“Bravo, Master. That was an elegant and masterful display of skill.”
“Hah, I am sure he enjoyed it as well,” remarked Wridra.
The music was also perfect for the occasion and could only have been chosen by one who was familiar with the battle. The melody, slightly faster than a heartbeat, aroused excitement, while the heavy bass made the listener’s body tremble. Then, the female vocals joined in, ramping up the passion and excitement even further.
But the icing on the cake was the easy-to-operate grip. It was highly responsive in Wridra’s hand, and completely stable no matter how many times she fired the gun. The muzzle flashed, and the impact shook her body. The Prominence Dragon screamed. She loved it as it was what she had wanted to hear.
“Hah, hah, ha ha ha! You fool! Using the same method again?”
“The barriers are breaking down,” Kalina reported. “There is no greater joy than engaging in this battle with a legend such as yourself, Master.”
A loud thud echoed, then the barriers on the ground shattered. The Prominence Dragon had broken through its multiple layers, but what appeared to be a black bud sprouted from the attack point. Spikes grew from the sinister flower, reaching up for the dark clouds in the sky to pierce through Kalina. However, she and Wridra were no longer there.
There was a deafening boom, and Kalina fired the bullet for hunting supernatural beasts in the diagonal direction from where she was facing, using the recoil to propel her turn. A purple light immediately enveloped her and a quiet vwoom sound, and the meager amount of grass and trees around them withered as all living things in the area died. The fauna had bloomed madly instantly, then expired in a flash.
“Master, Blackout has been activated,” warned Kalina. “Commencing injection of magic matter into multilayer barrier. Please enjoy about thirty seconds of shooting in comfort.”
“Do not let your guard down yet. He loves nothing more than to strike where his opponent least expects it,” Wridra said. “Look, his Blackout’s power has just increased substantially.”
Kalina immediately reassessed the situation. The Prominence Dragon was in his draconian form on land, and the significance of this dawned on her. About three of his dragon cores were now inside his body.
“I take back my previous statement. Please enjoy about ten seconds of shooting,” Kalina said.
“That does sound fun indeed. Oh, and I will take over the controls from here.”
Wridra tilted the control stick sharply, shifting the aircraft’s weight onto one side. The next instant, a white line ran across the sandy soil to the horizon, and a blinding light erupted from the ground. An unfathomable amount of heat was generated, melting the ground and causing it to expand and extend a platinum-colored wall upward.
She had no time to look back to confirm but knew this was Lavos’s Platinum Breath, fired from his main body. It would have been disastrous if they had taken a hit from that while dealing with his Blackout.
Countless vines extended forward and grazed Kalina’s frame. Sparks flew, and Kalina detached the exterior piece before the corruption could spread. They were fighting for their lives, yet instead of panicking, Wridra’s lips formed a faint smile. She considered him a fool for using three dragon cores without knowing what he was in for next. To make himself look stronger, he had chosen the worst possible option.
Purple lights illuminated the land mines she had scattered beforehand, making ominous beeping noises around the Prominence Dragon in his draconian form. Having lost his composure from the countless gunshots fired at him, his face had become that of a hideous monster, in a stark contrast to his earlier appearance.
The swarm of superpowerful guided missiles flying in from beyond the horizon was finally about to be put to use as well.
Wridra had won, thanks to her opponent being too prideful to flee. She had continued fighting at the forefront of danger for this moment. Just before the multilayer barrier was deactivated, the entire area around them turned into a scene out of hell.
§
Everything had gone dark, with no visibility for a short distance ahead. The Prominence Dragon Lavos adjusted his tie out of habit, then looked all around him. Strangely, he couldn’t sense his domain. Lavos should have been able to see through any darkness. He realized Wridra must have used her powers on him, trapping him in some sort of force field.
Lavos had some idea of what had happened. When the brutal attack struck him, his concentration had wavered just slightly. That shrewd woman must have taken that moment to activate her traps.
He heard shoes clicking against the ground as he got closer and closer. Wridra’s black hair melded with the darkness, and her pale skin came into view. Seeing the amused look on her face made him want to hurt her until she broke. For now, Lavos moved his fingertip to create a leather sofa. A stunt like this was possible even without that woman’s Creation skill. He threw himself onto the sofa, letting both arms hang off of the backrest.
“Wow, that look on your face... You really think you’ve won? How simple can you be? Pretty ironic, considering you call people fools all the time,” Lavos said.
Wridra approached him without saying a word, the sound of her clicking shoes growing. Her expression remained unchanged, assured in her victory. Lavos’s flippant smile grew tighter as he felt aggravated.
“Looks like this force field is containing my power,” continued Lavos. “Our little battle here may be over, but I have more bodies. When will you realize that you’ll still be disadvantaged even if you destroy three meager dragon cores?”
Wridra had likely exposed all her moves to trap him here. Even in his weakened state, he could still take at least one of her dragon cores out, which would be a net positive result for him. Initially, the unfamiliar magic had thrown him off. He had to acknowledge that she had perfected the technique. She sequentially launched her attacks without any incantations from outside his perceptual domain. While Wridra had caught him off guard earlier and shocked him, Lavos fully understood the situation now.
“If you’re thinking of absorbing my dragon core, you can forget it. We’re completely incompatible. Maybe if you try hard enough, you can pull it off in a few centuries... No, you’re not skilled enough. I possess the ability to use Divine Haze, unlike you.”
The clicking halted as the Arkdragon stopped in her tracks.
The Prominence Dragon looked at her, his trademark fluorescent red hair wavering with the movement. He waited for Wridra to speak, as her only option was to talk things out. As he had explained earlier, he was still in a far more advantageous position. But no matter what demands she would make, he had already decided to dominate her as his personal slave. She had displayed a new type of magic earlier, and he wanted to make it his own.
“Pathetic little man. You still cannot admit defeat?” Wridra said.
“What...did you say?”
Lavos’s expression stiffened for a moment, then he sneered. It was foolish of her to assume she had won at this point already. The oblivious Arkdragon glanced around her, then parted her lustrous lips to speak.
“I call this domain Solitude. A technique I learned from arriving in another world and gaining new wisdom.”
“Another world? What are you talking about?”