We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
The stars that inherit our thoughts.
The core of the Demon King, like an evil sun, pulsed with expansion and contraction. Each time, the concentration of miasma increased, and the individual bodies of the roaring Demon King became more ominous.
The dragon horns growing from the skull of a bull gleamed crimson.
I instantly erected a barrier.
Innumerable thorny vines of crimson miasma were born from the evil sun and ran into the sea of miasma like lightning in a cloudy sky.
A grating thunderclap resounded.
The miasma whips struck the barrier I had spread.
“Kuu!”
In an instant, the barrier shattered.
I hurriedly activated Spatial Jump.
However, I couldn’t afford to retreat.
Instead of going backward, I flew to the back of the evil sun where the roaring Demon King’s individual bodies sprouted.
“From this side!”
I swung down my White Sword.
“Mu… da… da.”
“Wha!”
My White Sword, which I attempted to cleave the Demon King’s core in two once more, was blocked by the roaring Demon King’s individual body.
In an instant, a roaring Demon King’s individual body appeared behind the core and cackled.
With the great scythe in its hand, it caught my White Sword and unleashed a wave of miasma from the mouth of its skull.
I had no choice but to retreat.
Using Spatial Jump, I put distance between myself and the Demon King’s core.
As if to pursue, a swarm of the Demon King’s lesser bodies attacked.
I performed the Dragon Sword Dance.
Dodging with wide steps, I swung my White Sword and Spirit Tree Wooden Sword.
I disseminated Dragon Energy, scattering Spirit Tree leaves.
The Spirit Tree leaves, possessing purifying power, cut through the sea of miasma. I parried the attacks of the Demon King’s lesser swarm with my Spirit Tree Wooden Sword and slashed them with my White Sword.
I mustn’t panic!
This isn’t a situation to panic yet.
Ruiseine is fighting hard. Madrine has bought us time. Everyone else is fighting desperately.
The Demon King’s core is very close.
It doesn’t mean I’ve run out of options just because my first strike didn’t work.
For now, I just need to steadily do what I can.
I repelled the swarm of the Demon King’s lesser bodies.
I focused my consciousness, increasing the precision of my Dragon Sword Dance.
However, as if to mock me, a roaring Demon King’s individual body let out a grating voice.
“Mu… da. …Mu… da. Ki… sa… ma, de… wa, wa… re… ra… wo ta… o… se… nai.”
“You all? Us?”
I felt a sense of incongruity.
A way of speaking that referred to multiple people.
Currently, I am the only one approaching the Demon King’s core and fighting its roaring individual bodies. Yet, words that seemed to imply it was aware of multiple individuals caused me to question.
“S-So that’s it!”
I was able to see the other battles continuing elsewhere, thanks to Wender’s divine art. Similarly, the Demon King was aware of the fierce battle unfolding in the Wyvern Hunting Ground.
Was it using the demon with the alligator turtle’s head to blind its vision? Or was it surveying everything with its own immeasurably large body?
Either way, the Demon King, like us, was a single entity perceiving the whole, and that’s why it spoke in plural.
And then, I saw.
I understood the meaning of the words the Demon King had uttered.
Mistral, flapping wings of a color close to silver-gold, soared through the sky.
Mistral ascended high into the sky and, releasing the Dragon Jewel, unleashed a burst of Dragon Energy.
Vast Dragon Energy erupted dazzlingly from Mistral and scattered like stardust.
Mistral, scattering fragments of stars, descended with momentum.
On the ground, the demon with the alligator turtle’s head had finally merged all its individual bodies and become even larger.
Mistral, making its one-handed club gleam, charged at the giant demon with the alligator turtle’s head and delivered a blow with all its might.
A tremendous roar resounded.
Mistral’s overflowing Dragon Energy exploded, flickering like twinkling stars within the miasma mist.
The one-handed club that was swung down crushed the alligator turtle’s head. A violent shockwave was generated, and along with the flickering starlight, it blew away the mass of miasma forming the demon’s torso.
The alligator turtle’s head swayed.
But that was all.
Even Mistral’s full-power strike only managed to shatter a small part of the giant alligator turtle’s head.
The blow didn’t even penetrate internally.
The shockwave generated by the attack merely swept away the surface layer of the intensified miasma body.
I could see the stardust of Dragon Energy falling futilely to the ground.
The giant demon with the alligator turtle’s head, unfazed by Mistral’s attack, its eyes gleamed ominously.
Then, it swung its ape-like arms and attacked Mistral, who was off-balance after unleashing a powerful technique.
Mistral managed to flap its wings and escape into the sky.
The ape-like arms that missed Mistral grasped at empty air. Then, Mistral launched another surprise attack.
“Haaaaaah!”
Infusing her spirit into it, she swung her jet-black one-handed club.
Compared to the demon with the maximally enlarged alligator turtle’s head, Mistral was a very small being.
However, the ape-like arm, struck by Mistral’s small attack, was repelled by a violent force.
