Episode 398: Astonishing Ability
The Red Dragon was coiled up, fast asleep. Tennoji turned around and nodded curtly. Seeing this, Ishikawa and the others nimbly descended the cliff.
Rui and Akito also descended the steep slope without making a sound, approaching the Dragon’s den.
The monster seen up close was of tremendous size. Its body, if stretched straight, would probably be fifty meters long.
Its head was probably ten times the size of an Ancient Dragon’s. Fangs peeked out from its mouth, which could easily swallow a human whole.
The members of the strategy team carefully moved their feet, forming a formation to surround the Dragon.
Urged on by Tennoji, who was at the front, Rui and Akito stepped forward.
The two of them readied their weapons, glaring at the enemy before them.
“Alright, let’s go! I’ll take it down in one shot!”
“Yeah, let’s give it our all!”
Rui and Akito gathered Magical Power into their respective weapons. As if responding to this, the Red Dragon twitched.
But it was too late to react now.
Rui’s slash tore through the empty air. Black Flames burst forth, and a large bird manifested. A bird of flame spreading its wings and soaring. It headed towards the Dragon’s head.
At the same time, Akito unleashed his magic. What was created from the tip of his spear was the “Annihilating Flash.”
The two attacks struck the Dragon directly, causing a violent explosion. A large amount of smoke danced in the air, obscuring the Dragon’s figure.
For a normal monster, this would be the end. That’s what Rui and Akito thought, but the unsettling feeling didn’t disappear.
The two of them held their weapons at the ready, without letting their guard down. Immediately after, the smoke swayed slightly.
“It’s coming!”
“I know.”
An impact like an explosion. The smoke dissipated, and a monster came flying out from within. But not just one Dragon.
Two Dragons attacked Rui and Akito.
“What, it’s not just one!?”
Had it only appeared to be one, when in reality there were two? Rui thought so, but the tails of the Dragons that had split also had heads. Rui dodged the Dragon charging at him, and slashed his Katana across its torso.
The long torso was neatly cut in half in the middle, and Black Flames smoldered and crackled.
It shouldn’t regenerate like this. Rui was certain of this, but something unexpected happened.
The severed wound burst open, and a head popped out from within.
“What!?”
Rui was surprised and stepped back from the spot. Heads emerged from each of the divided torsos.
Although the torsos were slightly shorter, one Dragon had split into two.
–This is this monster’s ability!
Rui gasped and looked towards Akito. Akito was riding Gae Bolg, attacking the other Dragon from above.
“Akito, no! Don’t attack carelessly!”
Rui’s shout was in vain, as Akito struck the Dragon with powerful Lightning. The torso was torn apart, splitting into two.
“Alright! How’s that!?”
Akito made a triumphant pose, but the Dragon sprouted heads from its wounds with a popping sound, splitting into two. Akito’s face twisted in surprise.
“What is that monster!? It’s ridiculous!”
Before Rui and Akito, four Dragons glared menacingly. The Seekers around them were speechless, unable to move.
Akito descended from the sky and jumped down next to Rui.
“What do we do? I’ve never seen or heard of a monster like that!”
“Yeah, it’s definitely an unknown Lord of the Labyrinth. Its Regeneration is insane.”
The two of them stared at the four Dragons with serious faces. If they increased any further, they would endanger the strategy team.
They had to avoid that at all costs. Rui gritted his teeth.
At that moment, Tennoji, who had been standing back, called out to them.
“Rui, Akito! We’ll draw its attention. In the meantime, you guys take them down individually!”
It seemed like a reasonable decision in the current situation. But–
“No! That would result in too many sacrifices, and we don’t know if we can definitely defeat them!”
“But…”
“Tennoji-san and the others, please stand back. Akito and I will handle this somehow!”
Rui raised his voice without turning around. Everyone in the area understood how tense the situation was.
Tennoji met eyes with Ishikawa, who was next to him, and nodded slightly as if convinced.
“Understood. We’ll fall back. We’re counting on you, Rui! Akito!”
They felt that they would only be a hindrance. Feeling that, Tennoji retreated, and Ishikawa and the Seekers followed suit.
Rui let out a sigh and glared at the enemy before him once again.
“Half-hearted attacks won’t work on this thing. We have to take it down in one shot.”
“Yeah. To do that, we have to throw all our Magical Power at it. You ready, Rui!”
“Of course!!”
Rui and Akito grinned. As if taking that as a signal, the four Dragons moved towards them on the ground all at once.
Akito jumped onto Gae Bolg and soared into the sky.
Rui drew his second Katana, Clarent, and charged into the group of Dragons.
–A snake-like Dragon with two heads… It’s just like the ‘Ouroboros’ from mythology.
Rui targeted one of the Dragons approaching in a serpentine motion. He channeled Black Flame into the two blades and slashed in a cross towards the Dragon’s head.
Flames scattered, and a Black Lion leaped out from within.
The Lion attacked the Dragon, biting down on its head.
A massive explosion occurred, engulfing the Dragon’s head in hellfire. It was an attack meant to defeat it in one shot. But the Dragon raised its neck and roared.
“It didn’t work.”
Although more than half of its head had been blown off, it hadn’t been completely defeated. The Dragon turned the head on its tail side towards them and attacked again.
As Rui readied his Katana, countless “Black Lightning” bolts fell from the sky.
It was Akito’s support. Rui held his Katana in a cross and swung it out.
The “Bird of Flame” was created from the tip of the blade and flew towards the Dragon’s face. The Dragon, with its mouth wide open, couldn’t dodge and was caught in the violent explosion.
Even with its skin torn, its bones visible, and engulfed in flames, the Dragon writhed and continued to advance.
“Damn it!”
The Dragon’s wounds bulged with flesh, and regeneration began again.
–As I thought, its Regeneration is the same as, or even greater than, the White Monster’s! It’s going to be difficult to completely defeat it…
The moment Rui gritted his teeth, a flash of Lightning fell from the sky.
It was the “Annihilating Flash” that Akito had unleashed.
Even the Dragon couldn’t withstand this, and it stopped moving, turning into sand.
“…We defeated it.”
Before he could even feel relieved, an angry voice rained down from the sky.
“Not yet! Don’t let your guard down, Rui!!”
Rui raised his face at Akito’s voice. The remaining Dragons were approaching in a serpentine motion.