Chapter 9: Never Bend (vs. Super Dragon) ③
The Demon Sword Nidhogg—this sword of his is also known as the Submissive Gluttonous Dragon.
It possesses the remarkable ability to transform into any weapon known to this world, be it a sword, spear, whip, bow, or even a rifle or morning star, all at the will of its wielder. At the same time, it harbors an intense ferocity.
The manifestation of that ferocity is precisely why it bears the name of the Gluttonous Dragon. His sword consumes Mana. This is not a metaphor; it literally devours Mana. Indeed, the Demon Sword Nidhogg boasts unparalleled offensive power, but it chooses its wielder and, more than that, it voraciously drains its wielder’s Mana until they are nearly depleted… or rather, until they are completely empty.
However, if that were all, there would surely be other swords with similar traits.
The reason Pulmy’s Demon Sword Nidhogg is called the Gluttonous Dragon lies in its most pronounced form as a sword—its Multi-Mana Conversion Piercing Bow Form (Gluttony Gilead)—and the lethal strike it can deliver.
Among its various forms, the Multi-Mana Conversion Piercing Bow Form (Gluttony Gilead) is the most unstable. Yet, by consuming a vast amount of Mana from its wielder and all the Mana it has accumulated until that point, its form becomes solidified in reality. Once that existence is fixed—
Kyuuiiiiin!!
The Demon Sword Nidhogg, now in its massive mechanical bow form, emitted an even more intense light. The sound, reminiscent of machinery in operation, reverberated multiple times.
“You all!! In ten seconds!! Follow me!!”
Pulmy fed her last drop of Mana to the insatiable sword. It was crucial that she never let the arrow pierce the ground.
“Five, four—”
Her countdown approached its climax.
The Demon Sword Nidhogg, now in its Multi-Mana Conversion Piercing Bow Form (Gluttony Gilead), obeyed its raging appetite, absorbing not only the Mana from its wielder and the surroundings but also converting all existence into Mana, consuming endlessly.
“Two, one—Discharge!“
That was the command to the raging dragon—a release of the phrase, “Consume to your heart’s content.” And—if she was the skilled archer that she was, an elf, she would never miss her target from this distance. She was ready.
The Liquid Dragon and the Submissive Gluttonous Dragon—a battle between two beings that bore the name of dragons.
“FIRE!!”
In response to Pulmy’s fierce shout, the mages in the back unleashed a barrage of colorful high-level spells that filled the sky. The light arrow released from Pulmy shot forth with a dazzling trail, surpassing the speed of sound—piercing into the Liquid Dragon—BAM!!—the arrow struck its liquid body, obliterating seventy percent of it along with two of its heads, converting them into Mana and completely devouring that portion, vanishing into the distant sky.
Grrrrrrrrooooooowwwww!!!
The anguished roar of the monster shook the atmosphere for the first time since the battle began. Following that, countless high-level spells that landed late utterly destroyed the remaining body of the Liquid Dragon.
However, in a final act of defiance, the one remaining head of the Liquid Dragon, barely identifiable as its left front leg, lifted itself and activated some kind of spell. Perhaps mimicking Pulmy’s Funeral Mines, numerous clumps of earth, each about thirty centimeters in diameter, floated into the air.
“I know what you’re up to. You’re not done yet, are you, monster?”
Having exhausted her mental and magical energy to the limit by using the Multi-Mana Conversion Piercing Bow Form (Gluttony Gilead), Pulmy could barely stand. Yet, she feigned strength, ensuring her party behind her remained unaware of her fatigue.
Then, gazing intently at the struggling Liquid Dragon, she chanted.
“Release!”
The two Artificial Demon Swords Imitation Gold, which had absorbed the Liquid Dragon’s Mana earlier—thrown with the intent of not piercing its liquid body and not being expelled outside—finally obeyed her words, resonating within the Liquid Dragon’s body and causing a massive Mana explosion that completely obliterated its remaining form.
Flags exist to be broken, don’t they?