We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
Signal of counterattack
“Nina, let’s go!”
“Yufi, let’s go!”
“Sisters, wait a moment!”
Yufilia and Nina clasped their hands together strongly. Then, their younger sister, Sefina, cut in.
“It’s impossible to use close combat against those monsters this time. So, please let me join you sisters.”
The monsters with black rock skin contain scorching lava within their bodies. If they were to be approached and cut or crushed, the lava-like bodily fluids would splatter. Therefore, Sefina, whose fighting style is primarily close combat, is at a disadvantage against them.
So, it seems she’s joining her two older sisters.
“Sisters, unleash your full dragon arts. Then I’ll control their directionality!”
“My, my. How audacious for a mere younger sister,” scoffed Yufilia.
“Indeed. How presumptuous for a younger sister,” added Nina.
Despite their words, Yufilia and Nina welcomed Sefina.
Then, as the three joined hands, they began preparing their merciless dragon arts.
“Yufi and”
“Nina and”
“Se-Sefina’s”
“““Dragon Lance Frenzy!!”””
This is the true power of the twin princesses!
Countless dragon lances were scattered mercilessly.
Furthermore, this time Sefina skillfully manipulated the dragon lances scattered in all directions.
Dragon lances that were about to fly in the direction where there were no monsters suddenly changed their trajectories. And then, all of them rained down upon the horde of monsters! The dragon lance frenzy exploded with great fanfare, obliterating the monsters along with the surrounding buildings.
“Make sure not to hit the Divine Race, okay?”
“That depends entirely on the Divine Race, doesn’t it?”
The rain of dragon lances also rained down on the horde of monsters being repelled by the Divine Race, demonstrating power comparable to divine arts. A few of the Divine Race members looked back, their faces contorted in surprise as they saw the three sisters unleashing their dragon lance arts in unison.
“Ah, ahhh! Stop it! Don’t destroy the city and the ruins any further!”
And it wasn’t just the Divine Race who were stunned by the power of the three sisters’ dragon arts.
Slustal and Seol of the Winged Tribe were also dumbfounded by the power of the abilities unleashed by the three women, whom they had underestimated as mere humans. However, Slustal reacted differently from the others. More flustered by the destruction of the underground city by the arts than by the encroaching threat of the monsters or the terrifying presence of the Primogenitor Race giant, Slustal was losing composure. But with their own lives on the line, there was no room for holding back. Yufilia, Nina, and Sefina repeatedly unleashed the dragon lance frenzy, annihilating the monsters. And each time, seeing the stone cityscape being destroyed, only Slustal wore an expression of despair for some reason.
What could this mean?
Ever since earlier, Slustal’s behavior had felt off. I started to question his statement to Seol that “you’ll be safe if you stay with me.” Moreover, despite saying that, he himself was flustered when he was targeted by monsters or attacked mercilessly by the giant. And now, worrying about the underground city ruins more than his own life was strangely abnormal. Really, what does Slustal know, and what is he hiding? Perhaps, if we are to escape this pinch safely, we need to understand the truth surrounding the underground city ruins.
As I carefully observed Slustal’s unusual behavior, the surroundings were temporarily illuminated by the intense explosions of the dragon lances. But darkness soon regained its strength, attempting to plunge the underground space into blackness. The effect of Esneed’s divine art of light was now nearing its end. Although the Divine Race were also creating their own light to fight the monsters, the light intensity was insufficient to see ahead. Perhaps because of this, the monsters emerging from the depths of the darkness seemed to be endlessly spawning, eroding my spirit with a sense of despair that they might be filling the entire underground city ruins. In fact, although the battle had only just begun, more than half of the Divine Race were breathing heavily, their fatigue mounting.
Are Luyseine and Madrine’s magic spells ready yet?! All eyes of the family turned to the two of them.
“Thank you for waiting. Now, I will bring down the guiding full moon into this underground space.” Just as Luyseine declared. A full moon suddenly appeared high above in the vast underground space, near the ceiling.
To be precise, it was probably a magic illusion that resembled a full moon. It was a high-level spell, and even for Luyseine and Madrine, the incantation was long. But its effect was overwhelming. The entire vast underground space was filled with the light of the full moon. It wasn’t as bright as daylight, like Esneed’s divine art, but it illuminated everything with a gentle light, like a full moon night.
“The magic spell ‘Moonlight’ is originally meant to illuminate dark nights where even moonlight and starlight cannot be seen, guiding the way for lost people with the light of the full moon. Therefore, it also has the effect of dispelling obstacles for those being guided, namely evil hearts and miasma.”
“However, Elnea-kun, to maintain the moonlight, Madrine and I must continue to concentrate. So, the rest is up to you, okay?”
“Yes, leave it to me!” Luyseine and Madrine would focus on maintaining the magic-casting.
“Well then, I just need to deal with that giant, right?”
“As expected of Mistral. You understand without me having to say it!”
“But it will be difficult to deal with the roaring miasma. You might be able to offset a few bursts with dragon arts, but if they are fired continuously, our dragon energy will be depleted.”
“That’s where Nimia comes in, right?”
