◆ Chapter 23: Vanquishing the Dragon

 

 

 

◆ Chapter 23: Vanquishing the Dragon

 

“I don’t know how we pulled it off, but we made it down the mountain. Rosso and the others look spent.”

“They do, but we do not have any time to spare, m’lady…”

We succeeded in descending the mountain without encountering the dragon. My legs are killing me after running nonstop. Rosso and Iris seem even worse off than me. They’re really feeling the effects of using up their strength to move the floodgates.

“I can keep going, Boss Lady…”

“Iris can run eternally if she gets Goddess Pats along the way—COUGH! COUGH!”

It’s plain as day that they’re both bluffing. For that matter, Iris has never had the healthiest complexion, so now I’m even more worried she might croak on me.

“Look at them, Lex.”

“…What am I supposed to do with you? All right, let’s take a brief—”

Lex is cut off by a reassuring rumbling noise—the sound of hooves hitting the ground. I search left and right until I see a group of riders racing their horses along the foot of the mountain.

“LADY MIZUHA!”

“…Are those the soldiers who acted as bait?” I ask, opening my eyes as wide as possible to see them.

“Yeah, it looks like it,” Nady answers.

The soldiers gallop up to us, pull on their reins, and come to a halt. A quick count gives me ten total—everyone who split off to become bait is here.

“I’m glad you are all safe. How did you make it here…?”

“The dragon immediately sensed you weren’t with us, Lady Mizuha, as it quickly turned back… I deeply apologize for failing our mission,” the captain says.

“You didn’t fail. Besides, I’m relieved no one was hurt!”

“Your divine protection saved us, Lady Mizuha.”

The soldiers all lay the hand I shook on their chests.

In the end, I wasn’t able to transfer my unique smell to them. To me, it was the best possible result since it also meant the soldiers were unharmed and that my smell isn’t transferable. But there’s another question on my mind. I shift my gaze to the three riderless horses, including Vianta, that came with the soldiers.

“How did you find our horses?” I ask.

“We turned back right away and watched the dragon from a safe distance. Once it finally left the area, we checked where it had been circling and found a cave with your horses at the entrance, so we brought them with us,” the captain explains.

“From there, we assumed you entered the cave and had already progressed deeper inside given how much time had passed. Since the tunnels were crawling with zombies, we determined you forced your way through and that we would stand a better chance of regrouping if we rode down the mountain from the floodgate.”

“W-Wow! Your every guess was right!” When they lay out the details like that, it makes it sound easy to guess, but I doubt I would have thought as far ahead if I was in their shoes.

“Rejoice, men! Lady Mizuha is impressed by us!”

They always have to ruin the moment by making unprofessional comments like that, but it’s not enough to damper my respect for these men.

Lex gives Vianta a gentle hug before mounting her. Eyes on Cladorca, he raises his voice and commands, “Getting our horses back gives us a huge boost. We are going to run straight until we regroup with the main force!”

 

◆◆◆◆◆

WE’VE made much faster progress since riding the horses. The foot of the mountain is out of sight, and in no time, we arrive near the plains where the massive zombie horde had me surrounded last time.

I can see Cladorca on my right, but it looks completely different from before. Water courses through the city built into the side of the mountain like a waterfall, streams down the gentle slopes, and washes over the plains where we are.

Although it’s not enough to submerge all of the plains, most of Cladorca is flooded. And, if the toppled, unmoving zombies are anything to go by, it seems safe to say this water has some holy effects.

“The plan seems to be working, m’lady.”

“Yeah. I knew we could count on Pino!”

We keep our horses cantering in the few places not yet submerged. Is the holy water taking effect? The peculiar odor and fog clinging to the plains has begun to fade. Now we can see clear into the distance. I spot troops from the main force just ahead. Many of them are shooting arrows at the dragon aggressively flying around them.

“They’ve already started!” Nady shouts, her horse coming alongside Vianta. Everyone squeezes their calves and heels, cueing their horses to increase speed and lengthen their stride.

“So the dragon came back here after all…” I say, careful not to bite my tongue.

“It seems to have a habit of attacking anyone who nears Cladorca,” Lex responds, calmly analyzing the situation though there’s a sharp gleam in his eyes. He’s mentally preparing himself for the intense battle ahead.

I was worried about the plan not working if the dragon stayed around the mountain, but we luckily don’t have to change anything now.

I hear the main force’s shouts more clearly as we approach. Once we are near enough to feel the intense atmosphere prickle our skin, Theos’s voice powerfully booms across the field.

“Holy Priestess Mizuha is here! Now, Lucor Warriors! Shoot your arrows with a brave heart!”

Arrows fly from every single Lucor, who are riding in a perfect spread out formation, and they all strike the dragon’s wings without missing. Seeing as the arrows have pierced the dragon’s hide, Pino’s altered arrowheads are working according to plan.

