We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
Hidden in the miasma’s darkness,
“Revalia, will you let me down to the ground?”
Riding Revalia, we could charge straight at the Demon King’s core with everyone. However, dispersing my family’s power among attack, defense, and diversion would significantly improve the battle situation. Everyone nodded at my suggestion.
“In that case, I suppose I’ll face the giant demon. Since the Ancient Dragon Species have joined the battle against the Demon King, that crocodilian demon has started moving again.”
“Yeah, I’ll leave that giant demon to Mistral!”
The malevolent miasma cloud that fell to the surface along with the Demon King’s main body remained as an eerie black fog. Beyond that miasma fog, I sensed the presence of a giant demon, different from the Demon King. The giant demon’s presence was slowly, but surely, approaching the fortress’s center while moving.
Mistral took off with his own wings before Revalia could descend. He then set his course towards the giant presence writhing beyond the black miasma.
“Or rather, the miasma fog that spread across the ground has made visibility poor!”
Mistral, who had taken flight, immediately disappeared from sight. The harmfulness of the miasma itself had been diluted by the grand magic and the Dragon Arts of the Ancient Dragon Species. However, the miasma near the Demon King’s main body was still dense, and visibility was poor.
“It would feel good if it were white like clouds.”
“It would feel refreshing if it were white like clouds.”
“A black fog is eerie.”
Where exactly were they? It was unclear in the black fog of miasma with poor visibility. Nevertheless, Revalia continued to descend.
“I’ll aim for the Demon King’s core from the ground!”
Even with dragon energy in my eyes, I couldn’t see through the darkness created by the miasma. However, I strongly felt the Demon King’s overwhelming presence, and if I concentrated, I could sense the presence of the malevolent Demon King’s core.
“Then, I will ride Revalia-sama and attack together with the dragons.”
“I am enough by myself.”
“Hahahaha! Revalia-sama, please don’t say that. By fighting together with everyone, Revalia-sama’s magnificent power can be shown even more strongly.”
“Tch. I will humor your intentions.”
Just as expected of Laira. She’s good at capturing Revalia’s heart!
“Then, I will also ride Revalia and participate in the attack.”
“Then, I will also ride Revalia and participate in the diversion.”
“Hey, you two get off!”
Revalia let out a dissatisfied roar. But Yufilia and Nina were not ones to obey easily.
“I can’t let only Sefina have all the fun.”
“Now that Sefina has used her ultimate technique, my sister and I will also use our trump cards.”
“I have a bad feeling about this!”
“I have a bad feeling!”
“I am only inconvenienced!”
Yufilia and Nina pouted in dissatisfaction at my, Laira’s, and Revalia’s outbursts. But, it couldn’t be helped. Because when these twin princesses are left to their own devices, they tend to go off on wild tangents that are beyond expectations. Just moments ago, I had witnessed an incredible Dragon Art called Dragon Summoning. It was only natural that we would feel uneasy about the two announcing even more ultimate techniques.
“It’s alright. I have properly obtained permission from Sleigsta-sama.”
“It’s alright. I will be careful not to involve Elnea-kun.”
“Mistral and everyone else, you must not get involved either, okay?!”
While reiterating my points to Yufilia and Nina, I leaped towards the ground I glimpsed beyond the miasma’s darkness. Revalia let out another roar after confirming I had jumped off and then ascended. In the blink of an eye, Revalia and the figures of my wives riding on her back disappeared from view.
In the distance, several explosions boomed. Each time, shockwaves spread across the Wyvern Hunting Ground, and the miasma fog trembled. Valiant war cries shook the air, and the sounds of clashing swords echoed. The battle continued near where I landed. It wasn’t just Revalia and my family; Sleigsta (Old Man) and everyone else were also fighting.
“Alright, let’s go!”
I drew my white sword and the Spirit Tree Wooden Sword. At that moment, a reliable supporter rushed over.
“Young boy who inherited the title of Dragon King despite being human. Let me see your abilities.”
“Leave the clearing the way to me.”
“Hmph, I want to see the power that made my brother impressed.”
The ones who rushed towards me were divine beings. Alex, and his best friend Wender. And Alex’s younger brother Alf, and younger sister Amira. Four divine beings lined up before me. And then, demons appeared as well. With sluggish movements, demons attacked from within the miasma fog.
“Annihilate the demons!”
However, as soon as Alf uttered powerful words, the demons’ movements completely stopped. Alf defeated them in an instant.
“Mere weaklings like these are no match for me or my brothers. You are the same, aren’t you?”
