Book 8 Chapter 19

**Episode 193**

Chasing the Dragon Slayer, the Slayers' counterattack began the moment they exited the pyramid.

"Dur-Maurice, I am the Archer Slayer. Death to all archers."

"Dur-Maurice, I am the Knight Slayer. Death to all knights."

No, to be precise, it was from the moment they stepped onto the suspension bridge connecting to Island 3.

Even with two legendary mercenaries as enemies, which was already an overwhelming situation, a more troublesome problem hindered them.

It was the descendants of Link, brainwashed by the Slayers. Does this mean their escape route was also blocked?

"You cannot pass."

An arrow from the Yuryungsa (流隆射), one of the Empire's Three Great Archery Factions renowned for its curved shots, grazed past his earlobe.

The instant he barely dodged it, the tip of the Knight Slayer's sword plunged into the gap created as the suspension bridge creaked under his weight and his balance faltered.

The sword strike, covered in Mana Chain's sword energy, clashed with the staff, loudly scattering sparks.

"Now, kill him!"

What kind of training had they received? These boys and girls moving so freely on this suspension bridge…

Below the suspension bridge was a thousand-foot precipice that made one's legs tremble just by looking down. If they fell, they would land in the sea and be seriously injured.

In the face of such death, there was no hesitation whatsoever in the children's eyes.

"Don't kill them, Aki!"

"Tat?"

He had no choice but to shout at Aki, who was blocking the path of the boy soldiers and drawing out the power of the Mana Heart.

As a result of looking into their internal structure with the Bell Quirius, there were no magical or shamanistic devices whatsoever.

What on earth were they brainwashed with…?

"Don't kill them? You're quite relaxed."

The Knight Slayer's sword was a bastard sword.

It was a sword with a divided hilt. A versatile sword that could be used with one hand or two, depending on the swordsman's needs.

Repeatedly switching between one-handed and two-handed grips, the blade of the one aiming for my weak points was exceedingly sharp.

'Mercenaries ranked 3rd and 5th in Platinum-grade previously…'

A flash of sword energy swept past my eyes in an instant. My mouth twitched as I barely managed to roll my body and evade the attack.

*Whoosh!*

Magical arrows immediately rained down on the spot I had just evaded. The planks forming the suspension bridge shattered, sending wood splinters flying.

"All combat is business! It's a true gamble where the winner takes everything!"

As expected, it was impossible to confront such master swordsmen in close combat with staff techniques learned as self-defense.

"You cowardly…!"

I shouted as I deflected the Knight Slayer's sword, which had rushed in in an instant.

A bigger problem than them was the fact that those scoundrels had chosen this place as the battlefield.

A place where the power of fire magic could not be properly utilized, and if only those boy soldiers weren't here…

"Cowardly? What a rookie! In a battle where lives are at stake, is there any place for such words?!"

As I parried the dazzling flashes dancing before my eyes, they drew closer and closer.

Towards the position where Aki was blocking the rear guard… I was being pushed back further and further. If I was pushed back any more, Aki would also get caught up.

In that one moment of worrying about Aki, with a choking pain, the air in my lungs erupted along with stomach acid.

'Yuryungsa… when did they…?'

This was Yuryungsa's acrobatic archery secret technique, Saryeonsa (蛇連射, Serpentine Volley).

Five arrows fired by the Archer Slayer towards the underside of the suspension bridge instantaneously changed trajectory beneath the feet of the two combatants.

Piercing through the planks of the suspension bridge and soaring upwards, five arrows simultaneously embedded themselves in Rain's back.

"Ce, Ceresia───!"

*Hum…*! Sensing the wearer's crisis, Ceresia emitted a reddish-black light.

The dimension to which the arrows belonged twisted and warped, then vanished without a trace into somewhere the next instant.

Having extremely consumed the embedded magic power, the fabric woven from threads of magic power instantly became thin and transparent.

"──?!"

At that strange phenomenon, the Archer Slayer, who had just released his hand from the bowstring, raised his eyebrows.

'He pulled some trick. Did he avoid a direct hit? But that's all.'

The impact at the moment of contact, and the intense pain that instantly shattered his body's balance, seemed not to have been eliminated.

Unless he was a warrior always at the forefront, especially for a mage specialized in long-range combat, his balance would surely collapse for a moment due to such intense pain.

And Brother Knight Slayer was not a swordsman who would miss such an opening.

"I'll finish you with this!"

The Knight Slayer's blade, which had forcefully leaped so hard that the suspension bridge's planks shattered, horizontally slashed through space.

Sword energy amplified to its limit; the blade's size became three times longer and thicker.

He hastily raised his staff to counter it, but it was not a blow that a mere mage could block.

"Uryaaaaaaaaab!"

"Kkeueueueuaaaaaa!"

Battle cries crossed.

The staff was gradually pushed back, and the sword energy slowly dug into his neck.

The seeping blood immediately evaporated in the intense heat of the sword energy. And the Archer Slayer strung his next arrow.

"Die!"

That momentary crisis, that unbearable stench of blood, ignited a flame in the heart of the young dragon who was subduing one of the boy soldiers.

An echo resonated in its soul.

A red-haired woman, whom Aki did not yet know or remember, embedded deep within the memories of his soul, affectionately stroked Aki's head and whispered that this situation must not be allowed to continue.

With a movement close to instinct, he immediately translated that whisper into words.

"Da Hal be tas."

*Goooooooooooooo…* At that absolute roar, the world shook, and all human movement ceased.

Was this feeling, like one's throat burning, fear?

All those standing in that area felt an alarm ringing in their hearts and their entire bodies freezing.

"……?"

"……?"

"……?"

