CHAPTER 26

Death Sentence

The dragonewt spectators are at a loss for words, as are the queen, Mash, and even Elulu, who stands stock-still.

I’ve grown somewhat used to Seiya’s behavior through personal experience, but I can’t help but ask:

“S-Seiya… That’s what you meant when you said she doesn’t need you telling her what to do…?”

“Of course. I said before that these two will be carrying my stuff from now on, didn’t I? Nothing has changed.”

“B-but…like…we’re not going to be able to save the world if Elulu doesn’t become Igzasion, you know?”

Seiya snorts with a “humph.”

“Even with that Igzasion or whatever, there’s no guarantee it’d really be able to kill the Demon Lord.”

As expected, the Great Mother of Dragons cannot contain herself any longer.

“Blasphemy! The holy sword Igzasion shall become a weapon of unrivaled might, surpassing even the Demon Lord’s, once it absorbs her life, flesh, and blood!”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because the Yellow Dragon Emperor’s divine messages from one hundred years ago are absolute!”

“That’s not the least bit logical.”

After deeply sighing, Seiya regards the queen as one might garbage.

“…In the end, they’re nothing more than the nonsensical words of some dumb lizard.”

“What?! Wh-who do you think you’re talking to?! Hold your tongue, Hero!”

Th-the nonsensical words of some dumb lizard…? I—I worried so much over those words, Elulu fell into despair, and Mash became furious…but that’s all they were to Seiya?

Slightly fed up, I stare at his profile.

Seriously… This Hero never changes…

All of a sudden, I feel something welling from the depths of my stomach, and I open my mouth.

“Ha-ha… Ha-ha-ha!”

A fit of laughter.

“What?! What’s so funny?!”

The queen turns her gaze to me, scowling fiercely.

“O-oh! My apologies!”

“I am afraid to ask, but do you share the Hero’s sentiment? You are not telling me that you do not wish to defeat the Demon Lord and save the world, correct?”

In the face of her threatening attitude…

“We want nothing more than to defeat the Demon Lord and save this world. However…”

I strain my voice so as to not fall victim to the Great Mother’s intimidation, then declare:

“However, we will not sacrifice our friend to do so! We will find another way to defeat the Demon Lord without Igzasion!”

The area falls silent. A few moments pass until the Great Mother glares at me disdainfully.

“…So you’ve made up your mind. A foolish goddess for a foolish Hero.”

She raises her gooseneck and points at Elulu with the tip of her nose.

“You are no different from this girl’s family. ‘Please, she’s our daughter,’ ‘Please, she’s our friend…’ You cannot think outside of your small, insignificant world. They would still be alive today were it not for their selfish views.”

That inexcusable remark elicits a reaction from Mash even before Elulu.

“The hell are you talkin’ about?! I thought our families died during the epidemic?!”

“A little over ten years ago after Elulu’s birth, we decided to send her to the human world to make her a vessel for Igzasion. However, her parents rebelled, as did your family with whom they were close. That is why…”

She sticks out her long tongue, licking her lips.

“…I had them killed.”

Elulu covers her mouth when she hears the startling revelation.

“H-how could you?! Why…?!”

“How awful…”

I glare in disgust, but the Great Mother of Dragons is unapologetic.

“It had to be done for the good of the world.”

“UUURRAAAAAGGH!”

With a furious roar, Mash transforms into a dragonewt while still pinned down. After the awesome power knocks away the two dragonewts, he immediately lunges toward the queen with a growl.

“And they call you the Mother of Dragons?! What bullshit! You’re nothing more than a murderer!”

He raises his fist into the air while rushing toward the queen, but his legs suddenly begin to falter, as if he was intoxicated, before ultimately collapsing beneath him.

“Wha—?!”

“Mash?!”

I try running over to him, but my legs also give out, causing me to flop to the ground on my stomach.

“Wh-what’s…going…on?”

With venom in her eyes, the Great Mother looks down at us crawling on the ground, then laughs.

“Hmm-hmm-hmm… I’ve grown cautious in my old age. When I told you that Elulu would become Igzasion, I saw your reactions and had a feeling it would come to this. Therefore, I had some paralyzing potions mixed into your food. They will not kill you, but they’re powerful mixtures that cannot be cured with spells or items. Even a goddess will be immobilized for some time.”

