But they’re immediately washed away by the instinctive need to run. To my dismay, I’m too scared to move.
“Mizuha! Take my hand!” a frantic voice instructs me.
I look up to see Nady riding toward me. She stops right beside me and pulls me onto the saddle in front of her. Then she holds the reins with her arms coming around my back and spurs the horse into a fast gallop.
“Th-Thanks!” I say breathlessly. “Was that arrow yours…?”
“I wanted to save you so bad…my body moved on its own!”
My guess it was Nady’s arrow was right on the mark. Not only did she shoot through the mist covering the dragon, which no one else could, but her arrow also punctured its tough outer layer. I saw her exceptional skills during the archery demonstration, but it looks like Nady’s arrows have more power behind them than anyone else.
She still seems to struggle with shooting living creatures—even if they’re zombies. I can see the sadness and torment in her eyes. Guilt rises in me despite my joy over being saved.
However, fear soon overwrites every other emotion. The dragon flies just off the ground and instantly closes the distance between us again.
“You’ll get eaten with me, Nady…!” I cry.
“Yeah. I know we can’t outrun it. So I’ve come prepared…!” Nady slides the bow off her shoulder as she speaks. She plans to shoot at it again. That’s great, but what’s she going to do about the horse’s reins? “Take the reins, Mizuha!” she orders, answering the question for me.
“M-Me?! That’s not a good idea, Nady!”
Since the purification of Grantz Kingdom has started settling down, I’ve had Lex let me hold Vianta’s reins in the name of experiencing it. But that was solely for fun, and at a slow trot at that. I highly doubt I can hold on to the reins of a horse galloping so fast I can hear the wind rush by. Especially not with a zombie dragon on our tail.
But how can I say no when I see Nady staring down the dragon? She’s attempting to do what she’s not good at—for me. Then I need to do the same for her.
“Turn the horse left when I give the signal! He’s a good boy. He should respond if you lightly tug the reins in the direction you want him to go!”
“O-Okay!”
Stop thinking about how to ride well. I just need to think about holding the reins and keeping him steady. That way Nady can get a clear shot!
As if to mock my once in a lifetime attempt at being plucky, the dragon rapidly moves in on us, slashing its lethal talons to reap our lives.
“Oh god, oh god! GAAAAAH!”
It spits a beam of black flames while it’s at it. Either the horse is just that skilled or sheer luck was on our side, because we managed to avoid it. Nady will never be able to find the right timing to shoot with it bombarding us with one attack after another. If only we could distract the dragon for a moment...
Then, as if in answer to my prayers, a volley of arrows fly at the dragon from both sides. The Lucors have come to our rescue. Every arrow is repelled, but it’s enough to annoy the dragon. Enraged, it roars at both sides.
“Why…are you all here?!”
“Don’t slow down! You’re the Chieftain’s daughter! Finish it off already!” one of the young Lucor men yells at Nady. He’s the one who always says mean things to her. The other Lucors who had demeaned her are also assisting in distracting the dragon.
“Okay!” Nady quickly gets over her shock and cracks a smile.
They have finally accepted her. I can’t help being thrilled for my best friend. Not that now is a good time for that.
“Now, Mizuha!”
“On it!”
I yank the reins to the left, and the horse swiftly turns. Out of the corner of my left eye, I glimpse the dragon going berserk on the Lucors. Then I hear Nady take a deep breath. It’s over in a second. She quietly releases the arrow from the bow. It soars through the air and bloodily skewers the dragon’s left wing.
The dragon lets out a hiss of breath like a whimper. “We did it!” I whoop, but Nady doesn’t think it’s over yet. She releases arrow after arrow into it without pause. Shattering glass echoes through the woods, accompanied by the sound of arrowheads puncturing a thick hide. Ten arrows are sticking out of it when I look.
“It still hasn’t fallen?!” I groan at the dragon that’s still flying overhead. At least it’s flying slower than before. It should come down eventually if we can keep this up.
The dragon suddenly lets out an enraged roar as if to say it won’t let us get away with hurting it any longer, and it begins spraying the area with black flames. The Lucors scatter. Fortunately no one took a direct hit, but our advantage has been completely squashed.
The moment the arrows stopped, the dragon turns back to me. Sights set, it roars louder than ever. It was too much for our horse—it starts to buck wildly in fear. Seemingly waiting for that moment, the dragon blasts us with its fire breath. It’s going to be a direct hit!
“Please, move!”
I yank on the reins. Did that do the trick? Or was it the horse’s instincts? Either way, he runs at the last second. But in his panic, the horse stumbles and falls. Nady and I are tossed out of the saddle and roll on the ground.
A blast of black zips passed the space right beside us at the exact same time. Apparently, we fell out of sight. Nady seems all right despite hitting the ground too. We’re in the worst possible situation, but we escaped the worst-case scenario.
“My quiver…!” Nady cries just as I sigh in relief.
It looks like she lost her quiver during the fall. To make matters worse, the black flames crispified it, arrows and all. And Nady’s arrows were the only attack that worked on the stupid dragon!
Borrowing someone else’s would be best, but the Lucors fled too far. The dragon will reach us before we get to any of them. We’re out of options.
“Nady!” booms the voice of hope.
“Father?!”
A stern-faced Lucor—Theos—rides over to us. Did he run in our direction when the dragon scattered his people? He’s arrived with impeccable timing! He draws an arrow from his quiver and holds it up.
“This is the last one! Finish it!”
“…Yes, sir!”
Theos hands off the arrow to Nady without stopping his horse, and changes directions as he gallops by us. He charges straight at the dragon. I question his sanity, but soon realize he’s trying to draw its attention.
“Come and get me, wicked dragon! The mighty Theos will be your opponent!”
Theos’s howled challenge seems to have reached the dragon as its eyes turn to him. Nady nocks the arrow and prepares to fire it in the interim. But she stops with the arrow pulled back, unable to release it. On closer look, her face is taut. She must be nervous knowing it’s the last arrow.
“Hey, Mizuha, I’m sorry to ask this of you right now, but…” she starts.
“What is it?”
“I need courage. Will you place your hands on my hips?”
“Er… I hate to say this, but my hand stinks from touching the other dragon. Actually, it reeks something nasty. You okay with that?”
“I am. Because it’s your hand—my best friend’s hand.”
Her response is both immediate and the best thing I could’ve asked for. From the moment I met Nady, I had a sense that “I can surely get along with this person.” It seems my instincts were on the money.
“Thanks. I’m happy to help then!”
I place my hands on Nady’s hips, making sure not to hinder her ability to shoot.