Chapter 206
―――This is it, the final battle.
I try to psyche myself up, but to be honest, I’m incredibly nervous on the inside.
Well, of course I would be… this thing is super scary.
I mean, I’m an earth dragon, a bit of a monster myself. But nothing compared to the monster before me.
The Emperor Beast, Agil.
Known among humans as the “Demon King”, an Evil God-class disaster.
Towering hundreds of meters tall, far larger than even the Giant Lizard that appeared in Yuguru Great Forest.
Truly a monster beyond compare.
With every breath, clouds are blown away.
With every move, the earth shakes.
And its size isn’t all – its appearance is simply abnormal.
It has seven heads – those of a snake, lion, wolf, eagle, horse, deer, and dragon.
The dragon head looks somewhat like Holy Dragon…
Its long body has wings and bear-like hands, and its gigantic, building-sized legs have insectoid sections. Its back has fish-like fins, its spotted, leopard-like skin is covered in dragon scales, and its snakelike tail splits into two at the end. Its appearance is so haphazard I can hardly describe it.
If I had to put it into words… it’s like a chimera,
As if different creatures were combined, mixed together, fused into this freakish form.
So disturbing even I, an earth dragon, can only call it a “monster”.
…Yeah, scary.
Seriously scary.
I want to turn around and run right now, that’s how scary it is.
Its magical power is also tremendous.
Easily stronger than any monster I’ve encountered before.
It might even exceed the magical power of Death Dragon Ouronus.
Oh man, this is bad.
I was already pretty freaked out just sensing it underground.
Oh right, we’re outside.
Outside…
Thinking about that makes me want to go home even more.
What do I do, this is bad. Creepy.
My stomach hurts. I feel like throwing up.
Outside really is scary after all.
I’m getting dizzy from all these swirling thoughts.
『Partner, what’s wrong?』
Suddenly, a voice calls out to me.
Rather―――
『Partner?』
『Oh… calling meself ‘partner’ feels a bit odd, doesn’t it? For now, let’s go with that though, partner.』
『No, I’m fine with it….』
It’s a strange feeling.
Partner… that takes me back.
You were a fan of those dramas…
「Hmm, so what to call you, huh? You’re both Earth, so that’s confusing. How about Cadearth for the earth golem you?」
Léna-Lloyd suggests from the side.
Cadearth, since he’s fused with Cadias. …Pretty lazy.
But Léna-Lloyd looks quite pleased with herself.
Extremely annoying.
『『Too long』』
We both respond in unison.
As expected of me.
「GUHAAA!」
Léna-Lloyd mimes spitting up blood, or so it seems in my imagination.
「Oh, I thought it was pretty good but… fine. We can think up names later. For now, let’s focus on staying alive and getting back to the dungeon, ‘kay?」
Saying that, Léna-Lloyd faces forward again.
Her face is no longer smiling.
I also turn to face the front.
One of Agil’s heads, the dragon head, opens its mouth.
―――A breath attack.
An enormous mass of magical energy is fired from Agil’s mouth.
Léna-Lloyd steps forward.
She holds up the dragon sword Ascalon horizontally.
「―――Heavenly Ice Burial」
In an instant, a wall of ice several kilometers in diameter appears before Léna-Lloyd.
For a moment it looks as if a glacier has materialized in the desert.
The breath impacts and melts the ice, shattering it, creating steam.
But the shockwave of the breath never reaches us.
The ice mountain blocked it completely.
Léna-Lloyd must also be controlling the shockwave and steam.
「Hey, don’t space out! Here it comes!」
Her shout brings me back to reality.
Agil’s body has begun to slowly move.
Though it’s still tens of kilometers away, the distance visibly shrinks before my eyes.
Due to its gigantic size, it can cover hundreds of meters in a single step.
It looks as if a mountain is moving.
No, bigger than a mountain… but this is no time for that!
『Partner! Armored mode! Maximize speed! Dodge right! Hurry!』
The voice echoing in my head sounds just like mine.
Before I realize it’s the other me, I’ve already activated armamentization.
