The Arkdragon could swap out her skills at will. Since she could change them to adapt to any situation, she gained a greater advantage in battle the more she learned of her opponent’s nature. On the other hand, she had an unfavorable matchup against those who had highly specialized abilities such as the Prominence Dragon. Her enemy outclassed her in terms of firepower. In addition, Wridra was highly vulnerable if the opponent threw off the plans and countermeasures she had prepared before the battle with unexpected moves. Lavos knew this, which was why he constantly maintained a composed attitude.
Regardless, she considered the opponent equally vulnerable if things played out unexpectedly. And Wridra had to admit that she was enjoying this situation. She was so close to seeing him humbled, his face rubbing up against the ground. Her lips curled into a smile, and her trademark dress-shaped armor vanished into a haze. She had deemed physical defense and autofire unnecessary for the upcoming battle.
A corset embroidered with black roses appeared on her body, and a garter wrapped around her bare legs. She leaned back, and her lustrous black hair clung to her back.
Even though it was an unusual outfit in the dunes, Kalina found Wridra’s appearance strangely alluring as she gazed upon her master. Perhaps it was because Wridra had seemed even more dragon-like than usual, with scales covering her toes and waist while her horn looked like a hair ornament. There was a faint purple glow within the Arkdragon’s eyes that Kalina found intoxicating. An air of elegance and power emanated from her, with an unmistakable burning passion deep within her. Wridra was determined to seize victory, even if it took everything she had. She faced an overwhelming opponent, but she wanted nothing more than to make him realize her superiority and crush him into the ground.
The word “evolution” referred to when organisms gradually transformed and were reborn in various ways. At that moment, Kalina was undergoing a similar transformation. She transformed her frame to support her master, acquiring speed, grace, and resistance to impact and madness. Her frame creaked as it changed shape, and the Arkdragon glanced at her.
Kalina gasped in realization, feeling shame for acting without getting her master’s permission first. “I apologize, Master. It was arrogant of me to wish to protect you.”
In response, Wridra’s hand gently stroked her frame.
“There is no need to apologize. I have no reason to scold you when you only acted for my sake,” remarked Wridra, with eyes full of compassion. “Hmm, it appears you have potential to achieve the form you seek.”
Wridra poked Kalina with a fingertip and was shocked to feel warmth growing inside the ship. Kalina wasn’t an individual life-form but something created from her master. As such, there was no way she could feel her own emotions. Yet she was so moved that she felt as if she could cry. A torrent of emotion welled up within her, so brilliant and warm that she wanted to clutch at her heart.
What was this emotion? She felt like an egg having its shell peeled off. The world around her glowed brightly, and her birth mother, the Arkdragon, watched her in wait. Her airframe shuddered as it felt Wridra’s breath, and her wings folded vertically. Kalina had easily achieved the form she was meant to be and wished to be. What could this power be?
“I shall grant you the skill, Progress. Rise against our enemy with everything you have!”
“Yes, Master!” exclaimed Kalina.
Her master’s voice and the skill bestowed upon her sent an indescribable wave of pleasure through her body. The miracles of achieving what she sought and being able to serve such a strong and beautiful master made her evolve at a dizzying pace. As her joy erupted in a crescendo, she acquired new skills:
Obtained physical damage barrier.
Obtained mental damage barrier.
“Roger that, proceeding with the upgrade. Requesting magic matter infusion as an energy source. Approved. Commencing refinement mechanism for higher purity―implementation complete. Commencing barrier multilayer development―completed. Dubbing it as a ‘multilayer barrier.’ Requesting refractive capabilities―approved, commencing upgrade,” Kalina said.
As the aircraft underwent a flurry of changes, Wridra smiled and walked away, the fine sand crunching under her with each step. When she turned around, the multilayer barrier was in the deployment process as a test run. The Arkdragon turned around again, staring at the Prominence Dragon hovering along the horizon.
“Hah, hah, you have mocked me for releasing power from my own body. Now, behold my answer. I have a warm welcome awaiting you,” said Wridra, with a beautiful yet intense smile.
§
Wridra lifted the Magigun, which was three meters, making it far longer than she was tall. Crackling sounds could be heard as scales grew over her fingers as she held the weapon.
Her boots fit into a platform with a heavy metallic clack. The sandy soil couldn’t sufficiently absorb the shock, so Wridra partially buried Kalina in the sand and used her as a platform. She had far more stability than before this way and was convinced this was the proper form for firing the Magigun. Moreover, she had made yet another improvement to her plan.
