Chapter 7
Fwoosh!
The high-grade earth spirit Noes demonstrated its ability the moment it was summoned.
Because Jade's spirit affinity was phenomenal, Noes could tell what he was thinking without needing any explanation.
Grr?
When the ground suddenly sank beneath its feet, the charging Black Drake staggered.
It had lost its balance and lurched unsteadily.
Then dozens of enormous earthen spears shot up from the ground.
“A huge chunk of mana is going out.”
Given the Black Drake's enormous size, the amount of mana being consumed was tremendous.
But Jade still had plenty to spare.
-Let's bury it halfway!
“That's what I'm trying to do.”
Even dozens of earthen spears did nothing to the Black Drake.
It had endured Noes's attack with its characteristically sturdy scales.
At that sight, Jade changed his approach.
He focused less on attacking and more on restraining it.
KUGGGGUNG!
The earth around the Black Drake rippled like waves before swallowing its body in an instant.
As if intending to completely prevent it from moving, Jade buried everything except its head.
Of course, the Black Drake did not remain still, either.
It struggled desperately to escape somehow.
RUMBLE!
The surroundings shook as if an earthquake had struck, but Jade, as though proving that all his training had not been in vain, easily crossed the ground and approached the Black Drake before swinging a gigantic flaming sword.
It was a flaming sword created with Sallaime's power.
SLIIIICE!
The flaming sword, combining Sallaime's flames with Jade's mana, aimed for the Black Drake's neck.
Although it was the only part exposed, Jade knew it would certainly die if its neck was severed, so he focused relentlessly on one spot on its neck.
-Look out!
Silestin warned him.
It had seen the Black Drake's throat bulge.
SSSSSS!
Acidic breath sprayed out once more, melting even the ground.
That was how vicious the Black Drake's breath was.
But Jade had perfectly timed his advance and evaded the breath.
He had deftly moved behind the Black Drake's neck.
‘At this rate, this will turn into a battle of attrition.’
He was fighting while summoning no fewer than two high-grade spirits.
He still had mana to spare for now, but if the battle dragged on, he would obviously be at a disadvantage.
That was why Jade began to deliberate.
It seemed the time had come to make a decision.
KWAANG!
At that moment, the Black Drake finally broke free of the pit.
After struggling furiously, it had escaped Noes's grasp.
Noes moved the earth in an attempt to hold it back somehow, but the Black Drake avoided the advancing ground with nimble movements wholly out of keeping with its size.
‘Noes can't handle it.’
The high-grade earth spirit was certainly powerful.
The matchup was simply unfavorable.
Since drakes were counted among the strongest monsters of all, Noes was unfortunately outmatched.
-Is it finally my turn to step in?
Silestin shouted majestically.
Silestin, too, had realized that this was the moment for a decision.
If any more time passed, Jade would surely lack the mana to summon her.
“Was it too much after all?”
-Jade gave it his all! I know that better than anyone! And he fought well, too! It was just a bad matchup!
“A loss is still a loss.”
-Hey! We haven't lost yet. I still have one last move.
“I have plenty of moves left. The problem is that I take the hits, too.”
Having made his decision, Jade recalled Sallaime.
Then he took a deep breath before looking at Silestin.
-I'm ready!
“Then let's go.”
-All right!
WHOOOOOSH!
Terrifying winds began to blow around Jade.
When Silestin, the highest-grade wind spirit, revealed her true form, a tremendous gale erupted.
At the same time, Jade's appearance changed as well.
He was clad in blue wind armor and holding a spear.
KWAUUU!
At the same time, the Black Drake's breath came pouring out.
Since Noes had also been recalled when Silestin was summoned, the Black Drake, no longer obstructed in any way, spewed forth its acidic breath.
-Hmph! Useless!
Though the breath attack came surging in suddenly, Jade did not panic.
He believed that Spirit Armor made from Silestin would be more than capable of blocking even the Black Drake's breath.
And, as if to live up to his expectations, Silestin created a vortex in front of Jade that deflected the Black Drake's breath.
“I'm going to use its breath against it.”
-Leave it to me!
“All right.”
Hearing the confidence in Silestin's voice, Jade kicked off from the ground.
He had instead plunged into the breath itself.
SSSSSS!
Because of the terrifying acid, the wind Silestin had created melted away rapidly.
The deeper he went, the greater the pressure and power became, causing his mana consumption to increase exponentially.
Even so, Jade did not stop advancing.
-We're almost at its mouth!
Along with Silestin's cry, Jade felt the black-glowing acidic breath gradually weaken.
Its exhalation had finally ended.
At that same moment, Jade drove the spear in his hand forward with all his strength.
THRUST!
The moment the breath ended, Jade had reached the Black Drake's face, and from there he drove the spear made of wind into the roof of its mouth.
KROOOAR!
Not stopping there, he used the spear embedded in its palate to tear through the inside of its head.
Using blades of wind, he shredded its skull to pieces.
THUD!
No matter how tough a drake's scales and hide were, there was nothing it could do once its brain was destroyed.
Proving that fact, the Black Drake collapsed helplessly onto the ground with blood flowing from its seven openings.
“Hoo.”
Watching the Black Drake die instantly with a heavy tremor, Jade dispelled Spirit Armor.
He no longer had enough mana to maintain it.
Moreover, the strain placed on his body from cutting through the breath had been considerable.