The demon screamed.
The eerie eyes covering its mouth glared hatefully at Mistral.
But Mistral, seemingly unconcerned by the glare of the giant demon with the alligator turtle’s head, ascended into the sky again. This time, she unleashed the power of the Dragon Jewel explosively and descended like a shooting star, leaving a tail behind.
Scattering stardust, Mistral delivered a blow with all her might to the alligator turtle’s head!
The head shattered, and the demon screamed.
Shockwaves raged, stardust flickered, and miasma scattered.
But again, that was all.
No matter how powerful a blow Mistral delivered, it only damaged a part of the giant alligator turtle’s head. It couldn’t even clear away the miasma forming its torso.
Conversely, the giant demon with the alligator turtle’s head used its durable body to draw Mistral in and attacked with its ape-like arms. Moreover, while Mistral was distracted by the ape-like arms, it regenerated the parts of its head and torso that had been injured.
“Guga, Gi… yi, Ga… ka, kaaAga… aahA-aah…”
The scarlet Demon King’s individual body, born from the evil sun, laughed gratingly.
The Demon King’s individual body was also watching the fight between Mistral and the giant demon with the alligator turtle’s head.
And it was taunting us, mocking that no matter how hard Mistral and the others fought together, they couldn’t defeat them.
“…But, I wonder?”
As I danced the Dragon Sword Dance while watching Mistral’s fight, I repelled the Demon King’s lesser swarm and showed a defiant smile.
“Mistral is a woman who holds the highest title among the Dragon Race. Furthermore, in terms of individual power, she is far stronger than someone like me.”
If we compare by individual strength alone, I am not even worthy of Mistral’s shoes.
Dragon Princess is a title that surpasses Dragon King and is the highest title held only by Mistral among the Dragon Race.
And that Dragon Princess Mistral cannot defeat such a demon?
“You all better understand. The depth of our potential, and Mistral’s unreserved true power!”
I know. My family and I knew.
We knew that Mistral had been continuously striving.
Behind the great responsibility of tending to Old Sleigsta, Mistral had been training alone in the Moss Garden.
Mistral does not show her efforts to others.
She secretly works hard at cooking and training, and then one day, she suddenly unveils achievements that surprise everyone.
That Mistral has been training alone all this time.
After all. I, who pride myself on having grown rapidly in the past few years, am still unable to match Mistral, which is beyond mere surprise; I think it’s amazing.
It’s not my intention to brag, but I have trained and fought more than anyone else. To the extent that I wouldn’t lose even to the Hero Lisuter.
Yet, I cannot defeat Mistral. I cannot catch up.
Why?
The answer is very simple.
Just as I continued to strive and grow, Mistral has also overcome constant effort and continued to be a woman worthy of the title of Dragon Princess.
And that Mistral cannot defeat an intermediate-level demon?
Is that truly an accurate assessment?
I can declare with certainty that it is not!
And Zan said, didn’t he?
Mistral could unleash attacks capable of annihilating evil races, time and time again.
While I might concede for the Demon King, I don’t believe an intermediate-level demon is stronger than an evil race.
Therefore, the demon is no match for Mistral.
“Dragon Princess Mistral. Witness her true essence!”
Mistral, who had been repeatedly descending and delivering fierce blows to the giant demon with the alligator turtle’s head while scattering stardust, suddenly stopped moving in the sky.
Gently flapping her silver-like golden wings, Mistral caught her breath.
The power of the Dragon Jewel she had been unleashing was no longer leaking out.
The giant demon with the alligator turtle’s head, looking up at Mistral, who had stopped attacking and calmed her Dragon Energy, from the ground.
Its slimy, glowing eyes flickered triumphantly.
No matter how fierce the attacks, it would not be defeated. The giant demon with the alligator turtle’s head must have been convinced of this.
Having merged with all its clones, it was now a being second only to the Demon King in size, and Mistral was a small entity. The small entity’s small blows were insignificant.
If it endured, the small entity would soon run out of strength.
Indeed, Mistral, who had retreated to the sky, was no longer unleashing power, as if exhausted.
That’s what the demon with the alligator turtle’s head must have been thinking.
But that is a grave mistake!
Mistral, quietly flapping her wings in the sky.
It is true that she is not releasing Dragon Energy as she had before.
But that does not mean Mistral has used up her strength.
Rather, it is the opposite.
Mistral’s true power lies beyond the elimination of wasted energy.
“…Do you know?”
Mistral’s voice rained down from the sky.
“In human beliefs, the goddess of creation is often likened to the moon, and the beings living in this world are likened to stars.”
The giant demon with the alligator turtle’s head looked up at Mistral far above.
“I learned something from Ruiseine. Among the sorceries used by the priestesses who worship the goddess of creation, those who preside over protection and healing often bear the title of the moon. And those that preside over attacks often bear the title of the stars.”
Mistral spoke quietly. Her eyes blazed a brilliant azure.
