Chapter 1: The Dragon Knight Order
Chapter 1: The Dragon Knight Order
The Grand Scarlet Canyon was located to the east of Parth, its length serving as part of the border between the city-state and Trycen. Trycen had owned the area long ago but had ceded it to contribute to the territory of the City of Peace upon its founding.
The ravine that wound through the canyon, roughly fifty meters wide and flanked on both sides by precarious scarlet cliffs that soared high into the sky, was the shortest and most direct route connecting Trycen and Parth. Technically, the cliffs weren’t entirely impassable, but the incline was so steep that they were almost perpendicular to the ground, and their highest points reached up into the clouds. Even if one had the power of flight, making it over such summits would be a feat in and of itself.
Furthermore, the summits were dotted by nests of Rank C bird-like monsters who were sensitive to other life forms. As such, it was far safer for large groups—armies, for example—to use the ravine instead.
It’s such an obvious place to spring an ambush that I’m sure the Trycenians will be fully on guard against one.
“And...we’ve arrived. What time is it now, Efil?”
We had forged our way through violently blowing clouds of sand to reach the Trycenian end of the canyon. We had thought the bone-dry path at the bottom of the ravine bad enough until we saw that it opened into a wide, expansive desert.
If all of Trycen’s land is like this, I can see why they’d be so desperate for food. Then again, they just declared war on Toraj, who they were supposed to be buying food from. How do their people, especially the merchants, feel about this war?
Efil drew a pocket watch from Clotho’s Storage. “It’s just after eleven o’clock in the morning, Master. Our travel time was as we predicted.”
Ah, it’s almost time for lunch.
::I’m sorry for the trouble, my king, but could you Summon me now, please?:: Gerard prompted me from within my magic pool.
The knight wasn’t slow by any measure of the word, but as his Agility stat was significantly lower than the rest of ours, I had been keeping him Unsummoned until we reached our destination.
“Right. I’ll do it now,” I replied, obliging straight away.
His familiar armored form soon emerged from the magical circle.
“It seems to be taking all I’ve got just to keep up with the rest of you these days. Is it because of my age? Maybe I should acquire the Riding skill and ask Alex to let me sit on his back.”
“Arf.”
“You hate the idea that much?! Even I would sulk, you know!”
Has Gerard forgotten how much Alex leaps all over the place? It’d be worse than a rodeo, I’m sure.
“Alex dives into the shadows quite a bit anyway,” Rion commented. “Do you know how to ride a horse? Is that part of being a knight?”
“I may not have the Riding skill, but I can still ride better than most! Want me to teach you someday?”
“Really?! It’s a promise! Pinky swear!”
“Mm, pinky swear.”
I’m really loving this heartwarming scene, but we need to get to work if we don’t want lunch to be delayed.
“All right, I’m going to assign everybody their roles now. Efil, you get started on lunch. Do you have all the tools you need?”
“Yes, Master. In fact, I have the entire set of tools you made for me stashed in Clo-chan’s Storage. Does anyone have any requests?”
“Mm! Pork cutlet bowl for me!”
“That’s so heavy, Gramps. Omelets for me please, Efil-nee!”
“I don’t mind what it is as long as it’s light.”
“I’m also fine with anything, as long as there’s a lot of it.”
“Arf!” (Meat!)
“Guess I’ll have a pork cutlet bowl like Gerard.”
“All noted. Clo-chan, you’re fine with anything, right?”
Normally, being on the road would require all party members to agree on a single dish. Clearly, we had been spoiled by how readily Efil always cooked whatever we asked for.
“Sera, Rion, Gerard, Clotho, and Alex, please spread out and exterminate all the monsters in the vicinity. Oh, but leave the ones near the summit alone.”
“Why?” Sera asked, looking puzzled.
“On the off chance that Trycen actually tries to cross that way, the monsters up there will serve to slow them down and warn us of their presence. Your detection skills will be able to pick up any commotion that breaks out nearby, right?”
“Considering the level of the monsters in this area, it’d be a cinch.”
“And those monsters rarely leave their territories, which means as long as we don’t go up to bother them, they won’t come down to harass us. So we can just ignore them; it’s fine. Let’s all meet back here in an hour, all right?”
“What should I do, honey?” Melfina asked, raising her hand slightly. She was the only person to whom I had not assigned a task.
“You’ll be with me.”
“Oh, my! I’ll be ‘with’ you? Here?!”
Bonk.
Seeing how red Melfina’s face had turned, I dropped a hand chop onto her head before her thoughts ran away even more.
“We’ll be making a wall.”
◇ ◇ ◇
An hour later, Rion and the rest returned, having completed their respective tasks. Mel and I had also reached a good stopping point.
There’s an absolutely mouthwatering fragrance in the air, so let’s wrap things up quick.
“Welcome back, everyone. Looks like Efil’s just about done. Let’s head over.”
The first thing that each of my friends did was stare at my masterpiece.
“Um, Kel-nii, I remember you saying ‘wall,’ but...”
“Well, I, uh, did my best, and this is just how it turned out.”
A massive black fortress—composed of a keep and walls—now sealed off the entrance to the Grand Scarlet Canyon. I had made everything using a new Rank S Green Magic spell that I’d recently developed under Melfina’s instruction: Obsidian Fortress. It gave all the structures I built a pure black exterior and the durability of my Obsidian Edge swords.
My aim had originally been only to make stronger walls, but my control over magic had increased significantly thanks to all the special training I had done while mastering Death Scythe Boreas. This was just a happy, if unexpected, side effect.
“This is practically a castle. What’s more, it’s...” BOOM! “...stronger than the wall you erected at the Village of Elves.”
“Can you not immediately try to destroy it, Sera? Please?”
My heart had skipped a beat when I saw Sera clenching her fist, but the wall appeared undamaged.
Thank goodness for Rank S spells. Although I suppose it’s partly also because she wasn’t serious.
“A spell that focuses strictly on, say, defense, is much easier to control, honey. You mastered that scythe move of yours—which is a bucking horse compared to this—so it makes sense for the end result to be so impressive.”
“Is that how it works? Hm, never mind a One Night Castle, this is practically a One Hour Castle. Also, I can freely adjust the interior to customize things and—”
Growl.
Ugh, my stomach’s just reminded me how taxed both my mind and magic are. I’ve got to dig into Efil’s pork cutlet bowl ASAP!
We agreed to continue talking over lunch and headed for the table where Efil had set everything up. I’d already divided up the interior of the castle to create separate rooms for everyone, so we would be eating indoors next time. I was currently controlling the wind so that it wouldn’t bother us, but the sandstorm was still blowing quite violently around us.
“After we eat, I’ll start working on the golems.”
“The golems again, Master?”
“Mh-hm, to bolster our forces when we clash with Trycen. At the moment, my stock of golems is only at fifty-three. Aside from the ones on guard at home, the rest are sleeping in Storage. The problem is, less than half of them are outfitted with Gatling guns. I could create entirely new ones that are already kitted out, but that would be a waste of mana.”
The stronger the golem, the more MP it cost to create. It was far more economical to create them with a base design and then arm them with mass-produced equipment. As we were currently facing a time crunch, it seemed wise to go with the option that allowed me to save MP. I, for one, did not want to over-rely on downing recovery potions and end up vomiting in front of my companions. From my understanding of the required spell, I could create plenty of additional copies of this type of golem before hitting the limit. Numbers were a form of strength, and I wanted as much backup as I could get.
“I’ll help you like I always do,” Sera declared. “I raised my Black Magic to Rank S the other day, so I can channel more spirits to possess the golems now!”
“Uh...where will the spirits be coming from? The battle ghosts who’re possessing One, Two, Three, and Four were native to that dungeon in Toraj, right?”
“Yep! I’ll run to Toraj and come right back!”
“Hold it right there! We still have tons of other things that need doing around here, so can we please get those done first? Like...thinking of designs for new equipment!”
It’s true that there’s no time like the present, but Sera was liable to jet off the moment an idea came to mind.
“Oh, right, do you know when Sabato-san and his party are joining us, Kel-nii? Did you make sure to give them proper instructions?”
“I asked Ellie to pass on a message. You know how reliable she is; there’s no need to worry. And since they’re Rank A, I imagine they can get here whenever they feel like it.”
“Really? I’m not too familiar with what Rank A adventurers can do.”
“Well, I’m sure they’ll show up just as we forget about them or something. Anyway, about everyone’s jobs for the afternoon...”
It was not until five days later that Sabato and his companions finally reached the Grand Scarlet Canyon.
◇ ◇ ◇
It was the fifth day after Sabato and his party had set out from Parth. If Rio’s information was correct, the Dragon Knight Order could be arriving at any time.
After the Rank A adventurers had frozen in astonishment upon reading Kelvin’s letter, Goma had returned to her senses first and slapped the rest of her companions awake, roaring at them to get their things in order.
An important part of their preparations involved procuring rations, which usually meant dried meat and hardtack. Considering the normal traveling speed of their party, it was going to take them a week to reach the canyon. That was faster than a horse could run, but they still feared that they wouldn’t arrive before the Dragon Knight Order did.
“Dammit, guess we have no choice but to lighten our loads and push ourselves to go faster.”
Despite only carrying their rations, food for three meals a day for several people over several days still added up to quite a lot of weight. Therefore, Sabato instead chose to bring food for a fewer number of days and adopt a more grueling pace so as to arrive earlier.
Things would have been much simpler if their group had possessed a magic item or a storage skill, but unfortunately, they had neither. Beastkin strongly believed in relying on their own bodies when it came to fighting, which led to a strong preference for incorporating relevant training into every part of their lives.
Sabato and his companions were no exception. As part of their training, they traveled while carrying much more luggage than they needed in lieu of stone weights. It had never even occurred to them to procure items or skills to help with storage or carrying. In fact, they didn’t want to lighten their loads if they could help it.
As soon as Sabato and his party had finished scrambling to retrieve the equipment they’d left at various vendors for maintenance, and had restocked the bare minimum number of potions and basic necessities, they struck out. One thing they had going for them was that they were completely over-leveled for the monsters in the area and consequently did not need to waste time on battle along the way.
“Today is the fifth day,” Sabato murmured, looking up at the sky. “At this rate, we should arrive before noon.”
“I’m so tired! Count me out of any more forced marches in the future!” Guin complained.
“We never did manage to catch up with Kelvin-san, despite how fast we were going,” Goma noted.
“And physical prowess is supposed to be our forte as beastkin!” Akgas chuckled.
When the giant cleft of the Grand Scarlet Canyon had come into view, Sabato and his party had stopped for a breather. They gathered burnable leaves and branches to start a fire in order to boil some water and grab an early lunch, consuming the last of their rations. Now that they were completely free of luggage, they planned on making the last leg of the journey in one go.
Guin gnawed on his food. “I’m pretty sick of dried meat and hardtack.”
“Don’t be spoiled. The real hard part’s coming after we arrive at the canyon. If you don’t want this to be your last meal, make sure you get your head in the right place, Guin.”
“Ugh, that’s pretty harsh, Akgas-san.”
“Akgas is right,” Sabato agreed. “Kelvin-dono and his group probably have it even worse. The fact that they chose the Grand Scarlet Canyon as the battlefield means they plan on incorporating the terrain into their strategy. They must be scrambling around making preparations even as we speak.”
“Fair point. All right, everyone, we’ll be heading on as soon as you’re done. Let’s hurry.”
“You eat too fast, Goma-sama!” Guin protested weakly.
Once the group of six finished their meal, they took off again, running straight into the ravine overshadowed by towering cliffs. Nearly two hours had passed, but for some reason, they had yet to encounter a single stone golem—a Rank C monster that would often appear on this road.
“Could that mean Kelvin and his group are close?” Sabato wondered.
“They might have just passed through,” Goma agreed from her position at the front. At that moment, the ground erupted a slight distance ahead of her. “Well, speak of the devil!”
Masses of dirt and stone rose several meters high, taking on the form of four monsters that shared a humanoid appearance, albeit a slightly deformed one.
“Ha! Ha! Ha! What perfect timing! I was just starting to get bored!” Sabato whooped before pumping his legs even harder to rush past Goma, charging straight at the stone golems.
“Hold on! Don’t dive in by yourself!”
“I don’t want to hear that from you! You always charge ahead!”
In spite of their squabbling, the two were running in perfect sync. The stone golems were lumbering quickly towards them, and neither side was showing any sign of slowing down.
Akgas sighed. “Will those two ever grow up?”
“You seem kind of happy about it, actually,” Guin noted.
“You’re imagining things. It’s about time they—HEADS UP! INCOMING!”
A moment after Akgas’s shout, something came into view, approaching at an incredible velocity. From his position, Sabato could only make out two shadows—one big, one small—seemingly bouncing off the ground and walls of the ravine in zig-zagging trajectories, speeding towards them so quickly that his eyes couldn’t make out any details.
Within moments, the two silhouettes passed the group of golems. The monsters looked around in confusion, but instead of finding an opponent, they saw each other falling into pieces along evenly sliced lines that seemed to have been carved with a razor-sharp blade. Their consciousnesses faded away before they could even comprehend what had just transpired.
They reduced the stone golems to junk in a split second! Sabato thought, his amazement putting him even more on edge.
Stone golems were not particularly strong monsters. Forget Sabato and his group; even normal knights had more than a fair chance of beating one in single combat. However, these were, at the end of the day, three-meter-tall giants of stone. And yet these two mysterious entities had diced up four such creatures in passing. Even with Sabato’s entire group working together, they could not have pulled off such a feat.
“They’re coming, Goma!”
“No need to tell me!”
The two black streaks were almost on top of them. The argumentative pair from moments before had vanished, replaced by two warriors with their senses fully trained and their eyes staring dead ahead with intense focus.
The shadowy figures stopped abruptly in front of them.
“Hi! I’ve come to pick you up, Sabato-san!”
And one of them flashed one of the brightest smiles ever.
“Uh...you’re Rion-san, right?” Goma managed as the rest of her party remained frozen from the emotional whiplash of the tense atmosphere suddenly melting away.
“Oh my gosh, you remembered! Thank you! Just call me Rion. I couldn’t sit and wait when I saw your group arriving; I just had to come get you!”
Recognition dawned on Guin’s face. “I thought I knew you from somewhere! I saw you during the promotion ceremony!”
“Of course you saw her,” Goma snapped exasperatedly. “Rion-sa—Rion is Kelvin-san’s little sister and party member.”
“L-Little sister?” Guin stared closely at the girl, who finished sheathing the two black swords she was holding and returned his gaze with a cheerful smile.
Like brother, like sister. Both of them are absolute monsters. But she’s cute, so it’s all good! he thought, pumping a fist and crying “yes!” internally.
“Arf, arf.”
“Uh, what’s with the gigantic wolf, by the way?”
“This is Alex, my best friend. He’s a bit big, but he’s a really good boy! I hope that everyone gets along with him!” Rion replied, rubbing the wolf’s neck furiously. The way she had to stand on tiptoe to reach high enough only added to her cuteness.
