Ааа

The Dragon Mother and the dragon men were both perplexed by Seiya’s words. Besides them, Mash and Elle were speechless as well. All of them seemed petrified.

Yet, I had become immune to Seiya’s hasty remarks after my long arduous experience with him. I spoke calmly with him afterwards.

「Seiya…What you said earlier…Do you really mean that…? 」

「Of course. I said that those two dragons would be the ones to carry my luggage. I do not intend to change my decision. 」

「Well, I see…but… the world won’t be saved if Elle doesn’t turn into Egzation, right?」

Seiya sighed slightly.

「I wonder if this sword named Egzation can really defeat the Demon King in the first place.」

The Dragon Mother couldn’t keep her angriness and screamed loudly.

「How dare you doubt us!! With the fresh blood from that girl, the strongest and invincible holy sword Egzation will emerge from the dragon abyss and will thereupon defeat the Demon King!! 」

「How can you be so sure? 」

「The Dragon Emperor prophesied this event a hundred years ago!! His words are absolute!!」

「That’s not logical. 」

After a deep sigh, Seiya looked at the Dragon Mother with disgusting eyes.

「…This lizard is absurd. 」

「What!? Who are you to profess those words!! Even if you’re a hero, such rudeness will not be tolerated!!」

Did he say the “lizard is absurd”…? I was feeling troubled, Elle was in despair and Mash was so angry at this horrifying event… But, was Seiya feeling the same way as we did?

I looked amazed at Seiya’s strong presence.

…Really…This hero never changed even on times like these…

During that time, I felt an unexpected shiver run through my body. The Dragon Mother opened her mouth then.

「Ah…Ahah!! 」

I heard a loud laugh.

「What!? Why are you laughing like that!? 」

The Dragon Mother moved her eyes away from Seiya and she stared closely at me.

「Oh my! Don’t look at me like that! 」

「I don’t believe it…Don’t tell me that the goddess has the same ideals as the hero? To defeat the Demon King and save the world…isn’t that what you told us before? 」

I spoke to the Dragon Mother who threatened me just now.

「Certainly. It is my wish to defeat the Demon King and save this world from his menace. However… 」

I gathered my courage to go against the power of the Dragon Mother and I declared to her.

「However, I won’t sacrifice a comrade’s life because of that!! We will look for other options to substitute the Egzation and kill the Demon King!! 」

Everyone around us were silent. Eventually, the Dragon Mother gazed fiercely at me once again and said the following words.

「…That’s the goddess’ final decision. I see, so the goddess ended up having the same thoughts as that hero. 」

Then, she sighed as she pointed on Elle’s direction.

「You are just like that child’s parents. They could only think about their baby just like you think about your comrade. What mattered to them was their “little world”. Their self-righteous ideas cost them their lives. 」

Elle was perplexed by the story that she was not supposed to hear. However, Mash reacted faster than Elle.

「What do you mean!! Didn’t our parents die of a disease!? 」

「Ten years ago, I sent Elle to the bottom of the abyss to be born as Egzation’s vessel. During that time, Elle’s relatives opposed greatly against us. Your parents were very close to Elle’s, so they opposed as well. In conclusion… 」

The Dragon Mother showed her long red tongue and licked around her mouth.

「In conclusion, I killed them. 」

Elle looked disturbed by those facts as she covered her mouth with her hands.

「Te…Terrible…!! That’s terrible…!! 」

「How could you…! 」

I was also looking at the Dragon Mother with blaming eyes, but she didn’t feel any kind of remorse towards her murderous actions.

「It was unavoidable in order to save the world. 」

「…Whoa!! 」

Mash screamed in agony as he dragonized his form. His tremendous force defeated two of the dragon soldiers easily. In a second, he switched his anger towards the Dragon Mother.

「Screw you, you damn witch!! How dare you call yourself a mother!! You murderer!! 」

Mash ran and tried to strike the Dragon Mother with his fist, however, his legs went numb and he fainted on the ground, apparently intoxicated.

「What…!? 」

「Mash!? 」

The moment I tried to approach the fallen Mash, my legs went numb as well and I fell to the ground just like him.

「Wha…What…is going on? 」

The Dragon Mother stared Mash and I laid on the ground as she laughed wickedly.

「*laughs continuously* I got cautious with age. When I saw your fearful faces when I said that Elle was going to be the Egzation, I predicted that something like this would happen eventually. I ordered my subordinates to put some numbness medicine on the banquet’s food. It is a powerful medicine that cannot be undone by spells or other remedies. Even if you’re a goddess, you won’t be able to move for a while. 」

* looks irritated* Numbness medicine she said…!! This lizard woman became a complete villain…!! But we have Seiya with us!! I’m sure he’ll do something about this situation!!

Suddenly, the dragon children surrounded both Mash and I and started to laugh mischievously.

「*children giggles* Actually, those cookies were made with that medicine too!」

How could they do that to us!! Seiya ate one of those cookies too!! That means that none of us can’t move right now!!

「…Okay then. Since they won’t be moving anytime soon, let’s continue with the Holy Sword Ceremony. Guards, quickly push Elle into the abyss. 」

Three of the dragon men approached a frightened Elle per the Dragon Mother instructions. Mash, Seiya and I, won’t have any choice but to see Elle be pushed into the bottom of the valley. I gritted my teeth with frustration…It was inevitable.

And yet…My mouth became wide open because of the spectacle that was unfolding right in front of my eyes.

A usual-looking Seiya was throwing away with one hand the dragon men that approached Elle!

The Dragon Mother’s blood pressure went high and she screamed loudly.

