing the nesting site was there.
In the cave where I was born, there was an unfamiliar blue dragon. When it saw my companions, who were landing one after another, it let out a threatening roar. Another blue dragon came out of the cave, having heard the roar.
--- The new dragon that came out of the cave was my older brother.
My older brother had grown into a fine adult dragon over the 12 years, formed his own group, and become its leader.
My mother dragon was also a part of that group.
My older brother's group consisted of about five dragons, but they had the right of first occupancy in this cave.
We decided to share a corner of the place.
As the new leader, who had inherited the power from the previous leader, I had obligations and responsibilities.
That was to unite the blue dragons and promise them peace and safety.
I had power. With the addition of the previous leader's power, I had gained a strength that was unparalleled among blue dragons. I had also grown wings.
I believed that the leader's job was to protect everyone with power, so I didn't think it would be difficult to fulfill my responsibilities as a leader.
Ten years ago, I was small and had only one wing, so I couldn't be a significant force. Yet, the group accepted me and allowed me to live with them. Now it was my turn.
No matter how young or weak a dragon might be, I would protect them.
It seemed only natural, and it became my goal, which I had been spending my days aimlessly.
I wanted to talk to my older brother, whom I hadn't seen in a while, but he was clearly avoiding me.
We hatched from the same egg. Although I had lost one wing, monsters are a species that will do anything to survive. I could understand my older brother's actions as a member of the monster species, so I couldn't feel resentment.
--- As brothers, couldn't we work together to protect our companions?
I thought about it, but my older brother never gave me the chance to talk.
Even my mother dragon never came out of her cave while I was nearby.
For a while, things went well.
There were small conflicts among the companions, but they weren't serious, and there was enough prey to hunt.
We were attacked by other monsters a few times, but I drove them away mostly on my own.
With the power of two dragons and learning how to use it, I became stronger and stronger. And it made me happy.
Monsters naturally prefer strength, so there was joy in becoming stronger. But I was also happy to have the power to protect my companions.
And I believed that just as I felt joy in protecting my companions, they felt joy in being protected and feeling safe.
The problem I felt at that time was the living space.
This land was a bit too small for two groups to live in.
So, I started looking for a new nesting site and often left this place.
And then, that night ---
A stormy night with no moon.
I was suddenly attacked by my older brother and his companions while I was sleeping. I woke up to the pain of my older brother's fangs sinking into my neck.
I could probably beat my older brother one-on-one, but there were five of them.
When dragons decide a new leader, it is done through a one-on-one duel in front of the companions.
It should never be done by ambushing someone.
We had strengthened our vigilance against external threats since the Fenrir attack, but we never considered internal threats.
My older brother glared at me with a fierce look and growled, "In the egg, I should have eaten not just your wing but all of you."
Then, with a voice full of resentment, he continued, "That power is mine. You stole the power that was originally mine. So, I will take it back."
I tried to understand my older brother's mad words amidst the intense pain.
... What is my older brother talking about? Even if he ate me, my power wouldn't transfer to him. If that were possible, everyone would start killing their own kind.
I called him "brother" for the first time.
"Brother, calm down. You know that eating me won't transfer my power to you, right? We are brothers. I think we can achieve something by working together."
"You were a small, weak, and worthless piece of trash. That's why I left you behind, thinking that eating you would lower my value. But look at you now?! You tricked and killed the leader of your group, stole his power, and now you're showing off with borrowed strength!! You are the worst scum I have ever seen!!"
And so, my older brother's mouth spewed endless insults.
It was not a situation where we could talk things out.
I decided to sacrifice a part of my neck's skin and flesh and forcibly pulled myself out from under my older brother's fangs.
Part of my neck's flesh was still hanging from my older brother's mouth.
I managed to break free from my older brother and his companions and made it outside the cave.
My older brother's group had five dragons, and mine had ten. If my companions noticed, I would win.
But when I stepped outside the cave, I noticed that many dragons were standing around the entrance where I had been sleeping.
A flash of lightning illuminated the dragons surrounding me.
They were, for some reason, my own group's dragons.
--- What's going on?
Did my companions realize that I was being attacked by my older brother?
Did they notice and not come to my aid?
Unable to understand the situation, I stood there, and my companions said to me:
"I've never liked you being in charge. You were at the bottom of the hierarchy, and yet you stole the previous leader's power and rose above me. It's a humiliation that makes my blood boil."
"Why are you giving orders?! Why are you making decisions?! You were just a lowly dragon at the bottom!"
"You, who had no wings and couldn't even be called a dragon, stole the previous leader's power through deceit! You were supposed to be at the bottom, doing as we said, being mocked by everyone, while secretly waiting for the chance to steal the leader's power, you thief!!"
... What are they talking about?
If you had helped when the previous leader was being torn apart by a half-dozen Fenrir, instead of me, things would be different.
If you had joined the fray amidst the overwhelming number of Fenrir, things would be different.
Then, look.
You would be the leader, and I wouldn't be under you.
If you could survive under the Fenrir's fangs, that is.
These dragons know.
They know they couldn't defeat the Fenrir and couldn't have joined the fray.
That's why all the dragons were circling the sky at that time.
I opened my mouth with a glimmer of hope.
"If you were so dissatisfied, why didn't you challenge me to a leadership duel? It's not too late. If you want to be the leader, challenge me fairly."
But my companions opened their mouths in a threatening manner.
"Why should we fight you fairly when you killed the previous leader through deceit and stole his power? You have no honor or pride. You deserve to be killed by an unknown dragon and die a meaningless death."
... That's right. One-on-one, there's no dragon that can beat me.
But a fair leadership duel is supposed to be a rule of the proud dragon race.
I raised my head and looked at the dragons surrounding me.
I understood the feelings of the male dragons.
But what about the female dragons? Is my existence unnecessary to everyone?
The female dragons I made eye contact with all casually looked away.
"… Don't take it personally. But if you defeat all the male dragons, we will be next."
"… Yeah, that's a difference in perspective. I don't need such companions."
What strange dragons.
The male dragons are trying to kill me by bending the dragon race's pride, which is to decide the leader through a fair fight.
The female dragons are blindly following the dragon race's rule, which is to follow the strongest dragon who has survived through strength.
... Huh, the female dragons probably don't believe I can survive, so they are essentially condoning my death.
Following the rules when it suits them and breaking them when it doesn't.
What free and selfish dragons.
... Was my acceptance into this group, the sense of gratitude I felt for being protected, just a delusion?
Did they only think of me as "convenient" and "useful" because I didn't resist and served as a shield for everyone, but not as a "companion"?
I was looking at the other dragons with a very calm feeling.
Is it correct that it's me against all the other dragons?
The female dragons won't actively attack me, but they won't help me either.
The situation of me being alone remains unchanged.
--- This is a losing battle. No matter what I do.
So, the best move would be to leave...
But I couldn't let go of my hesitation.
I am the strongest in this group.
And, after all, I have the gratitude of being with my companions for 10 years.
I thought my strength was for the sake of helping the group...
The male dragons around me started to roar in a threatening manner.