I always bit my tongue and kept my retorts to myself, but I couldn’t help it this time. Not only that, but I’d chosen Sir Aiskoletta as my first person to mock. I started to break out into a cold sweat. But Sir Aiskoletta gave me a grand smile.
“I’m quite eager to fill my stomach with splendid cafeteria food!”
Everyone cracked up when they heard that. Even the scary-looking Lord Lichtenberger was chuckling.
Doc stopped chanting his spell to double over and clutch his sides with laughter.
I’d never experienced anything like it before. We were about to face a horrific dragon, yet all the tension disappeared in the blink of an eye.
After calming down, Doc resumed his chant until the seal on the door was broken.
It opened to reveal a wide space, probably big enough to host a formal ball.
Doc cast a large ball of light into the chamber.
That was when I saw some sort of massive boulder-like object ahead of us.
“Th-That’s…!”
It was no boulder. The black, bumpy mass had four limbs, a long tail and neck, a spiky crest on its head, and a serpentine face with closed eyes.
“Is this…the Dark Dragon?”
“Indeed.”
It had turned to stone thanks to Doc’s sealing spell. He explained that, when it was time to make a sacrifice, he would create a magic cage to keep it contained.
“Urk!”
“Medic Risurisu?!”
I nearly fell as my body went limp. Vice Captain Velrey was close enough to grab me.
Just what was this feeling? I made sure to get proper food and sleep so that I would be in perfect health. And yet…
“Wh-What is…?”
“The Dark Dragon has taken you to be its sacrifice. It’s now coiling its magical energy around you.”
“Eeek!”
So this is how the Dark Dragon welcomes me? Give me a break!
“V-Vice Captain, you might want to stand back. I-I think I’m going to throw up,” I warned.
“It’s all right. Throwing up might make you feel better.”
“Urk…!”
The vice captain was such a kind person.
I felt a gentle hand against my back. A warm sensation started to circulate through my body.
“Blessings abound. Heal the sickness that plagues this soul.”
I could hear Lord Lichtenberger’s stern voice. It appeared to be a low-grade recovery spell, easing my nausea with each passing moment.
“How’s that? If it’s not working, I can try a more advanced spell.”
“No, I feel much better. Thank you, Your Lordship.” I bowed deeply to him.
“The dragon is likely to go straight for Mell when I undo the seal,” Doc said. “You’re going to be exposed to even more magical energy than the previous time.”
“In other words, I might get in everyone’s way while you fight.”
“Indeed.”
Then what was I supposed to do? After some discussion, they concluded that Lord Lichtenberger would carry me on his back until it was safe.
How did it end up like this?!
But there was no time to protest. Lord Lichtenberger lifted me onto his back right away.
“I-I feel terrible about this. I might explode with guilt.”
“There’s no need for that, Mell. Father’s magical energy is the type the dragon absolutely can’t handle.”
Lord Lichtenberger specialized in restoration magic—a sacred power granted directly by God. There was nothing the Dark Dragon would despise more. In other words, I was safe so long as I was on the marquess’s back.
“I’m sorry, Lord Lichtenberger. I must be so heavy.”
“That’s of no concern to me.”
“Eek…”
Lord Lichtenberger’s tone was much more cheerful than usual. That was because Amelia and Rih were there to watch over me as well.
“Little ol’ Album will protect Pancake Girl, too!”
Album stood on top of Rih’s head wielding Gud Eetz, his sacred tableware.
That’s when I remembered something. I’d left my own weapon—the one with the voice of an old man—in the barracks, where it was hung up to dry my laundry. Although, I wouldn’t exactly have been able to use it in my current position. I just hoped it would forgive me.
The sacred weapons Sir Aiskoletta gifted to the Second Expeditionary Squadron would probably deal enormous damage to the Dark Dragon.
“All right. I will now break the seal.”
Doc brought his staff down on the ground and began to chant violently. I could see gleaming drops of sweat flying off of him. Sealing such a monster must use up a massive amount of magical energy.
The seal on the Dark Dragon was breaking. Its stone skin began to crack open, revealing beautiful obsidian scales underneath.
A wind picked up from somewhere.
With his cape fluttering behind him, Sir Aiskoletta drew his crystal sword from its sheath.
The battle had finally begun.
“ROOOOOAAAAR!”
Its cry shook the ground underneath us. The layer of stone covering the dragon instantly crumbled to dust. As the ground rippled, some sort of black mist formed in the air. It seemed the seal was finally broken.
“ROOOOAAR…!”