“I should be able to fire in rapid succession now,” she noted.
“Please use your power to your heart’s content, Master,” Kalina said.
Wridra gestured, glancing to her side for the Magigun. A little farther away were several switches for remote detonation bombs. She took a deep breath to contain her impatience.
“Now for the final confirmation,” she said. “After firing my weapon, Lavos will immediately close the distance to attack. You will deploy a barrier in preparation of his counterattack. Meanwhile, I will show him ultimate firepower.”
“Please note that judging by the difference in our power levels, I can only hold him off for eight seconds.”
“That will do. Afterward, I will use the skills I have learned by visiting Japan. Preparing will take some time, but it should work as long as he is drawn here.”
She looked into her sights to confirm the Prominence Dragon was still hovering as magic matter scattered all around him. He knew the Arkdragon wouldn’t flee, so he awaited the next attack.
While Wridra observed the enemy, Kalina spoke differently, “Japan... The land that is the root of my birth. I would like to visit that country one day.”
“Hah, hah, then you must first learn the art of sleeping. If I remember correctly, there is something called an air show in Japan. Perhaps if you return to the form of my wings... Well, this is a discussion for another time.”
Had Kitase been there, he likely would have given her a look pleading for her not to do so. No one in modern Japan possessed such incredible firepower, and Kalina stood out so much that she made the elf look invisible in comparison. Wridra chuckled briefly at the thought of his horrified yet sleepy-looking face, then pursed her lips.
Her target was the Prominence Dragon hovering at her maximum attack range. Three bullets waited in the magazine she had quickly made, and she loaded one into the chamber.
Wridra’s breathing felt strangely distant. Dark clouds loomed overhead, and the wind blew fiercely, kicking up sand like billowing curtains and making her hair dance wildly. She crouched upon the aircraft on all fours, her heartbeat growing faster.
She wanted to shoot him. Defeat him. Kill him. She wanted to force-feed hot iron down the throat of the one who had subjected her to such indignity in the past. She wanted to punish him for going down the wrong path as an ancient dragon. The thought twisted her face into a ferocious smile.
“Die, my darling.”
Fangs bared, and with her ample chest puffed out, the Arkdragon pulled the trigger.
A thunderous eruption occurred, followed by an explosive impact and aftermath. Kalina couldn’t have withstood the recoil if she had fired all three bullets in a row. The single shot propelled her backward, spraying sand into the air until it eventually stopped. Wridra turned around and spat on the ground, not even watching the bullet’s trajectory.
“Deploy the multilayer barrier!” ordered Wridra.
“Deploying barrier. I recommend putting on your seat belt for your safety, Master,” responded Kalina.
Multiple barriers appeared around them, and something black tried to crawl from the ground beneath them. The Prominence Dragon had used his Divine Haze, so Kalina was buying time until it would penetrate the twelve-layered barrier she had put up.
But the enemy seemed to have realized it was no normal barrier. The alternating layers of barriers resistant to physical and mental damage redirected the attacks at an angle, making them difficult to break. This seemed to cause frustration, as they heard an eerie roar in the distance.
Wridra had eight seconds to work with. She repeatedly pressed the switches in each hand without hesitation. Kalina put a seat belt on her master and began playing music for dramatic effect. The display showed that music was playing, then Kalina spat fire.
Loud booms erupted one after another, spitting out bullets that were approximately five kilograms each. Full of high-purity magic matter, the bullets instantly locked onto their targets upon firing. They were bullets designed to take down supernatural beings that wouldn’t just pierce through their target, but split up and cause a chain explosion once inside. If fired at a whale, for example, the bullets would penetrate directly through its head to abdomen, then burst in quick succession, annihilating the colossal creature. The recent rapid-fire shots could have destroyed an entire country.
Kalina also had a new feature installed that allowed her to nullify her barriers.
The multilayer barriers absorbed magic, and the ground beneath them expanded. Wridra stretched her hand toward it and made a gripping gesture, retracting the black flames as if time had rewound. This magic technique called Reversal converged force into a single point. The color drained away from its surroundings as if pulled into a black hole.
There was a moment of silence, followed by a dull sound, as if whatever was caught in the absorption point had been destroyed. Kalina played the sound of applause, then spoke from the cockpit.