Chapter 38
This ends it.
Before I knew it, the fireball Krista had raised had grown to about the size of three cars.
The dragon looked utterly exhausted, as though it were barely breathing.
"Everyone, run! You'll get caught in the blast!"
Dantes-san's voice snapped me to attention. If Krista brought that down on the dragon, she might actually be able to defeat it—but we'd suffer damage, too.
Krista paid no heed whatsoever to the adventurers and domain soldiers trying to evacuate, and hurled the fireball at the dragon—at that moment,
"The dragon!"
It opened its eyes.
A blast of flame shot from its mouth, several times more powerful than before—and it actually propelled the dragon's own body forward.
"What!?"
It was the same explosive acceleration Krista had been using. But an explosion without any control whatsoever would obviously leave the dragon itself far from unharmed.
Even so, the dragon took that gamble.
A wounded beast is terrifying—that was exactly why we'd been taking every possible precaution.
The dragon's body collided with the enormous fireball Krista had just launched. The inevitable explosion engulfed Krista along with the dragon—
A blinding light burst forth with a sharp flash.
A shock wave swept through, and the flames from the blast set the domain capital ablaze.
Just before the explosion, I'd put even more distance between myself and the building. Even so, the flames and blast wind traveled between the buildings and lifted me off the ground.
"Whoa—what!?"
I wasn't set on fire, but the blast wind sent me flying. After traveling about five meters, I slammed into the cobblestones and went rolling with a clatter.
It hurt... My entire body throbbed with pain so intense it felt as if my arms and legs had been torn apart, along with a prickling numbness. I activated a tiny amount of healing magic—I wanted to conserve as much magical power as possible, since it would be better used to treat the seriously wounded—and slowly got to my feet.
A piercing ringing filled my ears, drowning out all sound. My eardrums probably hadn't ruptured, but I'd temporarily lost my hearing.
Rubble was scattered across the cobblestones, and smoke and dust made it difficult to see. The building where I'd been hiding was half-collapsed.
I circled around that building and returned to where the battle had taken place—and was left speechless.
The ground had been gouged out into a crater roughly thirty meters across, exposing the earth beneath.
On the few sections of wall left standing among the collapsed buildings, corpses clung like bloody vomit—adventurers, perhaps, or domain soldiers. Looking at them would only make me vomit, so I deliberately looked away.
In the distance, rubble was piled up like a mountain, and the dragon lay there with its head thrown back. Most of its scales had been torn away, and its body was drenched in blood.
"Damn you, lowly creature...!"
My heart lurched.
Just as my ears finally began picking up sound again, I heard those words.
The voice had come from above. When I looked up, Krista was falling from the sky, her tattered cloak fluttering behind her. Half his clothes had been burned away, exposing skin covered in blood.
With a pop, he activated a small 【Fire Magic】 spell to cushion his landing, then touched down. The instant he landed, he dropped to one knee. His hair was singed, and his face was covered in soot. Not a trace of his former refined beauty remained.
"Hah, hah, hah... To self-destruct at the very end... It becomes more and more incomprehensible! Dragons should simply go extinct!"
Cursing, Krista staggered to his feet and advanced toward the fallen, motionless dragon.
"You gave me such trouble... I'm the 'Crimson Dragon Slayer'! Take that—and that!"
He kicked the dragon's enormous belly with his raised foot. It looked as though he was simply kicking a wall, but Krista didn't care whether his opponent reacted. It was nothing more than an outlet for his frustration.
"Phew... Where are the domain soldiers? Honestly, disappearing in a battle this minor is utterly pathetic. I'll never accept another job in such a backwater again... Huh?"
At that moment, Krista's body came to a dead stop.
I watched the whole thing, but I couldn't even cry out.
Because he moved far too quickly—and because I hadn't expected it in the slightest.
"I found youuu... Krista=La=Kristaaa...!!"
One arm had pierced through Krista's stomach and was sticking out the other side.
That hairy arm belonged to Rikila-san—the same arm that had wrapped around my head just moments ago while he told me, "Thanks."
Rikila-san must have been hiding nearby, waiting all this time for this moment: for Krista to defeat the dragon, grow overconfident, and let his guard down.
For his chance to avenge his comrades—
"Guh."
Blood gushed from Krista's mouth. Even without looking through 【All Creation】, it was obvious that Krista was already on the brink of death.
"Rikila-san!!"
But I was shouting.
Not to condemn Rikila-san for what he'd done.
My 【All Creation】 had also told me one other thing.
"Reiji... I..."
"The dragon is still alive—"
What could I call the expression on Rikila-san's face as he looked at me? He seemed like a boy bewildered after having his mistake pointed out, and like an ascetic monk who had completed every duty he had been given—and, for some reason, even like a sinner pleading for salvation.
The dragon's foreleg tore through both Rikila-san and Krista at once, sending their upper halves flying.
I wanted to scream. I wanted to ask myself how I could have prevented this absurd tragedy. I wanted to cling to someone's chest and burst into tears.
But I couldn't do any of those things.
"N-no..."
With a clatter of collapsing rubble, the dragon rose—and
"Nooooooooooooo!!"
It saw the halfling who had come closest.
She was probably returning from shopping, with both hands full of baskets. They were packed with food that would keep well and jars of spices—everything she needed for the journey ahead.
But she—Mimino-san—dropped everything and screamed. She had just witnessed Rikila-san's final moments, and the shock was overwhelming.
It was more than enough to draw the dragon's attention.
Mimino-san crouched down, clutching her head, oblivious to the dragon. Even when its mouth opened and light began gathering inside, she didn't notice.
Mimino-san was about to be burned alive.
"Raaaaaaaah!!"
I took off running. 【Sprinting】 wouldn't get me there in time. But if I used it as a running start and detonated 【Fire Magic】 beneath my feet, it would produce unbelievable acceleration. The scenery seemed to melt around me, and suddenly the dragon's face was right before my eyes.
The fact that a Heavenly Silver-ranked adventurer could do this at will was incredible.
"Daaaaah!!!!!!!!"
My movement was a perfect copy of what Rikila-san had shown me. My kick sank into the dragon's face, and the follow-up 【Fire Magic】 sent its car-sized head flying.
【All Creation】 informed me that my leg had cracked.
...You were on the roof...?
My stamina was almost completely depleted. I'd used up nearly all my magical power just now, too.
"Mimino-san... Mimino-san!"
"...Reiji-kun?"
"Please, run. Even if you have to go alone, please..."
I spread both arms in front of her. I knew there was no way this thin body could protect her. But I had to do it anyway.
"N-no, Reiji-kun! You have to run—"
"Tell the reinforcements that the dragon is almost defeated."
I used the last of my magical power to activate 【Fire Magic】. With a bang, Mimino-san was blown away, while my body went rolling in the opposite direction—toward the dragon.
"Reiji-kun—!!!!!"
"Get away, Mimino-san!"
I heard Non-san's voice. Maybe they had been nearby. If they'd managed to hold Mimino-san back, that was all I could ask for.
I was completely, utterly empty.
But I'd done it.
...You possess a ten-star Talent...? No matter. Perish here, small, brave one...
By the time the dragon opened its mouth, my consciousness had already fallen into darkness.
I'd done it.
Surely, I must have been smiling at the very end.