「How…How can he move!? Why didn’t the medicine work on him!? 」

「It’s obvious it won’t work on me because I didn’t eat anything in the first place.」

The dragon children started shouting right after he spoke.

「Tha…That’s a lie!! You were eating the cookies we made a while ago!! 」

「Even though you’re children, there’s no way I would eat something made by lizards. That’s too disgusting. I ended up throwing up afterwards. 」

「That’s too cruel!! 」

「Who’s the cruel one here. You are very bad kids. All of your food contained poison. Besides that…」

Seiya pointed to me all of a sudden.

「I only eat the things that this woman makes. 」

… My heart became flustered even though this was not the right moment.

Wait a second, Seiya!! If you speak it like that, I’ll get happy, you know!? Ah…I feel happiness as if I were a wife!! Well, but I’m no one’s wife though!! But, Seiya…I’ll make you steak tonight!!

The Dragon Mother was surprised by not only for the failed medicine, but also by Seiya’s impetuously behavior. On that moment, she regained her posture and exhaled a big breath.

「This is getting troublesome. A conflict would be unavoidable if this keeps going on. There won’t be mercy for you Hero, even if you are the person who will be the bearer of the holy sword. The sacred ceremony must be completed without fail. Step aside if you don’t want to get hurt. 」

「Oh. Bring it on. 」

「You sure are annoying. I did warn you, so don’t come crying to me afterwards…」

As soon as the Dragon Mother finished talking, her dress tore apart and she greatly expanded!

「Let me show you!! Only I, the one who governs the Dragon Tribe, can change into the “Almighty Dragon”!!」

「Oh my god!? 」

Even though I took the numbness medicine, I managed to move my body slightly. I tried to move away from the Dragon Mother as soon as possible. I thought that I would be crushed if I did not move away from her.

Her dramatic change stopped. The Dragon Mother transformed from the ridiculed lizard from before to a huge dragon with ochre-colored scales. If I were to measure her, she would be around ten meters high counting from her long and thick tail. She spread her large wings on her back and showed a ferocious face. She opened her mouth with visible fangs as if they were lined-up knives and roared fiercely.

While I was laying on the ground, I somehow activated my clairvoyance ability. I wanted to know the opponent’s status.

The Dragon Mother

Level – 66

HP – 563290

MP – 5533

Attack – 43898

Defense – 3881

Agility – 5679

Resistance – Fire, Water, Lightening, Poison, Paralysis, Sleep, Curse, Instant Death, Condition Abnormality

Special skills – Almighty Dragon (Lv MAX) *Disable attacks other than anti-dragon weapons

Skills – Dragon Claw, Dragon Breath, Ultimate Wall

Personality – Self-confident

…The HP is unusually high! However, compared to Dark Fires capabilities, the other stats are not a big deal!

Still, there was one ability to be worried about.

「Disable attacks other than anti-dragon weapons…!? 」

I became startled when the Dragon Mother started laughing increasingly high.

「Do you really think you can fight against real dragons here? Dragon’s scales are much stronger than any metal! Regular swords won’t be able to even do tiny scratches! In other words, hero! You can’t defeat me! 」

…She said that Seiya can’t defeat dragons…Didn’t she?

I did not feel much fear after I heard the Dragon Mother self-victory words. Besides that, I had great expectations from the hero standing right in front of me.

Seiya called Mash while looking directly at the Dragon Mother.

「Hey, Mash. Can you move? 」

「Ye…Yes…a little… 」

「Then, take the sword of the black sheath from inside your baggage. 」

Mash used his only strength left and took the sword of his baggage. Somehow, he managed to successfully throw the sword to Seiya. Seiya received the sword with one hand without looking back. He pulled the sword out of the black sheath and pointed towards the Dragon Mother.

…The blade that appeared was not the usual platinum sword.

The sword, which shined red like vivid blood, was mysterious. Seiya swung the blade as if he was cutting the wind. That reminded me of a sword dance. He made a perfect stance and stopped middle ways.

The Dragon Mother, who was much larger and taller than human beings, was shivering throughout her body.

「It can’t be. Don’t tell me that sword is…the “Dragon Killer”!? How can you have such weapon!? You’ve got to be kidding!! 」

As usual, Seiya spoke with a bored expression.

「Since the time we decided to go to a dubious place such as the Dragon’s Cave, I thought that the possibility of fighting a Dragon was extremely high. 」

I raised my arms as I screamed to the Dragon Mother.

「Hey!! Seiya is always Perfectly Ready anytime and anywhere!! You won’t find a flawlessly cautious hero like him!! 」

Mash’s eyes were sparkling as he looked at Seiya with admiration.

「As expected of my great Master!! But, where on earth did you get that weapon!?」

「Of course, I synthesized it. I used the material compound from the platinum sword and used Mash and Elle’s hair because I needed a dragon element. Finally, Lista’s curly hair was added as well and the sword was completed. 」

I was astonished at the synthesized material of the Dragon Killer.

…Don’t tell me that you used only hair again!! And why are you still using my curly hair!? It sounded as if my hair was the “hidden element used in cooking”!! Just like the yogurt in the curry!? But, well…I suppose Seiya used my hair without bad intentions…am I right!?

I guess I’ll call it an emergency resource. However, as a woman, I had to ask Seiya about something peculiar.

「Listen to me, Seiya!! Where did you get my curly hair this time!? 」

The reason I asked was because since the last time he used my hair, I’ve been carefully combing my hair and made sure that none of my curly hair fell on the floor.

「Well. Recently, I didn’t see any of your hair strings fallen over. That’s why I had no choice but to get some of your hair directly when you were sleeping. 」

「Eh… 」

What? Excuse me? What? Directly? What? When I was asleep? What?