Mistral raised her jet-black one-handed club towards the sky.
The miasma cloud that had thinly spread across the entire Wyvern Hunting Ground instantly vanished.
In the clear blue sky where the miasma had cleared, twinkling stars could be seen.
“My Dragon Jewel is the crystallization of the Meteor Dragon’s will. Now is the time to show his great dragon power.”
The stars in the sky moved in unison.
All the stars fell from the heavens to the earth, drawing spirals.
The convergence point of the stars was Mistral’s raised jet-black one-handed club!
“Haaaaaaah!!”
Mistral, accompanied by the spiraling meteor shower, descended like a shooting star herself.
Her target was the giant demon with the alligator turtle’s head.
As the meteor shower fell, the demon with the alligator turtle’s head screamed.
The starlight, so beautiful it was incongruous with the battlefield, shone intensely on the ground.
There was no ear-splitting roar, no world-shattering shockwave.
Mistral reproduced the quiet whisper of the stars twinkling in the night sky on the ground.
Those who had been watching the fierce battle between Mistral and the giant demon with the alligator turtle’s head held their breath at the breathtakingly beautiful sight.
And they witnessed.
With each twinkling of a star, the monster with the alligator turtle’s head was being erased from existence.
Quietly. Silently. Enveloped by the starlight, the demon with the alligator turtle’s head vanished without a dying cry.
“…Fuu, still not enough. I’m using too much power and time for the preparations to activate the technique.”
Mistral, who had annihilated the giant demon with the alligator turtle’s head, gave a wry smile amidst the twinkling stars on the ground.
“Wha—Eh! That’s still not enough!?”
I almost fell over in surprise!
Apparently, the stardust Mistral had been scattering with each dive was a preparation for her final great technique.
She attracts the enemy’s attention with a full-power blow, while scattering fragments of stars and stardust into the sky as a residual effect.
Then, when the time is right, she unleashes it all on the enemy along with the star fragments. That was the great technique Mistral showed. But Mistral herself did not seem satisfied with the completeness of the technique.
How terrifying…
The Demon King, perhaps stunned by Mistral’s ultimate technique, paused for a moment.
I wouldn’t miss that brief opening!
Activating Spatial Jump, I flew close to the evil sun and swung my White Sword.
“Guga, a, gaa…aa…aa…”
But once again, my slash was meaningless.
My White Sword had indeed cleaved the Demon King’s core, but it felt like nothing.
“…As I thought.”
I gained certainty.
“Just attacking with my individual power isn’t enough to have the potency to destroy the Demon King’s core!”
The scarlet roaring Demon King’s individual body unleashed a slashing attack at me as I cried out bitterly.
As I set myself to parry with my Spirit Tree Wooden Sword, the Demon King’s lesser swarm descended upon me from behind.
Evading the pincer attack, I activated Spatial Jump.
Distance opened up once more between me and the Demon King’s core.
The Demon King cackled as it watched me retreat disgracefully, despite having approached its core numerous times.
“Mi… ko… wo. A… no… ka… ta… ga… ta… ni. …Ki… sa… ma… ra… ha, ja… ma… da. A, Aaa-aa… aa… AAAaaAAAaa!”
Now that the demon with the alligator turtle’s head was gone. Nevertheless, the Demon King was confident of its victory and sought to summon the descended girl.
It didn’t even consider me, standing before it, as anything more than an obstacle.
The Demon King let out a war cry, as if to break even the great sorcery binding its immense body and the ancient dragon species dispelling the miasma filling the Wyvern Hunting Ground.
A potent curse surged as a wave from the pulsating Demon King’s core. Simultaneously, a crack appeared in the moon shadow, which should have been strengthened by the lunar eclipse formation.
“AAAAAA-aaahhh!”
Crack. Snap.
The layered great sorceries were on the verge of being broken.
“To think it was still hiding this much power!”
Where I gazed, the evil sun began to slowly ascend.
Was the Demon King’s immeasurably large body attempting to rise into the sky!?
If this continues, the Demon King will break free from its bindings and fully revive.
“But, didn’t I say it?”
Clearing away the relentlessly attacking swarm of the Demon King, I knelt on one knee.
It was by no means surrender to the Demon King.
“Mistral is stronger than someone like me individually. But. To put it another way, with the power of the whole, I am not inferior even to Mistral!”
Saying this, I placed my hand on the ground.
“And, there was something else I forgot to mention. I still have a trump card.”
In preparation for the Demon King’s attack, I had gathered all possible combat power at the Wyvern Hunting Ground.
As a contingency, I had asked Ruiseine to undertake an important role.
Beyond those preparations, I still had a trump card I hadn’t revealed.
“I will absolutely not let the Demon King escape!”
I shouted. So that my voice might reach beyond the sky and over Dragon Peak.
“Great Summoning! Teruru-chan!!”
“One soul that looks like it’ll get food poisoning!”
In response to my voice, the sky split open.
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