We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
Between heaven and earth.
It blew away the clouds, scattered the dragons circling in the sky, and descended.
At first, I thought it was a giant, pale pink mass. It was so, so large, its mass pressing down on us, making the sky dragons look like tiny creatures.
Mistral and I could only stare with our mouths agape. High above, wyverns and Lyra, blown away by the gale force of the massive object, screamed.
And at the bottom of the large, gouged-out crater, the multi-headed Rotten Dragon, unable to escape, let out multiple roars, while Goldoba looked up at the sky above, frozen.
It was falling from heaven at high speed, but it was so enormous that it only seemed to be falling slowly. However, as it passed between the clouds and the ground, trailing a long, pale pink tail, it seared itself into our vision for a brief moment.
“DOOOOON!!”
And it fell into the crater, uttering words I vaguely recognized from somewhere.
Its full form was clearly visible for just an instant.
Although it only took a few blinks of an eye for it to fall into the crater after Mistral noticed the disturbance high in the sky and promptly evacuated me, it felt like an eternity.
At first, I thought it was pale pink. But looking back at it, seared into my memory, I realized that the tips of its beautiful, shimmering silvery fur, reflecting the late summer sun, had turned pink.
Then, I understood that it had folded its massive wings and was pulling its tail, more than twice its body length, upwards with the inertia of the fall.
Just before it hit the crater with a deafening roar, vibration, and an enormous cloud of dust. I felt as if it and I had met eyes.
“Asher, what are you doingggggg!!!”
My scream was drowned out by the roar of the collapsing royal castle.
Unable to stand due to the violent vibrations caused by the impact of the massive object, I fell onto my backside. The blast wave, along with a torrent of dust, surged forward, obscuring my vision.
If Mistral hadn’t quickly erected a barrier, we would have been blown away like twigs, just like the wyverns.
And then, with unprecedented vibrations and blast waves, the royal castle collapsed.
Dust swirled around. Beyond it, I felt the presence of the disintegrating royal castle and my face turned pale.
What happened to the people who remained in the royal castle? Queen Nimiria and Fiorina and Rim were in the King’s bedroom, so they should be safe at least. But what about the others? Despite being turned into a labyrinth, there were so many people there. They couldn’t possibly survive being crushed under the collapsed buildings…
“There’s no need to worry. I have protected everyone.”
As if reading my thoughts, a familiar voice echoed from beyond the dust.
The dust that had been swirling around was instantly cleared by Asher’s dragon arts.
“Lord Asher…”
Mistral’s eyes were dead. I had never seen Mistral like this!
But that was only natural.
As the dust cleared and our vision improved, we saw the ruined remains of the royal castle spread out before us.
“Aaaah…”
I was speechless.
How did this happen!?
Why did Asher fall from the sky!?
I tried to sort out my chaotic, unorganized thoughts, but the sheer magnitude of the event made it impossible to think straight.
What should I do, what should I do!?
So many sacrifices and such immense damage have been caused. But is this my fault?
“Hmm. If I were to say whose fault it is, it might be Elnea’s fault.”
At that moment, Asher poked his head out from the bottom of the now even wider crater.
He was smaller than Old Man Sleigsta, who was the size of a small mountain, but still far larger than any ordinary dragon. The crater was so deep and wide that Asher could only show his head.
And in the center of that crater, Asher, having crushed the multi-headed Rotten Dragon and Goldoba, turned to us with a composed expression.
His long ears stood erect, and the two horns on his forehead intertwined to form a single, majestic horn. His beautiful twin eyes glittered, as if dominating the surroundings.
His entrance was arrogant, but no one could defy Asher. He displayed overwhelming power and presence, revealing himself before us.
“I’ll say it again: the surrounding humans are under my protection. Try to be a little calmer and look around.”
In this situation, calmly… it seemed impossible. But as I thought that, I looked around again.
And there, on top of the rubble, many people stood, enveloped in a curtain of light. However, they were all dazed by the unimaginably horrific sight spread before them.
“I was flying to see my beloved daughter for the first time in a year, and for some reason, I sensed her dragon energy here. I was observing from high above and it seemed like she was having trouble, so I came.”
“Came,” she says so casually, but falling without even flapping her wings is absurd!
“Fufufu. That little girl over there told me something interesting.”
She indicated with her gaze the group who had been in the bedroom, enveloped in the same curtain of light as the others. Among them, Fiorina was joyfully spreading her wings, looking very happy.
The culprit is Fiorina!
“Waaah, my older sister’s mother is amazing with this kind of power!”
No, she’s too amazing…
“I saw an interesting spread of dragon energy. Was that you?”
Asher asked me, seemingly unconcerned about the surrounding situation. I was the one who wanted to ask questions, but I had no choice but to answer.
“Yes. I was trying to steal the Rotten Dragon’s power with my dragon arts and drive away the undead army.”
“Hmm, you’ve grown a lot in a year.”
Asher narrowed his eyes and looked at me with interest.
“A human worthy of entrusting my beloved daughter to. A mysterious boy, Elnea. However, your attempt wasn’t going well.”