Alf doubted my abilities, as I haven’t truly fought yet. Alright, then, I unleashed my power. I activated Spatial Jump and instantly entered deep within the miasma fog! The miasma fog was filled with monsters and demons. Well, it was only natural. Even though the curse cast by the Giant Demon Lord was dispelled and their appearance decreased, the monsters and demons that had already overflowed had not disappeared. Therefore, monsters and demons still roamed everywhere I went. However, those evil beings were bound by the grand magic, and all monsters and demons had their movements dulled. I swung my white sword in a single flash. The slash imbued with dragon energy tore through two monsters at once. Clearing obstacles, I activated Spatial Jump again. Upon landing, I swung the Spirit Tree Wooden Sword. The Spirit Tree’s leaves danced wildly, shredding the surrounding demons into pieces.
“I’m not done yet!”
Furthermore, I activated Spatial Jump consecutively. I swung my sword and used martial arts at the places I landed. Even with Spatial Jump in between, my basic fighting style didn’t change. I gauged the distance to my opponents with smooth footwork and defeated monsters and demons with a combination of fast and slow movements. Within the black miasma fog, I danced the Dragon Sword Dance intricately, utilizing consecutive Spatial Jumps.
“Kuh. Even weaklings like us can keep up with this much!”
Perhaps they were following my presence, as Alf’s voice reached me from deep within the miasma fog. But in the poorly visible miasma fog, they couldn’t see my fight, could they? Were they alright? When I stopped for just a moment, Alex and Wender emerged from the fog first. Next followed Amira. And finally, Alf rushed forward. Uh… Arriving later than his youngest sister Amira, Alf, could it be? No, he was probably just in charge of covering the rear. Regardless, once I confirmed everyone was keeping up without delay, I prepared to activate Spatial Jump again. But, at that moment.
“Alex!”
Wender uttered a warning.
“Kuh. At a time like this.”
Alex frowned and prepared himself. Immediately after. Someone closed the distance to us in an instant from deep within the miasma fog. And then, the sound of clashing swords rang out! By a hair’s breadth, Alex’s unsheathed divine sword deflected the attacker’s slash.
“What!?”
Alf was astonished by the appearance of an unexpected opponent. Amira’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Are you not mistaking your enemy? I don’t think this is the time for playing around.”
Alex glared at the attacker with sharp eyes. However, the attacker, unfazed by the divine being’s glare, re-readied their weapon. The Wyvern Hunting Ground was affected by the grand magic, and evil beings were under a strong curse. Among them, who was able to move freely and launch a surprise attack on Alex? I stopped and looked at the attacker.
“…He was a subordinate of the Fairy Demon Lord Kusharilla, wasn’t he?”
It was a familiar figure. Two horns grew from his forehead, indicating his Ogre Race. A demon with a gentle demeanor but exuding killing intent from his entire body. Last year, to revive the broken Holy Sword, we traveled across demon countries and went to the Heavenly Mountain Range towering far to the west. At that time, the enemies who stood in our way were Kusharilla and her subordinate demons. The ogre who commanded those demons was precisely the one who had just surprised Alex. The Fairy Demon Lord Kusharilla’s trusted subordinate, Ogre General Balvria! I believe Alex dealt with him back then.
“I will have my revenge for last year.”
Ogre General Balvria exuded a breathtaking killing intent.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Don’t these demons understand the current situation!?”
Alf readied his divine sword. However, his brother Alex stopped him.
“I’m sorry, Elnea-dono. It seems this individual’s revenge against me is more important than anything else.”
Normally, those who act on their selfish desires or are selfish would be expelled from the Wyvern Hunting Ground. However, in this urgent situation, there wasn’t time to deal with each individual incident. And, Balvria must have come to surprise Alex now precisely because he understood our situation!
“Alex-san, please handle it. But, be gentle.”
“Understood.”
“You underestimate me.”
Balvria glared at me and Alex with eyes filled with killing intent. However, his attention remained fixed on Alex. Apparently, Balvria had suffered greatly at Alex’s hands during the Heavenly Mountain Range battle. But, I had a fleeting doubt. Didn’t Alex say that battle was an even match? Regardless, I didn’t have the luxury to stop Balvria from acting on his own accord right now. So, I’ll leave this to Alex. However, I want him to avoid a fight to the death. Because everyone gathered at the Wyvern Hunting Ground are comrades. I don’t want comrades fighting to the death! Furthermore, I looked into the depths of the miasma fog. Kusharilla should still be keeping the Demon King’s movements suppressed. Even that Fairy Demon Lord Kusharilla is participating in the battle against the Demon King. Under such circumstances, it’s hard to believe that only her subordinate Ogre General Balvria is rampaging out of revenge. Perhaps there is a deeper reason hidden between Alex and Balvria. Therefore, I absolutely do not want a fight to the death. Alex seemed to understand my intent and nodded trustingly.
