We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
Those who confront each other.
In response to Revalia’s surprise attack, Gaf, an Ancient Dragon Species, reveals his presence before us. And with a roar, he raises his twin heads.
Revalia descends at full speed, without slowing down.
“Hahahaha! Lady Revalia, it’s dangerous!”
Lyra shouts.
Revalia lets out a fierce roar as if to counter Gaf, and unleashes scorching flames. The ground ruins turn into a fiery inferno.
From above, four figures, appearing no larger than grains of rice, scatter in all directions as if in a panic.
“Hmph. Did you think this amount of flame could burn me!”
“It’s not even enough to burn the insects off my scales, a lukewarm flame!”
Amidst the blazing flames, Gaf remained unfazed. Gaf flaps his wings as if to shake off the flames. As Gaf shows signs of taking flight at any moment, Revalia retorts, not to be outdone.
“The weak bark the most. That was just a greeting!”
Violently flapping four wings, large and small, Revalia sharply decelerates close to the ground. At that moment, we descend to the ground from Revalia’s back.
“I found you, Baltnowar!”
I draw my white sword and Spirit Tree Wooden Sword, and point the tip at Baltnowar, who seemed slightly taken aback by the surprise attack.
Revalia, after letting everyone off except Lyra, flaps her wings fiercely again and returns to the sky. At the same time, the twin-headed Gaf also takes flight. And the two dragon species begin to fight in the sky for air superiority.
“My, my. I feared what would happen when I learned Istericia was captured, and it has come to pass so quickly. Should I praise you as a peer?”
Baltnowar’s agitation lasted only for a moment. But he quickly regained his composure and returned to his usual nonchalant demeanor.
Not just Baltnowar. Baltnowar’s companions, who had scattered in all directions, also grasped the situation instantly and transitioned to a combat stance.
“Whoa, this is surprising. So that sister from before was the General’s favorite companion. What, do you want to continue from last time?”
When he confirmed Sefina’s presence, a man laughed cheerfully. This must be the high-ranking demon named Ryzen. I want to repay the debt to Sefina myself. But I’ll leave this to Sefina.
Clenching her fists lightly and crouching low, Sefina assumed a stance in silence, a stark contrast to Ryzen’s lighthearted banter.
“Sefina, I’ll leave him to you. Make sure you win!”
“Sefina, I’ll leave him to you. Show me your true abilities!”
It was Yufilia and Nina, who drew their Dragon Sacred Swords beside Sefina. In their sights stood a great man with familiar jet-black full armor and a magic sword, who stood with leisurely composure.
“It’s not the swordsman I saw before.”
“It’s not the swordsman I faced before.”
“…Oh? You mean you know his former owner?”
The swordsman reacted to Yufilia and Nina’s words.
“He was weak.”
“He was no match for us.”
It was the Twin Princesses who said something provocative. Then, the swordsman seemed interested in the two and reached for the long sword at his waist.
“Interesting. Though you are human, I shall measure your abilities well.”
And with a chilling killing intent, he released the magic sword “Sword of God Slaying” from its sheath.
The swordsman who raided the detached palace of the Yorttenitos Kingdom and took the Queen hostage was a formidable opponent. Despite Yufilia and Nina’s provocative words, none of us could defeat him even when fighting together. However, this swordsman is a fierce warrior who stole the jet-black full armor and Sword of God Slaying from that man. Yufilia and Nina understand this well. Therefore, even though they speak casually, they do not easily attack.
“Fufufu. Finally, the time has come to show my power.”
Then, Madrine joined them.
“It reminds me of the old days.”
“It reminds me of when we were young.”
“Savor the cooperation of three people!”
Madrine, standing half a step behind Yufilia and Nina, wore a daring smile unfitting for a Head Miko. Unlike the cleric with a dangerous aura, Ruiseine, holding her naginata, faced the dragon-man Ruga Dowan with his entire body relaxed and without any pretense.
“Are you underestimating me? Do you think a single human can do anything to me?”
“Oh my, oh my, do you have so little ability that you would mistake me for a mere human woman?”
“What!?”
Ruga, met with Ruiseine’s confident smile, frowned and became indignant.
“I’ll make you regret those words immediately!”
Ruga gripped his thick spear with enough force to crush it and swung it violently with a roar.
“Mist, is it alright? To assign only one Miko to a Dragon Race?”
“Ruiseine will be fine. She’s the strongest in the family after me.”
“Oh, even stronger than Elnea-kun?”
Elnea-kun can’t lay a hand on women, can he? Saying this and laughing is Charlotte, the only figure who didn’t flee from Revalia’s flames along with Gaf. Charlotte, without reaching for the whip at her waist, faces Mistral, who has transformed into a human-dragon.
Mistral is going all out from the start. He has released his dragon energy to the maximum and his eyes glow blue. Even so, Charlotte does not lose her composure in front of Mistral.
“My opponent is just Mist?”
“Oh, are you dissatisfied?”
“Ideally, I would recommend fighting with all family members, including the Tyrant.”
“Unfortunately, Elnea and the others are busy with other things.”
“That is regrettable. Then, Mist. Please satisfy me? Otherwise, I’ll just kill Elnea-kun.”