The wolf closed his eyes in enjoyment, allowing her to do as she pleased. Goma found a part of herself secretly wanting to pet him as well.
“So, you coming out to meet us means that you and Kelvin arrived earlier?” Sabato asked.
“Mh-hm! We got here five days ago!”
“Huh?” he and Goma replied in a falsetto in perfect unison.
“Five days ago... That’s the day we were summoned to the guild!”
“Ah, well, we were in a bit of a hurry. We arrived just before lunchtime and have been making preparations ever since!”
“Before lunch. A distance that took us five days...you finished in several hours?”
The entire party was flabbergasted. The fastest speed they were capable of—which had even required them to set aside their carrying creed—turned out to be a mere joke compared to the goal they were aiming for. They had come to help out with defending the border in hopes of learning something and improving themselves, but now they wondered whether they were even qualified to observe.
Rion and Alex exchanged puzzled looks, unable to understand the awkward silence that had fallen.
“Rion-chan and Kelvin-san are outliers!” Guin suddenly blurted out. “And they’re related, so it makes sense that she’s as strong and fast as he is!”
Goma cocked her head. “I’m not sure how much sense that makes—”
“It’s best not to think too deeply about this sorta thing!” Guin insisted. He seemed a bit brighter than he usually was, likely in an effort to cheer up his companions.
“I...suppose you’re right,” Sabato said slowly. “I’m the one who’s aiming to become Rank S one day, and here I am being pathetic. I wouldn’t be able to face my old man like this. Okay, you guys, let’s make a bang in this coming fight; one big enough to give Kelvin a shock!”
Akgas burst into laughter. “Looks like you’ve taken another step towards maturity, Sabato-sama!”
“Well, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to play along every once in a while,” Goma conceded.
Thanks to Guin’s efforts, the group’s mood improved. Through this shared experience, the bonds between the members of their party were strengthened once again.
Did Rion-chan see how gallant I am?
All right, maybe there was no strengthening of bonds after all.
::I feel like this would be a bad time to mention that we’re the weakest members of Kel-nii’s party. Make sure you keep quiet, all right, Alex? Shh!::
::Arf!:: (Okay.)
Unbeknownst to the beastkin, Rion had also become a little more mature.
◇ ◇ ◇
After Rion and Alex met up with Sabato and his party, they all walked back together. According to Rion, the Trycenians were expected to arrive around dusk the next day.
“We’re almost done with our preparations, so there’s no need to rush. Oh, wait, it’s almost time for lunch! Let’s actually walk just a bit faster!”
“If we’re going to hurry, we might as well run. We stopped to eat and rest not that long ago.”
“Oh, really? Then is this all right?”
With a slightly apologetic look on her face, the girl started running at a speed that the beastkin could barely manage to keep up with. She turned back to check on them every once in a while, as if trying to match their pace. The wolf brought up the rear.
Eventually, Rion seemed to get a handle on the appropriate speed for her companions and had fallen back to run beside Sabato and the rest.
“Sabato-san, you mentioned eating earlier. Does that mean you already finished your lunch?”
“Yep. We were planning to make that our last break and then run the rest of the way to reach you.”
“I see. Then I guess we won’t need to prepare extra portions for you?”
“We’re good, thanks,” Goma confirmed.
Guin, however, mumbled under his breath, “Why do I feel like we’ll seriously be missing out?”
After a bit more small talk, the desert expanse of Trycen’s border finally came into view, signaling the end of the path through the canyon. Kelvin was nowhere to be seen.
“Rion-dono, where is Kelvin-dono?” Akgas asked.
“Um, how do I explain this? Oh, everyone, stop here, please!” Rion suddenly spread out her hands as if to block the way.
The beastkin looked mystified but did as they were told. They were currently several hundred meters from the edge of the desert, and the only thing in view was the soaring range of cliffs that flanked the path. Nothing else seemed out of place. Wondering if Kelvin was lying in wait somewhere, the party examined their surroundings closely. However, they could find no sign of human presence anywhere.
Rion looked slightly upwards, cupped her hands around her mouth, and shouted, “Mel-nee! We’re back!” like a mountain climber. But the only thing in the direction she had shouted was the clear, blue sky framed by scarlet rock.
“Rion, what—”
“Welcome back, Rion,” said a crystal clear voice, seemingly coming from nowhere.
A distortion appeared in the air at roughly the height of Parth’s clock tower. A teenage girl in blue attire emerged and nonchalantly leaped down, landing before Rion so gracefully that not even a particle of dust was disturbed. Melfina—for that was who it was—smiled in a welcome manner as blue feathers went flying.
::Mel-nee! Your wings! Your wings are appearing!::
::Oh, whoops!::
In a fluster, Melfina quickly dispelled the pair of wings that were on the verge of materializing. Thankfully, her unexpected appearance had astonished the beastkin too much for them to notice. Or rather, they simply thought it to be one of the effects of the magic they were witnessing.
::They appear so easily when I let my guard down. It’s hard to maintain the spell.::
::That was too close for comfort. You’ve got to be more careful, Mel-nee!::
::Yes, ma’am.::
Rion’s warning left Melfina’s face slightly flushed. Since the exchange had taken place through the Network, however, Sabato and the rest were none the wiser.
“Is that a new outfit? Where’d you get it?”
“Where do you think? Efil made it for me, of course!”
“Awww, it looks so cute!”
Adding to the surreal feeling of the scene, the two girls promptly began talking about clothes, of all things.
“Kelvin-san has even more hidden aces?!” Guin muttered in marvel.
Catching on to what he meant, Goma gave him a quick rap on the head. “You shush. Um, Rion, is this woman also part of Kelvin-san’s party?”
Melfina lowered her head in greeting. “Yes, I am. You are Sabato-san and his party members, I presume? We’ve been awaiting your arrival. Please come in.”
“Come...in?” Sabato echoed in confusion. “Where?”
“Here,” Melfina replied, waving a hand behind her.
The distortion from earlier suddenly reappeared, this time at a much greater scale than before. Soon enough, it had spread to fit the width of the entire path and opened up like a mouth, revealing a startling sight within.
“Th-This is...”
“What the hell just—?!”
“Oh, phew, looks like being surprised by this sort of thing is normal. I’m glad I’m not the only one,” Rion giggled.
The beastkin were speechless as they stared up at the pitch-black fortress that had appeared out of thin air. Now that whatever had been blocking their perception of it had been dispelled, they could feel Kelvin’s presence within.
“You guys finished this in five days?!” Goma asked incredulously.
“Oh, no, this was done in an hour.”
Melfina’s correction left the beastkin with their jaws on the floor yet again. This sight of them looking so stupefied was quickly becoming the norm.
“Mel-nee, you’ve got to be more tactful—”
“No, it’s fine,” Sabato said, throwing a hand up. “There’s no need to soften things for us. I grew up in close proximity to a Rank S adventurer myself. I’m used to being surprised. This sort of thing only fires me up more! The greater my goal, the more it’s worth reaching!”
“Sabato-sama!” Guin exclaimed, impressed.
“That said, let’s move! There’s no point in standing around out here, so let’s get to where Kelvin is!”
Melfina nodded gracefully. “I shall lead the way. Follow me.”
“Please and thank you!”
As Melfina walked off, Sabato gave chase, followed by Akgas and Guin. The daily tempering from Goma’s fists seemed to be paying off. Rion was quite impressed by the beastkin’s mental resilience.
Even so, she could not help noting, ::It looks like he’s not aware of it himself, but Sabato-san’s moving the same side hands and legs while he walks.::
::Arf, arf.:: (Leave the poor guy alone.)
::I know, I know... Wait, huh?::
Rion paused her conversation with Alex when she noticed that Goma was still standing outside. So were the remaining two beastkin whose names she did not yet know.
“Goma-san, everyone’s going ahead. Is something the matter?”
Goma started. “Oh, right, sorry. Let’s go.”
She was doing a good job of hiding it, but Goma herself had been even more shaken than the others. A gigantic fortress supposedly being built in a single hour already stretched the limits of her disbelief. The massive magic spell that enveloped the structure and so perfectly concealed it from visual and magical detection...that was something else entirely.
Judging from the conversation, it seems that girl Mel cast the spell. And clearly magic is not the only thing she’s good at, seeing as she managed to jump down from such a height without taking damage. Then there are Rion and Alex, who annihilated a group of stone golems in literally a split second. Are all members of Kelvin’s party this powerful? That would mean they are all on the level of Rank S.
Goma’s thoughts whirled furiously through her mind as she walked.
◇ ◇ ◇
The inside of the fortress was surprisingly well decorated. The paintings and ornaments on display weren’t quite on the level of something found in a royal palace but still looked like they would have fetched a pretty penny. The floor was covered by red carpeting, and knights in black armor patrolled the halls. Each of them was carrying an unfamiliar-looking weapon in their left hand that Sabato and his companions failed to recognize, despite having seen the basis for it in the Shrine of the Puppets.
“Everything hanging here is fake. Just saying. They’re all created with the same spell that Kel-nii used to build the place.”
“Anything goes, huh?” Guin replied.
“Some of them might even be booby-trapped, so it’s probably best not to touch anything carelessly. Oh, Efil-nee!” Rion rushed forward in a small run and dove into Efil’s chest. “I’m back!”
“Welcome back, Rion-sama. Sabato-sama and company, welcome. How would you like to wash away the fatigue from your travels in a bath? It’s already drawn and readied for you right through here. Master is occupied at the moment and will be with you later.”
“A...bath? This place has everything! Are we really in the Grand Scarlet Canyon right now?”
“Why sweat the small details, Goma? Just be thankful and enjoy it!”
“Oooh, I’d love a bath too!” Rion exclaimed. “I’ll wait till Kel-nii gets back so we can take one together!”
“Huh?!” The beastkin were even more confused than they had been before. Guin’s eyes had become bloodshot.
Rion, in turn, looked taken aback by their reactions. “What’s wrong?”
“Um...” Goma said gingerly. “Aren’t you and Kelvin-san siblings?”
“Mhm, we sure are!”
“Ummm... Is it not a bit unusual to be entering the bath with him at this age?”
Guin flared up. “It is! It’s strange! It’s outrageous! I firmly oppose it!”
“What are you saying?” Rion asked, looking entirely mystified. “It’s normal for siblings to take baths together. And I love Kel-nii, so what’s the problem?”
Guin’s vehement protest fell on deaf ears. Having been deeply influenced by a certain subset of manga and light novels from a young age, Rion was entirely convinced that this was how brothers and sisters ought to act. Due to her persistent efforts, Kelvin had also started to think the same as of late. And there was no one around willing to tell them otherwise.
Taking baths together? Sabato and Goma thought as they exchanged looks.
Yeah, so not happening...
Nope, that’s not happening...
The two of them could not find it within themselves to agree with Rion’s assertion.
“Uh, whatever. I’m gonna hit the baths, then!” Sabato said loudly.
“I shall join you, Sabato-sama. Guin, you’re coming too.”
“What?! No, I refuse to accept it! And I still want to stare at the cute maid a while lon— Don’t pull my collar! Noooo, the cute maid!”
Guin was being dragged along by the back of his neck, his legs kicking in protest the whole way. It was all in vain, though, as his strength was nowhere near enough to break Akgas’s grip.
“How about you, Goma-san?” Rion asked politely. “We have another one for girls. Want me to take you?”
“I would appreciate that; thank you.”
◇ ◇ ◇
“Master, it is time,” Efil announced after knocking on the door of the temporary workshop where Sera and I were enthusiastically creating our golems. If Efil had come to call for me, it could only mean one thing: lunch.
It feels like a split second ago I was watching the sun rise. Time sure flies when I’m having fun.
“All right, we’ll be there soon! We’re almost done with this one!”
And then we’ll have reached our target number. Phew, I’m glad we managed to finish in time. Installing Gatling guns on this many golems was damn tiring.
“What’s on the menu today, Efil?”
“Per Rion-sama’s request, I have made burger patties using the white wolf meat in Clo-chan’s Storage.”
Since Sera and I had been busy in the workshop, we had told Efil to make us whatever Rion was eating.
Seems like Rion’s still got the taste buds of a child. Then again, it’s not like I dislike burgers. In fact, I love them. I love everything that Efil cooks.
“Additionally, Sabato-sama and his party have just arrived. They are currently using the baths.”
“Oh, finally? They sure took their time.”
“They seem to have eaten already. Will you be meeting them after lunch?”
“Hmm... All right, when they leave the baths, please show them to the drawing room so they can rest up a bit. They might be tired from the journey and all.”
“Understood, Master.”
We called it the drawing room, but it was filled with only simple sofas and fake ornaments.
I’m sure someone must have given them a heads-up, but let’s disable the traps in the room just in case. And in the meantime, I’ll be taking my time and enjoying that wolfburger.
Sera and I hurriedly finished up our work, then headed straight for the room we were using as a dining hall.
◇ ◇ ◇
“Ha! Ha! Ha! You never cease to amaze me, Kelvin! That bath was incredible! I haven’t felt so refreshed in a long time!”
The first thing that Sabato did upon seeing me was wax eloquent about the bath. Although he had clearly taken a liking to it, whenever I myself took a dip, I couldn’t help but remember the one that we had back at home. Comparing the two was like comparing a bathtub in an average house to an outdoor bath at a ryokan with decades of history.
Oh, right, even just having a bath is a luxury in this world. Ever since I installed one, I’ve been slowly forgetting that.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
“Um, Kelvin-san, can I ask you something?”
“Sure. What is it?” This guy’s name is Guin, right? As I remember, he’s the youngest in Sabato’s group.
“Is it true that you take baths with Rion-chan?!”
“What?”
“This is the one thing that I just have to confi—pppffft!” Goma’s straight right sent Guin’s face into the wall of the room.
Every time I see her in action, I’m impressed. The way she slides into it is just so clean and sharp.
“I’m sorry about that, Kelvin-san. Please ignore him.”
“Okay...” What exactly did Guin want to confirm anyway? It’s normal for siblings to take baths together, so why bring it up?
“Master, it is about time.”
“Ah, yes. Sorry to jump right in even though you just got here, but let’s go over the battle strategy.”
I manipulated Obsidian Fortress to create a small-scale model of our fortress and the surrounding terrain right there in the middle of the room. We could normally do all of this planning within the Network if we were by ourselves, but now that Sabato and his group were here, we needed to make sure they were on the same page.
“First, the Dragon Knight Order’s estimated arrival is tomorrow around dusk. If they maintain their current speed, they’ll be here around four or five in the afternoon.”
I generated several pawns that looked like dragons on the desert side of the model.
Akgas asked, “We heard Rion-dono mentioning the same when she escorted us here, but how can you be so sure?”
“Efil here is a master with the bow and has exceptionally sharp eyes.”
In fact, Efil had already provided visual confirmation of the enemy force. When I’d heard her report, I had used Skill Eater to borrow her Farsight to observe the forms flying over and running across the expansive desert myself.
“Sharp eyes? Don’t tell me she can see them from here?!”