The roar of power emitted by an absolute predator.

That power, which paralyzed even instinct and reason, paradoxically severed the wyvern's coil that had bound the souls of the boys and girls.

The resonating sound, as if a terrifying blast of heat swept through their souls, ceased, and in an instant, numerous metallic sounds echoed from behind the suspension bridge.

"Oh…?"

As if waking from a long nightmare… muttering this, the boys and girls were dropping the weapons they held in their hands.

"What…?!"

He nullified Big Brother's power? That's dragon power!

What on earth is that power?

How long had it been since they felt fear from the roar of a mere creature…? Overwhelmed by that fear, even the sword energy they had honed to the extreme vanished.

'That was Alakish's power just now…'

In that momentary chaos, only Rain roughly understood this mysterious situation.

'You helped me again, Alakish.'

A warm sensation resonated in his heart.

As the memory of laughing together in that harsh arctic land flashed through his mind, Rain turned to Aki and shouted.

"Aki, take those children off the suspension bridge!"

The Knight Slayer had taken a step back. Now it was his turn to exploit their moment of bewilderment.

The number of magic circles woven onto his palm was five. The runes inscribed were Po (砲, Cannon), Cheon (闡, Reveal), Seom (殲, Annihilate), Gyeok (激, Intense), Hwa (火, Fire).

Without any trickery or artistry, he constructed a simple spell that only maximized the power of fire and unleashed it forward.

A magic inspired by Alakish's power, which had swept away hundreds of undead with just a single breath of fire when they first met.

'Instantaneous calculation of a 5-star spell…?!'

I need to close the distance.

When a mage uses powerful magic, you must always close the distance…!

"Step back, brother!"

As the Knight Slayer enveloped his sword in sword energy, he simultaneously scattered his body into a heat haze and charged.

Before the Archer Slayer's urgent cry could reach him, the five layers of magic circles rotating on Rain's palm shattered with a clear sound.

Five runes, led by the Rune of Origin, altered the natural order. A fragment of dragon's power was unleashed into this world with a clear sound.

"Annihilating Heaven-Shattering Cannon."

Ultra-high temperature flames spewed forth as if exploding.

That radiant flame, radiated from Rain's palm, consumed even the shadows scattered in every corner of the world, leaving nothing behind.

A breath of flame, capable of incinerating even the retina of darkness, extended forward.

The ropes and planks of the suspension bridge, and even the sword energy-clad blade raised to try and block that breath, were instantly reduced to ashes.

"─────!"

Skin shattered into ash, flesh and fat melted away, bones crumbled, and internal organs incinerated.

In a world devoid of color, there was not even a sound.

Without a chance to scream, even before the suspension bridge snapped and sagged from both cliffs, the flames that had annihilated the Knight Slayer engulfed the Archer Slayer.

'This is insane…'

I'm going to die.

That realization made the Archer Slayer's body enter an evasion maneuver.

Rolling his limbs sideways with all his might, he escaped the trajectory of the flames. One leg was instantly consumed by the flames, but… if only he could survive somehow.

"───!"

Then, he could see Rain's face appearing through the flames.

Seeing his eyes, and hearing the clang of the staff, was the last thing he experienced.

As a blade as hot as flames plunged deep into his heart, it simultaneously slammed the Archer Slayer into the ground.

"You bastard…"

"You guys caused too much trouble."

Twisting and pulling out the staff, Rain, catching his labored breath, looked back.

On the other side where the suspension bridge was severed, he saw Aki cheerfully bouncing and waving both arms on Island 6.

He also saw the boy soldiers wandering dazedly around him. Aki must have done his job wonderfully.

'Aki, Alakish would have been proud of you.'

But there was no time to indulge in sentiment.

No sooner had the heat blast that swept through Island 3 subsided, than the stench of blood and loud roars began to be heard.

Even here, where the Dragon Slayer had fled, a battle was raging. Valensidys?

'See you later, Aki.'

As soon as he confirmed Miria running from the direction of the pyramid on Island 6, Rain began to run towards the pyramid on Island 3, visible beyond the lemon trees.

* * *

"The presence of Seizan and Grul has also vanished."

To Arthur, who had arrived at the pyramid on Island 3, Engineer Slayer Hermann said.

"Yes, dragon hunting should be like this to be fun. It's already exhilarating."

The armor that fastened onto his body with clasps was Dragon Scale Armor.

Stronger than any steel, dragon scale armor with absolute resistance to all supernatural abilities.

Arthur, after fastening the last greave, then pulled out a monstrous spear that had been secured to the outer wall by a hundred and eighty layers of chains.

Dragon Bone Spear.

A weapon made entirely of dragon bone from tip to shaft, it was a symbol of the Dragon Slayer.

It was made by collecting only the dragon's collarbones, the most robust part of the dragon's bones, and was famous for being impossible to move even by ten first-rate swordsmen when Arthur was subjugated.

Such a weapon, Arthur lightly lifted with one hand and rested on his shoulder.

"On the way here, I saw those guys from the Special Affairs Department were still alive."

"That section chief fellow has some skills."

"The Demon Slayer will join me in the dragon hunt. You deal with the subordinates."

"These humans are really annoying. I told them not to bother me when I'm researching."

At that, Arthur smiled cheerfully, and playfully patted Hermann's head.

"What's wrong with that? You need to play outside to grow taller, you know."

"I'm tall even among the Ajin!"

Brushing off Hermann's protest with a dismissive wave of his left hand, Arthur, who had turned away, had no smile on his face.

Glancing up at the ominously gleaming Dragon Bone Spear, he merely frowned deeply.

'You insolent Half-Dragon bastard, wipe your neck and wait. I'm coming to kill you now.'