I kick off the desert with my enhanced leg strength, shooting to the right like a bullet.
The next instant, Agil is where I just stood.
Agil comes to a halt due to inertia.
The desert ripples like a tidal wave, engulfing the surroundings.
The terrain keeps changing.
…It’s really lucky this is a desert.
If it were a forest or grassland, it definitely would’ve become uninhabitable.
But I doubt even the mid layers of my dungeon will remain unscathed.
We’ll have to write off this whole area…
『Partner, breath attack!』
I hear the voice again.
Agil is blocking my view, but it seems the other me dodged the opposite way.
I activate my magic sense.
Timing it, we both unleash breath attacks into Agil’s flank.
『『Raaaaaaa!!』』
We roar in unison, releasing our breaths simultaneously.
My adult breath now boasts unbelievable power.
And the other me’s breath is no less mighty.
Not just raw magical energy, but a spear of destruction wreathed in lightning.
The two attacks strike Agil directly.
KABOOOOOOOM!
The explosion kicks up more sand, obscuring our vision.
I quickly activate magic detection,
grasping the situation through magical energy rather than sight.
『We got him good… but no effect huh…』
Despite the tremendous power, Agil’s magic still feels undiminished.
Did it have no effect, or did we at least inflict some minor injury…?
The sand settles.
Agil stands before us, unharmed.
『As expected, but still rough…』
There’s not a single visible wound.
On closer look, a translucent barrier has been deployed around it.
A defense spell. That must have blocked our attacks.
One of its seven heads is looking this way.
Another stares in the opposite direction.
『That’s the trouble with Agil』
I hear Léna-Lloyd’s voice in my head.
Glancing around, she seems to be flying around Agil using flight magic.
『Each of Agil’s heads can act independently. They can each use magic separately. And since they share vision, they cover each other’s blind spots. It’s incredibly annoying.』
Léna-Lloyd spits out her words in frustration.
It really is a pain.
According to the records, besides Elibel, Agil is the only one able to use magic up to the Soul King-class.
If each head acts independently, then Agil can basically handle seven Soul King-class spells simultaneously. The magical expenditure must be insane, but for Agil’s reserves, it’s probably not an issue.
『But for now, it seems to just be observing us… Not all the heads are moving. It’s only responding with one for me, one for Earth, and one for Cadearth. If Agil got serious, his fighting strength could simply double compared to now.』
You’re really set on making that Cadearth name stick, huh.
Anyway, that’s scary.
Going easy on us yet still this strong, Agil is seriously terrifying.
『In other words, we should strike while we can』
Says the other me firmly.
Impressive, other me.
『That’s right. For us, a quick battle is the only option anyway. I’d like to drag it out until the Sanctuary Breach wears off, but before that happens…』
『That?』
『The magical formation floating in the sky.』
Glancing up, an insanely massive magical formation fills the dark sky.
An awe-inspiring sight, to say the least.
『I don’t know what effect it will have. But the instant that activates, our defeat is probably guaranteed. It’s just that dangerous and extraordinary.』
Léna-Lloyd’s voice trembles as she speaks.
Beyond the fear and apprehension, there’s a sense of impatience.
Her instincts must be screaming about how bad it is.
『You’re right…that thing does feel ominous.』
The other me concurs with Léna-Lloyd.
His voice also contains fear.
But for some reason, the magical formation in the sky doesn’t look that terrifying to me.
If anything, what I sense from it is―――
『Hey, partner, don’t space out!』
『Whoa!』
The other me’s shout makes me realize one of Agil’s heads is approaching me.
A deer-like head looms closer with its mouth open.
Its neck is stretching like some freaky giraffe!
What the heck, super creepy! So scary!
『Eeek!』
I yelp, retreating backward.
The deer head passes through where I just stood.
That was close… If not for the other me’s warning, I’d be chomped by now…
「……」
The deer head turns this way, noticing it missed.
Nooo, scary.
I back away more.
The deer then violently shakes its head sideways.
Its two massive antlers whip up another sand tidal wave.