“I can indeed, Goma-sama.”
“I’d heard that elves had good eyes, but it’s my first time meeting someone with such incredible vision.”
Sabato rushed to the window and squinted hard, only to announce, “Nope, I can’t see a thing! All I see is desert!”
I mean, it isn’t something you can do with willpower alone. “So, then... According to Efil’s report, there are roughly three thousand dragons approaching.”
“Th-Three thousand?!”
“The general breakdown is roughly twenty-five hundred subdragons and whelps, and about five hundred adult dragons,” Efil clarified. “The four individuals who appear to be officers are each riding an ancient dragon.”
I had used Analyze Eye on top of Farsight, so we were pretty sure of that estimate.
“Hold on a moment! Ancient dragons are classified as Rank S monsters and you’re saying there are four of them?! That’s enough to destroy an entire country!”
Oh, hey, Guin’s recovered.
Goma looked down, frowning. “We knew they were expanding their military, but that many dragons? Gaunian operatives saw their Dragon Knight Order before, but it was almost entirely subdragons at the time, with only a few adults and no ancients at all.”
“And the Dragon Knight Order is only one of their forces,” Akgas pointed out. “Clearly, Trycen’s been playing their cards close to the chest.”
“Damn, this is no joke. But the fact that you look so composed must mean you have a strategy all planned out, right?” Sabato asked, looking at me with a knowing smile.
It’s nothing as grand as “a strategy,” but—okay, stop looking at me with those eyes filled with expectation.
“Sort of, yeah. First, I want you guys to stay close to the fortress and act as a hit-and-run commando unit. Just do the best you can without overreaching. But stay hidden until we give the signal. As I’m sure you already know, this fortress is concealed by a spell. The aim is to launch the first attack as a complete surprise. That’s the one thing we want you to be careful about.”
“Understood. Then we’ll move as the situation requires afterwards. Sabato, make sure you don’t just leap out, all right?”
“I could say the same thing to you.”
“Efil will be providing ranged support from the wall, and Gerard—this knight companion of mine—will be protecting the gate. Please cooperate with them as needed.”
“I’m Gerard. Nice to meet you.”
“Apologies for not properly introducing myself earlier. I’m Efil.”
Both sides exchanged brief greetings. I had yet to mention it, but this was also where our fully armed golems were going to be stationed. Gerard had the Army Command skill, so it was going to be his job to...well, command them.
Of course, I doubt any of the non-ancient dragons will get close enough.
“What will you be doing, Kelvin-san?”
“Me? I’ll be paying the enemy general a visit.”
◇ ◇ ◇
The rest of the briefing lasted for about half an hour more, then it was free time for everyone to do whatever they wanted. I was pretty much done with all my preparations, so all that was left was to give my body a well-needed rest. Sabato and his party had been assigned individual rooms, where I hoped they would find everything they needed.
What’s with the two men behind Goma anyway? They never said a thing. “Huh, they’re probably the princess’s personal guards.”
“Did you say something, Kel-nii? I’m just done washing up.”
“Nope, nothing. Come on, I’ll wash your hair now.”
“Please and thank you!”
As a breather, I was taking my usual bath with Rion. I gently rubbed the roots of her glossy black hair until the shampoo frothed up, then thoroughly washed all the bubbles away. Her hair’s grown a bit. It’s almost touching her shoulders now.
“Mm! Kel-nii’s hair-washing feels so good. I think I’m about to fall asleep.”
“You’ll catch a cold if you sleep here. Does this help?”
I splashed some of the bath water at my sister to wake her up. She scrunched up her eyes in an effort to keep the drops from getting in.
“Towel, Kel-nii!”
“Here you go.”
“Hee hee hee, thank you. By the way, that strategy of yours... It’s not for delaying the enemy, is it?”
“Uh, excuse you, it sort of is. And it even includes an opportunity for you to go all out! I’m proud of it, actually.”
“Using that skill is tiring, but I guess I’ll just demand payment in pampering! Come on, let’s get into the water already!”
The two of us lowered ourselves into the bath. I sighed in contentment. Bathing should be officially recognized as a fourth fundamental necessity.
The bath here could barely fit three people, which made it quite a bit smaller than the one we had at home. Regardless, Rion claimed her usual position on my lap. For some reason, I had protested this when she’d first arrived, but now this was what felt the most natural. Seriously, why did I argue about this at the start? Even I don’t get myself sometimes.
“It sure doesn’t feel like the night before a big battle, does it?”
“Well, we are just relaxing right now. You know, if this fortress had been smaller, I might have outfitted it as a portable base to use when we’re on the road.”
“That sounds like such a good idea. But for now, I can’t think of anything but this water. I love baths so much...”
“You and me both, Rion.”
The two of us fully enjoyed our warm and laid-back time together.
◇ ◇ ◇
More than a thousand dragons soared over the desert surface, their wings nearly blotting out the sun. Ground dragons also kept pace down below, kicking up a huge dust cloud with their passage and sending tremors through the earth. Among their number were four beasts that were particularly attention-grabbing: a gigantic rock dragon of immeasurable weight, a dragon with three necks bearing different colors, an exquisite white flying dragon, and at the very head of the army, a pitch-black dragon emitting an extraordinary presence.
“Reporting, sir! The Grand Scarlet Canyon has come into view! We will soon be in Parthian territory!”
“You’re late. I’ve been looking at it for ages now,” Azgrad replied from his position atop the black dragon as he suppressed the impatience roiling in his blood.
Back when the plans for the invasion had been drawn up, Azgrad had immediately volunteered to lead the force striking Parth. The reason was simple: there were powerful opponents gathered there.
Up until now, it’s been the Gaunians who’ve shown the most resistance, but those were nothing more than small-scale skirmishes that the other side was half-assing. So damn boring. But Parth is looking pretty fun now! There’s “Peach Ogre” Goldiana, who is supposedly the most powerful physical fighter among all adventurers. And “Ice Princess” Sylvia, who nobody knows anything about. And last but not least, “Grim Reaper” Kelvin, the rising new star who beat Sylvia! Going by his physical description, he’s definitely the bastard who did Clive in. Ha ha ha, so much for Parth being a gathering of weaklings gone complacent with peace! Now it’s practically bursting with thrills!
In short, this man, like Kelvin, was a battle junkie. For the sake of satisfying his greatest desire—to fight powerful foes—he had done everything he could to improve his abilities. His efforts had, without him even meaning to, garnered incredible respect from those around him. Admittedly, part of that respect was due to him being the only prince who fully subjected himself to the same rules that bound the other soldiers and never threw his weight around.
His career had begun with an assignment to the Mixed Monster Order, but he’d had a falling out with them and ended up taking his subordinates along to form the Dragon Knight Order. A surprising exception in a country where disdain of non-humans was a matter of principle, his order considered the dragons true partners and went to great lengths to establish genuinely trusting relationships with them. Add that to their grueling training regimen and there were none who dared contest the claim that the Dragon Knight Order—with their deft wielding of longspears from fierce dragon mounts—was Trycen’s most powerful force.
“General! The summits of the canyon walls appear too high to easily cross, but the ravine is a single path where an enemy force likely lays in ambush! Which way should we go?!” asked his lieutenant general—a man who had been with him ever since the founding of the Dragon Knight Order—in a shout from his position atop the white dragon.
Before them loomed cliff walls that clawed at the cloud layer. And coming up fast was a straight path right down its middle, a ravine said to have been created by the swing of a god’s sword in times long past.
“Do you even have to ask? What, are we going to detour around the mountains? Can you even imagine how long that’d take? We’re aiming to reach Parth as fast as possible, so we’re taking the most direct route! Let’s get this city conquered and this campaign squared away already!”
“General, we all know that your aim is not Parth itself, but to fight the Rank S adventurers in Parth. In fact, we’re hurrying less because this is a surprise attack and more because you want to enjoy the fight before the other two orders finish off their own targets and come to interfere, aren’t we?”
“Hah! Looks like you do get it. Then don’t make me say it out loud, Huba!”
“How many years do you think I’ve served with you, sir? And all this time, this dragon’s only taken to you and causes me no end of trouble!” the lieutenant general replied, giving the white dragon he was riding a few pats. The creature snorted with disgruntlement.
“Come on, Rosalia, be nice to Huba. You know I don’t have a choice; I’m the only one who can keep this aggressive one in check.”
Azgrad’s previous partner, Rosalia, growled slightly and shot a resentful look at the black dragon the general was now riding. No response was forthcoming, though.
Azgrad glanced down at his own mount. He’s not even reacting to Rosalia, huh? I really hate how I have to rely on this collar to control him. If only I had been strong enough to get through to him on my own...
The black dragon’s neck was sporting a collar similar to the ones worn by slaves. If Rion had been present, she would have recognized it as the same one she’d seen on Gigant Lord while dealing with the Mixed Monster Order. This collar, which could be used to enslave even Rank S monsters, had been a gift to Azgrad from Tristan.
Azgrad’s creed was to obtain a dragon’s acknowledgment by first defeating it in combat. However, he had failed to do this with the black dragon. Normally, he would not turn to using a collar like this for any reason, since he believed that being connected to a dragon by heart was the only way to draw out its full potential and would spit on anyone who said otherwise. It had been his stepsister, Shutola, who had convinced him to make an exception. Although the two of them were not particularly close, they deeply respected each other’s abilities.
I’m not particularly smart, so there’s no way for me to follow along with whatever she’s thinking. She insisted that this was crucial enough for me to bend my beliefs for, so here we are. But still...
The idea that there were opponents in Parth powerful enough to merit such wariness from Shutola was enough to get Azgrad’s blood pumping. While riding that high, however, something continued to tug at the back of his mind, but he could not quite put his finger on what it was or who was causing it. He even thought that he could feel a sort of coldness on his back, despite the fact that he was currently flying through a boiling desert.
“General, we’re almost at the border!”
“All troops, we’re rushing in! Follow me! For Trycen!”
Azgrad decided to simply enjoy the situation in spite of whatever was bothering him. Come what may, he was prepared to accept it and include it as part of his ecstasy. Feelings of foreboding were mere trivialities.
Cheers from the soldiers and roars from the dragons shook the ground and the air. With Azgrad and his black mount at the head, the Dragon Knight Order surged forward like a tide.
“Beware of ambushes! Keep an eye on the sky! Check for shadows behind boulders! Pay attention to everything you see!”
“Forward is clear! Behind is clear! Above is clear! Remaining vigilant!”
“Good! Once we’re through the ravine, the battle is ours! We’re conti— ROSALIA!”
Instinctively, Azgrad swung his lance and deflected...something. Huba had failed to register his shout in time, but Rosalia, who had been called by name, instantly caught on and changed the trajectory of her flight on the spur of the moment.
“Ugh!”
The soldier right behind Huba let out a grunt and collapsed in his saddle. He didn’t fall off because he, like all others in their order, had bound the lower half of his body to his dragon as a precaution against falling off. But he was bleeding from a gaping wound in his forehead, his eyes had rolled back in his head, and his upper body was swaying limply. He was clearly dead.
“Get a hold of yourselves! We’ve got company, Huba!”
“Sir, yes, yes!”
Dudududududududududu!
Explosive and metallic sounds the likes of which they had never heard before rang out not once, not twice, but incessantly from ahead of them, accompanied by several thousand projectiles of light flying at high velocity. Even the whelps could have dodged them in time—albeit barely—if it had merely been a few bullets, but these numbers were far too overwhelming. Dragons were shot full of holes and soldiers lost their lives by the dozens in the blink of an eye.
“Wh-What is going on?!”
“Calm down! You can dodge them if you remain calm!”
“Reporting! A gigantic ice wall has appeared behind us! Our path of retreat has been sealed!”
“Unidentified enemies have appeared overhead! It’s one—no, two people! Shit, even the adult dragons aren’t slowing them down!”
“An unidentified knight order has appeared at the front! Their affiliation is unknown!”
“Don’t get separated! Maintain formation!”
The battle was whirling around every which way at a dizzying speed, with chaos generating further chaos. Within all this, Azgrad’s mouth turned upwards in a grin of delight.
“Surprise, havoc, insanity... Now this is the battlefield I’ve been thirsting for!”
◇ ◇ ◇
“They’re finally here!” Sabato gulped, his eyes glued to the approaching tide and his whole body vibrating from the thundering of their approach. All of his companions looked equally nervous.
Goma turned to me. “Kelvin-san, I don’t see Sera-san and Mel-san anywhere.”
“There’s something else I wanted them to do. They’re currently in hiding until I give them a signal.” Inside my magic pool, that is.
“I see.”
“Everything is going according to plan. I’m entrusting you guys with protecting the entrance to the fortress.”
“You got it!” Sabato replied. “The only way any of them are getting inside is over our dead bodies!”
“Uh, I’d much rather you ran away instead of dying. But in any case, I’m returning to the wall.”
Once I finished checking up on Sabato’s group, Efil contacted me over the Network. ::Master, it’s time.::
All right, send them a little greeting whenever you see fit. I’m coming up now.
I activated Fly to make my way over to where she was standing by on top of our fortifications. When I landed, she had just released her first shot.
::I’m sorry, Master. My arrow was deflected,:: my maid reported apologetically.
The enemy host had begun surging into the ravine. The bow that Efil was using, Merciless, was capable of shooting arrows that were both invisible and silent. This very bow had thrown the entire Mixed Monster Order into the depths of terror and confusion when we had been defending the Village of Elves, but her target this time was capable enough to sense the projectile and react in time.
Don’t let it get you down. This opponent is just that good, right? In fact, it’s cause for celebration!
The black and white dragons flying at the front of the invading troop seemed particularly noteworthy—the black one all the more so as its rider was the person who had managed to deflect Efil’s arrow. A quick look at his Status revealed him to be their general.
Efil, go ahead and start preparing for the next phase.
::Yes, Master.::
Gerard.
::Yes, my king. Commencing firing now.::
Although Efil’s sniping had failed, our surprise attack was far from over. In fact, it was only just beginning.
“All units, take aim! Fire!”
Dudududududududududu!
In response to Gerard’s command, one hundred modified golems opened fire using their Gatling guns all at once, half of them aiming at the flying dragons and the rest shooting for the landbound ones. Although the speed of the bullets wasn’t all that impressive, they were powerful enough to deal damage to Rank A monsters, and a lot of them were being fired at the same time. Never mind the subdragons, even the adults succumbed after barely evading the first two or three volleys. As expected, this strategy was proving extremely effective against multiple targets in close proximity.
Melfina, I’m going to Summon you as we planned. You know what to do, right?
::Leave it to me, honey.::
I Summoned the goddess behind the enemy force, right at the border between desert and canyon. A few troops close to her sensed it and started to turn around, but it was too late. The entirety of their force had already entered the ravine.
“Sub-Zero Rampart!”
A wall of ice appeared out of nowhere, wide enough to seal off the entrance to the ravine and high enough to match the height of the canyon walls themselves. The top was all the way up in the clouds, far above the altitude at which the dragons were flying.