TREMBLE.
Gripping his faintly trembling right arm with his left hand, Jade turned around.
He had captured the Black Drake, but the Gold Drake was still there.
Though its wounds were severe, a drake was still a drake, so Jade looked at the Gold Drake with a tense expression.
-That Gold Drake is in really bad shape.
Silestin spoke as she looked at the bite wounds covering its neck and body.
It was obvious at a glance that it was barely standing.
[Human……. ]
Then the Gold Drake's mental voice intruded into Jade's mind.
As expected, it was a woman's voice.
But there was not a trace of strength in the mental voice.
It continued haltingly, as though it could vanish at any moment.
[There is…… something I wish to ask of you. My child……. ]
“What?”
[I…… wish to entrust my child to you. In exchange…… I will give you my heart.]
The light in her dim eyes suddenly brightened.
It was the final flare of light just before death.
Jade instinctively sensed this and wore an utterly bewildered expression.
“Why are you asking me to take care of your child?”
[I only ask that you care for my child until it is fully grown……. ]
The Gold Drake looked at Jade with pleading eyes.
If she died like this, her child would surely become a meal for monsters without ever being born.
Wanting to prevent that above all else, the Gold Drake made its desperate plea.
The human before her was strong enough to defeat a drake, so he would surely serve as a sturdy fence until her child had fully grown.
“I understand how you feel, but……”
[In exchange, I will give you my heart intact. You may not know this, but the energy held by a heart while its owner is alive and the energy held by it after death are on entirely different levels.]
Perhaps even speaking was becoming too difficult, because her words grew increasingly slurred.
Even so, the Gold Drake somehow tried to keep speaking.
If she failed to persuade Jade, her child would not be safe, so the Gold Drake desperately clung to consciousness.
At the very least, she could not die before making the contract.
“What if I simply gobble up your heart and fail to keep the contract?”
[A human who possesses the scent of spirits so strongly could not possibly break his promise.]
“Hmm.”
[Please…… only until my child can stand on its own…… I ask this of you. Please……. ]
Seeing the Gold Drake abandon all its pride, Jade's heart softened.
He was human, too, and he could not help feeling sorry for her.
Besides, since they lived in the Great Forest, he could easily imagine what would happen to an egg left behind alone.
-Let's help her. We have the Black Drake to feed it! We can raise it by feeding it its parent's enemy! And it'll definitely help Jade, too! You can ride a drake while wearing Spirit Armor!
Silestin also seemed to feel sorry for the Gold Drake and repeatedly tried to persuade Jade.
Even though she had only met it for the first time today.
“All right, I'll accept. It's not a bad offer for me, either.”
[Th-thank you.]
There was a limit to how strong one could become alone.
That was why Jade accepted the Gold Drake's proposal.
KQUADDDEUK!
As soon as the contract was formed, the Gold Drake kept its promise.
It tore out its own heart while still alive.
Given its size, its heart was enormous as well.
It was nearly as large as Jade's torso.
Jade summoned a sylph and ordered it to retrieve the egg from the Gold Drake's lair.
“I'll keep my promise. Rest easy.”
[Please…… take care of it.]
The light faded from her eyes along with their focus.
After watching her until the very end, Jade summoned Noes.
He intended to turn the spot where she had died into a grave.
GURK!
Though he suffered internal injuries from using too much mana, Jade did not stop.
A short while later, once the Gold Drake's corpse had been completely buried, he headed for his hideout carrying the egg along with the Black Drake's corpse.
Returning to the hideout, Jade first summoned Noes and had it create a huge underground chamber.
This was to store the Black Drake's corpse.
Then he summoned an ice spirit and froze the corpse solid.
This was to preserve it for as long as possible.
-What about the Black Drake's heart?
“Later. The Gold Drake's heart comes first.”
-True. If we keep freezing it with a spirit, it won't spoil. And underground makes it easy to store.
Silestin gazed at the Black Drake's corpse, frozen solid like an ice statue.
As if she were looking at a trophy.
“Even if I don't eat it, I can feed it to the hatchling drake.”
-That's a great idea. It would count as revenge, too.
“The hatchling should grow well, don't you think? But the egg was smaller than I expected.”
-I thought so too. Considering the mother, I expected the egg to be huge, but it's surprisingly cute and tiny.
Silestin nodded.
She had thought the same thing when she first saw the Gold Drake's egg.
“It's even smaller than a wyvern egg.”
-But the energy inside is definitely that of a drake. No wonder they're dragonkin.
“I hope it grows big and strong.”
-Have you picked a name?
Silestin's eyes sparkled.
She was excited that their family had grown.
Besides, monsters were fairly cute when they were young.
And since this was a rare Gold Drake, Silestin's expectations were especially high.
“We don't even know its sex yet. Oh, right! How do you tell a drake's sex apart?”
-I don't know either!
Silestin answered with astonishing innocence.
At that, Jade let out an involuntary chuckle.
“Aren't you awfully confident?”
-That's my charm! Heehee!
“Well, we still have time, so let's think about it.”
After glancing once at the Black Drake's corpse, frozen solid and radiating cold, Jade went upstairs.
Now that he had moved the Black Drake's corpse, he intended to absorb the Gold Drake's heart.
-Are we finally starting?
“Yeah.”
-I'll guard you while you absorb it!