「…Ryuguuin Seiya…Whatever…I will talk to you about this matter later on…!!」

Yet, he was not listening to me as usual. He was paying careful attention to any instant movements that the Dragon Mother could make.

Yes, that’s true. The battle was more important right now. Okay, I understood. For now, he needs to focus for this battle. But…But…I will definitely put an inquisition afterwards!! (EN: No one is ready for the Spanish Inquisition!) That was sexual harassment!! That depraved hero!!

…Meanwhile, I stared at Seiya and the Dragon Mother. Both of them were confronting each other until the Dragon Mother moved first. A tremendous roaring sound echoed as the Dragon Mother advanced quickly with her big paws. On that moment, she tried to attack Seiya with her black claws. However, Seiya was closely watching her movements as he dodged the dangerous strike without problems. He turned instantly and pointed the Dragon Killer Sword directly at the Dragon Mother.

「…Atomic Split Slash. 」

He aimed with the Dragon Killer at her foremost paw. An iron sound roared intensively as it echoed extensively throughout the surrounding area. The Dragon Mother groaned.

「*looking startled* That was a terrifying power! You are well equipped with the Dragon Killer and if you use it properly again, I could receive a great deal of damage in one blow! Nevertheless… 」

The Dragon Mother used both her forepaws on Seiya’s direction.

「Dragon Claw… 」

The claws from her paws extended in length. The Dragon Mother suddenly attacked Seiya with her extended claws like if they were swords. We could feel the wind pressure every time she swung. That was a tremendous force, but none of her offensive strikes could touch the hero. She was only cutting through the air.

Yes! I could see that her movements were not that fast! She is not a fearsome enemy for Seiya!

Although I was feeling relieved…

* looks baffled*

Suddenly, Seiya went in Elle’s direction to avoid the claw attacks. He grabbed Elle’s hand as he kept running. He raised a smoke trail from his running speed and finally stopped at a distant position.

「Wh…What!? 」

Elle was confused by what had just happened. I didn’t know what went wrong, but soon, I understood the meaning of Seiya’s rushed actions. The Dragon Mother’s claw attacks were aimed deliberately at the area where Elle was standing previously.

The Dragon Mother was looking impressed.

「Oh my. I was pretending to attack you during all this time. In reality, I tried to attack Elle with my claws…It seems that you quickly understood my true intentions. I’ll get serious now. 」

Seiya sensed the impending attack from the Dragon Mother aimed towards Elle!! …Still, her lethal stance looked a bit odd to me…

「Why are you planning on attacking her with your claws!? Are you really trying to kill Elle!? Didn’t you want to turn Elle into Egzation before!? 」

The Dragon Mother answered.

「It doesn’t matter if she dies from the fall of the abyss or if she dies right here. What matters is the blood of the chosen child of the Dragon Tribe. Her blood is necessary to enlighten the magic enchantment chart. 」

「You’re cruel!! 」

However, Seiya held Elle firmly. The Dragon Mother won’t be able to strike her that easily.

Even so…

「I told you before. I got cautious with age… 」

After her calculating words…

* agonizing screams*

Elle grasped a painful voice while she pressed her chest intensely.

「Eh…Elle!? 」

On that moment, I saw that a part of Elle’s necklace was emitting a black light.

「What did you do to Elle!? 」

"*смеется озорно* я дал "Death Countdown Ожерелье" для Elle использовать. Я только что активировал это ожерелье заклинанием. Жизнь Элле истечет, как только черный свет поглотит все ожерелье. Это закончится всего через три минуты. 」

........................................

「That…That’s a cursed item!! Do you have to go that far just to kill Elle!? 」

「*grins sinisterly* Of course! Elle was destined to die in order to become the holy sword! Her fate was decided a hundred years ago! 」

Elle was desperately trying to remove the necklace, but it seemed like the necklace was firmly attached to her neck. Elle pressed her chest and crouched. She was breathing badly.

「Damn you Dragon Mother!! 」

Mash tried his hardest to move his numb body. However, he couldn’t even move an inch from his position on the ground. The medicine was still affecting us, as I was still unable to move as well.

The black light covered a part of Elle’s cursed necklace.

「Se…Seiya…!! You have to do something quickly…!! 」

I was enormously impatient. Time was crucial on this moment.

「Hey, Dragon Mother. You don’t belong to the devil’s army. Therefore, I will warn you only once. 」

This was a desperate situation and, yet, Seiya spoke coolly like he usual does.

「Break that necklace’s curse. And release us from the Dragon Village. That’s it.」

「You’re a very interesting hero. That’s what you wanted to warn me about? I wonder if you noticed that it’s me who has the advantage now… 」

She started to laugh noisily.

「I refuse!! The Holy Sword Ceremony is absolute!! I am the owner of that spell!! You have to kill me first if you want to break that countdown curse!! 」

「Is that so. Then, I won’t hold back anymore…Here I go. 」

The Dragon Killer started to shine a brighter red. I knew it when I saw the blade covered on flames. This was the magic sword activation…

「…Phoenix Drive! 」

This was Seiya’s specialty that brought Chaos Makina to dust. Still, I tried to shout at Seiya who was going to attack the Dragon Mother with Phoenix Drive.

「Wa…Wait!! The Dragon Mother is unaffected by…fire… 」

The hero jumped and flew on her direction. He wielded the sword engulfed in flames and he slashed her huge body. The Dragon Mother was supposed to be resistant to fire. Yet, there was signs of smoke everywhere because her scales started to burn.

「How…How can be possible…! 」

His attack was effective because the place where he slashed was swollen red. Maybe it will be possible to defeat her before the countdown is over. Meanwhile, the Dragon Mother groaned painfully.