::And that’s the birdcage done!::
A wall cast with Melfina’s magic was even tougher than the one I was standing on. In any case, the enemy was now locked in.
Looks good! We’re really doing our job of slowing them down.
::Kel-nii, the phrase you’re looking for is not “slowing them down” but “preventing their escape.” What we’ve set up is a death trap for annihilating them.::
Don’t sweat the details, sister dear. They’re not taking another step down the ravine, so technically they’re being slowed down. And that’s exactly what we were commissioned to do.
::Kelvin! Me too! Summon me out too!::
All right, all right.
To stop Sera from pestering me any longer, I Summoned her into the sky and behind the enemy. Currently, the Dragon Knight Order was spread out along the length of the ravine, so it would be her job to usher the ones in the back up towards the front.
::I’m also diving in, honey.:: Having erected her wall, Melfina rushed into the fray as well.
Poor guys at the back, having to face an angel and demon at the same time. I think I can almost hear their screams despite being too far away for that to be possible.
I switched to the Network. I probably don’t need to say this, but Gerard, don’t worry about the bullets hitting Mel or Sera; they won’t. Feel free to continue shooting at the ones in the sky however you see fit.
::I figured. Oho, one is making a charge for the golems.::
Ah, the rock dragon.
The giant boulder in the shape of a dragon that had been leading the landbound force—according to Analyze Eye, it was an ancient rock dragon by the name of Boga—was thundering straight towards our line. The bullets from the Gatling guns were largely deflecting off its skin, with the few that landed at a good angle not doing much more than leaving it a little charred. Clearly, the beast had impressive armor and endurance levels. Its mass took up nearly half the width of the path, serving as a shield for many of the dragons behind it.
::Hey, Kel-nii, want me and Alex to take care of it?::
Efil, do your thing first.
::Yes, Master.::
Efil was already standing at the ready, an incredible amount of magic whirling around the tip of the arrow she had nocked with Penumbra, the other bow she possessed, which was specced for firepower. At my signal, she loosed a red-hot arrow which flew in a parabola that seemed about to pass over the rock dragon.
“What? Did they misfire?”
“You idiot! Don’t let your guard down!”
The instant Efil finished casting her spell, the arrow exploded into countless sparks that covered a significant area. What looked like a rain of red soon landed on the backs of the running dragons that were still on the ground.
“Fulmination Rain,” Efil murmured.
Ka-ka-ka-ka-boom!
What sounded like a chain of explosions went off among the enemy troops. Each and every spark from Efil’s spell was a bomb that went off upon contact. I had been a little worried about achieving enough destructive power from such a dispersed attack, but the explosions had no problem killing even the adult dragons. Almost half of the troops that had been hiding behind the rock dragon were obliterated in a single go, and the rain was still falling.
“MY ARM!”
“DON’T TOUCH THE SPARKS! THEY EXPLODE!”
“WE’RE DONE FOR! WE’RE—Ugh.”
“SHOOT DOWN THE SPARKS WITH YOUR DRAGON’S BREATH BEFORE THEY TOUCH ANYTHING!”
Wow, I feel like I’m looking at the work of a jet bomber.
::What is a jet bomber?::
Oh, don’t worry about it, I was talking to myself. Unfortunately, the sparks landing on the rock dragon don’t seem to be doing anything.
In spite of the impressive attack, we saw for ourselves why this order was considered Trycen’s finest. Some of them were already coming up with countermeasures and successfully threading their way through the rain of death. The rock dragon was still barreling ahead, not having so much as stumbled. Seriously, how tough is that thing?
I think Gerard would be better suited for dealing with the rock dragon, I broadcast to the others. Rion and Alex, head for the three-headed dragon at the back. Finish off as many of the survivors as you can on your way.
::Yes, my king!::
::You got it!::
::Arf!::
Two forms jetted forward, leaving behind a whizz! like you might see in an old-school comic. Oh wow, they’re already right in front of the rock dragon now. She must have cast Lightning Enhancement ahead of time.
::Mmm, it’d be boring not to do anything when it’s right there.::
::Arf, arf.:: (Let’s give it a passing gift, then.)
::I like the sound of that!::
Just before the two of them passed by the rock dragon, they switched sides, drawing an “X” with their movements. Alex was holding Lethal Opiate Sword in his mouth, and Rion was holding the two new swords that I had forged for her, a pair of identical weapons that went by the name of Black Swords Aklama. The dragon’s skin, which had fully withstood the barrage from the golems, parted like tofu before the three blades.
“RRROOOAAAAARRRR!”
I clapped my hands over my ears against the dragon’s explosive roar. The swords had yet to see much use in actual combat, but now we knew for a fact that they were effective even against Rank S opponents.
::’Kay, the rest is all yours, Gramps!::
By the time I blinked, Rion and her partner were already far in the distance.
::Goodness. Looks like Rion’s starting to get playful in battle. Who do you think she takes after, my king?::
Uh, beats me.
::Master, what abilities do Rion-sama’s new swords have?::
None.
::None at all?::
I made the Aklama blades after hearing her account of her fight against the white wolf. It was impervious to all lightning-based attacks, so she asked me for a sword that had no abilities at all. I focused solely on making these as sharp and unbreakable as possible, then optimized them for her personal use. They don’t come with any bells and whistles, but their simplicity makes them useful for a wider range of scenarios.
My hope was that Rion would pick and choose the right weapon according to the situation. And from the glimpses I had caught of her and Alex training, I knew I didn’t have anything to worry about.
::Master, you said that Rion-sama asked you for a sword, but wasn’t she holding two?::
Hey, I’ve got to show my worth as a big brother every once in a while, don’t I?
For some reason, Gerard looked at me like he had found a compatriot.
Hey, the rock dragon is still charging towards you. Look at it instead of me!
◇ ◇ ◇
“RRROOOOAAAAARRRRRR!”
“Calm down, Boga! They’re just scratches!”
The rock dragon continued hurtling towards the black gates guarded by Gerard and Sabato’s group, his rider’s desperate admonitions having no effect on his frenzied state of mind. The distance between the two camps closed rapidly, with the dragon pumping out much more speed than his great bulk would suggest was possible.
“Hm, looks like he’s going on a rampage because of Rion and Alex’s attack,” Gerard noted calmly. “Ah, did he lose a few of his senses because of Lethal? That might explain the agitation.”
“Gerard-dono, there’s no time to be leisurely examining the enemy! He’s about to reach us!” Akgas exclaimed.
Sabato also looked quite flustered. “Just to be clear, none of us have any long-distance attacks that are stronger than the weird light attack that didn’t work! We’re going to have to engage it in close combat, right?!”
As pointed out, the enraged rock dragon was showing no sign of stopping despite being subjected to concentrated fire by the golems. His rider had given up trying to control him and was instead hiding behind a protruding piece of his armor, fully resolved to riding out the charge.
As the two beastkin shifted into combat mode, Gerard strode ahead with his greatsword resting on his shoulder. “Cease firing! Interception formation!”
The golems jumped into motion at Gerard’s command. The ones shooting up at the sky continued to do so as they retreated. The ones that had been shooting at the ground stowed their Gatling guns on their backs, exchanging them for two-handed longspears as they fell into horizontal ranks. Every single movement had been frighteningly mechanical and in perfect sync without a single one breaking formation.
“Are you trying to stop the dragon with these troops?” Ema asked nervously.
Gerard shook his head. “Their role is to prevent any of the other dragons from getting through. After all, there’s no point in continuing the barrage as long as the big one is blocking the way. That said, I believe Efil and Rion have already taken care of the majority of the soldiers on the ground, so the action might not even reach us.”
“Are you serious?! You don’t have time to worry about the others; that thing is almost here!”
“You’re Guin, right? Lad, always maintain a calm mind while standing on the battlefield. I’ll take care of the big lunk. In the meantime, you focus on taking out its rider.”
After walking a distance in front of the golems, Gerard stabbed Dreadnought into the ground and bent his knees, bracing himself to intercept the rock dragon’s charge.
“How can someone just...”
“Hurry, Guin, let’s do as Gerard-dono asked.”
“Are you sure he can handle it, Akgas-san?”
“Can you not see the fighting aura he’s emitting? Like the rest of Kelvin-dono’s party, he is far more powerful than any of us. There isn’t much we can do even if we are worried about him.”
“I suppose so.”
“All of you back there, that’s enough idle chatter,” the knight warned them. “Here it comes.”
Guin pulled himself together and turned to look. The rock dragon was less than ten meters from crashing into Gerard’s position at the front. There was no way to properly determine the length of the creature’s body as he was running at a forward pitch, but it was clear that his sheer bulk was easily much greater than any common castle wall.
Due to his entire form being covered by armor that looked like rugged rock colored in patterns of gray, nobody had noticed there were actually wings sprouting from the back of his forelegs. The alarming thought, Don’t tell me, he can fly?! did flash through Guin’s mind, but he decided to not overthink it. The stout legs supporting the monster’s enormous form had more than proven themselves capable of swift movement. A simple body slam seemed like it would be more than enough to prove instantly fatal.
All in all, their foe was big, heavy, and fast.
No, no, no, it’s so not happening! Guin thought, losing heart almost immediately. Just as he was turning his back to run away, a huge crash rang out, accompanied by an incredible shockwave. Boga had collided with Gerard.
“Ugh!” Sabato grunted as he did his best to ride out the shockwave, making sure that he burned the sight of the wondrous spectacle into his brain.
Guin, who had fallen flat on his face and made a weird noise as he did, had no idea what was going on. Goma and her two silent companions relied on each other for support as Akgas stabbed his sword into the ground.
“Even though we’re so far away...” he marveled at the feat he was witnessing.
“Grrrrrrrrr!”
“You’ve got to be kidding me! He blocked Boga’s charge head-on?!”
Dreadnought creaked and the rock dragon groaned. The feet of both sides created clefts in the bone-dry ground as they sank with the combined weight of the attack. This competition of strength lasted for several seconds before the rock dragon took one step back, followed by another. Gerard was gaining the upper hand.
“Hmph!”
“What?!”
Taking advantage of the opening, the knight let go of his greatsword and swiftly rammed his arm upwards into the dragon’s chin. The attack landed with perfect precision, sending the beast flying into the air.
Neither Boga nor the man who was riding him had ever dreamed of being surpassed in pure strength. Agitation and turmoil welled up inside both their hearts, the resonance of that further amplifying what the other was feeling.
“You can’t let your guard down like that. Now you know better than to over-rely on your sheer mass, I hope,” Gerard chided them as he grabbed the rock dragon’s head with both hands—even as the creature was still in the air—and slammed him into the ground.
The floor of the canyon, which had already been on the verge of giving way, caved in entirely. Fortunately, the walls on either side held strong, but there was now a huge hole in the middle of the road.
“Go on, Sabato-dono,” Gerard prompted, maintaining his grip on Boga’s head.
Sabato managed an “uh...right, thanks” as he and his party recovered their senses and remembered that they weren’t just there to spectate, each having their own jobs to do.
Goma dashed out first, jeering, “Sabato, you coming or what?!”
“Dammit! How many times do I have to tell you not to get a head start on me?!” Sabato roared as he, Akgas, and the others leaped down into the hole after her. Their target was the enemy commander who was hiding in the shadow of the dragon’s scales.
“That’s Goma and Sabato from Gaun! We’re in trouble! Boga, can’t you get free?!”
“GRRRRRRRR!”
Boga strained as hard as he could, ignoring his body’s protests of pain. However, everything from his head to the front half of his body was locked down firmly, unable to move an inch. In contrast to the rock dragon and his rider’s panic, Gerard seemed as cool as a cucumber. This served only to further fan his enemies’ distress.
“GGGGGRRRRRRRR!”
“Oh?”
Suddenly, the dragon’s front legs began pawing at the ground. In response to some strange power, his head, which was supposed to be pinned down, started sinking deeper into the hole.
Gerard looked slightly impressed. “The Burrowing skill? You’re more versatile than you look.”
“Th-That’s it, Boga! Drag him underground with you! It’s your territory down there!”
“You ain’t getting away, though!”
“You aren’t getting away, though!”
The man shivered at the voices that rang out on either side of him. “What?! Weren’t you two all the way over there a second ago?!”
“Try to understand, what you call ‘all the way over there’ is fully within the range we consider our battle zone,” Sabato replied as he thrust his sword forward.
At the same time, Goma’s fist caved in the left side of the Trycenian soldier’s chestplate. “But this was still worth doing. Dragons aside, at least we know we can contribute to the fight against Trycen’s commanders and soldiers.”
As beastkin, Goma and Sabato possessed a nimbleness and explosive power that were incredibly valuable weapons. At full strength, they were more than deserving of their Rank A status. They had just been comparing themselves to rather unreasonable standards as of late.
“Whoa!”
Having finished off the enemy rider was great and all, but the rock dragon was still alive and kicking. As Boga shook his huge body in his continued efforts to burrow underground, Sabato and his group nearly lost their balance.
“So, what’re we supposed to do with this guy? None of our attacks work against him,” Sabato commented as he stabbed down with his sword multiple times only to see the blade slide off the tough armor. Due to the thickness of the skin itself, the same was true even of the joints and the gaps between the armor pieces.
Recalling that Kelvin had asked him to do his best to keep the ancient dragons alive, Gerard warned Boga, “Stop struggling now.”
“ROOOAAAARRRRRRRR!”
Despite the knight tightening his grip, the situation remained unchanged. At this point, a third of the beast’s body had disappeared underground.
“You listening to me? I’ll have no choice but to kill you—”
Half of the rock dragon’s body was now out of sight. Fearing that he would head towards Parth and threaten the city if he were to get away, Gerard uttered his final warning.
“I said stop.”
Warning signals battered Boga’s anger-fogged mind in response to the blatant killing intent, the black greatsword at his neck, and the grip that was now so tight it was caving in his head armor. He understood without a doubt that if he moved an inch more, he would lose his life. His anger gave way to fear and awe, and he shivered so hard that it was palpable even through the armor. For the first time since his birth, Boga understood what it meant to fear for his life.
“He actually stopped?” Sabato murmured, regaining his footing.
Guin shivered. “Hot damn, I think I felt a chill go down my back!”
“Remember that feeling,” Akgas replied, clapping his shoulder. “It’s going to save your life many times in the future.”
Sabato and his party were rendered entirely speechless by the sight of Gerard dragging the now limp rock dragon out of the ground.
◇ ◇ ◇
“ARG!”
“Dammit, I can’t see—UGH!”
“Where’s the enem— ACK!”
After speeding past the rock dragon, Rion and Alex continued pushing forward, finishing off the troops that had managed to evade Efil’s Fulmination Rain along the way. Just like when they’d faced the stone golems, they were moving much faster than what the average person’s eyes could register. Dragons and soldiers fell one by one, none the wiser about what had stolen their lives.
::Kel-nii, these swords are amazing! They feel like extensions of my arms!::
I’m glad to hear that. Pay attention, though; you’ve got a big one right ahead. Don’t let your guard down.