The overwhelming wave crashes toward me―――
『Raaaaa!』
I unleash my breath at full power.
A hole opens in the sandy tidal wave.
An enormous deer face emerges from within.
Its eyes glow ominously.
『What the, what’s happening!?』
A tremendous flash.
Beams fire from the deer’s eyes straight at me!
Freaking beams!
Thick rays of light barrel toward me!
『Why can a deer shoot beams!?』
The answer: because it’s a monster.
Damn you, beast!
『It’s an application of light magic incorporating the fire element. Converging heat into a focused beam. Its power is probably around the Pope-class.』
Léna-Lloyd calmly analyzes the attack.
I don’t need a cool analysis!
Pope-class, so like Heleb’s Flame Armor huh.
Acting on reflex, I dodge the beam.
It passes right by me.
An explosion occurs far behind.
Woah, way more powerful than Tres’s Hellfire Requiem…
Just as I think that, the deer’s eyes glow ominously again.
Crapcrapcrap, it’s—
『Raaaaa!』
The instant the beam fires, I reflexively blast my breath forward into the desert,
creating a makeshift sand wall.
Of course this flimsy defense won’t block it.
But it throws the beam off course.
Bursting through the sand wall, the beam misses me by a wide margin.
Phew…that was close.
Wait, can it rapid fire those…?
A Disaster-class monster shouldn’t spam what’s basically its ultimate attack.
The power balance in this world is seriously whack…
Anyway, I take more distance again.
I can see the other me and Léna-Lloyd now.
They seem to be fighting a lion head and eagle head respectively.
They look okay for the moment, but if the other heads start moving, they’ll soon be overwhelmed.
As I’m thinking that—
「Hmm…you have quite an interesting fighting style,」
the deer head says, opening its mouth.
Huh, it’s talking to me right?
「One moment you fight boldly, the next you cower and flee from me. Yet you calmly survey the battle to worry about your two comrades. Your approach is rather haphazard. No consistency. And I sense no conviction or pride in your fighting. Yet your strength is undeniably real… I truly don’t understand it.」
Is it praising me or insulting me, I can’t tell.
「Why did Jibru use forbidden arts for one like you? For Zepar’s child, no less? This child must truly mean a lot to her… But I’m hardly one to talk, am I…」
…Huh? What is he saying now?
Jibru… Zepar?
―――A vision flashes through my mind.
A small dragon pup held up by a large dragon.
…Crying?
What is this…?
―――A piercing pain stabs my head.
『Gah… aaaaaah!』
What is this!? Why does it hurt so much!?
Intense pain assaults me.
『Hey, partner! Get a grip!』
That voice calls to me again.
I snap back to my senses.
No good. I’m losing focus.
The pain has subsided.
…What was that just now?
『We’re in combat! Don’t let your guard down! You’ll die!』
Fighting the lion head, the other me desperately yells at me.
Oh right. Sorry about that.
I need to concentrate on what’s in front of me now.
I pour magic into my legs again and flee at full speed.
The deer head chases after me.
But somehow I’m staying ahead.
My running speed is slightly faster than the head’s stretching.
But what do I do?
I think as I run.
My breath gets blocked.
And I’d have no chance in close combat against that massive body.
Unlike with Death Dragon, I don’t have abilities like Heaven Claws or Heaven Wings either.
…Wait, isn’t this situation pretty dire?
To be blunt, I’m stumped here.
We were already screwed when my breath got blocked.
Since that’s my strongest means of attack.
…Can I still try to escape at this point?
The thought crosses my mind for an instant. No, that definitely won’t work.
For now, there’s that.
…I’ll ask Elibel’s opinion.
Yeah, that’s a good idea!
Huh? Lame?
What about all that scolding when I left the dungeon?
Haha, I don’t know anything about that!
Besides, doesn’t three versus one with this big a difference in strength seem weird?
The enemy is just too strong.
Whoa! Beam!
It almost got me!
That was close!
Anyway, I promptly send a thought transmission back to the dungeon.
Let’s hear the sage’s advice!
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