After the attack from Phoenix Drive, I activated my clairvoyance ability once again. I wanted to confirm if the strength of the Dragon Mother increased or decreased.

HP 341577 / 563290

Great!! Her Health Points* was cut in a half on a blink of an eye!! We still have some time left!! We can save Elle!!

Seiya’s overwhelming offensive power motivated me. But for some reason, the Dragon Mother was showing an admiration expression just like mine.

「Amazing!! That was amazing, hero!! It’s great to have a serious-looking bearer!! It will be possible for this hero to successfully defeat the Demon King once he gains the Egzation!!」

She is still saying that!! She’s persistent!! But what happened!? Her Health Points* were dramatically reduced and, yet, she’s looking amused!?

「…You are strong. Even so…you won’t be able to save that child. 」

Unexpectedly, the body of the Dragon Mother changed colors. The ocher-colored scales that covered her body became more transparent and golden. All of her scales became just like sharp objects.

「“Ultimate Wall” activated!! From now on, your attacks will be useless against me!! Ultimate Wall is the ultimate hardening technique!! This defense power is absolutely invincible!!」

「Ul…Ultimate hardening technique…!? 」

In the meantime, the black light on Elle’s necklace kept spreading. Elle was in distress.

Seiya pointed the Dragon Killer on the Dragon Mother’s direction.

「That wall…I’ll show you that I can break through that wall. 」

That’s right!! She’s not invincible!! Seiya broke through Dark Fires impenetrable defense mechanism not long ago!! I’m sure he’ll be able to do it again!!

Following that heat confrontation, the reliable cautious hero took a sachet from his pocket.

「Seiya? What’s that? 」

「I bought this “seed of agility” from the tool shop a while ago. 」

「I see!! That will speed up your attacks!! 」

Seiya took the seeds from the sachet and threw them on his mouth all at once.

「Eh…All of them…? 」

Seiya was chewing all of the seeds. His mouth was fully bloated.

Oh god!! I thought he looked so cool after saying great words like “I’ll show you that I can break through that wall”, but now, why was he starting to resemble an hamster instead!?

「…What’s wrong? 」

Seiya no longer looked like a hamster when he turned at me. Apparently, he chew the seeds extremely fast and he swallowed them in one gulp.

「Let’s see if I increased my agility… 」

Seiya disappeared on the moment he professed those words. After searching for him with my eyes, I finally noticed where he was. Before I knew it, Seiya was standing beside Mash a little far away from me.

It looked like he used teleportation!! So, this was the result of eating countless of seeds at the same time like a hamster…!!

Seiya took a black sheath from one of Mash’s bags and removed its contents. He took from inside the sheath a sword with a red blade just like the one he was grabbing on one of his hands.

「Dragon Killer!? You had another one!? 」

「It’s a spare. It would be a problem if the only sword I had were to break apart. However, spares can be functional on times like these as well. 」

Seiya held his two Dragon Killers on both his hands. At that point, he lowered his waist and looked directly at the gigantic golden dragon.

「Double-mode “Eternal Sword”…! 」

Whoa!! Besides the insanely increase in agility, he is trying to combine Adenela’s “gunshot sword” on his dual-wielding Dragon Killer!? I’m sure we’ll make it on time…!!

「*grins* Are you ready? Then, come on. 」

「Here I go. 」

Seiya jumped instantly towards the Dragon Mother and immediately started to strike continually without stopping! He hit the Dragon Mother at an astonishing speed! I could only grasp the shadow of his silhouette as he was appearing and disappearing instantaneously! The sword sounds that combined with his incredible speed sounded extraordinary on my ears!

The Dragon Mother hardened body was shaken by the impact of the attacks on her abdomen.

「A…Amazing!! You can do it…Yes, you can do it!! 」

It seemed like the effect from the numbness medicine was wearing off. I could stand up in excitement and joy. I approached a suffering Elle and embraced her on my shoulders.

「It will be fine, Elle!! Because Seiya will kill her soon enough!! 」

「Ye…Ye…Yes… 」

I wondered if Seiya’s strong sword technique managed to cause damage on the Dragon Mother.

I used my clairvoyance ability to see the change on the Dragon Mother’s physical strength. However, as soon as I saw her stats, I doubted my eyes…

HP 340881 / 563290

「It…It can’t be!! Her HP looks almost unchanged…!? How is this possible…!! 」

If my memory was correct, her Health Points* have decreased less than 1000!

「*prideful voice* I told you! Ultimate Wall is the ultimate hardening technique! This skill doesn’t have any weakness! Its strong attributes makes it the perfect defense skill to neutralize any magic or physical attacks! 」

The Dragon Mother grinned and distorted her mouth.

「By the way, the hero’s single attacks were categorized only by the numerical range of 1 or 3 of the total damage he caused. 」

「It can’t be!! His single attacks only decreased your HP by 1 or 3 points!? 」

「No, no, you should be proud. Normally, after the Ultimate Wall is activated, the damage should be zero no matter how much you attack. That hero, with both Dragon Killers on his hands, was able to give me some damage, even if it was insignificant in the end. 」

The black light on Elle’s necklace consumed more than a half by now.

The Dragon Mother opened her wide mouth and spoke with a very loud voice.

「One more minute to go before Elle dies! You cannot defeat me unless you attack me faster! That’s right…you’ll need to strike me with two thousand attacks per second! *victorious laugh* Give up! That girl can’t be saved! Hero, let’s stop this useless battle! 」

However, Seiya didn’t listen at all. He kept striking the Dragon Mother with both his swords.

The hardening skin neutralized his attacks. No real damage was inflicted whatsoever. We could describe his efforts as “useless resistance”.