I get that everything has gone perfectly, but I’m in shock—the dragon is felled as soon as I join the fray. I honestly didn’t expect to pull it off this well.

“Holy smokes!”

“Lady Mizuha, now’s the time! Hold on tight!”

Lex gives Vianta’s side a quick tap until she’s galloping full speed. The distance to the fallen dragon shrinks in a flash. By the time we are within distance to clearly see its ferocious fangs, the dragon writhes wildly and turns its mouth toward us.

“Ack! Don’t use that here!” I yell at it.

It’s almost as if the dragon was waiting for me to get close to blast me with its black fire breath. We’ll all be caught up in the blast if it does that here and now. The threat of imminent death is postponed by a volley of arrows piercing the dragon’s head. A unique shattering noise echoes from the glass affixed to the arrowheads.

“Do it now, Holy Priestess!”

Compelled by Theos’s thundering voice, Vianta drives Lex and me forward.

Just as Vianta runs past the dragon, I lean all the way to the side with my hand out and touch one of the finger spikes on its wing. I’m surprised by how hard it feels compared to the fleshy human zombies and Boneless Hams, but the sensation is a surefire indicator I made contact with it.

I look back as soon as we’ve passed it. A great number of seams emerge on the dragon’s whole body—the same as what happens with the Boneless Ham. What comes next is exactly the same too. After emitting a flash of light, living creatures of various sizes fall like rain from the dragon’s body. All birds from the looks of it.

I had considered the possibility after discovering the zombie birds, but to think the dragon really was formed by a large number of zombified birds.

“We defeated it, right?” I mutter, staring at the birds that had once made up part of a dragon as Vianta slows her gait.

“Yes, we did, Lady Mizuha. The dragon has undeniably perished!”

Cheers erupt from the troops after Lex’s declaration. It’s quite the earthshaking noise when over three hundred soldiers let out victory cries. No one tells them to lower their voices despite the danger of attracting zombies. At least the nearby ones are currently slowed by holy water—they pose no immediate threat.

“We did it, Lex!”

“Indeed! Everyone fought valiantly to ensure this victory.”

While I’m sharing in the moment with Lex, a person dressed in gaudy armor with an even more ostentatious personality—Keith—walks over to us. He raises his sword toward the heavens and boasts of his feats.

“Did you witness it, MiZUha?! Did you witness the moment my beautiful swordsmanship felled the dragon?!”

“No, I didn’t even see you on the battlefield. Besides that, a sword isn’t capable of reaching a dragon flying high off the ground,” I demur.

“Believe it or not, my swordsmanship released the arrows into the sky!”

“Bows release arrows, not swords. And it’s the Lucors who shot them, not you.” I head for the Lucors as I dryly correct Keith and his usual inability to hold a decent conversation. The Lucors are reveling in relief and joy as well. I address Chieftain Theos first. “Thank you for taking down the dragon! You have excellent accuracy!”

“We Lucor merely fulfilled our duties. I still do not believe this is enough to repay the debt we owe you, Holy Priestess, but it pleases us to have been of service to you.”

“You did more than that! This operation succeeded because of your people! Thank you very much!” I convey my gratitude without hiding my enthusiasm.

Though the majority of the Lucors smile back at me, Theos’s expression remains stern. Then I realize his gaze has shifted from me. I follow it to Nady. He must be curious about what happened during her time with me.

“Nady saved me on countless occasions during our separate mission,” I state.

“…I see,” is all Theos says in return. There’s a hard edge to his eyes that are also brimming with sadness. I get the feeling he’s guessed that Nady has yet to shoot a single arrow.

“Mizuha, I—”

“I only made it this far because you were with me. Thank you.”

“…I guess.”

I know it’s crafty of me, but I didn’t let her finish what she had to say. It doesn’t matter if she shot an arrow or not, Nady is my dear friend who went through a lot of scary things for me.

“I know we would all love to celebrate our victory longer, but we don’t have much time before the sun sets. We accomplished our objective to vanquish the dragon. Let us return with this great victory!” Lex shouts in a loud enough voice to reach all the troops.

Everyone agrees to the plan and prepares for the ride home. The troops are a bit spread out, perhaps because they are still embracing the high of victory. It’s not a big deal though with the zombies pickled in holy water and our biggest threat—the dragon—gone.

They deserve a little leeway to let their hair down. I’m sure everyone thinks the same because none of the commanding officers censure them. But perhaps we celebrated a little too soon.

A maddening roar incites fear in me that chills me to the bone. I apprehensively look up and my eyes go round.

“H-How?! We just defeated it!”

A ginormous black creature is flying toward us—its form is undeniably that of a dragon.