::Let my guard down? Why would I do that? It’d be such a waste to be distracted during a fight! Right, Alex?::
::Arf.:: (Anyone who does so is a disgrace as a warrior.)
Yeah... It’s bad to be distracted during a fight...
Kelvin’s tone made it sound as if some past trauma had just been touched on, prompting Rion and Alex to send puzzled emotions through the Network. However, there was no time to probe as, immediately after finishing off their 102nd enemy, they sensed danger drawing near.
Suddenly, they found themselves in an open area devoid of both soldiers and dragons. Right that moment, a ball of crimson flame crashed down, spreading out like a hellish tsunami.
“Hup.”
Luckily, Rion had Sky Walk and Alex had Shadow Travel. The two of them dodged the attack without slowing a beat, then shifted to running sideways along the walls of the canyon.
“They evaded that?!” exclaimed the colonel riding the three-headed dragon. Setting the entire stretch of ground ablaze had been his solution to the problem of not being able to see his assailants. Clearly, he had not expected them to start running along the walls. His plan had been foiled.
Rion studied the three-headed dragon, which had red, blue, and yellow horns decorating each head respectively. This is the big one that Kel-nii was talking about, I guess? Using his troops as a decoy to buy time to prepare the wide area attack was a good idea, but he took a bit too long. And the unnatural way the soldiers all pulled back at the same time was a clear warning that something was coming. So, this is an ancient dragon?
The creature’s size was somewhere between that of a normal adult dragon and the rock dragon. Aside from her horns, she was covered in deep blue scales the color of lapis lazuli and walked on four legs. The wings spreading out on either side of the soldier on her back indicated that she was possibly capable of flight as well.
My target’s come into view, so I’m going to move out myself. I’m leaving the Network for now.
::All right! Talk to you later, Kel-nii.::
After ending their conversation with Kelvin, Rion and Alex readied themselves for close-quarters combat. Behind the three-headed dragon, they spied remnants of the landbound forces all waiting in formation. The enemy numbers were less than half of what they had been at the start of the encounter, and, with their path of retreat sealed off, every last one of them looked tense and fearful.
“One more shot, Mdofarak!” the colonel shouted, using his loudest voice in an effort to boost morale.
As the three heads roared their acknowledgment, the horns on their crowns started to shine. The lights converged, then each head opened its mouth and unleashed a mixed breath of fire, ice, and lightning. As Rion and Alex continued to close the distance at an incredible speed, they found themselves the targets of a tri-colored beam of death.
This attack, Trinity Breath, possessed far more destructive power than the previous Flame Breath, covering not only the ground but also the walls of the canyon. Everything was swallowed up as the flames rushed forward greedily.
“Follow after the colonel and Mdofarak!”
“Make sure to cover the entire area with your attacks! Don’t leave even the smallest hole!”
The dragons being ridden by the knights in the back also unleashed their respective breaths. Together, the attacks looked like a solid wall of fire.
Rion leaped off the wall to return to the middle of the path and called Alex back out of the shadows.
::I know we can evade it if we want to, but it looks like it’ll hit Goma-chan and the others, doesn’t it?::
::Arf?:: (Want to try using that move?)
::The one we’ve been practicing? Hmm... We’ve never made it work against Efil-nee, but sure! Let’s give it a try!::
Girl and wolf readied their swords as they continued charging towards the multicolored screen of flames. The two jet-black blades and the Opiate Sword with the alluring yet deadly gleam clashed against each other, then disappeared at the same time.
“Agito Chiribana!”
The three blades merged into one, unleashing a tempest of slashes that looked like petals from a proudly blossoming flower. The barrage of blades collided with the storm of fire, with the former fully negating every last scrap of the latter. What had looked like a wall of impending doom with no escape mere moments before rapidly vanished without a trace.
“That’s not possible! That was a simultaneous volley including an attack by an ancient dragon, one of the most powerful races in existence! Is the enemy even human?!”
“How rude. I’m just as human as you are.”
“When did y—?! Mdofa—!”
The instant the colonel spoke, his vision went black. The next thing he knew, he was looking up at a strip of sky framed by the canyon walls. He could tell that he had suffered a great blow to his feet. A breath later, he realized that he was lying flat on the ground.
When he moved his eyes, he caught sight of a young girl clad in black. We were led around by the nose by a girl my daughter’s age? Her speed had been far beyond what was normally attributed to beastkin. In fact, even Mdofarak, an ancient dragon, had failed to react in time and was now looking on in astonishment.
The colonel understood that he had been disabled the moment his eyes had registered the girl. He attempted to move his hands and feet, then realized he could not sense any part of his body. Strangely enough, he felt no fear. If anything, the aura being emitted by the girl made him feel rather cheerful.
“I used Shock on you. You won’t be able to move your body for a while, but you should still be able to speak. Um, it’d probably be best for both of us if you surrendered. We have a pretty good idea of how strong your force is,” Rion said with a bright smile, holding up an index finger still wreathed in little sparks at its tip.
The man felt incredibly at ease as he looked at her smile, but the situation was certainly not one in which he should relax. He could see the black sword being held at his neck as a clear message: “You know what will happen if you refuse, right?” Even his reptilian partner was afraid of making any sudden movements.
“You...think you can stop my dragon just by killing me?”
Rion looked slightly apologetic. “Ah, that’s already taken care of. Lucky for us, unlucky for you. It’s twilight.”
“What does that mean?”
Thump!
The three-headed dragon, Mdofarak, suddenly collapsed where she stood. There were innumerable hand-shaped shadows extending from her own, which were tightly entwined around her body, dragging her down.
::Arf. Arf arf, arf.:: (I finally caught up. I stole all the ancient dragon’s senses using Lethal, then restrained her with shadows just in case.)
::Good job! Yeah, I didn’t think paralyzing magic was going to be that effective against the yellow-horned head, and we did make that promise to Kel-nii, so...::
::Arf arf.:: (Capture complete. No problem.)
A gigantic black wolf had appeared in between Rion and the Dragon Knight Order troops. In the soldiers’ eyes, it had appeared out of thin air, just as Rion herself had. But unlike the dainty girl, this was a terrifying beast that was clearly a Rank S monster. The men and their dragons fell into a great panic.
“Mdofarak was defeated! What’s with that monster?!”
“We can’t win! Retreat! Retreat!”
“There’s no room to retreat! The wall of ice is still there!”
“GAAAAHHH! MY ARM! MY ARM’S FROZEN!”
“You idiot! Don’t have your dragon shoot a breath attack while we’re packed so close together!”
The Trycenian force was no longer capable of fighting. Even if Rion and Alex were to leave them alone, they would have destroyed themselves in a growing cycle of hysteria.
::Arf?:: (What do you want to do with them?)
::They’re out of control, so I don’t really have a choice, do I?:: Rion sheathed her swords and grabbed the colonel by his neck, holding him up.
“Wh-What are you doing?!”
“Don’t worry, I’m not trying to kill you. Alex, back off a bit. This could be dangerous.”
“How can I not worry after hearing th—?!”
Rion chucked the flustered man into the crowd. As he flew through the air, she gathered magic in her hands.
“Shock Chain.”
Crackle, crackle, crackle!
A flood of sparks washed over the entire group of knights. This Rank A Red Magic spell had the benefit of boosting the paralyzing effect of Shock and spreading it over a large area. While a target that had been hit with Shock could still move their eyes and mouth, victims of Shock Chain would simply lose consciousness. When capturing targets, this spell was considered the go-to for many, as it did not actually deal much direct damage.
The girl, the wolf, and the ancient dragon shared a moment of awkward silence as they gazed at what looked like a plateau of corpses.
::Well, it’s finally quiet! Alex, can you use Creeping Darkness to drag them back to the fortress?::
::Awooo, arf.:: (The skill is based on my Strength stat, so no problem. They’ll be literally dragged across the ground, though.)
Just as he’d done with Mdofarak, Alex used the shadows to grab hold of all the soldiers and dragons, linked their shadows to his own, and stalked off with them in tow.
::Awooo.:: (The ancient dragon wasn’t all that strong.)
::So much for having three heads, huh? Our training is usually much tougher than this. And I didn’t even have to use my Unique Skill. Oh, speaking of training, there’s Efil-nee!::
Rion pointed up at the elven maid who was standing on top of an eight-headed flame dragon that had appeared abruptly in the sky above the castle walls.
◇ ◇ ◇
“General! We’re being shot out of the sky!”
“I can see that! That’s why we’re busting our asses here, ain’t it?!”
“I’m not sure how much longer I can hold out!”
The barrage of unidentifiable projectiles was showing no sign of letting up. Huba and I were trying our best to knock down as many as we could from our position at the front of the force, but the overwhelming number of shots continued to whittle down the troops behind us. The closer we pressed towards the enemy base, the more fierce the attacks became and the more casualties we suffered.
“Shit! The black dragon is fine, but these projectiles are shredding our adults. Their penetrative power is unbelievable.”
“Rosalia! Please fly a little slower!”
“Grrrr!”
Rosalia will take care of Huba, so he’ll probably be fine. I know my former partner is nimble enough to evade this sort of attack. The veteran dragon knights are also holding on, albeit barely. But it’s probably only a matter of time before...
“Reporting! The enemies who appeared at our rear are too powerful for us to deal with! We formed ranks and bravely faced them, but more than two hundred knights have fallen!”
“Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place! What a merry battleground this is!”
As my black dragon zigzagged around to avoid being hit, I brushed away large swathes of projectiles with my lance. Those of us in the Dragon Knight Order prided ourselves on being Trycen’s most powerful force, and yet here we were, being handled like chaff.
The only people I can think of who’d be capable of this type of attack are those who’ve surpassed human limitations—Rank S adventurers. Namely, Sylvia, Goldiana, and Kelvin. They’re probably all here, lying in wait for us. And we’ll have the exciting job of bringing them all down!
“Ignore the enemy at the back, and fly straight up to the summit of the canyon! I’ll take care of the guys down here myself!”
“What are we supposed to do about those balls of light?!” Huba exclaimed. “General, the front line is going to crumble in no time at all without your help!”
“You’ve got this, Rosalia?”
My trusty ex-partner nodded wordlessly.
“Hold on, what? I feel like something was just decided, but I have no idea what it was!”
“Huba, I appointed you my lieutenant general for a reason. You can do this!”
“No, seriously, what are you talking about?!”
“You and Rosalia are going to draw the barrage away from the main force. All right, off you go!”
“Wait, wh—”
Rosalia rushed towards the enemy camp at top speed with Huba still on her back. Despite being an ancient dragon, my former partner’s appearance was similar to that of an average adult of her kind. The one thing that set her apart was her speed. She was the fastest among the dragons in the order, hands down. When she got serious, her speed exceeded even that of the son of the Darkness Dragon King, the very creature I was currently riding. It would be nigh impossible to lure all the attacks away and remain entirely unhurt, but her chances of survival would still be higher than if she stayed down here.
“Wow, that silver dragon’s fast. She’s dodging pretty much all the bullets.”
“That is my prided dragon and trusty subordinate, after all. So, who are you?”
“What?! When did he—?! Name yourself!” my runner shouted, bringing his spear up and adopting a battle stance. His weapon was pointed towards a man who was floating in midair and who, with his black robe and giant scythe, seemed like the embodiment of an ill omen.
Looks like he’s using the same spell the Magic Knight Order likes so much. I sensed a powerful presence closing in as soon as Rosalia took off. Turns out staying behind was the right move. Jackpot!
“That black robe and the scythe... You’re ‘Grim Reaper’ Kelvin, I take it?”
“Damn, I’m famous now. I’m not sure whether to feel happy about or bothered by that.”
“Oh, I’ve heard of you, all right. You’re the one who did Clive in, aren’t you?”
The tip of the guy’s scythe wobbled a bit. After a slight pause, he asked, “By ‘Clive,’ you mean that shithead?”
“Yep, that piece of shit.”
“Hmm. So, you’re here to take revenge for him?”
“As if. I’m just interested in you as the guy who beat him. I’m sorry, but you’re gonna have to keep me company for a bit!”
“I’ll lend you my aid, General!”
“No, you dolt! You’ll just get in my way. Go to the summit with the rest of them. Head for Parth!”
“But...”
“What do you think Rosalia’s putting her life on the line for? Don’t forget what we’re actually here to do. Go!”
“I... Godspeed, General!”
Kelvin waited with me as I watched my runner fly into the sky.
“You sure about letting him go?” I asked, lifting an eyebrow.
“It’s fine. Between you and me, I personally wouldn’t recommend that route. But we’re going to fight, right? You good to go?”
My black dragon, which normally never paid attention to anything, was staring straight at “Grim Reaper.” It was my first time seeing the beast react in such a way. The guy is that dangerous, huh?
“All right, let’s get started! Sorry it’ll be two-on-one!”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s actually two-on-two!”
A huge grin came over the man’s face as something gel-like poked out from inside his robe.
◇ ◇ ◇
Rosalia continued to dodge the projectiles that were being fired by the enemy troops on the ground, and I continued to repel them with my lance as we pushed on. I found myself wondering idly whether my men had managed to reach the summit yet. As time passed, the assault became ever more intense. The pipes that were likely the source of the balls of light seemed to have doubled in number, with every last one being pointed directly at us. I couldn’t have been more terrified.
No...I’d thought I couldn’t have been more terrified.
“A castle?”
Just as Rosalia and I decided we were done for, the barrage abruptly let up, and we found ourselves staring at a giant fortress that blocked the entire width of the canyon where there had been nothing but air a split second before. What’s more, that wasn’t the only thing lying in wait for us.
“Rosalia, is that a dragon?”
I only had a second to stare at the pitch-black fortifications before a dragon enveloped in raging flames appeared in the sky overhead. And it wasn’t just any dragon; it was an absolute nightmare of a monster with eight heads.
I think I’m going to piss myself. I’m eighteen, and I’m about to piss myself!
“That’s a spell in the shape of a dragon.”
“What?! Did you just speak?!”
“You’re the one who asked a question. Do you know how long I’ve been an ancient dragon for? Don’t lump me in with Boga and Mdofarak.”
“Uh...sorry.”
I’ve heard the general mention it before, but this is my first time actually hearing Rosalia speak our language. And she sounds so collected! I suppose that’s to be expected of the general’s former partner. Apparently, she can even take on human form while the other ancient dragons seem to have trouble doing so. But the general’s the only one who’s ever seen her do it. Her voice is so nice; I’ll bet she’s a real beauty in human form too.
“Huba, there’s no time to lose yourself in your thoughts. Focus if you don’t want to die.”
“Umm...so, that eight-headed thing is strong?”
“It’s going to be a handful, yes, but there’s a greater threat...”
“Welcome, visitors.”
A clear, crystallic voice that seemed extremely out of place on the battlefield rang out from the fiendish beast above.
I must be tired. Honestly, I just want to go home and sleep. When the general’s not around, I can’t seem to get motivated enough to fight.
“Look at its head.”
“Oh...”
When I did as Rosalia instructed and really looked at the heads of the flame dragon, I noticed a figure sitting atop one of them. It was an extremely cute elf in a maid outfit.
