Seeing the Wyvern recovering, Arisugawa predicted it was alive.
The Wyvern, continuously being attacked with sizzling sounds, spewed corrosive liquid from its mouth and became agitated. With its huge body, it rampaged through the not-so-spacious cemetery, and now nobody could do anything about it. If anyone foolishly touched it, they might get annihilated themselves. The escorting magician launched fireballs to deter it, but it seemed to be counterproductive. Its scorched, rotting skin would regenerate after a while, and it would recover its stamina by eating the corpses scattered around.
Similar to the Youko, should I cripple a part of its body? But last time, its power was suppressed by a cursed object. This time, that’s not the case. No, this time, there’s no need to directly inflict damage on the Wyvern. In short, as long as the threads break, that’s all that matters. Hiroaki and the other members would act as decoys, and Cecilia and Kalm would cut the threads from a blind spot.
Hiroaki ran towards the two who were at a loss for what to do.
“Hiroaki! You shouldn’t be awake and moving!”
“I’m still okay. More importantly, you two, cut the threads extending from the Wyvern. We’ll be the decoys.”
Cecilia’s voice could be heard from behind, but Hiroaki continued to run towards Veronica and Philiana. The other companions mixed in with the escorts, dealing with the corpses that blocked their path.
“Heyyy, everyone! Those two are going to cut the threads. In the meantime, draw the Wyvern’s attention.”
“What? Kid, are you alright?”
“That’s right, Hiro. But please rest.”
Weaving through the army of corpses, the two headed towards the Wyvern. Seeing this, Piyo also flew from overhead. Then, Nina stealthily crept to the dragon’s feet and moved around to create a diversion.
The Wyvern, bothered by the noisy flies, rotated its body to shake them off and dug its claws into the ground. It lunged at Piyo and Veronica, who passed in front of it. In that time, Cecilia was attempting to approach from behind. However, this time she was blocked by its whip-like tail and couldn’t get close easily.
Because it suddenly changed the direction of its body, its movements were unpredictable. She knew that even with her speed, a single hit would be fatal, making her even more cautious. That left Kalm. Hiroaki returned the way he came.
“Kalm, use me as a step to fly! Come on!”
He shouted to her, who was observing from a little distance away. He formed his hands into a step. As if hearing his voice, she approached, appearing confused but not hesitant. Kalm’s one foot firmly stepped on his clasped hands. Matching the timing, he forcefully lifted her upwards. Like a cheerleading move, her light body soared through the air.
Floating gently, Kalm began to spin in the air. At the same time, her slender sword ignited with flames. And as if dancing while floating in mid-air, she swung her sword. A red light trailed behind through the darkness, burning itself into the depths of one’s eyes. From bottom to top, then sideways, the three-dimensional movement of light made it feel as if gravity were absent.
Hiroaki, Cecilia, and even the companions who were supposed to be decoys stopped and were mesmerized by the dancing flames above the dragon’s head. Although it should have been a momentary event, it felt like five minutes had passed. The flames disappeared, and Kalm landed silently behind the Wyvern.
“…She can do it.”
Hiroaki heard Cecilia mutter softly beside him. Come to think of it, what happened to the main subject, the Wyvern? Kalm, who had landed on the ground, quickly distanced herself. The dragon tilted its head as if in pain, then began to roll over. It desperately rubbed its shoulder against the ground. Starting from that, it began to rampage again. However, this time, it wasn’t chasing anyone; it seemed to be desperately trying to shake something off its body.
“Kalm, did you cut the threads?”
“Y-yes. Um, well, I just cut them somewhat randomly, but it seems to have worked, you know?”
Kalm scratched her head and chuckled sheepishly. It seemed she had managed to sever some of the threads attached to it. The problem was from here on; if she severed all the threads, it might attack them. Also, where were the cut threads? Without following them, they wouldn’t know the enemy’s location.
“You two, continue cutting the threads. Lauren, we will follow the threads to find the culprit.”
As Hiroaki called out, Lauren crept out from the shade of the trees behind him.