“Yes. Actually, the dragon vein was replenishing my dragon energy infinitely. Also, since there were undead demons, I figured they would just revive even if I defeated the Rotten Dragon first…”
“I see. This, then.”
Hearing my words, Asher moved.
On his massive palm, which he moved slowly, Goldoba was restrained.
“Guhhhh, who are you! Who do you think I am!”
Apparently, Asher had restrained Goldoba immediately after his fall. He had said he was watching from the sky, and for someone like Asher, he must have understood the situation without needing my explanation.
However, if she was asking for help, just knowing wouldn’t be enough.
“Lord Asher. That demon is connected to its main body in the homeland through the dragon vein, so it’s a troublesome creature that revives infinitely. To defeat it, we need to destroy the dragon vein itself.”
Asher nodded at Mistral’s explanation.
That was all.
“Kuh… Impossible!?”
Goldoba’s jaw dropped, literally, and in an instant, he turned to ash.
“Eh…?”
Goldoba, who Mistral had struggled so hard to defeat, never revived again, and the ashes spilled from Asher’s palm.
“I turned him into ash, along with the magic power that had infiltrated the dragon vein. Now that weakling won’t be reviving around here anymore.”
Dismissing a high-ranking demon as weak. As expected, Asher is an unfathomable being.
“So. One problem is solved, what about this remaining Rotten Dragon? I could destroy it as thanks for watching my daughter for a year, if you’d like?”
“Um, about how much of this area would be turned to ash if you did that?”
“Let’s see. The inhabited areas would likely be wiped out.”
“Rejected!!”
No way. I can’t allow any further expansion of damage!
I came to meet the King, but to have destroyed his country would be no laughing matter.
“Then what do you intend to do?”
I met Asher’s probing gaze directly and said.
“I will purify the Rotten Dragon.”
“Do you mean kill it?”
“No, I will purify it. I believe I can defeat the Rotten Dragon with the White Sword. However, I heard its sorrowful scream…”
“Truly. You still have such eccentric thoughts.”
Asher smiled, narrowing his eyes, and nodded in understanding.
However, there was one major problem with what I intended to do. The Rotten Dragon draws power infinitely from the dragon vein. Now that Goldoba is defeated, I don’t think it will revive, but it’s extremely difficult to steal the Rotten Dragon’s dragon energy and purify its corruption before that happens.
“Then, why don’t we wither the surrounding dragon veins?”
“Huh?”
I think that’s an even more eccentric idea than mine.
“To destroy even a part of the dragon vein, you would need power equivalent to Mistral’s full strength. But if you did that, this area would be blown away anyway.”
So this is why Mistral couldn’t finish off Goldoba even though she realized how to defeat him.
“Even though it’s a high-ranking demon that revives infinitely, the magic power of its main body in the homeland isn’t infinite. So, if we continue to attack it and deplete the magic hidden in the dragon vein, I thought it would eventually run out of magic. But it’s quite tenacious.”
Mistral gave a wry smile beside me.
“The demons and the Rotten Dragon are the same. If you cut off their source of power, they will eventually be exhausted. For us dragon-kind, the way to defeat a Rotten Dragon is to persistently inflict damage that it cannot easily recover from. Or, to blow away the surroundings along with the dragon vein. The former would take an incredibly long time, and the latter would require a scale of damage as you know. But you intend to take a different approach, don’t you?”
“Yes. But how do I wither the dragon veins?”
“What are you talking about? Do what you were doing earlier. However, on a larger scale.”
“On a larger scale…”
Firstly, do dragon veins wither?
I feel strange about the idea of destroying them.
Dragon veins are said to be the flow of life of the earth. Is it okay to destroy or wither them?
“We, like you, would bleed if injured. But it would stop soon. Even a scratch wouldn’t cause the injured part to necrotize, and we wouldn’t even care about such a minor injury. It’s the same with that.”
“So, even if the dragon veins in this area were slightly damaged or withered, it would only be a minor problem for the earth and the dragon veins, and they would recover quickly?”
“That’s right.”
I see. In that case, I just need to concentrate on the Rotten Dragon with all my might.
“Then, Asher, would you help me a little?”
“It can’t be helped. A favor from someone I owe. Come on, get on my back.”
Asher seemed to understand what I intended to do without me saying anything.
Prompted by Asher, Mistral and I boarded Asher’s back using Spatial Jump.
Looking down, Asher was straddling the multi-headed Rotten Dragon, immobilizing it.
The Rotten Dragon’s body, which corroded everything it touched, and the rotten earth at the bottom of the crater, were meaningless to Asher. Asher, whose beautiful, long fur did not show any corruption.
He was protecting himself with complete divine protection, just like us.
With Mistral and me on his back, Asher gracefully soared into the sky.
On the ground, many people in a daze, and earth dragons that hadn’t been blown away, watched us. And high above, the wyverns that had been blown away watched with awe from a distant location.
Only Lord Yugra approached the ascending Asher.
“Oh, Yugra, my boy.”
“Lord Asher, it has been a long time.”