“Well then, we will proceed!”
Saying that, I left Alex and Balvria behind and activated Spatial Jump. Wender, Alf, and Amira followed behind me. With a single Spatial Jump, Alex and Balvria disappeared into the depths of the miasma fog. However, the intense sword clashes and the aftermath of the battle were strongly felt from behind. Still, I entrusted the situation to Alex and pushed forward. With each activation of Spatial Jump, the miasma became more malevolent, and visibility worsened.
“This proves we are close to the Demon King’s main body. But, before that!”
I defeated the swarming monsters and demons with my Dragon Sword Dance. As the Demon King’s presence grew stronger, the density of monsters and demons, along with the surrounding miasma, also increased. Even so, I could push forward by utilizing consecutive Spatial Jumps, but…
“Damn it! You damn lowlifes are in the way!”
Alf’s curses could be heard as he chased after me. Wender, Alf, and Amira couldn’t just ignore the monsters and demons blocking their path and proceed. The only way to advance was to clear out the obstacles and move forward. Therefore, the more monsters and demons swarmed, the slower the divine beings’ progress became. I stopped again to assess the situation. Of course, I mercilessly kicked away the sluggishly moving monsters and demons. While dancing my Dragon Sword Dance, I waited for Wender and the other three to come into view.
“It seems we are hindering you, aren’t we?”
“No, not at all?”
The Demon King’s main body was close. If so, monsters and demons would continue to attack in increasing density. From here on, even I would likely see my advance slow down. Having Wender and the others there would help by dispersing the targets of the monsters and demons. However, waiting too long for Alf and the others was also a problem. The battle between the Demon King and us had already become a race against time. Would Ruiseine’s grand magic be broken and the Demon King regain its mobility and float up into the sky again first? Or, would we reach the Demon King’s core and defeat it first? If the Demon King were to float up again, we would have very few options left, and we might be defeated. Therefore, no matter what, we had to reach a conclusion while the grand magic was still effective! Wender also understood the situation. Alf and Amira also recognized that such an opportunity would not come again.
“Damn it. For us divine beings to be a hindrance to a human… Dragon King, don’t mind us and push forward. We will chase after you with all our might!”
Amira nodded in agreement with Alf’s decision. Wender, while mowing down encroaching demons, urged me to go ahead. But things wouldn’t go that smoothly. A chilling, bad feeling struck me, and I shouted.
“Everyone, get down!”
At my urgent voice, for some reason, everyone obediently prostrated themselves on the ground. A giant garment appeared, swaying the miasma fog as it grazed just above our heads!
“The Demon King’s Miasma Robe!”
“N-no way!? To think we didn’t notice it until it was overhead!”
Wender and Alf grumbled.
“I see. The miasma robe itself is a mass of miasma, so it’s indistinguishable from the surrounding miasma fog!”
The miasma robe passed silently and slowly overhead. Even Wender, a former God of War, winced. We were reminded anew of the danger of approaching the Demon King’s main body. Malevolent miasma fog shrouded the surroundings. Visibility was extremely poor, and despite being within the grand magic’s barrier, the impurity was also dense. However, I could still sense the presence of monsters and demons, and their movements were extremely sluggish. Therefore, even with poor visibility, I had been able to cope sufficiently. But, from here on, it was different. The Miasma Robe worn by the Demon King. A robe of the same nature as the surrounding miasma, it could not be detected until it was right upon us. No, that’s not right. I sensed it instinctively, but the three divine beings didn’t react at all.
“Perhaps, if we touch that robe, we won’t escape unscathed…”
As Wender said, if we were attacked by the miasma robe, we would undoubtedly be cursed and lose our lives. That’s how malevolent and terrifying the miasma robe worn by the Demon King was. However, after coming this far, retreat was impossible. So, what should we do? The answer came to us along with an unexpected war cry!
“Ooooraaaahhh!”
A deep voice echoed from the depths of the thick miasma. At the same time, the miasma surrounding us was cleared.
“Wh-what the!?”
Alf exclaimed in surprise, his eyes darting around. It was no wonder. The one who cleared away the miasma while letting out a deep voice and appearing before us was the beautiful-looking Airi!
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