The Dark Dragon then spat out a large mass of blood. I wondered if it was poisonous, since it melted into the ground as the black mist intensified.
“That’s the miasma. Be careful not to breathe it, as it will steal your magical energy.”
Losing one’s magical energy meant certain death. In other words, this miasma was incredibly dangerous.
But that was when Lord Lichtenberger began to chant a spell. A dazzling light erupted from his staff and cleansed the miasma from the air.
“Is that a high-grade purification spell?”
He told me it was a high-grade light spell that not even Doc was capable of casting. Lord Lichtenberger was definitely more than just an old man with a love for mythical beasts. He was once a magic knight who served in His Majesty’s elite bodyguard unit. It seemed what Liselotte told me about him was true.
Just as the miasma was cleansed, the Dark Dragon began to move. It heaved its tail down and split the ground apart. No one would escape with their lives if they were struck with that full force.
“ROOOOOAAAR!”
The dragon was spitting out more black blood to produce miasma. Lord Lichtenberger wasted no time in casting a second purification spell.
Once again, the dazzlingly bright spell cleared away the miasma.
That was when the marquess began to cough—perhaps having overexerted himself with two powerful spells. When he brought his hand away, his white glove was stained with blood.
“Oh no! Are you all right, Your Lordship?” I asked.
“I just haven’t used heavy spells in a long time. It’s nothing for you to worry about.”
But he wasn’t actually answering my question. I could tell his throat must hurt, since his voice was so scratchy.
That was when it hit me. My cooking had the magic to grant people energy. I retrieved a piece of candy from the pouch on my belt. It was one of the honey candies I made before the expedition. I unwrapped the paper and brought it up to Lord Lichtenberger’s mouth.
“Lord Lichtenberger, this candy might help your throat a bit.”
At my suggestion, he took the candy and ate it. I gave one to Album too when I spotted his jealous look.
Actually, maybe Album’s a real big shot to be more worried about food than a Dark Dragon.
A magic circle appeared under Sir Aiskoletta’s feet, indicating that he was about to cast some sort of spell. Meanwhile, the Second Expeditionary Squadron and Lance were drawing the Dark Dragon’s attention.
Captain Ludtink slashed at the beast with Dumortierite, his sacred sword. The dragon did seem to detest sacred weapons after all. It jumped dramatically to avoid the hit.
Garr was waiting for it on the ground with Staurolite, his sacred spear, but the Dark Dragon struck the spear back with his tail. Not wanting to attempt a battle of strength against that giant tail, Garr abandoned his spear and jumped up into the air. However, Sly had coiled herself around the handle, so it came snapping back into his hands. It was a most impressive strategy.
The Dark Dragon moved slowly, using its tail for attacks. When I looked closer, I saw the monster had some sort of stakes hammered into its wings. Maybe those were stopping it from moving how it wanted.
Vice Captain Velrey came up from its blind spot and sliced into the dragon with Phenakite, the sacred twin blades.
“ROOOOAAAAAAAR!”
I thought she’d cut open its throat, but it turned out to be nothing more than a scratch.
However, the Dark Dragon appeared to be in pain.
Ulgus shot an arrow with Serpentine, his sacred bow, into the wound Vice Captain Velrey inflicted. It hit its mark perfectly, but instead of blood, white smoke began pouring out.
“What is that stuff, Lord Lichtenberger?”
“It’s not something malicious.”
“Well, that’s good…”
The Dark Dragon slammed its tail into the ground over and over again, slingshotting rocks at us when the ground cracked.
Captain Ludtink had such a terrifying, bandit-like look on his face, I was certain any monster who saw him would turn and flee in an instant.
“Damn this thing! Why’s it gotta sling rocks at us?!”
Zara, on the other hand, was getting closer to the beast by using Rhodochrosite, his sacred ax, as a shield. Then he swung the blade not at the Dark Dragon, but into the ground. The rose’s vines extended from the handle and coiled around the dragon’s tail. He couldn’t use his weapon now, but he’d succeeded in restraining the Dark Dragon’s tail.
“RRRRR. ROOOAAAR!”
As it tried to free itself, Lance used the opportunity to fire arrows enchanted with fire spells, stitching them into the dragon’s legs. Liselotte followed up with a fire spell from Orpiment, her sacred staff. It turned the flames from Lance’s arrows into an inferno.
“All units, fall back!”
Captain Ludtink gave us orders. It seemed they were done buying time.
That left Sir Aiskoletta alone on the front lines.
When he raised his crystal sword, a pillar of light shot upward.