“Ah. So even Zenos struggles. It makes sense, I suppose, since Galhamut and the demon lord once fought each other to a stalemate.”
On an elevated area a ways away from the capital, a figure cloaked in a gray hood watched the battle unfold through a magical telescope.
“That’s unfortunate. I’m supposed to be the one to conduct this world into chaos...”
The fell dragon king’s triumphant roars could be heard even from here. If the beast managed to devour the saintess, the age of man would be over.
“Don’t count him out just yet, Galhamut,” the Conductor said, slowly lowering their hood. “After all these years observing humans, I’ve come to realize something. Normally, they’re hopelessly unreliable, foolish, fragile creatures. But faced with overwhelming adversity, they show sparks of their true potential. At the edge of despair, they join hands, pool their wisdom together, and unleash tremendous feats of strength to confront those who would harm them.”
And then, as if drawn to that rising momentum, a mysterious savior always appeared, just as the heroes of the Great Human-Demon War once had.
“When I first sensed your revival, I knew Zenos was the only human capable of standing against a monster like you. The reason is crystal clear to me.”
But it would spoil the fun to reveal everything, wouldn’t it? the Conductor thought. After all, not even Carmilla had been told.
“I wonder if you’ll notice it too,” they whispered. “Now, Zenos...show me what you’re really made of.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Aha ha ha ha! A pesky insect is still just an insect!”
At the top of the Saintess’s Spire, Galhamut, king of the fell dragons, roared in ecstasy and triumph. He could feel every pair of eyes in the royal capital fixed on the tower, and the depth of the despair radiating from them was indescribably delectable.
How unfortunate that the demon lord who had once brought Galhamut low was already gone. He would never get his revenge. But, thanks to the humans who’d slain the demon lord, the curse he’d bound the king of fell dragons with could lift—and finally, centuries later, it finally had.
As a gesture of gratitude, he would plunge humanity even deeper into despair.
Once he devoured the saintess, all the pieces would fall into place. One aspect of Galhamut’s time-manipulation power was the ability to peer into the future—but as long as he was without his full strength, all he saw was a blank void. He needed to consume the saintess to use his precognition, and while he could vaguely sense the power he’d parted with, it wasn’t enough to pinpoint its location.
Shall I blast this tower top to bottom with shock waves? he wondered. Or send my kin to seek her out?
But as Galhamut considered his options, something made him freeze. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the body of the human who had just attempted to stop him.
Or rather, he should have been able to see it.
“What?”
The corpse had vanished.
“Heal,” came a sudden voice from behind him.
Healing magic surged forth toward Galhamut’s tail, igniting its tip in white flames.
“Ngh! Gah!”
Galhamut reflexively leaped away and activated his time powers to restore his tail.
Standing there, staring intently at him, was the black-haired man he was certain he’d killed. The man was smacking his own forehead, looking oddly vexed.
“It figures. How stupid am I for not noticing this earlier?” the man said.
“You...” Galhamut groaned. “How...?”
How was this man still alive?
For the first time, a spark of panic flickered in Galhamut’s eyes as he stared at the man. Dragon’s Breath had hit this human directly, but somehow, all that had done was burn away half of his black cloak.
“Protective and healing magic. I told you, I’m a shadow healer,” the man said, speaking in a bizarrely calm, matter-of-fact tone for someone who’d just withstood an attack capable of leveling a city. “I get it now, though.”
He paused, looking intently at the massive dragon.
“Galhamut...you’re undead.”
✦ ✦ ✦
The fell dragon king remained silent, his wings beating against the sunset sky.
“I knew something was off, but I misunderstood what,” Zenos explained, staring into Galhamut’s grotesquely red eyes.
He’d pierced Galhamut’s heart, but the dragon hadn’t died. That had led him to believe Galhamut had multiple hearts that needed to be destroyed simultaneously.
But he’d been wrong.
“I should’ve realized sooner that your heart wasn’t beating at all.”
That was the true reason he’d felt something was wrong when he cast Diagnosis. It wasn’t clear whether Galhamut had always been undead, had become that way through fast-forwarding his own time with his powers, or whether there was some other explanation, but regardless, he was undead indeed. That explained everything.
Normally, undead couldn’t withstand exposure to sunlight. But Galhamut’s body was covered in multiple thick layers of overlapping scales that provided robust protection, and even if he did take any damage from the sun, he could undo it by reversing time. Thus, he could move normally in the light of day, which concealed his undead status.
Likewise, Galhamut had likely chosen to burrow underground after losing to the demon lord centuries ago not just to stay hidden, but also to avoid sunlight.
“Anyway, that means I can beat you.”
Healing magic—divine restorative power—was an undead’s greatest weakness.
Zenos had done a quick test first with a low-powered Heal spell, since if he’d been wrong about Galhamut being undead, he’d have ended up healing the dragon instead. But the spell had damaged the beast, confirming Zenos’s theory.
“Fool. What difference does it make? A lowly healer like you does not stand a chance. Do not for a moment think I’ll let my guard down again.”
Galhamut spread his wings wide and soared into the air. Amplifying his time manipulation, he slowed time around Zenos dramatically.
“Dragon’s Breath.”
Once more, black flames roared upon the top of the tower. But when the smoke cleared...
“What?”
...Zenos was still standing there, unharmed.
“Sadly for you, I’m not letting my guard down again either,” the healer said.
He’d reduced the damage from the attack using protective magic, and anything the spell had failed to shield him from had been healed instantly.
Galhamut’s eyes grew wide with shock.
“Impossible! I slowed time around you to a crawl! You shouldn’t have had time to chant, let alone cast anything!”
✦ ✦ ✦
Galhamut’s cries of frustration carried in the wind, echoing across the capital.
“Holy crap, dude! Look at that! I have no idea what’s happening, but he’s fighting back!”
The prisoners of the underground mine, who still looked up to Zenos as their boss, cheered excitedly.
Lily gripped the hem of Carmilla’s robes. “Carmilla, he’s amazing!”
“He is... He is indeed!” Carmilla agreed, nodding repeatedly.
A mere human being completely unfazed by the fell dragon king’s ability to manipulate time? It was unprecedented.
Next to them, Aston thrust up his fist.
“You see that, you stupid lizard?! No time to chant, my ass! Ha! Idiot!” the former leader of the Golden Phoenix shouted at the Saintess’s Spire. “You don’t know Zenos! That bastard can heal anything in an instant!”