「…Mister Seiya…It’s okay…to…stop. 」

「Elle!? 」

Elle was suffering from the power of the curse. Yet, she gathered her last strength to speak at Seiya who continued to attack helplessly.

「Thank you…for trying to help me…I’m truly happy…but…it’s okay to stop…that’s enough…」

The Dragon Mother distorted her face and grinned at sad-looking but courageous Elle.

「It seems that Elle finally gave up. 」

The black light was approaching the remaining piece of the necklace. I was feeling frustrated with myself while I firmly embraced Elle on my arms.

…We really can’t save her? Was it impossible for Seiya? Is her destiny to become Egzation really unavoidable? Do we need that sword in order to save the S-rank difficulty world Geabrande?

「Come on, Elle!! Die and become the Egzation!! 」

The Dragon Mother’s voice was full of pride and pleasure. However, in a second her voice changed dramatically.

「What… 」

I noticed a certain anomaly on the Dragon Mother’s body. At the same time…

「It was your idea. 」

Seiya spoke directly to the Dragon Mother.

「…Ah? What are you talking about? 」

「Look behind you. 」

The Dragon Mother moved her neck with difficulty because of her hardening condition. When she looked behind her back…

「What!? 」

She screamed grotesquely.

…I didn’t notice any significant change at first. Nonetheless, I finally realized her dangerously position. Even though the Ultimate Wall neutralized any offensive strikes, the continuous attacks from both Dragon Killers made an impact on her body. It meant that the Dragon Mother was pushed by the continuous attacks and she was approaching the edge of the abyss.

「You are about three to four meters from falling. Really…How can you call yourself “cautious”? You didn’t notice your position until you reached the edge of the hole. 」

After speaking, Seiya stroke the Dragon Mother violently.

「St…Stop!! Don’t attack!! 」

Yet, Seiya didn’t lose his grip on his swords. I shouted at the Dragon Mother.

「Break the curse that’s killing Elle; quickly!! If you fall into the magic chart your body will be subject to a powerful force strong enough to turn a person into a sword; no matter how much struggle, you won’t be able to avoid the consequences for being the wrong vessel!! 」

* Dragon Mother looks furious*

The Dragon Mother was approaching the abyss without a way out. On that moment, she glanced at Elle with terrifying eyes.

「Why are you doing this!? I don’t understand!! Why are you going this far just to protect that child!? She doesn’t have any fighting nor magical abilities!! She’s just a vessel to become the Egzation!! She’s a waste unless she turns into the sword!! If you bring her along with you, she’ll be only hindrance to all of you because she’s useless!! 」

「…She’s not a waste. 」

In his usual voice, Seiya declared the following.

「She carries my important luggage. 」

「Mister Seiya…!! 」

Soon, Elle’s eyes were overflowing with tears. Elle touched her small face and cried.

No, he should have said “my important comrade” instead…But, Seiya! I can’t believe you said “luggage”! I am a little angry with you!

「Dragon Mother!! Break that curse right now!! Or you’ll fall into the abyss!! 」

「Ok..Okay, I understand!! I fixed it!! I already fixed it!! Then stop the attacks!!」

Seiya stopped attacking the Dragon Mother with his swords just before she fell on the abyss.

But, on that moment…The Dragon Mother laughed wickedly!

「You idiots!! What I fixed was my Ultimate Wall!! I can move freely now!! We can’t allow a sinner to kill the Mother of all dragons, even if the aggressor is a hero!! You will feel the pain for cornering me before!! Take this!! Dragon Breath!! 」

She widely opened her mouth and flames were about to erupt. Yet, Seiya was holding his sword with an offensive stance.

「…Double Wind Blade! 」

Seiya created a vacuum wave between his two swords. Before the Dragon Mother could spit the flames from her mouth, Seiya attacked at an overwhelming speed, engraving an x-cross laceration on her abdomen! On that moment, the Dragon Mother collapsed and finally fell into the abyss!

Even so, the Dragon Mother laughed triumphantly.

「I have wings!! I can fix my Ultimate Wall while I fly!! I won’t fall into the bottom!! 」

In an instant, she was on the verge of falling. One of the Dragon Mother wings was painfully tattered. I noticed there was a hole big enough that you could see the scenery from the other side of her wing.

「It can’t be!! What happened to my wings!? 」

The Dragon Mother opened her excruciating eyes and shouted agonizingly as she noticed that her wings could no longer make her fly.

「Why!? *screams repeatedly* 」

The Dragon Mother last roaring words echoed through the Dragon Valley, her death roars were heard everywhere in the Dragon Village.

Eventually, her screaming voice faded away. However, I didn’t hear any loud falling sound even after her huge body fell into the bottom of the abyss.

「It’s impossible…! Don’t tell me that the Dragon Mother is still alive…? 」

Does that mean that the curse was not broken!? Then, Elle will…!!

The black light was covering Elle’s entire necklace.

「E…Elle!! 」

The effects from the numbness medicine finally went away. Mash rushed on Elle’s direction. However…

I heard a snapping sound and the cursed necklace broke apart from Elle’s neck, falling to the ground.

「Ah… 」

I looked at Elle with a sigh of relief.

「Thank goodness…! The Dragon Mother really fell to the bottom…! The curse was broken…」

Mash held Elle on his arms as he spoke the same way as I did.

「Thank goodness!! Thank goodness, Elle!! 」

「Mash, wait! Stop it! It’s embarrassing! 」

This situation reminded me of the Dark Fires battle. Elle jumped into Mash’s arms when he woke up and she cried endlessly. But their roles were switched this time. I looked closely at them…

* feels reassured*

I finally felt relieved. I gazed at Seiya who put his swords back in the sheaths.