Uh...isn’t it kind of hot up there?
“With the circumstances being what they are, we will skip the introductions,” she announced. “I ask for your kind understanding.”
“Um, right, of course.” Wait, why am I answering her?
“While you are within the vicinity of this fortress, you will not be attacked by the troops on the ground. Considering you’ve managed to get this far, we expect any further bullets to be wasted on you. In exchange, I will take it upon myself to give you the greatest hospitality we have to offer.”
At that moment, the maid drew her bow, and the eight heads of her dragon, which had been looking every which way until then, all turned to look right at us.
So, you’re the spellcaster. Of course you are.
“Here I come,” the maid declared. She let her arrow fly with the loudest explosion of the day, signifying the start of the worst predicament I had ever been in.
Before the shuddering reverberations in the air had subsided, the eight-headed dragon split into eight distinct creatures, which opened their maws wide and rushed at us from every direction.
“RRROOOAAARRRRR!”
“RRRRAAAWWWRRR!”
“WHAT?! THEY SEPARATED!”
“Huba! Make sure you don’t bite your tongue! I’m going in at full speed!”
Even individually, each of the beasts was bigger than Rosalia, so much so that they could have swallowed her whole. And if that were to happen, we’d be burned alive.
Rosalia exploded into action, dodging the incoming missile and weaving her body through the ensuing storm of snapping jaws and roaring flames. Again and again we evaded by only the thinnest of margins, barely avoiding what was certain to be a fatal encounter. It was clear that in speed, at least, Rosalia still held the upper hand.
“Don’t focus on the dragons alone, Huba. Pay attention to the maid as well.”
“I know. She’s the bigger threat, isn’t she?”
It was, in fact, the cute maid that I was most wary of. Every time there was anything more than a pinhole opening between the flame dragons’ twisting bodies, an arrow would thread through it with unerring precision. The shots weren’t as powerful as her opening one had been, so I was able to deflect them all, but I could have done without her persistent aiming for my head and chest. Even without directly taking damage, my heart felt like it was going to give out what with all the close shaves.
How is she able to be so accurate under such chaotic circumstances anyway?!
“Uh, is it just me, or are her eyes totally keeping up with your movements?” I asked Rosalia apprehensively. After deflecting the fourth arrow that suddenly flew in from behind me, I was feeling dispirited.
“Now you notice? The situation’s only going to get worse the longer this drags out.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Please buy me a bit of time. I’ll activate Cataract Lance.”
The weapon in my hand had been given to me by the Black Ops before our order set out. It had originally been mine, but I had passed it on to my direct subordinate, Ado, as a parting gift when he’d left Trycen in the company of the false champion Christoph, whom our government had been propping up.
During the so-called Black Wind Incident that followed, Ado and Christoph had both been caught by Toraj, and Cataract Lance had been seized. Luckily, Princess Shutola had pulled all sorts of strings and managed to return it to me. She’d even gone to the trouble of powering it up with magic before handing it over. I sincerely believed that she, like General Azgrad, possessed some sort of extraordinary hidden ability.
“Pierce, Cataract Lance!”
As Rosalia desperately continued to evade the relentless barrage of attacks, Cataract Lance released a large quantity of water into the air around me, which quickly took on the form of many lances. I directed them towards the flame dra—
“HUBA!”
“Wh—?! Hngh!”
In response to Rosalia’s cry, I hurled all my water lances upwards. Unbelievably, the maid had leaped off her flame dragon and into the air far above us, an arrow already nocked and pointed our way. She was in an extremely unstable position, being upside down and in midair, but my instincts knew without a doubt that her shot wouldn’t miss.
“Blaze Arrow.”
The red arrow—something completely different from what she had been using so far—howled as it hurtled towards us. Its trajectory made no secret of its intent to bore through both me and my dragon. If we tried taking it head-on, the only future we would have was death.
Will my water lances be enough to block it? Uh...nope, impossible!
Despite using water against fire, which should have given me an advantage, I instinctively knew that I would lose the exchange.
“I’ll alter its cou—”
“HOLD ON TIGHT!”
Just as I lifted Cataract Lance to shoot more spears of water directly from its tip, Rosalia turned abruptly and unleashed an Ice Breath that, despite containing only a single element, proved infinitely more devastating than Mdofarak’s Trinity Breath. If someone had told me at that moment that Rosalia was the Ice Dragon King, I would have believed them. The beam of frost clashed with the fire arrow that had penetrated my water lances with ease, inducing an explosion of steam that enveloped the entire area in an impenetrable fog.
“That’s amazing! You canceled it out!”
“No, I’m afraid...we lost that exchange...”
“What?”
In stark contrast to my cheering, Rosalia’s face was clouded. I looked over and realized that there was a hole in one of her wings. She was currently exerting herself to maintain our speed, but to no avail. We were getting slower with each flap as the bleeding grew worse.
The only silver lining was that there was now zero visibility around us thanks to all the water that I had filled the air with. Conversely, it was easy for us to see where our opponent’s forces were. Their glowing silhouettes were wandering around aimlessly, which meant they had lost sight of us.
“I believe it was the same attack that assaulted Azgrad at the start of this battle. The recoil from using a breath attack prevented me from evading in time.”
“So she shot two arrows in that split second?”
“I have no way of confirming it, but I believe so. A covert follow-up attack within the shadow of the flashy first one.”
“In any case, tending to your wound takes priority now! Oh no, the bottom of my bag’s been torn...”
The bag that I had secured to my saddle had been ripped apart without me even noticing. The recovery potions and other useful items that I had packed into it were long gone. Was it from the barrage of those balls of light? Or did a flame dragon’s teeth get close enough to tear through it? Ugh, I can think of way too many opportunities where this could have happened.
“R-Rosalia, I’m so sorry—”
“Fffff!”
Rosalia blew a controlled Ice Breath towards her own wing, which left a thin membrane of frost on its surface and stopped the bleeding.
Looks like she doesn’t need my first aid, after all. “Talk about creative uses for dragon breath...”
“How long do you think I’ve been an ancient dragon? We won’t be able to go as fast as before, but this is better than nothing.”
“That’s a relief. Should we hide ourselves and wait for an opportunity to launch a surprise attack?” It’s probably a dumb idea to rush head-on towards the maid. That would definitely not go well. So perhaps we should resort to slightly shad—
“Fire Storm.”
A large wave of billowing flames suddenly rushed towards us, eating up the mist in its path and effectively smoking us out.
Seriously, what is with that elf?! Aren’t elves supposed to use Green Magic?! And is it just me or does she possess even more power than Clive, the idiot who died not that long ago?!
“Ah, this direction is no good.”
“It’s an ambush, isn’t it?”
“Have you resolved yourself to seeing this through, Huba?”
“Not by choice, but I suppose so.”
While chatting with Rosalia, I had been stocking up on water lances. A burning light that was undoubtedly one of the flame dragons was looming just ahead.
Is it even possible for them to calculate our actions and circle around in front of us so quickly? I shot a quick look over my shoulder at the surging flames that were closing in on us from behind and sighed. I’m so sorry, General. Looks like this is the end of the line for me. I really wanted to tell you these feelings of mine before I died, but I guess that’s not happening after all.
“Huba, you are the only warrior aside from Azgrad that I allow to ride on my back. Make sure you get through this alive. I have no intention of letting anyone else partner with me, do you understand?”
I started, then chuckled. “That so?”
Rosalia had given me a push, and I was now done with my preparations. We had bought ourselves enough time, which meant the only thing left was to return to the general with all our limbs intact.
“Let’s do this!”
We burst out of the mist to find, as expected, the maid lying in wait for us. The entire area was surrounded by what I recognized as the Red Magic spell Flame Rampart, which had likely been set up for the purpose of preventing our escape. The instant I took everything in, the now-familiar sound of an explosion went off, and Rosalia dodged the arrow by a hair. However, one of the flame dragons finally caught up with us, clamping its searing teeth onto my dragon’s leg. She grunted in pain as a horrible burning smell assaulted my nostrils.
“Pierce!”
I slammed one of my water lances into the face of the flame dragon, but it showed no sign of letting go. I threw more and more lances in rapid succession but to little effect. Dammit, the other flame dragons are already closing in while I’m still dealing with this one! Let go of her, already!
Rosalia mustered the last of her strength to unleash one last Ice Breath. The attack collided with all three approaching flame dragons in front of us and obliterated them. The breath even managed to create a bridge of ice that stretched towards the maid.
“Go!”
“You really are creative!”
I quickly unstrapped myself from the saddle’s safety harness and leaped out onto the makeshift path of ice. The moment my feet landed, an explosion rang out. I swung Cataract Lance with a do-or-die spirit, continuing to press forward. On and on I charged, deflecting incoming attacks a few more times until I finally reached the maid.
My mind and body were as spent as my stock of water lances. In contrast, there wasn’t a single bead of sweat on the maid’s face. She wasn’t even out of breath.
“Why didn’t you attack Rosalia with the other flame dragons?” I blurted out, overcome by a burning desire to know. Aside from the first beast that had bitten Rosalia and the three that had been hit with her Ice Breath, the rest were showing no indications of moving to attack. Even now, they were simply hovering a distance away, watching.
The same was true of the flame dragon that the maid herself was riding. She could have easily moved away, leaving me stuck on top of a road that went nowhere. But instead, she had remained in place, focused only on intercepting me.
What is she thinking?
“Because I already accomplished what I set out to do.”
Clank.
The sound of metal sliding against metal rang out behind me.
I heard Rosalia ask, “Your goal was not to kill us, but to capture me?”
I turned around to see her entangled in chains. I realized with a shock that the four dragons surrounding her were each holding one end of a chain in their mouth.
“That is correct. Unfortunately, I am not very good at restraining others on my own. That is why I had to resort to using these Sealing Chains. You displayed a truly wonderful level of mobility, so I had no choice but to wound you first. And with the chains being what they are, I needed you to come to me.”
“I see. So you attached these to those invisible arrows of yours and shot them at me,” Rosalia observed. “Oh dear, it does not seem possible for me to break out of them. I feel my strength being drained...” She was having trouble remaining aloft.
“Dammit, let Rosalia g—”
“Clo-chan.”
I felt a hand land on my shoulder from behind. Something instantaneously wrapped itself around me before I could register what it was.
“Would it be possible to spare her life?”
“Don’t worry...”
I lost consciousness as Rosalia and the maid spoke with each other.
◇ ◇ ◇
The earsplitting sound of metal clashing against metal rang out again and again in the skies above the Grand Scarlet Canyon. Clotho, from its position inside my robe, was assaulting the black dragon with multiple tentacles that had formed into spears. Because it used Metalicize on the tips only the moment before contact, the slime had complete control over the trajectory of its tentacles. By fully utilizing its body’s characteristics, my buddy’s attacks were as supple as whips and, when necessary, as hard as adamantite ore, the hardest material it knew of.
However, the black dragon’s defensive strength was not so easily overcome. Whenever Clotho landed an attack with an adamantite speartip, all it did was cause a shrill metallic sound, generate some sparks, and leave a tiny scratch. This dragon’s scales were even tougher than those of the rock dragon. I had given Obsidian Edge a try, but the result had been much the same. It wasn’t hard to deduce that the dragon possessed some type of Endurance-related skill.
Our attacks were turning out to be a terrible match-up with this particular opponent. Clotho was slowly sucking up his magic, but the dragon had so much that it was barely making a dent. And of course, the beast in question and his rider, Azgrad, weren’t just sitting there nonchalantly taking our attacks. The dragon flapped his giant wings and charged towards us, not faltering in the face of Clotho’s spear-like thrusts.
In addition, not possessing the Flight skill myself was definitely a disadvantage when it came to midair mobility. The enormous black form soaring through the sky at blinding speeds was a sight to behold. At the same time, he also had a very sharp ability to detect danger. He was constantly keeping an eye on my scythe and made sure to retreat at the slightest hint of trouble.
Bwoooohhh!
Halfway through the fight, Azgrad unleashed a fire attack similar to a dragon’s Flame Breath from the conical lance that he was holding. We had been in close proximity at the time, but I managed to react quickly and redirect the trajectory of his attack with a powerful gust of wind.
“You really are good!” he cried. “Nice job dealing with that on the spur of the moment!”
I was expecting some sort of gimmick from the lance based on how complex its structure is, but I’ll admit that spouting flames from the holes on its side caught me off guard. That’s not the only thing special about it either, I’ll bet. Holding your own against my four-meter-long Obsidian Edge is impressive, sure, but that lance itself must be of a pretty high rank in order to withstand those clashes.
“But it ain’t time to relax just yet!” he continued.
A pitch-black tail burst through the flames that I had just deflected and slammed Clotho and me into the far canyon wall. I barely managed to deploy Helix Barrier in the nick of time.
“Ugh, I really should practice my flying more.” I thought I’d gotten the hang of it, but I can’t compare with those who can truly fly. Sera and Melfina would have been able to dodge that with ease. I’m gonna have to work harder.
“Look at you, wounding my black dragon in a split second without taking any damage yourself. Your strength is even more impressive than the rumors say, Kelvin,” Azgrad spat as he checked out the bloodied tail of his mount.
Oh well, no harm, no foul. Although my Helix Barrier was almost completely spent, it had succeeded in shredding the black dragon’s tail during our brief moment of contact. And thanks to Clotho’s Blunt Damage Invulnerability skill, the wall slam didn’t even hurt. The copy of the slime that was currently within my robe was its combat-ready version and it had been given the vast majority of Clotho’s overall stats. Rapidly deploying a shield to protect me was as easy as pie.
I stepped out of the newly opened hole in the wall and brushed the dust from my clothes. A quick look around revealed that the other soldiers of the Dragon Knight Order were gone, probably having headed up towards the summit. Once again, Azgrad and I faced each other, sparks flying furiously between our gazes.
Just as we were about to kick it up a notch, I received messages from Sera and Melfina through the Network.
::Kelvin, all the enemies flew upwards! Can we chase them?!::
There’s no need. Rion’s left a whole bunch of Residual Slices up there. They’ll come back down eventually.
::That’s troubling, honey. Sera and I are currently tied for the number of troops we’ve brought down.::
::Oh, I know. How about we help with the troops on the ground while waiting for the ones above to return?::
::Sorry, Sera-nee. I just finished down here.::
::Aw, c’mon!::
::And I’ve already captured the ancient dragon in front of the fortress. That only leaves Efil. How are things going on your end, lass?::
::I am wrapping up here. Melfina-sama, perhaps you can help out somewhere el— I have an attacker incoming. Please excuse me.::
::Efil’s done too?! Mel, what are we gonna do?! We have no more enemies to fight!::
::There’s not much we can do, is there? How about we stay out of the way and spectate Honey’s fight while we wait?::
::I guess you’re right. Sure, let’s do that. Good luck, Kelvin! We’ll be watching!::
With that, the conversation ended. From start to finish, it had sounded so relaxed that we might have all been on a stroll instead of in the middle of a battle. And during that time, Clotho had finished making its preparations inside my robe.
