“Bubbling Water Current!” she shouted.
The soapy water glimmered faintly like a rainbow in the sun as it enveloped the dragon’s wing. Shiori did not hold back, and scrubbed away the oil with murderous intensity before washing it all away with boiling water such that not a single section of the wing went unwashed. Had it not been a dragon she’d been working on, Shiori’s washing magic might well have sent her target straight to the afterlife.
The familiars, who were watching her as they took to their own individual tasks, trembled at the sight. This was the feared “merciless witch” who sent tremors through the world of magical beasts. Shiori, however, didn’t notice their reactions as she evaporated the water she’d been using, then deftly imbibed a recovery potion.
The work had left the housekeeping mage pale. Fire magic took a lot out of her, and considering her low reserves of magic, she had needed to dig deep to tackle the dragon’s entire wing. Alec, who had just leapt back after attacking the dragon’s tail, glanced over at her. He worried for his lover, but neither he nor anybody else told her to retreat. Shiori knew her own limits, and it was within these limits that she fought to help turn the tide of their battle.
“All done with the drying!” stated Shiori. “Over to you!”
“Thanks!” said Clemens.
“You were great!” added Frol.
The two adventurers moved in so as to handle the wing before it was once again covered in oil. They took to the air and brought their blades down with everything they had. This time, the blows found their mark, and while they did not pierce through the wing entirely, they felt the effects of their strikes reverberating through the weapons.
“Yes! Our swords work!” cried Frol.
“Then let’s make the most of this! Keep up the attack!” shouted Clemens.
The swords and spears cut and stabbed ceaselessly, creating a tear in the wing. With that done, the rest of the work became simpler—the adventurers plunged their swords in and pulled with all their weight, forcing the tear to widen. The damage was enough; there was no way the dragon would be able to take to the skies.
“We’ve taken the left wing out of action!” cried Clemens.
The wing had been torn into two parts like an open set of curtains.
Clemens’s voice, echoing with a sense of victory, buoyed the adventurers. Their achievement proved that while it was indeed a dragon of legend that they were facing, that did not mean it was invincible—it could be hurt.
“They’ve one-upped us!” shouted Zack. “Come on, people!”
As his voice boomed across the battlefield, there was a maniacal grin on his face. His hair was drenched in dragon’s blood. Alec couldn’t help thinking that he looked every bit the incarnation of a red dragon, and a mythological god of war.
Zack was a cheerful and generous person, one who had no shortage of friends around him. But when the man set foot upon the battlefield, he became as strong, harsh, and merciless as a god of war, and it was this man whom the young Alec had idolized.
“He shares similar circumstances to your own. He will make a good friend, and a shoulder to lean on.”
So saying, Alec’s father had arranged for him and Zack to meet. In doing so, Zack had become a role model. He’d taught Alec how to behave among the nobility, how to make conversation and deflect insults, how to extricate himself from trouble, and how the common people liked to enjoy themselves. All of this advice, coming from someone who knew life outside of noble society, kept Alec going.
Within months of them having met, however, Zack turned his back on noble society, but he remained in contact with Alec through letters. It was Zack who introduced Alec to adventuring—a harsh, unforgiving, and yet fun and interesting world in which one’s background, status, and rank meant nothing, and you were judged only by your ability.
When Alec left the castle and walked the path of the adventurer himself, Zack became like a true big brother to the young Alec, who struggled to get to the point where he could fully support himself. He taught Alec fighting skills, the importance of preparation, and everything he needed to know to survive nights in the wilderness. His lessons were harsh at times, and gentle at others. And while Zack had not always had it easy himself as a youth, he never let it show in his hearty, bright smile—he was everything Alec believed a man ought to be. Alec knew that he would never be where he was now without Zack. He never would have come this far, nor met the love of his life.
Zack was at once Alec’s big brother as well as a rival that Alec dreamed of surpassing. He had always felt that with Zack by his side, no problem was insurmountable. At the same time, he could not escape the sense that he trailed behind the man, struggling to keep up. Even now, he did not see himself as Zack’s equal.
Zack did not have any magical abilities, but was nonetheless extremely capable. Through his wealth of experience, he had come to understand how magical essence wavered through the air. The greatsword that he handled with ease was so heavy that an ordinary person could only ever dream of swinging it. To top it off, he had achieved the highest known position among adventurers by earning himself the title of “dragon slayer.”
How long would Alec have to work before he could proudly stand shoulder to shoulder with such a giant? He did not know, but as he stood now on the battlefield, next to the man he so looked up to, the sparkle of the sun in his eyes made them glimmer like purple crystals.
Alec was known for being incredibly cautious, and protective of his solitude. At the same time, he was fiercely loyal to those he let into his heart—the people for whom he would give his life without so much as a second thought. That, together with his memorable eyes, had earned him a nickname he was not aware of, and one that would have caused him great embarrassment to ever learn: “the magenta lone wolf.”
And so it was that he stood with one such person he trusted, the crimson-haired dragon slayer, as the two brought their swords down upon the dragon’s tail. While Alec sheared away the scales that deflected magic, Zack tore away at the beast’s dense and fibrous muscle until finally they saw thick bone—or more accurately, the joint that connected the tail to the dragon’s body.
While cutting directly through solid bone might have been impossible, destroying the joint was another story. Alec’s magic had boosted his team’s strength, and they brought their swords down upon their target. They sliced through the muscles that connected bone to bone, tore through skin, crushed cartilage, and felt the tips of their blades slice deeper still. The tail was messily torn up and dangled where it was, now connected by nothing but the last remaining threads of skin. Zack tore through these with his blade, and Alec quickly used his magic to cauterize the wound. The stench of roasted meat wafted through the air, a sign that the reptilian beast would not be able to regrow the tail it had now lost.
“We did it!” shouted Ludger.