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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“I need to conserve my strength, and I want to give them a chance to talk.”
Sen looked at me, startled.
Without meeting her gaze, I gave a clear warning.
“If you try anything funny, you’re next after the lizard. Behave yourselves.”
“…We’ll keep that in mind.”
“Ah, a little consideration for old times’ sake.”
The Leader and the Eccentric nodded and stepped back. Sen seemed to have much to say to me, but before she could speak…
“The wyvern is healed!”
Jane’s shout drew my attention. I ruffled Sen’s hair, who was looking at me with teary eyes, and headed towards the wyvern.
Jane was already mounted, holding the reins.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m coming too. I have something to say to the Dragon God, and you don’t know how to ride a wyvern.”
“Can’t I just figure it out?”
“Just get on.”
Perhaps because she was no longer the Dragon Priestess, her tone was a bit rough, but it seemed better for a fight, so I mounted behind her.
“Fasten your safety strap.”
“I can’t fight with that on. Oh!”
My hand felt empty.
My sword was still embedded in Shakarim’s right eye.
I spotted a long sword.
“Hey, give me that.”
“…”
The Leader of the assassins carried a large sword, almost as tall as himself, instead of daggers.
“Are you some kind of thug?”
Jane looked bewildered, and the Leader seemed reluctant, but…
“No time.”
I stopped time briefly and took his sword. From their perspective, it would have appeared in my hand instantly.
“That’s…!”
The Leader started to protest, but I smiled.
“Thanks. I’ll put it to good use. It’s sharp enough to pierce dragon scales.”
I patted Jane’s back, signaling her to move. She gave the Leader a sympathetic look and took the reins.
I heard him shouting something, but it was drowned out by the flapping of the wyvern’s wings.
“I feel a little bad.”
“He’s always like that.”
Eve and Sen’s voices reached me, but my gaze was fixed upwards.
Shakarim, having devoured the wyverns, roared in fury, circling in the sky, gathering mana.
“Get as close as possible. We can’t shout up there, so use telepathy.”
“I’m not very good at telepathy.”
“I can’t use it at all. Just tell me where you are.”
There was no way we could have a detailed conversation while fighting in the air.
“When Shakarim attacks, aim for his underside. He’s stiff from just waking up, so he can’t react quickly there.”
“…”
“Just watch out for his magic and breath attacks. I’ll try to prevent him from using them. He’s still disoriented, so he won’t be able to multitask.”
I’d analyzed him during his fight with the wyverns, but Jane just gripped the reins tightly, silent.
“Truly…”
Then, she murmured,
“Shakarim truly isn’t a god.”
“…”
I felt the same helplessness I’d felt when talking to Lucia, our Saint. I borrowed power from the Goddess of Time, but I had no faith in the gods.
I couldn’t understand their belief, but…
I answered honestly.
“Yeah, he’s just a grumpy old lizard.”
“…Aren’t you going to comfort me?”
“I’ll think about it while we’re fighting. Here he comes.”
“…Lizard… haa…”
Shakarim spotted us and roared, charging towards us. He seemed about to incinerate us with his breath, but…
He only choked and sputtered, no destructive breath followed.
“He doesn’t even know how many times he can use his breath.”
I tightened my grip on the sword.
The only other time I’d wielded a sword this long was the greatsword Kurika gave me in the first iteration.
But I was certain this sword was better suited for fighting a dragon.
“But! What’s our goal?!”
Jane’s voice was almost lost in the wind as the wyvern accelerated. I smiled, gripping her shoulder.
“We hit him until he thinks, ‘I’m going to die.’”
I had to admit it.
Facing the Dragon God head-on was more intimidating than any enemy I’d faced before.
Yes, intimidating.
Facing the ‘Earliest Apocalypse’ had been chilling, a creeping, invisible dread.
But the Dragon God, with his massive fangs, fierce eyes, and colossal size…
He was a monster in the truest sense of the word, overwhelming through sheer scale.
“Hold on tight! When I give the signal, veer hard to the right!”
“Alright!”
I tried to stay calm, but there was an unexpected variable.
The wyvern, intimidated by Shakarim’s size, swerved on its own.
“Whoa!”
“W-wait!”
If I hadn’t been holding onto Jane, we would have fallen. The wyvern, showing its tail, fled, and Shakarim roared mockingly.
“You dare show me your back?!”
This time, it wasn’t a telepathic message, but a true roar. It made my skin crawl.
But calming the wyvern was the priority.
“Can’t you do something?!”
“J-just a moment!”
Jane gently stroked the wyvern’s head.
Red mana swirled around her hand, seeping into the creature, calming it.
“Phew, I wasn’t sure it would work since it’s my first time with a wyvern. Thank goodness.”
“Can’t you make it go any faster?”
“Maybe with a support spell…”
“…Conserve your mana.”
I gulped, watching Shakarim approach. He was already right behind us.
If he could have used his breath, we would all be dead.
“This won’t do. Can you go any higher?”
“Higher than this?”
“Straight up, if you can.”
“I’ll try.”
The calmed wyvern now showed its worth.
It ascended vertically, a perfect straight line.
The cold air at this altitude stung my lungs. Jane chattered her teeth.
“I-I don’t think we can go any higher!”
“This is enough! I’ll distract him, so put some distance between us and get ready to use telepathy!”
Shakarim, jaws wide open, was right below us. His thick scales and massive size seemed unaffected by the altitude.
“Distract him?”
Jane shouted, but I had already jumped off the wyvern.
“Are you CRAZY?!”
Jane’s scream faded behind me.
“ROOOOOAR!”
Shakarim’s jaws approached.
My plan had been to stop time, land on his tongue, stab my sword into his gums, and hold on.
But I couldn’t.
A splitting headache. My time manipulation wouldn’t activate.
Overload.
“Ugh!”
The pain almost made me pass out, but the biting wind and cold air kept me conscious.
But I was still heading straight into the dragon’s mouth.
‘I have to hold on!’
I channeled my remaining mana into my sword, trying to twist my body…
Clang!
The sword, reacting to the mana, suddenly extended with a metallic sound.
“What the…!”
I was genuinely surprised. The sword stretched like a chain, whipping around like a flexible blade.
It was more like a chain with a blade attached.
In any case…
I swung the mana-infused chain-sword, hooking it onto his gums just before I landed on his tongue.
I dangled precariously.
Inside his mouth.
His massive tongue darted towards me…
My mana depleted rapidly.
The mana within the sword dissipated.
Clang!
The sword returned to its normal form. Thankfully, the blade was firmly lodged in his gums, pulling me towards it.
I reached his gums safely.
“Wow, this is insane.”
I was truly shocked. I’d never seen a sword like this.
‘Sorry, Leader, but I’m keeping this.’
I stabbed the sword into his gums repeatedly, like a cavity-causing bacteria.
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