“With this, you can finish things,” said Aruku, still holding the halberd with me.
It was the last part of our plan to finish off the dragon. It was reckless, but it was a plan.
We’ll tear through its scales with a fire-imbued slice of the halberd.
Now zombified, the dragon would be weaker to fire. However, given how strong it was, we needed something far hotter than an ordinary flame to get through. Aruku knew that if my punches were ineffective, slicing the dragon open was going to be a truly difficult challenge.
Aruku was the only one of us that could wield fire magic. I could heal his wounds, but I could not replenish his magical energy. The truth of the matter was he was in no shape to fight the dragon himself.
“That’s why you’ll do the fighting,” he’d said when sharing his plan.
The halberd we held between us was imbued with the entirety of Aruku’s magical power. He had turned the halberd’s axe into a blade of pure flame. The plan now was to get close and use that axe to slice open the dragon’s chest. We were betting on the combination of Aruku’s fire and my brute strength. It was our only way through the dragon’s scales. We didn’t know for sure if it would work, but if there was a chance, then we had to take it.
“Once I let go of the weapon, the heat in the blade will start to dissipate,” Aruku said. “I’m all out of magic now. If the blade returns to normal, there’s nothing more I can do. So . . .”
“So we only have one chance,” I said.
“Yes.”
I turned my gaze once more to the dragon. I didn’t know if it had noticed me yet, but at least Blurin still had it running in circles. If I wanted to cut that dragon open, I would have to hit it straight on. If I wasn’t strong enough, the blade wouldn’t get through. If I waited too long, the blade would lose all its heat. If I hesitated at all, our plan would be for naught.
“It’s now or never,” I said.
Failure was not an option. I gathered up my courage one last time and gripped the halberd tight in my hand.
“Here we go,” I said.
“Good luck!” said Aruku.
He released his grip on the halberd, and I took off running, heading straight for the dragon. I was focused on its chest, but I kept one eye on the light emanating from the halberd.
“Now to . . . huh?!”
Even though Blurin was still running around the dragon, the dragon suddenly turned to face me.
It saw me coming?!
In the next instant, the dragon spewed a huge amount of poisonous gas. It was hiding itself.
“No way! You’re kidding!” I exclaimed.
I stopped in my tracks and grit my teeth. I could cover myself in healing magic and work my way through it, but the problem was that I couldn’t see a thing through it. I wouldn’t know where any of the dragon’s attacks were coming from.
“Damn it! How did it know?!” I shouted.
The dragon had realized what we were up to. That was why it didn’t try to stop Aruku from imbuing the halberd with magic. That was why it kept its attention on Blurin and me. The dragon had a plan of its own. It knew that it couldn’t hit me with any ordinary, straightforward attacks, so it opted instead for poison, knowing that would kill.
“But I have to take the chance!” I grunted.
I would only have one shot, and if I stopped now, our chances of victory dropped to zero. I was ready to take the risk to leap into the poison, but before I could I felt something clutch my back.
“Amako?!” I exclaimed.
She’d ran after me and jumped on my back. Now she had her arms wrapped around my neck. For a moment I was confused, but before I could say anything Amako spoke.
“I’ll be your eyes!” she said. “We can do this!”
I knew in an instant how serious she was.
“Alright. Hang on tight,” I said, covering us both in healing magic.
At least for a time, both of us could move and function within the dragon’s toxic gas. I took a deep breath, then dove in. The gas was so thick I could barely see my own feet, and we were right in the thick of it. But now I didn’t have to worry about how the dragon was going to attack because on my back was a girl who could see anything coming.
“Duck!” Amako shouted.
I did as she said and something huge passed over our heads.
“Jump back, then circle wide to your left!” Amako ordered.
I leaped backward and ran around in a circle, listening and obeying her every word.
“I told you,” I said to Amako. “We’re an unstoppable combo!!”
Maybe it wasn’t exactly the time to be gushing, but I couldn’t help it. I was impressed.
“We’re going to come out of it! Dragon, dead ahead!” Amako said.
“Let’s do this!” I shouted.
I gripped the halberd tight in hand and swung it behind me, ready to strike. The gas parted before us, so I picked up my pace. Moonlight shone down upon a space free of gas, revealing the dragon. Its tail swinging through the air, it aimed straight for us. For a moment I froze, but Amako’s grip tightened.
“It’s okay,” she whispered, her voice reassuring. “He’s here too.”
“Gwaaaah!”
Blurin burst out of the gaseous cloud and charged straight into the dragon’s tail, blocking it with the force of his body.
“Blurin!” I shouted.
It was just like the first time we fought together against the snake. The grizzly looked at me as it flew by, and in that moment, we shared a silent nod.
“You got it,” I said.
It’s not just me and Amako. Aruku’s fighting with us and so are you. This is not my battle alone. I’ve made it this far thanks to the help of my friends! It’s through our efforts combined that we’ll take this monster down!
I let out a fierce battle cry as I charged onward straight for the dragon. The dragon seemed surprised that we’d made it through the gaseous cloud. In its confusion, it swiped with both arms. But it simply wasn’t fast enough. I quickly got within three meters of the dragon, and with the halberd at the ready, I swung it in a huge horizontal slice from left to right.
“Take this!”
The moment the blade collided with the dragon’s scales they burned bright red.
It’s working!
I kept going, letting the momentum of the strike carry me all the way through. Then I heard the high-pitched sound of metal snapping. The halberd’s blade broke at its base and went flying into the distance. But I wasn’t looking at the blade, I was looking at the dragon’s scales. The next few seconds felt like an eternity.
No, we’ve failed.
But then sparks crackled from the dragon’s scales.
“No, that’s impossible!” growled the dragon.
A horizontal fracture was visible along the dragon’s chest. Our combined efforts had allowed us to cut the beast open.
“Yes!” I shouted.
The dragon howled in agony. The sliced area along its chest was turning to white ash. Beyond it a strange light glimmered.
“Is that . . .?!” I exclaimed.
I was looking at the dragon’s beating red heart.