「Hey, Seiya. Can I ask you one thing? How did you torn the Dragon Mother’s wings?」

Seiya spoke with a troublesome expression.

「Before she activated the Ultimate Wall. While her whole body was hit by Phoenix Drive, I managed to heavily damage her wings. 」

「Before the Ultimate Wall…? But, Isn’t that strange? Because during that time, you didn’t know that she had that kind of skill, am I right? Why did you attack her wings in advance?」

「It was easy to guess that the enemy would escape or use a defense mechanism after giving a three-minute countdown to Elle. Besides that, I saw her stats through my ability and she had a skill named “Ultimate Wall”. I immediately thought that she would use that skill to make sure the three minutes were finished. To tell you the truth, it would’ve been wiser to defeat her before activating such skill. But the HP was so high that it was impossible to beat her in a short amount of time…I thought that if she was in a worrying situation without being able to use the Ultimate Wall, she’ll probably try to escape. That’s why I first aimed at her wings. 」

「Were you thinking on pushing the Dragon Mother into the abyss right from the beginning? Just how careful are you? 」

「Well, there was a miscalculation on my part though. When the Ultimate Wall was activated, it didn’t look like the wall that I imagined. I had imagined that the wall would be like a “Nurikabe**”. 」

「You didn’t know what a Slime was. But you do know what a Nurikabe** is huh…」

「Well, I know what a Nurikabe** is though. More importantly… 」

Seiya turned his cold eyes to the abyss.

「That Dragon Mother. She wasn’t careful enough like me. If she activated the Ultimate Wall early on, her wings would be safe and she would be able to escape. If I were she, I would activate the Ultimate Wall in the middle of the banquet party. 」

「 But if she started to harden during the banquet party it would be too obvious…」

At that time, I was reluctant to let my guard down because of the dragon men.

「 Our Dragon Mother fell into the abyss…!! 」

「 How could do…!! 」

「 You damn people…!! You won’t get away from this…!! 」

The dragon people surrounded us with murderous eyes. Most of them had weapons on their hands ready to attack us.

The situation didn’t change that much after the Dragon Mother was gone. The dragon people changed their eye color as they approached us. Elle ran behind Mash’s back and he drew his sword at them.

I also hid behind Seiya’s back. Suddenly, a shining sword came out from the abyss and went towards the sky.

「 Wha…What’s that…? 」

The dragons were speechless as they witnessed a red and black mottled sword passing through a tunnel of light that stretched from the bottom of the valley right up to the sky.

That was…!! The Dragon Mother became a sword with the power of the magical enchantment chart in the bottom of the abyss…!!

As expected, Seiya pulled his hand and grabbed the sword floating in the sky.

「Alright. I got the Egzation. 」

After a moment of silence…All of the dragon people gathered in the valley started to cry aloud.

「No! That’s not the Egzation!! 」

Of course that’s not the holy sword!! What the hell was Seiya thinking about!?

While I was perplexed at Seiya’s actions, the dragon people were getting angrier at all of us.

「That sword is a regular sword!! 」

「It doesn’t shine godly like the legendary sword!! 」

「That’s true!! We need to kill Elle!! 」

「Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill!! 」

Their madness was getting uncontrollable. Nevertheless…

「Shut up…Human Lizards. 」

The huge turmoil suddenly became quieter after they heard the voice from the hero who slaughtered the Dragon Mother.

「You said that the Egzation needed the life, blood and flesh of a woman who had the Dragon Tribe’s blood. The Dragon Mother’s life became part of this sword. Then, that means… 」

Seiya approached Elle and grabbed her right arm.

「It hurts… 」

Elle yelled for a brief moment. A small amount of blood was flowing from Elle’s arm.

「Master? What are you doing? 」

「Ask Lista to fix you up later. 」

Seiya picked a piece of meat from Elle’s arm with his finger and placed it on the blade of the colored sword.

「I’ll combine Elle’s flesh and blood on this sword. 」

Seiya activated his synthesis skill. Unexpectedly, the sword started to emit a dazzling light and shined brightly.

The dragon people started to rejoice.

「That godly light…!! 」

「There’s no mistake…!! That is…!! 」

「Egzation…!! That’s Egzation…!! 」

Seiya nodded his head proudly as he put the holy sword Egzation on his sheath. The dragon people surrounded Seiya on that moment as he spoke to them.

「It ended up great. You fulfilled your mission as dragons and I got the sword to defeat the Demon King. This is a win-win situation. 」

One of the dragon men said in remorse.

「But the Dragon Mother passed away… 」

「Her life will be used for a greater good in order to save the world. She said that countless of times before she died. 」

「Well, that’s true. 」

「Yes, she said. Then, what’s your problem? 」

「No, the problem is…Well, there is no problem. 」

「There are no problems at all. It’s a win-win for both of us. 」

「Win-win you say…I guess you’re right… 」

「It’s a completely win-win. With this, the Holy Sword Ceremony is over. 」

I hoped all of this commotion would finally end. Suddenly, the dragons surrounding us stopped moving abruptly as if something were about to happen.

* tremendous sound*

A big sound shook throughout the Dragon Valley! All of the dragon people, including myself, were trembling in fear!

After beating his hand heavily and drawing attention to himself, Seiya spoke loudly to everyone in the surroundings.

「Okay, dismissed!!!! 」

The dragon people started to walk away and left the Dragon Valley as if they were small children scolded by their teacher.

...............................................

I saw a dim flame from a torch approaching us as we went down the Valley. When I looked closely, the one I saw was the dragon man Lagos, the one who had brought us initially to the Dragon Village.

「Please hurry up to the summoning zone. I will return you back into the Dragon Cave. 」

Lagos seemed impatient. He explained himself as we kept walking.