Tsk! Paralyzing potions…! That rotten lizard…! She’s just as bad as the monsters in this world! B-but we have Seiya on our side! He’ll save us!

But the dragonewt children standing before Mash and me snicker.

“Ha-ha-ha! We poured some paralyzing potion into our cookies as well!”

Wh-what?! Seiya ate one of those cookies, too! Wh-which means…none of us can move right now!

“…Now that that has been taken care of, let us continue the ritual. Someone come throw Elulu down into the Abyss.”

Three dragonewts begin closing in on Elulu. She’s terrified. However, there is nothing that Mash, Seiya, or I can do but clench our teeth and watch her get pushed into the Abyss…

Or so I thought… Mouth agape, I gawk at the scene unfolding before me. Wearing a composed expression, Seiya casually tosses the dragonewts pursuing Elulu aside with one hand!

The queen’s face turns red as she raises her voice.

“Wh-why?! Why isn’t the potion working on you?!”

“Why would it? I never ate anything in the first place.”

The Hero’s composed explanation sends the kids into a rage.

“L-liar! You ate one of the cookies we made!”

“While you may be kids, do you really think I’d eat anything made by a lizard? Disgusting. I secretly spit it out when you weren’t looking.”

“…?! Y-you jerk!”

“I’m the jerk? You little shits, I knew they were poisoned. Besides…”

Seiya suddenly points at me.

“…for the most part, I only eat what she makes me.”

…I know now is the absolute worst time, but my heart just skipped a beat.

S-Seiya?! Do you know how happy it makes me to hear you say that?! Ahhh… I feel like the luckiest wife in the world! I mean, I’m not a wife, but still…! Seiya, you’re so dreeeamy!

Anyway, the Great Mother’s initial surprise slowly fades. She snorts aggressively from the small nostrils on her snout.

“Well, you’ve left me with no choice. You will be the wielder of the holy sword, so I cannot be too rough, but this is for the holy ritual. I will have to silence you for a bit.”

“Oh? Go ahead and try.”

“I admire your confidence. However, you would be a fool to underestimate me.”

The queen’s dress suddenly splits open, tearing to shreds as she grows!

“Allow me to show you an ability only the chosen dragonkin can perform—Dragon God Metamorphosis!”

“Wh-wh-what the…?!”

Fearful of being squished, I struggle to move my paralyzed body and am somehow able to back away from the Great Mother.

Her transformation isn’t gradual but instantaneous. The lizard body for which she’d been ridiculed has mutated into a colossal dragon with ocher scales. I’m guessing her body spans roughly ten meters in length with her long, thick tail included. The Great Mother spreads her massive wings and lifts her head into the air, exposing her ferocious face. Then she opens her mouth, baring her knifelike fangs, and roars.

Squirming on the ground, I use Scan to check her status.

GREAT MOTHER OF DRAGONS
LV: 66
HP: 563,290	MP: 5,533
ATK: 43,898	DEF: 38,881	SPD: 5,679	MAG: 10,209	GRW: 721
Resistance: Fire, Water, Lightning, Poison, Paralysis, Sleep, Curse, Instant Death, Status Ailments
Special Abilities: Dragon God Metamorphosis (LV: MAX) *Only takes physical damage from weapons strong against dragon-type enemies
Skills: Dragon Claw, Dragon Breath, Ultimate Wall
Personality: Self-righteous

…Her HP is huge! But the rest isn’t that impressive compared to Dark Firus!

“Wait… She’s immune to almost all physical damage?!”

The Great Mother guffaws, apparently having heard my utterance.

“Grah-ha-ha-ha! It must have never crossed your mind that you would end up fighting a dragon while you were here. The scales of a dragon are stronger than any metal! An ordinary sword won’t even leave a scratch! Hero, do you know what this means? You cannot defeat me!”

“It never crossed my mind that I would be fighting a dragon…?”

Her self-aggrandizing speech doesn’t even make me flinch. In fact, I gaze at the Hero with hopeful eyes.

His eyes locked on the Great Mother, Seiya calls out to Mash.

“Mash. Can you move?”

“Y-yeah… A l-little…”

“Then take my sword with the black sheath out of your bag.”

Mash uses what little strength he has to retrieve the sword, then throws it to Seiya as hard as he can. Without looking, Seiya catches it with one hand and draws it on the queen.

…However, the unsheathed blade isn’t his usual platinum sword.

