As we walked one of Toltas’s roads, I gazed up at the blue sky, lost in thought.
“Lina?” called Gourry, who was on my right.
“Hmm?”
“What are you thinking about?”
Guess the guy saw right through me. “Say, Gourry.” I gave him a small smile. “If... If we ever get back home safe...”
“Yeah?”
“I was thinking about how we could best spite Norst.”
“That’s what you were staring into the distance about?!”
Well, duh! I had no idea to what degree Norst had planned this, but he’d really put us through the wringer here... My rage wouldn’t be sated until I gave him what for!
“I’d love to say ‘blast his ass,’ but, y’know... Didn’t he say he’d lay off humanity for a while so long as we looked the other way the next time we crossed paths? I’m worried that if I come calling, he’d say, ‘Lina Inverse broke our deal, so now I guess I can do whatever I like to humans.’ So I think we’d better keep our end of the bargain. How about, if we happen to pass each other on the road, I just whisper in his ear, ‘I haven’t forgotten.’”
“Scary!” Gourry responded.
I nodded thoughtfully in response. “So you think that’d do the trick?”
“Norst?” Ran asked from my left.
“Ah, the guy who brought me and Gourry here.”
“And you want revenge?”
“Hmm... less revenge and more some playful menace,” I said, scratching my head. Just then...
There was suddenly nervous murmuring behind us. We all stopped and turned around. The crowd was splitting in two, as if avoiding something.
At the center of the commotion was a man with silver hair. His gaze was shrewd. His clothing was loose-fitting. He wore a scarf over his nose and ears, even though it wasn’t particularly cold out today. He unceremoniously raised his right hand, then pulled down his scarf...
I could hear screams from the passersby around us, for where the man’s mouth should be was a huge, twisted maw.
“I’ve never been good at mimicking humans,” he hissed.
That voice... The silver-haired man sucked in a breath. Not good!
“Run!” I shouted and ran for a side road. Gourry and Ran were right behind me. Everyone else on the street began fleeing too, realizing what was about to happen.
Crackapoppoppop! The thunder breath that shot from his mouth coursed through the city street. Several bystanders, hit by the lightning, collapsed helplessly. Flagstones sparked, fruit stands exploded, and wooden walls burned. It was by pure luck that the three of us were able to avoid a direct hit by leaping behind a building with an iron door. If it hadn’t absorbed the lightning, it likely would’ve mowed us down.
But we didn’t stick around after that. We kept running.
“Did he just breathe something?!” Gourry screamed.
“Oh, just dragon breath!” I shouted back. I’d had an inkling already, and that last move just proved it. The people in red robes weren’t humans—they were dragons.
Their unthinkable casting speed. Their ability to mix flight and other spells. That alone proved they weren’t human. And last time, when they’d retreated... Regenell hadn’t taken the guise of a dragon; he’d reverted to his true form. Their powers to fly and use breath attacks were also natural inborn abilities rather than spells. They’d been wary of my Dragon Slave, too, which had to be why they’d appeared in the city where I couldn’t use it. On top of that, they’d proven they didn’t care much about harming human bystanders.
There was panic on the main drag, and I could hear the screams and shouts of people rushing back and forth around us. I assumed our current attacker was Galdorba based on his voice. But I also assumed his pals were around too.
“Um, um... Are you saying that that was a dragon, not a person?!” Ran asked.
“I think so! We’ve got to get them away from the city!” In a densely populated area, I couldn’t use any particularly flashy spells, let alone a Dragon Slave. Of course, I couldn’t be sure our robed friends were going to allow us a change of venue.
I passed through an alley onto a backstreet. The panic on the main thoroughfare had reached this far, and there were people running all around in confusion. Amidst the chaos, I could feel someone watching me. I turned around and saw a woman with black hair wearing loose-fitting clothing.
Nelfic?!
The moment our eyes met, she charged me! Her white hands swelled and blackened, becoming terrifying talons. Each time she raked her hands through the air, they spat out multiple black projectiles that came flying straight at us. Gourry swiftly drew his sword and Ran swung her staff to scatter them. Meanwhile, the projectiles that hit the townspeople brought more screams and terror to the streets.
I caught a glimpse of a few projectiles as they hit the ground. They were small, black, and metallic. Scales?!
I began chanting a spell to repel Nelfic’s charge. Ran and Gourry also readied themselves, and just then, a shadow grew from Nelfic’s left shoulder. No, not a shadow! It was a giant black wing! When the wing touched a nearby house, it effortlessly smashed through the wall and brought down the roof, casting rubble every which way. Naturally, that included in our direction.
Ugh! What an annoying method of attack!
“Break through!” Ran shouted in a strange voice, running forward instead of dodging the debris.
Okay! Got it! Heeding her plan, I began charging forward as well. Gourry did the same. Ran swung her staff to knock away the falling rubble, though obviously her staff wasn’t doing all of the work. Anything she couldn’t personally bat away was blown off course by the wind that wreathed her.
It appeared Nelfic hadn’t expected us to come after her, because her false face showed its first sign of true shock now.
Then I released the spell I’d chanted! “Howl Freeze!” This baby unleashed a powerful blizzard, and icy gales weren’t exactly easy to dodge. It wasn’t fatal by any means, but cold like that would easily slow you down.
“Gweh!” Nelfic howled as she took the hit. Had she been in dragon form, it would’ve felt like nothing more than a cool breeze. But it was pretty effective against her at human size!
As she recoiled, Gourry ran up and—
“Tch!” Nelfic leaped up and out of sword range with the help of the great wing she’d sprouted to cave in the building earlier.
Darn it! She’d done the same thing earlier. She was really on her guard against Gourry. Once she was airborne, Nelfic unfurled a second wing. The first shrank down to match its size, and both began flapping to keep her in the air. She then sucked in air...
Dragon breath from above?! Not good!
Just then... “This way!” someone called.
I looked toward the voice and saw a face peeking out of the door of a nearby building. Captain Morgan from Palbathos?! What was he doing here? No, I didn’t have time to wonder about that! The three of us quickly leaped inside, the door shut behind us, and...
Roarrrr! Then came the howling of a tornado.
We ran through the house—rather, what appeared to be a restaurant. Fire gave chase, burning through the fissure in the wall sliced open by Nelfic’s wing and through the windows. The four of us, including Captain Morgan, fled out of the opposite door onto the main avenue. And then the flame...
Roarrrr! It erupted through the door, windows, and alleys! It was a close call, but we’d all made it through safely.
Except Galdorba’s out on the main avenue, isn’t he?! I swiftly looked around, and in the middle of all the panic on the street, I saw a child crying. Perhaps from the tear of lightning from before, there was destruction and smoke rising all around. People were crying, screaming, wailing...