「Even though you have Egzation, I heard many say that “Elle survived without becoming a sword”…I saw many dragon men who were not satisfied with this outcome. So, before a riot starts, it would be better for you to return to the other continent as soon as possible. 」

「Ri…Riot!? 」

I was startled. However, Seiya looked at me as if everything was normal.

「That’s not surprising. Of course, there’s a high possibility for that to happen. After all, the head of this village has just been killed. 」

「How can you say that!? You said to them that it was a win-win situation!! 」

「There’s no way that her death would convince them. So, I just professed some words that hypnotized them for the time being. 」

「You went that far just to hypnotize those people…? 」

While I was wary of Seiya’s abilities, Lagos had an apologetic face as he looked at both Mash and Elle.

「Please forgive me for deceiving you. The Dragon Mother told me to tell you that your parents died of an illness. 」

「Ah, we’re okay about that now. 」

Lagos bowed his head after Mash spoke.

「I know it’s a bit contradictory, but I’m glad that Lady Elle didn’t become a sword. That’s what I really feel from the bottom of my heart… 」

There were almost no dragons around as we kept walking further away from the Dragon Village. I could see a small white house in the distance. It was definitely through that house with the magical chart inside it that had transported us from the Dragon Cave into this place.

Lagos closed the door when we entered inside. He finally smiled as he guided us to the magical chart in the center of the house.

「Lord Mash and Lady Elle. I will probably never see you again, but I’ll pray that you find peace and glory in the path ahead of you. 」

Both of them returned a smile to Lagos.

「Yeah, thanks! 」

「Thank you, Mister Lagos! 」

「…One last thing. Hero and goddess, please save the world with the Egzation. I beg of you.」

I thanked Lagos on behalf of a silent Seiya.

…I met several dragons in this village and all of them gave me an impression that they lacked emotions. However, the village seemed to have a decent dragon like Lagos. Maybe, Elle and Mash’s parents were kind-hearted like him.

Afterwards Lagos tried to cast the transportation spell.

「…Wait. 」

Seiya opened his mouth. For some odd reason, he had on his hand a very tiny dragon man…well no…he had a lizard on his hand.

「I picked this thing along the way. Transfer this one first. 」

Lagos distorted his face.

「That…again… 」

「Just because the first time was safe, it doesn’t mean that the second time will be necessarily safe. Besides, you might be a guy who is resentful that Elle survived in the end. 」

「Se…Seiya!? That’s rude!! You need to start believing in people!! 」

Lagos shook his head with a serious look while I was furious at Seiya.

「No, it’s okay. Surely, that cautiousness will be an advantageous trait for the hero. Just as it saved Elle, it may eventually save this world too. 」

「Ah…”cautiousness will save this world”…you say…? 」

Even so, Lagos had his right to be angry with Seiya, and yet he was not offended by Seiya’s continued rude behavior. He looked mature but I couldn’t guess his age based on his appearance alone.

「I’m truly sorry. Well, let’s start with this lizard… 」

Once the lizard was sent and returned back…and doing this meaningless process twice…We finally got transferred to the Dragon Cave…

When we arrived in center of the magical chart, I noticed that the area was quite dark. It was a narrow space surrounded by rock walls.

「*looking relieved* We’re finally came back. 」

When I looked at the rest of them…

「Mister Seiya!! 」

Suddenly, Elle embraced Seiya and began to cry.

「Thank you! Thank you! *continually repeats* I was scared!! I was really scared back then!!」

It seemed as if she was enduring her feelings all this time in the Dragon Village. Once we arrived here, her emotions exploded right away.

「I didn’t want to be a sword! I didn’t want to die!! Because, if I died back then, I would no longer be able talk with everyone!! 」

Elle cried helplessly on Seiya’s abdomen. I was so moved by this scene that I was about to cry.

「*cries* Sorry, I’m truly sorry, Elle!! I should have stopped it right away!! 」

「It’s okay!! Lisutan, you didn’t do anything wrong!! It’s natural for a goddess to think about saving her designated world first!! 」

Seiya looked with cold eyes as we cried with each other.

「Stop. Shup up. It’s annoying. 」

He grabbed my head and Elle’s head and moved us apart. A crying-faced Elle embraced Mash’s chest afterwards.

Unlike Seiya, Mash gently hugged Elle silently. Eventually, Elle murmured shyly.

「You know… If I became a sword, the most painful thing for me would be to never speak with Mash again…」

「Yeah, I thought that I could never see you again…My heart was breaking apart…」

The boy and the girl from the Dragon Tribe had rosy cheeks and looked at each other with lavish and moistened eyes.

Eh!! Wait!! What’s going on with these two!? Don’t tell me that their relationship has gone up to another level!?

Love is a natural emotion that could happen in an adventure between fellow comrades. I usually have forbidden romantic affairs on my imagination; however, I don’t see much of problem if it’s with these two.

Rather than a jealously adult woman, as a goddess I do care about them.

「Mash. Elle. Can you go ahead and wait for us at the entrance of the cave? 」

「What? Why? 」

「You want to talk for a bit longer, right? Besides, I need to have a small talk with Seiya… 」

「I see. I understand. 」

「Then, we’ll be waiting at the cave’s entrance! See you later, Lisutan! 」

Mash and Elle held their hands together and went further ahead. As I watched them go, I smiled at Seiya.

「Oh my! There’s something going on between them! 」

「That’s the reason why you told them to go alone? That’s ridiculous. 」

「Didn’t you hear me say that I wanted to talk with you? 」

「I don’t have anything particular to talk with you about. 」

I changed my smile 180 degrees inside the cave. I altered my posture as I spoke seriously with Seiya.