Asher’s massive body made even Lord Yugra look like a young dragon.
“Lord Elnea, Lord Mistral…”
“Lord Asher…”
On Lord Yugra’s back, Lyra’s eyes widened in shock, and Ruiseine’s face twitched.
Come to think of it, Lyra doesn’t know Asher. Although the size is different, her appearance is so similar to Nimiria’s, so she should have some idea of who he is.
“Um, how should I explain this…”
I could only twitch my face.
“Let’s see. You will be permitted to observe from up close. You seem to have been quite active.”
Asher, who was acquainted with Lord Yugra, was followed by the Tyrant, who was also flying bravely.
Yes. You are determined not to lose!
Asher ascended to a point where he could see the entire capital, and hovered there. Lord Yugra and the Tyrant circled around Asher’s massive body.
“I’ll explain to Lyra and the others later. Well then, here I go!”
I gathered my resolve on Asher’s back, and readied the White Sword and the Spirit Tree Wooden Sword.
And once more, this time on Asher’s back, I began to dance the Dragon Sword Dance.
If I am too far from the ground, I cannot sense the dragon vein. The evil presence of the Rotten Dragon and its dragon energy are also drowned out by Asher’s overwhelming presence beneath me.
Concentrate.
I tell myself.
Concentrate and feel the world.
Until now, I had felt the dragon vein and the world through meditation.
However, there is no dragon vein in the sky. Instead, the storm of dragon energy I summoned still faintly remained.
I can feel the world through the storm of dragon energy. If so, I should be able to feel the dragon vein through it as well.
My deeply sunken consciousness rode the vortex of the storm and descended upon the earth’s surface.
I felt the presence of many people looking up at the giant dragon in the sky. Not just the royal castle, but the entire capital.
My consciousness, which reached the surface, sank further into the earth. And at the deepest point of my consciousness, I felt the dragon vein flowing through this land.
Now, this is where the real work begins.
I will make the dragon vein I felt surge. Not naturally with the Dragon Sword Dance, but with my will, I will make the dragon vein surge at my discretion. And at the same time, I will draw up the evil and corrupted dragon energy of the Rotten Dragon that I feel directly below.
The power of the dragon vein rode the storm, creating a violent vortex. The vortex of the storm enveloped the royal castle grounds, and the capital. Then, it spread out to the world as far as the eye could see.
Meanwhile, the Rotten Dragon’s dragon energy, once absorbed by the Spirit Tree Wooden Sword, was converted into pure dragon energy and dissolved into the storm.
“Ooh, the power…”
“The suffering is disappearing…”
“Are you trying to save us, who have fallen into the Rotten Dragon…”
At the bottom of the crater, the multi-headed Rotten Dragon seemed to shed tears, looking up at the sky.
Even though it was evil, it was a proud dragon that sought a noble death. It was an evil being that was controlled by demons and brought great damage to this land, but if there was a way to save it, I wanted to save it.
I danced the Dragon Sword Dance in the sky, leading it to its death, so that the multi-headed Rotten Dragon would suffer as little as possible and not be harmed.
I continued to dance wholeheartedly, gradually withering the surrounding dragon veins. And I stole the Rotten Dragon’s dragon energy, weakening its regenerative power. The raging storm of life force purified the evil Rotten Dragon.
I continued to dance. Then, I sensed a dragon energy as clear as the night sky, undisturbed by the storm I had created.
It was Mistral’s dragon energy. In contrast to my fierce dragon energy, it was a tranquil yet profoundly strong and beautiful dragon energy.
Somehow, I felt I could also manipulate Mistral’s dragon energy.
I called forth Mistral’s dragon energy.
I felt Mistral’s expression turn to surprise nearby. But I was too focused on the Dragon Sword Dance to really understand.
Mistral’s dragon energy merged with my raging dragon energy storm. Then, my and Mistral’s dragon energy mixed and fell upon the world like raindrops.
It was strange. The fiercely swirling dragon energy storm agitated not only the sky but also the ground. Yet, the gentle, clear droplets fell softly from the heavens, unaffected by the storm.
And the multi-headed Rotten Dragon, with its evil dragon energy sucked away and struck by the erupting dragon veins all around, purified of its corruption and bathed in the clear droplets all over its body, lowered its six heads to the ground in silence.
“Thank you…”
To me, who brought about its death, the multi-headed Rotten Dragon inexplicably thanked me and closed all its eyes.
“Goodnight.”
As I danced, I murmured.
I don’t know if my murmur reached it, but the multi-headed Rotten Dragon seemed to smile with satisfaction. And, as I had seen once before, the multi-headed Rotten Dragon vanished without leaving a corpse.
Unlike its arrival, I decided to continue dancing a little longer, as if offering it to the silently vanished multi-headed dragon.
There must have been many people who lost their lives in this disturbance.
As a person who is not a shrine maiden or a priest, I felt that all I could do was continue my dance, purifying the sorrow and suffering of all the deceased.
The storm atoned for sins, and the falling droplets washed away sorrow and suffering.
On that day, on Asher’s back, I danced until sunset.