That black dragon’s really glaring at us. Guess we should get back to the fight.
“What is that?”
“What do you mean? It’s been there in front of you this whole time. This here’s my buddy.”
I cast Fly on Clotho, then hopped on top of the slime. My partner’s body rapidly expanded until it was as large as the dragon before us.
“Whoa, hold on, it looks like the spitting image of my own mount! You’re getting pretty fancy there!”
As Azgrad had noted, Clotho had taken on the general form of the very creature we were facing. It couldn’t quite reproduce things like color and texture, being a slime and all, but at this size, such details were irrelevant. It didn’t change how much of a threat my companion now posed.
“I love it! Encounters with fresh opponents that I know nothing about sure get my heart pumping! First that mountain-like sword of yours, and now a powerful slime! This fight is thrilling! Don’t you agree, Black Dragon?!”
There was an awkward pause.
“Ha ha ha! So you agree with me!”
What is with this pair?! Azgrad seems weirdly excited while the black dragon’s just been silent this whole time. The contrast is intense, to put it mildly. Are they actually understanding each other? Are they capable of telepathic communication like my party and I are?
“Whoops, sorry for keeping you waiting,” Azgrad said, looking up at me. “So, how about we get started?!”
“I’m good if you are. Bring it.”
“Hah! Here I come!”
Responding to Azgrad’s cry, the black dragon opened his mouth wide to build up for a breath. The roiling fumes billowing out in advance made it clear that this was going to be one hell of an attack.
Clotho, match it.
It didn’t matter that we had lost the initiative. Clotho picked up on my command instantaneously and shifted into action without missing a beat. With motions that precisely mirrored those of the black dragon, my partner also gathered magic in its open jaws.
The slime shot out a Mortality Beam at the same time the black dragon fired off a jade-colored breath. The two attacks collided in the middle, neither making headway in pushing the other back. With nowhere else to go, the two torrents of power sprayed off in random directions, with the rays from Mortality Beam boring deep holes into the walls of the canyon as splatters of the jade-colored breath melted rock and emitted foul-smelling fumes.
The speeds at which rocks were being reduced to goop and the caustic smell made it abundantly clear that the dragon’s breath was pure, deadly poison. I bet one graze is enough to slap a person with some horrific debuff, if not an outright game-over.
The clashing attacks eventually petered out, leaving the canyon in a miserable state. Silence reigned for a short time.
“Nope, this ain’t it. There are demerits to this stupid collar that bastard Tristan didn’t tell me about,” Azgrad growled, lifting his lance. Instead of directing it at me, however, he used it to sever the collar on the dragon’s neck.
If that’s the same thing Gigant Lord was wearing during the assault on the Village of Elves, it’s supposed to force monsters into submission, isn’t it? How is Azgrad going to control the beast without it?
“What is the meaning of this?”
The black dragon finally spoke!
“I finally get to hear your voice, Black Dragon. What do you think I’m doing? I took off your restraints, that’s what. You weren’t this weak when you fought me. The collar was suppressing your abilities, wasn’t it?”
The dragon remained silent and watched as Azgrad proceeded to melt the collar using the flames from his lance.
“This way of doing things really doesn’t sit well with me; not at all. A real dragon knight is one who’s truly acknowledged by his dragon, with the two being connected in spirit. I don’t mind if you include me as your enemy. All I ask is for you to rampage to your heart’s content for now. This time, I’ll beat you into submission with my own hands and make you my partner!”
Uh, this is the kind of thing I shouldn’t interrupt, right?
“What an idiot you are, creating more enemies for yourself in the middle of battle. But... Well, I don’t dislike that kind of manliness. Fine, out of respect for you, I’ll tell you my name. I’m Dahak! I’ll cooperate with you only for as long as it takes to defeat this Black Robe!”
“What? You have to fight me too!”
“You serious right now?”
Yeah, I think the dragon’s in the right here.
“You know you’re supposed to just accept it when someone is making you an offer out of the goodness of their heart, right?” Dahak growled. “Am I supposed to retract the offer now? What does that make me look like? Huh?”
“Unfortunately, Shutola taught me to always doubt so-called ‘kind offers,’” Azgrad returned. “I can’t accept any favors from you until we’re truly connected.”
“When that white dragon brought you fruit, you ate it without thinking twice!”
“Rosalia is different.”
Azgrad and Dahak’s quibbling continued with no sign of ending. Have they forgotten they’re in enemy territory right now? Hmm, I want to get the fight started already, so how about I help them out a little?
“Why don’t you two cooperate to defeat me first, then fight each other as much as you want?” I cut in, looking Azgrad’s way. “Then you get to enjoy both the tag team match against my slime and me and a one-on-one fight against each other. That’s what, three birds with one stone?”
“Looks like we have no choice but to join forces temporarily,” Azgrad admitted without missing a beat.
“Yeah, you really are an idiot,” his mount replied.
This conversation’s finally going in the right direction. I love me a good battle royale as much as anyone, but it’d be the lamest outcome ever if the two of them knocked each other out first. I’ve got to make sure that I get in on the action too.
Dahak turned to me. “Black Robe, if you think me the weakling I was a moment before, you’re in for a world of pain. I’ll show you what my real powers are like!”
“My name is Kelvin. And this has all been too much talking already. Come at me any time you...want?!” I hurriedly dodged as I sensed something sharp rushing towards me from both sides. A quick look revealed several giant tree branches protruding from the canyon walls.
“There we go! Keep that up and you just might get me!” I whooped.
“You think you’re such a hotshot?!” Dahak shouted back.
The branches that I’d evaded had been only the beginning. Entire trees suddenly sprouted from every available surface until the ravine had been converted into a luxuriant forest. Needless to say, the sight of such growth rapidly sprouting from the ground and walls of a previously barren land was extremely unnatural.
Is this Dahak’s special power?
“I’ve heard that high-tiered dragons are prideful creatures. Beating you into submission after pissing you off and making you get serious sounds so much more fun than just fighting normally!”
It sounded like I was provoking him, but I genuinely did want him to go all out. The reason for that? Obviously, I planned on Contracting with him. If he lost to me without exhausting every card up his sleeve, his heart might not fully submit to me. The sentiment “I might have won if I had been serious about it” could potentially cause the process to fail.
Of course, I would have welcomed it if he’d asked for a rematch; in fact, part of me hoped he would. However, I had three other ancient dragons to approach after this. As such, it was simplest to go the extra mile and properly break his spirit here and now.
“Ha ha...ha ha ha...HA HA HA! Azgrad, here’s someone just as idotic as you!”
“Don’t you underestimate us idiots. And make sure you go all out when you fight me too!”
“Seriously, what do you two even think I am? Well, you asked for it. I hope you don’t regret it!”
In response to Dahak’s roar, the giant trees of the newly born forest sprouted countless growths that snaked towards me all at once. I unleashed Boreas Death Scythe again and again, but a new sprout would appear on the bisected surfaces and take the place of the previous tree in almost no time. The net of greenery encircled me, slowly but surely closing in to strangle me to death.
Seeing giant trees move like this sure takes me back to the Evil Sage Tree in Sangria Forest.
I switched to the Network. Clotho.
At my command, my partner fired a sustained Mortality Beam into the foliage. As expected, the charred surfaces of the trees toppled by its attack showed no signs of regenerating, proving that Dahak’s attack was weak to fire or heat.
The forest is still swelling in size, but it looks like we can press this elemental advantage. Oh, hey, I just had a good idea...
Clotho, can you create more heads? Through the Network, I indicated the three-headed dragon that Alex was dragging along the ground. Immediately following my question, two more heads burst out on either side of the slime’s faux dragon head.
Nice, just what I wanted.
“Whoa, seriously?!”
“Dammit! This is gonna hurt!”
A colossal tree with gray leaves and branches burst up from the ground, covering Dahak’s entire body. So, he can generate multiple kinds of trees!
Clotho, you focus on the gray tree. I’ll handle the rest.
Now that I understood the nature of Dahak’s power, I was no longer afraid of it. While Clotho gathered magic in its three mouths, I gathered magic in my own fingers. The two of us took aim as one.
“Radiance Crossfire!”
Ten beams of light shot out from my hands, each changing trajectories sharply to make their way to randomly selected targets. After destroying the first one at high speed, the attacks promptly selected new targets, again and again, altering their courses as needed each time. The end result was streaks of light flying up, down, left, right, and every which way, crisscrossing each other repeatedly and inexorably burning down everything in their wake.
It’s been a while since I last used that spell, but man has it gotten a lot stronger. And each Radiance Lance is much thicker than before.
During this time, Clotho was, of course, also on the offensive. Mortality Beam had become so much more powerful with the addition of the extra heads that Dahak’s shield was already on the verge of collapse.
No, it’s the other way around. I should commend that gray tree for holding out for so long, but what surprises me most is the potential suggested by Mortality Beam being three times as strong as a result of Clotho having three heads. Then again, doing so does deplete the magic within its Storage at three times the rate.
“Shit!”
The instant Dahak’s shield fell apart, he poked his head out to shoot his jade-colored breath. However, his output was only equal to Clotho’s original Mortality Beam, which put him at a significant disadvantage. The plane of collision between the two attacks was slowly being pushed towards him.
Noticing Azgrad’s absence from Dahak’s back, I activated Presence Sensing.
Aha! He’s trying to circle around behind me. I discovered a powerful aura underneath the area where Clotho was hovering in the sky, in a spot that was in the slime’s—and, by extension, my own—blind spot. The nearby trees were making it impossible to see him, but the general wasn’t even using Concealment. Huh, he’s riding on something.
“Take th—”
“Impact.”
“Oof!”
As expected, Azgrad had been standing on top of a giant growing tree. His plan had likely been to launch a surprise attack using the surrounding foliage as cover. I seized the initiative and shot Impact at him in an effort to knock him off his perch, but he managed to stab his lance into the tree in the nick of time and leaned on it to regain his balance.
Rather than looking panicked, he was grinning widely. “I’m sure you know, but this tree burns really well!” he shouted as his lance, which was still stuck in the wood, spurted out jets of fire.
The entire tree that Azgrad had been riding was suddenly engulfed in flames, burning brightly and furiously. It had turned into a massive burning stake that was now heading my way, with the man himself having escaped into the air successfully by using the recoil of his attack.
You’re still within range of Radiance Crossfire, man. And those beams have already locked on to you as their target.
“HHAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!”
With another tree serving as his foothold, Azgrad parried five Radiance Lances in quick succession. He even had the spare energy to throw a sharp look in my direction every once in a while in hopes of finding an opening to catch me. He was clearly well practiced in close-quarters combat, and his stats indicated that he was at least as strong as Clive.
Good, he’ll be able to survive the Radiance Lances, no problem; the last thing I want is to finish things quickly. As for the tree...
While maintaining its “push-of-war” with Dahak, Clotho released part of its dragon form to expand its body even more until it was big enough to create a giant mouth, which subsequently swallowed the burning tree in its entirety. Thanks to having the second-highest Endurance stat in our party—with Gerard being the top—devouring the flaming stake was the same as gobbling down a piping hot bowl of porridge for the omnivorous slime.
Snaps and cracks rang out as my buddy “chewed” by applying pressure within its body. As soon as the fire was extinguished, the tree’s magic was sucked away a split second before it was dissolved entirely.
“Wh—AHHHHHH!”
And while Clotho was at it, I’d asked the slime to secretly extend a tentacle towards Azgrad and throw him back at Dahak. The black dragon managed to catch the general in time, thanks to Clotho calling off their breath showdown moments before. And with that, we were back at our starting positions.
“So, what else you got? Show me your next technique or strategy!”
“This condescending asshole...”
“You’ll regret being so patronizing afterwards!”
Didn’t he say that earlier? And here I am, asking nicely with the best smile I can muster. Was it all for nothing? Well, no matter. It doesn’t change what we have to do: thoroughly crush everything they throw at us. Wait a moment... Does this already count as a rematch?
“Oh, poison this time?”
A purple mist started to fill the air around me. I looked down at the ground and saw flowers that I didn’t recognize now in full bloom, oozing toxins like normal flowers would ooze nectar. But won’t this affect Azgrad too?
“Am I imagining it or did the air suddenly turn really clean?” the general asked.
“I’m growing plants specialized for purifying air on my back right now,” the dragon explained. “Don’t leave this time. You’ll die if you do, all right?”
Or not. Looks like Dahak’s got this all figured out.
“Divine Aspect.”
I dispelled Boreas Death Scythe, replacing it with a divine aura.
I can’t wait to see just how big their repertoire of attacks is! Come on, let’s get the next round started!
◇ ◇ ◇
Heavy panting could be heard, interspersed with a “Shit!” every once in a while.
At the same time, a low voice rumbled in a tone of disbelief, “Are you kidding me? He’s even impervious to poison?!”
Ten minutes had passed since my first clash with Azgrad and Dahak. During that time, Dahak had continued to sprout plants that were poisonous, carnivorous, and all manner of dangerous. At the same time, Azgrad had disengaged the limiter on his Flame Lance Dragoon, the name of which I had picked up through Analyze Eye. In short, the two of them were doing everything in their power to give me a great time.
Clotho and I, for our parts, utterly crushed every attack they threw at us, leaving our opponents spent and wounded all over. I lost Fly a few times due to Divine Aspect but pulled through by casting it repeatedly.
Now the dragon was on the ground—probably having grown too tired to fly—and the general was on his knees. Still, Dahak remembered to sprout plants that would purify the air for Azgrad’s sake. Seems he’s quite attentive to details.
::Kel-nii, you guys are blocking the way with all the poison in the air! I might be fine, but Alex is pulling a yucky face!::
I received a sudden telepathic message from Rion, who was on her way back to the fortress. Efil had contacted me earlier to say that she too had wrapped things up on her end, and from what I could tell, our efforts to delay the Dragon Knight Order were going quite well.
It’s about time. All right, let’s start negotiating.
I landed in front of Azgrad and Dahak. “Looks like you’re both pretty much out of MP. Are you satisfied yet? Or do you still have something else up your sleeves?”
After a slight pause, Dahak let the tension leave his body and collapsed to the ground. The purple poison surrounding the area dissipated at the same time, indicating that he had dispelled his power.
“Nah, I got nothing left. I surrender.”
“What?! Black Dragon, you can’t seriously be giving up! We can still—”
Clotho.
Before he could continue, I instructed Clotho to restrain the Trycenian. My slime buddy complied by wrapping its tentacles around him and then hardening its body with Metalicize. There was no way to break free—not from adamantite.
“Dammit! These restraints...I can just...”
“There’s no point in dragging this out any longer,” Dahak growled. “We have no more abilities to use, and that lance of yours is as empty of MP as we are. Besides, Black Robe there can kill us any time he wants. Am I right?”
I shrugged. “You tell me.”
“Don’t sidestep the question. Honestly, the last time I felt so out of my depth was when facing my old man. But what I don’t get is why you’re doing this. What do you want from us?”