With that, Charlotte finally released her magic power. A terrifying aura emanates, and nine golden tails of magic power appear behind Charlotte. As the swaying magic tails hit the ruins, the rubble disappears without a trace.
“Mist, please don’t die easily?”
Charlotte narrows her eyes further, smiles, and unleashes the golden tails towards Mistral. That became the signal for everyone.
The Dragon Race, Ruga Dowan, smashes the floor. He charges at Ruiseine with a torrent of momentum and unleashes a super-speed spear thrust. However, Ruiseine deflects it with a relaxed movement, as if she had known Ruga’s actions from the start. Ruiseine, who has a Dragon Eye in her pupils, is the natural enemy of the Dragon Race!
Ryzen leaped with speed comparable to Ruga’s. With a vulgar smile, Ryzen reached out his hand. Sefina repels it with a flowing motion.
“Ugh, what the heck. Is his movement slightly different from before?”
Sefina deflects Ryzen’s fierce attack with a flowing movement that varies in tempo. Sefina’s strategy is to aim for a decisive blow by concentrating on defense. She seems to have developed her finishing move with Jiludo, and now she can fight against a high-ranking demon!
In stark contrast to Sefina, who adopts a defensive strategy, are the twin sisters, Yufilia and Nina. The twins, who have identical appearances, wield their pair of Dragon Sacred Swords with exquisite coordination. Furthermore, dragon arts are unleashed by the mere shockwave of the Dragon Sacred Swords, which are fully charged with dragon energy. The swordsman was surprised by Yufilia and Nina’s perfect coordination at the start of the battle. He was pushed into a defensive stance by that opening. However, the swordsman curls one side of his mouth under his helmet and grins. And then, he changes his movements. He ignores the dragon arts unleashed as a shockwave. The dragon arts, shaped like dragon fangs, attack the swordsman, who makes no attempt to defend. However, the dragon fangs are easily repelled by his jet-black full armor! The swordsman deflects Yufilia’s slash with his magic sword. And at the same time, he catches Nina’s sword strike from behind, unbelievably, with the back of his hand.
“Is that all!”
With that, the swordsman swiftly swings his magic sword with killing intent, aiming for Yufilia’s throat. But that didn’t happen! The swordsman’s movements unnaturally stop. Madrine had sealed the swordsman’s movements with binding sorcery. Dragon Sacred Swords approach from two directions, and a naginata attacks from another! Faced with simultaneous attacks from three directions, the swordsman clicks his tongue faintly.
“Elnea-kun, is it alright to be looking away?”
“Gah!?”
Before I knew it, Baltnowar had leaped into my range. I swing my Spirit Tree Wooden Sword and deflect Baltnowar’s blow. With a flowing motion, I unleash my white sword. Baltnowar avoids an exchange of slashes and distances himself from me.
“Well, I never expected things to turn out this way. Is this according to Elnea-kun’s plan?”
“That’s our line. Is the current situation according to your plan?”
The country that Kusharilla ruled is in chaos due to Baltnowar and his companions. The demons who aimed for the Demon Lord Seat have been defeated one after another. Even those who, escaping the conflicts among demons, patiently remained living in this country have been ravaged by the Red Cloth Bandits. Not only that. Villains responding to Baltnowar’s movements are rampant everywhere, creating a terrible scene. The landscape of the country I saw on the way here riding Revalia was all so grim, I wanted to turn my eyes away. And yet. The purpose that Baltnowar, the instigator of this chaos, aims for remains completely unclear.
“You said you would change the world of demons, didn’t you? You led this disturbance to draw out the true ruler of the demons. And you also said that if the ruler didn’t appear, you would produce a Demon Lord yourselves. And yet…”
The swordsman who defeated the demons aiming for the Demon Lord’s Seat has no aura of aspiring to be a Demon Lord. He’s just a battle-maniac who wants to cross swords with strong opponents. As for Ryzen, he just rampages as the leader of the Red Cloth Bandits, with no apparent grand cause or objective. Even during battle, he hurls vulgar words at Sefina. That demon is simply a hedonist.
“In the end, you even brought Ancient Dragon Species, who have nothing to do with demons, to your side, and you made innocent Dragon Race members your companions. Your words and actions lack consistency or unity! What exactly are you trying to do!”
To my question, Baltnowar only smiles from behind his unkempt black beard.
“What you are doing is only ruining the society of demons and making people unhappy. I will never allow it!”
Like us, Baltnowar was granted immortal life by a transcendent being. We, who are no longer bound by lifespan, are not necessarily obligated to enforce justice for the world. We can live freely and as we please. But, I think. “Freedom” and “doing whatever you want” are completely different things. I believe it is permissible to live as you please in a land you like. However, it is not acceptable for that land, country, or its neighbors to be inconvenienced, or for established rules and laws to be broken. Moreover, to casually take the lives of others, or incite them to do so, as a result of “freedom,” I can never accept it. Therefore, I fight! “Whether you are a senior or not, we will stop your rampage!” To my declaration of war, Baltnowar inexplicably offers a gentle smile. “Ah, that’s good. You live as you see fit. I’ve lived that way until now. …But, I’m tired of it.” Before I can ask what he means, Baltnowar’s gentle smile disappears, his eyes sparkle sharply, and he suddenly steps into my range! You can easily express your support by clicking the heart. (Login required.)
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