The weapon mysteriously glows bloodred. It whirs through the air as Seiya performs movements akin to a blade dance before settling into his battle stance. Despite being many times the size of a human, the dragon quivers.

“I-it can’t be… Is that the…Dragon Killer?! Wh-why do you have that?! Did you come here expecting to fight?!”

As always, without a hint of emotion, Seiya says, “I considered it more than likely that I’d have to fight a dragon the moment it was decided we were going to a place called the Dragons’ Den.”

I raise my arm to the Great Mother and yell:

“Ha! Seiya is always perfectly prepared! Don’t underestimate an overly cautious Hero!”

Mash’s eyes glitter as he gazes at Seiya in admiration.

“That’s my master for ya! But where did you even get that?!”

“From synthesizing, of course. I combined a platinum sword; one of your hairs, since you’re a dragonkin; one of Elulu’s hairs for the same reason; and around a hundred strands of hair from Rista to make it.”

I am taken aback by the ingredients used to make the Dragon Killer.

Wh-why did he need so much of my hair?! The situation is dire, but even then, there’s something I have to ask Seiya.

“S-Seiya! How did you get so much of my hair?! There’s no way you found all of it in my room!”

“Correct. That’s why I took directly from the source while you were sleeping.”

“…?!”

Huh? Wait. Huh?! When I was sleeping? What? He pulled the hairs straight off my head? What?

“Seiya Ryuuguuin… We are going to have a long talk after this!”

But he isn’t listening—as always. He looks ahead, keeping an eye on the Great Mother’s movement.

Yeah, I know. The battle is more important right now. I get it. Sure. It’s fine. Please focus on the battle right now. But… But you know what? We’re going to have a hearing after this, you filthy stalker! Ahhhhhh!

…Seiya and the Great Mother of Dragons stare each other down. However, the Great Mother soon makes the first move. The instant her massive front legs twitch, she lunges toward Seiya with her black claws. While keeping his eyes fixed on her movement, Seiya simply backsteps with ease. He then immediately points the Dragon Killer at her.

“Atomic Split Slash.”

He swings the Dragon Killer at her still-extended front legs, and it loudly clinks like iron hitting iron. The Great Mother roars.

“Gwah! What awesome power! Though you’re equipped with the Dragon Killer, I nevertheless commend you for dealing me such damage with a single strike! However…”

She gets into a fighting stance with her two front legs.

“Dragon Claw!”

Her claws grow to sword length, and she takes massive swipes at Seiya. Each strike howls through the air, generating unbelievable wind pressure. While powerful, not one attack connects with the Hero.

Yes! We actually can judge this book by its cover! Due to her large size, she’s not that fast, so Seiya should have no problem with her!

I exhale a sigh of relief, but…

“Mm…”

The moment Seiya dodges her claws, he dashes straight for Elulu, snatching her up while still running. After creating some distance between himself and the Great Mother, he comes to an abrupt stop, kicking up a cloud of dust.

“Wh-what?!”

Elulu panics, unable to process what’s going on. I’m also confused, but it isn’t long before I figure out why Seiya grabbed Elulu and ran. I look over to the spot where she’d been standing a moment ago and see a huge engraving of the queen’s claws.

There is a glow of admiration in the Great Mother’s eyes.

“Oh? I was planning to gore her with my claws while pretending to attack you…but it seems you figured it out. Very impressive.”

Seiya was able to somehow sense she was going to attack Elulu! Hold up…

“‘Gore her’?! You mean kill her?! What happened to turning her into Igzasion?!”

Without missing a beat, she replies:

“Whether she dies before or after falling into the Abyss isn’t important. What is important is having the flesh and blood of the chosen one absorbed by the magic circle.”

“Y-you’re a monster!”

But Elulu is now tucked safely in Seiya’s arms. The Great Mother won’t be able to get to her that easily.

However…

“I told you. I have become very cautious in my old age.”

As she utters those ominous words—

“Mn… Ahhh!”

—Elulu moans in agony while clutching her chest.

“E-Elulu?!”

A black light begins emanating from the center of the necklace Elulu wears.

“Wh-what did you do to her?!”

“Heh-heh-heh… I activated the cursed item I had placed on her—the Death Sentence Necklace. Elulu’s life will come to an end once the black light completely encircles her neck. She has three minutes to live.”