Great, so he’s acknowledged the difference in strength between us. Let’s send him the Contract request now.
“So that’s what’s going on. Why’re you even fighting with a class like that? You must have a screw loose.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Upon learning that I was a Summoner, Dahak’s eyes had narrowed. How does a dragon’s face manage to be so expressive, anyway? And is it actually that rare to see Summoners like me? I guess it makes sense that the majority of us choose to stay in support positions... Wait, no, just being a Summoner in and of itself is a rare thing. The only others I know of are Colette and Tristan; my sample size is far too small. I’m sure there are more like me out there somewhere. Probably.
Azgrad, of course, had no idea what we were talking about. He looked extremely confused.
“So, your answer?”
“I would be honored. Please accept me as your Follower.” To my surprise, Dahak lowered his head of his own accord and accepted the Contract. One of my Follower slots was promptly filled in with his name.
“Black Dragon?!”
“Sorry, Azgrad. I can’t be your partner. I do think highly of your bravery and conviction, but someone greater than you has shown up.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“It’s a bit like what your army is doing. We dragons are prideful, but we are loyal to those we’ve acknowledged. I fought beside you with everything I had and was still defeated. My brother is saying that he needs me. I can’t help but answer the call.”
“That makes sense, but... Wait, when did you two even have that conversation?!” The prince could not accept what was happening.
Hold on, what did Dahak just call me?
“Oh, the poison’s gone! Looks like Kel-nii just finished up.”
Rion and Alex appeared from the far side of the passage. The latter had successfully taken a significant portion of the enemy troops into custody with Creeping Darkness.
“Uh-huh, pretty much,” I answered nonchalantly. “You’ve got a lot of people there. They’re all Paralyzed?”
“Yep! Look, there’s even an ancient dragon with them!”
The three-headed beast that Rion had fought, Mdofarak, was lying limply in the crowd. Seeing as none of its heads were moving, it had likely met the same fate as the rest of the group.
Looks like trying to form a Contract with her will have to wait.
“Just as I asked. Well done!”
“Hee hee hee.”
Rion thrust her head before me, so I patted it even more than I usually did. I would have loved to continue doing so forever just to preserve the smile of bliss on her face, but I was unfortunately in the middle of something.
“Mdofarak...” murmured Azgrad.
“So then, General. I’ve got to decide what to do with you next. Can I convince you to surrender as well? I promise to spare your life if you do.”
“We haven’t lost yet! My men—the ones who went by air—are probably already on their way to Parth by now. You can’t possibly think I’d surrender while they’re still fighting!”
Azgrad’s shout was loud enough to reverberate through the canyon. Ugh, this type of guy gets extremely stubborn in situations like this. He’ll probably stick to his guns no matter what I do to him.
At that moment, something fell from high above. It raised a huge cloud of dust, then we heard a faint cry of, “General...” emanating from within.
“My runner?!”
It was Azgrad’s subordinate who had landed. Thanks to me deploying a barrier to cushion his and the dragon’s fall in the nick of time, they didn’t end up as splatters on the ground. Regardless, they bore severe cuts from head to toe.
Ah, they ran into Rion’s trap.
“What happened up there?! Answer me!”
“Just when we...were nearing the summit...we found something...set up all over... I ended up like this...when I touched it... The ones who went before...probably...”
“Those wounds look like cuts from a sword.” Azgrad whirled towards me. “Is this your doing?!”
“Well, not mine per se.”
Rion was the one who had left a bunch of Residual Slices up near the summit. Her Unique Skill enabled her to fix slashes made by her sword in place in the air. While we had been waiting for the Dragon Knight Order’s arrival, she had been up near the summit from dawn until dusk leaving them everywhere and in such density that slipping through unharmed simply wasn’t possible.
What’s more, the slashes frozen in midair retained the properties of the sword used plus her own abilities. She had used one of the Black Swords Aklama and Lethal Opiate Sword. That combination of one of the sharpest weapons I’d ever forged and a blade that robbed victims of their five senses was a rather nasty setup, to put it mildly. There was no way to break through the barrier of blades, not without the presence of a powerhouse who could deal with Rion’s slashes head-on.
Melfina, Sera, what’s become of the ones who took to the sky?
::We rounded up those who turned back,:: Sera replied. ::Or, to be more specific, I controlled them.::
Controlled how?
::I made a small cut on my palm and slapped all their foreheads.::
You...went around smearing your blood onto every single one of them?
::They’d have fallen straight down if I’d put them to sleep or knocked them unconsci— Ohhh, you’re worried about me! Don’t be; I have Auto Healing! The cut’s already healed by itself!::
I...see.
::I also retrieved the ones who fell down, honey.::
Someone just fell right next to me.
::I thought it would help your negotiations to go more smoothly.::
It was on purpose?!
In any case, we had clearly demonstrated to Azgrad the situation that his forces were currently in. But considering his personality, I foresaw negotiations taking more time regardless, so I decided to return to the fortress first. I had Clotho pick up the general, the runner, and the runner’s dragon, and knock them all unconscious by draining their MP. Lastly, I instructed everyone to withdraw to the fortress.
“All right, let’s head back before continuing this. The other ancient dragons should be there already, which should make it easier to finish everything up in one go.”
“Umm...brother?” Dahak asked hesitantly.
So, I didn’t hear him wrong! Why the heck is he calling me that?!
“Hold on right there. I don’t remember ever becoming your brother.”
“The fact that you accepted me as your subordinate means that we’ve exchanged sake cups and pledged ourselves in brotherhood! It’s only natural that I address you as such.”
What are we here, the mob? Why did you suddenly turn into a delinquent character?! I thought, then sighed. “All right, fine, call me whatever you want. So, what do you need?”
“I have two questions. First, who’s this young girl?”
Rion cut in before I had time to answer. “I’m Rion, Kel-nii’s little sister. Nice to meet you!”
“I’m sorry for being disrespectful! It’s an honor to meet you, sister!”
“Sister?! That’s a bit...”
Whoa, it’s rare seeing Rion wince. But I agree that “sister” is going a bit far.
“Then ‘m’lady.’”
“That’s still kinda...”
“All right, all right, let’s leave the discussion of what to call everyone for later. What’s your second question?”
“Oh, right. Uh, would you prefer that I morph into my human form? I can do that if you want.”
“You...wouldn’t end up naked after the transformation, right?”
“No worries! I will be in what I was last wearing before taking dragon form.”
“That works. Then sure, show us.”
“Yes, sir!”
For a split second, Dahak’s form shone with a bright light. A moment later, his gigantic reptilian form had been replaced by a man who was a head taller than me. He had long white hair, tanned skin, and gallant features that seemed both fierce and recalcitrant. I had no idea how age worked for dragons, but his human appearance seemed to be roughly twenty years old. The outfit that he was wearing was that of a farmer’s.
Why a farmer?
“This is how I look. What do you think?”
“I’m not sure what to say...” Mainly because of the outfit. The disparity between his looks and what he’s wearing is way too extreme. Seriously, what’s going on there? “Uh, in any case, let’s head for the fortress. I’ll introduce you to the others.”
“Yes, sir.”
With that, we started walking. As Dahak passed by the unconscious Azgrad, he murmured, “Sorry things didn’t work out, General. But I had my complaints too, y’know. How do I put it? The food, man...”
What’s this? Did Azgrad give him cheap food?
“Feeding me meat for every meal is way too cruel, man. I’m a vegetarian.”
A surprising confession from a dragon, of all creatures!
◇ ◇ ◇
All in all, I thought the strategy we had taken to delay the enemy troops was a resounding success. We’d managed to trap the Dragon Knight Order within the canyon and had captured or killed every single member, including their ancient dragons and officers. Furthermore, we hadn’t taken a single casualty on our side. It was safe to say we had clinched ourselves a great victory.
The number of enemies that we had managed to take alive was a lot higher than expected, but thankfully, it wasn’t too much trouble carrying them back to the fortress. The ones that Rion had Paralyzed were rendered immobile for the day, but that was where the ones under Sera’s control came in.
Blood Dominion was a skill that enabled the demon to take control of anyone she got her blood on. According to her, she only needed to smear a single drop on someone’s head—which I took to mean their brain—in order to control their entire body. The duration of her control depended on the amount of blood involved and the mental willpower of the target, but Sera boldly claimed that she only needed a single drop to control “troops of this level” for several hours.
Thankfully, the numbers captured from the sky and ground troops were about the same. So we had the blood-controlled soldiers carry their allies into the cells beneath the fortress, lock each other into the restraints created by Clotho, and then walk into their own cells. It made for a rather surreal sight.
While the majority of the prisoners were simply crammed together in large cells, Azgrad and Rosalia had been placed into some of the solitary chambers that I had spent extra time working on. I was confident that neither of them would be able to so much as leave a mark on the bars in their current restrained state.
At the moment, Rosalia was remaining cooperative, and Azgrad was likely to regain consciousness in the next hour or so. During that time, my companions and I gathered in the large living room of the fortress, resting up after all the fighting we’d done. None of us had taken a single scratch, so it was mainly a matter of fatigue.
We had also invited Sabato’s group to join us, but they seemed strangely fired up and were off in the training hall. At least, most of them seemed to be fired up. For some reason, Guin was crying as Akgas dragged him away.
Did something happen out there?
“I’m relieved that Boga and Mdofarak both agreed to the Contract so easily. Considering how quickly they were knocked out, I’d expected a word or two of protest.”
The two of them had yet to grow enough to take on human form and speak in human tongue, so they were currently sleeping within my magic pool. After all, we couldn’t let them inside; their bodies were simply far too big.
I’ll have to consider what to do with them once we get back to Parth. Would they enjoy going on walks?
“Ah, that’s ’cause they only Evolved recently,” Dahak explained. “The soldiers who were riding them didn’t know how to take advantage of their newfound strength, so those two were probably dissatisfied with the arrangement, same as me. Then out of the blue, they encountered Rion-sama and Gerard-san, both of whom completely overwhelmed them in strength. Of course they would turn over to show their bellies and surrender. I’m different, though; I hung in there and kept fighting until I was fully convinced!”
“And in doing so, you exposed every last one of your aces.”
“Ugh...”
Back when I’d first met him, I had mistaken Dahak for a reticent and standoffish character. That turned out to be quite far from the truth—he had already settled in well with our group. Although his way of speaking was brusque and his mannerisms rough, he had a warm and caring heart. Despite having spread poison everywhere during our fight, he had kept an eye out for Azgrad until the end.
Is he like this because he’s acting out against his parents during some sort of rebellious age? Nah, I’ve got to be reading too much into it.
“My power’s full potential can only be tapped into in a place with fertile soil. There’s no way for me to perform at my best in an arid, barren land like this.”
“I see, so you can’t be counted on to fight at full strength if you don’t get to carefully choose the location! That sounds inconvenient!” Sera exclaimed.
“Augh!”
What’s more, he was extremely weak at verbal tête-à-tête. Sera hadn’t meant to be sarcastic—she was simply saying what she thought—and yet he’d still taken mental damage.
He cleared his throat. “W-Well, the food probably also played a big part in their decision. The instant they took a bite of what sister Efil made, the look in their eyes completely changed.”
“Is that so? All I did was toss a few ingredients into a pan and fry them together,” Efil noted as she walked in, pushing a cart loaded with finger foods.
Efil, when it’s your food, no one can resist, all right? After the meal, they looked at you with even more respect than they did me, and I’m supposed to be their new master!
“Just goes to show that everyone loves good food,” I conceded. “As for Dahak’s meal...”
Rion finished my sentence for me. “Fresh vegetables only. Right, Hak-chan?”
“That’s right! You really do get it, m’lady!”
Apparently, this badass dragon absolutely couldn’t handle meat at all and only ate vegetables. Back in the barracks of the Dragon Knight Order in Trycen, he had somehow made do using his own powers. However, the collar had greatly restricted what he was capable of, so much so that it took all his effort to procure the bare minimum of food in terms of quantity and quality to sustain himself. He’d wanted to protest, but the collar didn’t allow him to speak, and Azgrad had just kept shoving meat in front of him.
That sounds like a pretty rough time, all right.
“As the request was for fresh vegetables without seasoning, all I did was cut them up. I’m not sure whether that can even be considered cooking, but here it is,” Efil said, placing a glass filled with vegetable sticks onto the table. To her credit, it was a very colorful glass, containing radishes, carrots, red bell peppers, and more.
“Thank you so much. This is an absolute feast for me, so it’s all good! I’m digging in!” Without further ado, he bit into a carrot stick. Then he fell silent.
“Dahak?” I asked apprehensively.
“THIS IS SO FRESH AND JUICY!” he cried before taking another big bite. “This is just as good as the crops I pour my heart and soul into tending! No, it’s even better!” One more bite. “My tongue—my stomach is crying with delight!”
Whoa, he’s started offering commentary between bites. I stared as the sticks disappeared at an incredible pace.
“Sister! Where did you get these vegetables from?!”
“Our usual grocery store in Parth.”
I remember that place being an ordinary market. The produce is fresh because we throw everything into Clotho’s Storage as soon as we buy it, but I don’t think they’re particularly high-quality or anything.
“You’re telling me that vegetables of this quality are being sold commonly?! Brother, I’ll live in Parth for the rest of my life!” the dragon declared with a straight face, pieces of vegetables all around his mouth.
“Dude, calm down.” Is this the rebound from his appetite having been suppressed for so long?
“Allow me to explain.”
Oh, here comes the great professor of gastronomy, Melfina-sensei!
“Efil’s well-honed cooking abilities have already taken one step into the realm of the gods. Her technique is such that she breathes life into ingredients just by applying a knife to them, reviving them to full freshness and drawing out every last particle of savoriness within. She can now hear the voices of the spirits that dwell inside the ingredients, so to speak.”
Dahak whirled around. “Can you really?! You’re amazing, sister!”
Efil shook her head and stated clearly, “No, I cannot hear anything.”
“Mel?” I asked with a pointed look.
Melfina stuck out her tongue. “Just a goddess joke, tee hee.”
She made it sound so realistic, I almost believed her! Okay, but joking aside, considering how good Efil already is, I wouldn’t be surprised if she does manage to do something that incredible. Regardless of how, it seems certain that she’s raising the rank of the ingredients she processes. Then again, can the technique of drawing out such flavor by cutting something with a knife even be considered a “cooking technique”? Is there a word for a method that goes beyond “cooking”?
“Well, I definitely get Boga and Mdofarak’s feelings now. All that stuff about our pride as dragons is nothing before this masterful cuisine. Oh, may I have more, please?”
Knock, knock.
Just as Efil was about to get Dahak seconds, someone rapped on the living room door. A moment later, Gerard walked in.
“Excuse me, my king. Azgrad has come to. The golems are still keeping an eye on him, but will you be seeing him now?”
“Oh, that was pretty fast. Time to do some negotiating. Mel, is the thing I asked for ready?”
“Here you go.” Melfina passed me a collar decorated with ancient runes along its length, which were pulsating with a faint light.