「About your Dragon Killers synthesis…You said that you picked up my hair, didn’t you?」

「I did pick it up. Then, what about it? 」

「Don’t you dare say “what about it” to me!! You haven’t realized what you did to me back then!? Did you know that your actions could be considered as a sexual crime!? 」

「I would not be able to synthesize the Dragon Killers if I didn’t had your curly hair. I didn’t do anything wrong. 」

As usual, his theory was correct. But that’s not what I wanted to discuss in the first place.

「…Did you see? 」

「See what? 」

「About “that” you know…If you saw “my”…while you took my curly hair!! 」

「Just what are you trying to say? If you don’t say it clearly, I won’t know what it is.」

「I’m not saying it clearly because I thought you would “know what it is”!! I’m talking about…what’s “under” my curly hair!! 」

「Hair roots? 」

「It’s not the hair roots!! The hair roots are certainly the lower part of the hair, but I was not talking about the hair roots!! 」

「I just took some of your curly hair. I didn’t do anything else. 」

Is…he really telling the truth…!? This Japanese is strange!! Who would say “I just took some of your curly hair” in the first place…!? His actions would be enough for his arrest…!!

Seiya started to walk as if nothing had happened…

「Wait right there, Seiya!! I have something else to talk with you about!! 」

「What a bother. I wonder what’s next. 」

I pointed to Seiya’s sheath with a serious face.

「That sword is not Egzation, am I right? 」

In a second…

「…What did you say? 」

Seiya looked at me with scary piercing eyes. His fearful force took my breath away.

「I…I am a goddess you know! That sword is certainly a powerful weapon! But I don’t feel any godly power from the sword who is supposed to defeat the Demon King!」

After staring at me with a scary face, Seiya returned to his normal bored expression.

「Apparently, I underestimated you. It seems that you’re not just a medicinal herb woman.」

「It was not hard to guess when I looked directly at it… 」

「You’re correct. That sword is not the Egzation. It’s just a “platinum sword” I made with synthesis.」

「I knew it. In order to save Elle, you used a fake to trick the dragon people, didn’t you?」

「I told you before. She has to carry my luggage. I don’t like when people suddenly overturn my decisions…that’s all. 」

Seiya kept speaking as he walked away.

「Listen. It will be pointless to share with them the truth. That girl won’t stop crying if she finds out about this.」

「Ye…Yes. You’re right. I understand. 」

I talked with Seiya while he walked ahead of me.

「Hey, Seiya. The Dragon Mother told us that the Egzation was the only weapon capable of defeating the Demon King…What are you going to do? 」

「I’ll have to find a different option. Didn’t you say the same thing to the Dragon Mother?」

「Ah, I said that on the spur of the moment…I wonder if we really have an alternative way…」

After being silent for a while, Seiya muttered confidently like a superior.

「Gonna be Okay. 」

「Eh? 」

I felt a strong sense of absurdity in Seiya’s words. He said those words out of the blue. It sounded very non-Seiya and seemed very unholy.

「…What’s wrong, Lista? 」

I noticed that Seiya was looking at me on a very suspicious way.

「There’s nothing wrong with me! My head became a little bit distracted after you said that strange words! 」

「If you get distracted this often, then soon enough you will reach a hospitalization level. You’re losing your mind. 」

「Who’s losing its mind!! I’m gonna hit you!! 」

「Let’s go faster. They’re waiting for us. 」

Seiya looked at the exit of the cave and narrowed his eyes. There was a dazzling light coming from the exit of the cave.

We walked towards the light.

…The inability to obtain the Egzation might pose as a disadvantage to overcome the S-rank difficulty of Geabrande. Nonetheless…If it’s Seiya…then, I’m sure that he’ll be able to do something about this. I believe he will.

As I moved forward towards the exit, I suddenly felt extremely tired. Many things happened in the Dragon Village almost instantaneously. Mash, Elle and Seiya didn’t say anything so far, but I’m sure they are very tired as well.

When we get out of the cave, maybe we should go to Izale Village and rest for a whole day at a nearby inn? …Yes! Let’s do that! We need to forget about saving the world once in a while! Okay, everyone! We need to relax! I won’t forgive Seiya for cutting my curly hair while I was asleep, still, I do remember some happy lines he said to me a while ago! He said “I only eat the things that this woman makes”! I’ll go shopping some ingredients to cook when we arrive in the village! Of course, I’ll make something for Mash and Elle as well…

However, a disappointing situation was waiting for me as I passed through the cave in good spirits.

Mash and Elle were surrounded by a dozen of soldiers in armor in the rocky terrain near the exit.

「Ma…Master! 」

「Lisutan! 」

Two of the soldiers ran over to Seiya and I, and kneeled on the ground.

I noticed that everyone was full of bruises and wounds. Their armors were visibly damaged and murky. It looked as if they were in a battlefield not too long ago.

One of the soldiers had a hard time speaking to us. He was clearly exhausted.

「We are the Knights from Rosgard Empire! We heard a report that the brave hero came to a cave in this particular area! Therefore, we hurried here from the Olga Fortress!」

「I see. So, what does the Knights from the Empire want from us? 」

I could grasp a little bit of the situation based on their torn appearance alone. But when I asked what they really wanted from us, the soldier showed me a very painful expression.

「At present, the Imperial Knights under the command of Lady Rosalie are battling with the Devil Army in the Olga Fortress located northeast from here! The situation is not good! Hero, please come and help us! 」

I wanted to say, “we will take a break for a while”…But I couldn’t say considering their hardships.

「Then…For the time being…we’ll accompany you… 」

I answered the soldier in a very loose manner.