Chapter 43: The Exiled Marquise and the Demon Realm 6
Ah, damn it.
A hole got torn in my clothes.
I somehow managed to twist my body in mid-air and land on my feet.
I could smell the grass scorching from the friction.
Before I could see it, I knew the Forest Dragon was charging at me from the vibrations coming through the ground.
One moment of carelessness, just a tiny opening, and this is what happens.
Just imagining how angry my master would be if he were here makes me sick.
Ah, damn it, another hole in my clothes.
I resolved myself to land a blow, even if it meant trading hits, to buy time and fully regain my stance.
In an awkward stance, I forced myself to ready my Sword, preparing to slam a strike onto the charging Forest Dragon’s snout. Ah, I hate this, I hate this.
“Saving one’s husband from danger is a wife’s duty, is it not?”
My enhanced hearing caught her voice even amidst the clamor of the Forest Dragon charging noisily.
Instantly, a Fireball flying from overhead struck the Forest Dragon’s head.
I desperately dodged the Forest Dragon as it lost its balance, tumbled, and crashed towards me.
Before I could even think I’m saved, the Forest Dragon’s roar echoed.
Its mouth was shredded from its own Breath backfiring, its eyes were burned milky white, and a third of its head was shattered, yet the Forest Dragon was still standing.
Man, it’s really tough.
Although its recovery speed has slowed down, isn’t it just unfair that it can still be alive and kicking even with a third of its head gone?
Ah, but those three minutes feel so far away.
Or rather, I think three minutes have already passed, haven’t they? Is it still not ready?
Just as I thought that, a voice called out at the perfect time.
“Preparations complete!”
Just as I thought Finally, I simultaneously had the contradictory thought that it was faster than I’d imagined.
Anyway, first things first, I need to regroup with Erica.
“Shall we go then?”
As I thought that, Erica was already standing beside me.
She casually brushed her hair back as if it were the most natural thing in the world and smiled at me.
“Are you ready?”
Instead of me replying, the Forest Dragon roared, glaring at us with the one eye that had regained its light.
I heard Shara’s shriek-like voice.
“Preparations are complete, but it’s far! You’re too far away!”
Because we ended up moving around, there was now a distance of about forty feet between Shara and the Forest Dragon.
“I’ll stop its movements now! Get ready!”
I said that while swinging my Sword down onto the snout of the charging Forest Dragon.
This is revenge for tearing a hole in my clothes! Clothes are expensive, you know!
It was a strike fueled heavily by personal resentment, but the Sword trajectory itself was clean.
The Forest Dragon’s upper jaw crumpled.
Blood and drool splattered everywhere, but Erica elegantly dodged it all and moved to the side.
Even though I had raised my Physical Enhancement to its absolute limit, the path of Erica’s swung Sword looked hazy.
The Forest Dragon’s right foreleg flew through the air.
The Forest Dragon nearly stumbled and fell, but managed to stay upright on its three remaining legs.
Far from just staying upright, it twisted its body and aimed its tail at us.
I stepped between the tail and Erica, knocking the tail, as thick as a carriage, upwards with my Sword.
Even though we should have dealt considerable damage, that blow felt heavier than any before.
Erica overtook me as I frowned at my numb arm, closing in on the Forest Dragon’s hind leg.
I thought she was going to sever its ankle, but the tip of her Sword aimed for the base of the leg, the thigh.
The leg, clearly thicker than Erica’s Sword, was severed in a single stroke.
What the heck?
While thinking that, I dodged the Forest Dragon as it lost its balance and started falling towards me.
“Now!”
I shouted, astonished by the Forest Dragon’s regenerative power as its flesh started bubbling and regenerating its leg even as it fell.
Instantly, Shara’s voice rang out as if she’d been waiting for that exact moment.
“Pierce and crush! Lux Lance!”
The unique Key Utterance of Syllable Magic was declared, and the spell manifested.