“Nyan. I’ll do my best, nyan!” With that, Nimia returned to her true form. Nimia, who had been lounging on my head just moments ago, or snuggled into my chest to sleep, transformed into the form of a giant winged dragon, causing the winged tribesmen Slustal and Seol to fall backward in sheer astonishment.
“D-Did you raise a giant dragon!?”
“Calling me ‘raised’ is rude, nyan. I am also part of Elnea Older Brother and the others’ family, nyan.” Seol, who received a protesting gaze from the now-enlarged Nimia, screamed and trembled. To us, Nimia was cute even when she was big, but to those who had no contact with dragons or Ancient Dragon Species, she probably appeared as a top predator, a terrifying existence.
“Ah, right.” I said to Nimia, making another request.
“Please take care of these Winged Tribesmen too, okay?” I pointed at Seol. Nimia read my mind and readily agreed.
“I can’t help it, nyan.” Nimia brought her giant foreleg towards Seol. Then, Seol, screaming in terror, fainted in Nimia’s grasp. Nimia held Seol so as not to drop him, and then flapped her spread wings softly. With a gentle lift, surprisingly light for her massive body, Nimia soared into the wide underground space.
“…Now, then.” Luyseine and Madrine illuminated the underground space with moonlight, and the encroaching monster horde was being driven back by Yufilia, Nina, and Sefina, along with the Divine Race. Mistral had approached the Primogenitor giant and was drawing its attention by unleashing dragon arts. Laira? She is also taking action. Though it’s still a secret what she’s doing! In any case, we now have a little breathing room. And with that, I can finally face Slustal, who was left behind here, head-on.
“Slustal-san, now that your bothersome eyes and ears are dealt with, how about you start talking?” What do you mean, Slustal, who had collapsed from surprise at Nimia’s form, looked up at me. As I helped Slustal up, I cut to the chase. “This underground ruin. The fallen Yūmei race. And that giant. If my intuition is correct, you haven’t told us the whole truth yet, have you?” Mistral unleashed an extra-large dragon art. The Primogenitor giant, without any means to defend itself, had its right half blown away. However, just like with Esneed, it began to regenerate immediately. The giant’s movements were slow and its attacks monotonous, but it regenerated no matter how many times it was attacked. Moreover, when its rock body was blown apart, it scattered large amounts of rock fragments and earth, and even splattered scorching lava, just like the monsters. It’s a truly troublesome opponent. Still, Mistral circled around the Primogenitor giant, continuing his attacks.
“Let me be blunt. We will escape this underground city ruin and get outside, no matter what. Even if it means destroying this entire underground space?” To Slustal, who harbored doubt, thinking it impossible, a voice came from the side.
“If it’s Elnea, he can easily destroy a city like this.”
“If it’s Elnea, monsters and Primogenitors like these are no match for him.” I sent chicken dragon arts to Yufilia, Nina, and Sefina, who were unleashing the dragon lance frenzy without any restraint. This should help recover their dragon energy.
“Ridiculous! Even if there were female Dragon Race members or a giant Dragon Race, humans couldn’t possibly possess such power!?”
“Uh. I suppose being doubted is understandable. I haven’t shown most of my power until now. But I’m serious, you know? If you don’t believe my words, that’s fine, but don’t regret the consequences. I’m a man who will do anything to protect my family!” Despite my unwavering declaration, Slustal still seemed to harbor doubt. It’s difficult to convince people, isn’t it? Especially in such a tense situation.
“Either way, I’m serious. So, I want you to tell me everything you’ve been hiding. Otherwise, it will be too late!” If we focus solely on escaping, we might be able to overcome this crisis. Taking advantage of Mistral drawing the giant’s attention, we could annihilate the monsters swarming the main street and retreat with the Divine Race. However, if we were to use the Storm Dragon Arts here, the underground city would likely be destroyed. I don’t have the luxury of targeting only the endlessly spawning monsters to blow them away, not with just my White Sword and Spirit Tree Wooden Sword, which I don’t possess at the moment.
“But you wouldn’t be able to accept that outcome, would you?” I said, casting a meaningful glance. I have a feeling about what Slustal is hiding. In fact, I think I’m vaguely aware of it. Surely, my family has also vaguely sensed it. That’s why they are giving Slustal and me this breathing room. But I lack concrete proof. Therefore, I want to hear the truth from Slustal’s mouth. It is certain that he holds the truth related to this underground city ruin and the Yūmei race. And if our intuition is correct, we believe that knowing the truth that Slustal is desperately hiding is the minimum condition for reconciling the preservation of this underground city ruin with our safety.
“I, I… No, I cannot say it. Not to anyone, let alone to a human outsider like you…!” I let out a deep sigh. Even at this moment, he’s hesitating. Or should I praise Slustal’s firm resolve not to reveal his secrets? Nevertheless, at this rate, the time gained by everyone’s efforts will be gone. So, I’ll say it.
“If you won’t say it, I’ll say it for you.” I pointed to a giant pillar visible behind the Primogenitor giant. “Isn’t that a pillar modeled after a Spirit Tree? Is it possible that the giant from which the Yūmei race originated is actually the Spirit Tree itself?” At my words, Slustal’s eyes widened, and he was left speechless.
