The moment that thought hit me, my throat flared with heat and red mana erupted from my body. It started to become clear to me—this was dragon mana. And it seemed to be a product of my anger.
If I use this—
“Myah?”
“Arf?”
Shiro’s and Kuro’s wounds began to close faster than ever. It wasn’t just that my holy magic had been enhanced, my affinity with the girls was off the charts. The red mana seeped into their bodies, probably because we all carried dragon mana.
A few minutes passed.
“How are you feeling?” I asked the girls, out of breath.
“No more pain!”
“All heeealed!”
Shiro and Kuro jumped to their feet, spinning their arms and flashing smiles. Relief hit me so hard my legs gave out and I collapsed to the ground.
“Don’t cry,” said Kuro.
“Thor, you crybaby.”
“I-I’m not crying!”
Seriously, I’m not, okay? My eyes are just a little hot, that’s all.
Even while I’d been healing the girls, the thunderous sounds of battle kept roaring from afar. Wait, they might even be getting closer.
Just as that thought crossed my mind, Milène’s scream rang out.
“Sir Geos!”
I turned and saw Geos slam back-first into a massive tree. The trunk cracked, and a trickle of something red spilled from his mouth. The lord must have landed a clean hit.
The lord’s appearance was no longer normal either. First, he was clearly larger than before, standing well over three meters tall, his body swollen like an ogre’s. The horns jutting from his head and the wings on his back had grown too, making his presence even more monstrous. He growled like a feral beast.
But Geos hadn’t gone down easily. If anything, the lord had taken more damage. His right side and left leg had been torn open, and a massive hole gaped in the left side of his chest, offering a clear view of what lay behind. He still moved like nothing was wrong, but his regeneration was now noticeably slower.
Geos’s magic sword, wrapped in golden light, had clearly been pushing him back.
“Ugh...not bad...” said Geos.
“Geooos!” screamed the lord.
They glared at each other from a distance, hurling their animosity across the battlefield. To any normal person, they both would’ve looked fatally wounded, but they were practically inhuman—they still had plenty of fight left in them.
“If we can support Geos, we might be able to turn the tide,” I said.
But random spells wouldn’t even count as a distraction. The mana surrounding the lord was too strong. I saw a leaf fall toward him, only to burst apart midair—he was wrapped in a powerful barrier.
But maybe with the power I have right now...
I focused on the red mana and wrung it out of myself. It felt like strength was being pulled from my body and consumed.
Maybe I can reach him with this power. I’m not sure, but there’s hope. The problem is that with the mana I have left, it’ll be far from full strength. Nah, this is exactly the moment to put to use all the mana control I’ve been practicing. If I don’t have the output, I’ll compress my mana and focus all my power!
“Aaaaahhhh!”
Ugh! My throat burns. The more I concentrate my mana, the more it feels like my throat’s on fire. I must be pushing past my limit. But screw the pain! Shiro and Kuro were almost killed! This is nothing compared to their pain!
“Gaaaahhhh!”
“Thor, you’re going to hurt yourself!”
“Is your throat okaaay?”
Don’t look so worried. I’m fine.
So what if my throat’s burning and smoke’s coming out?
As I kept compressing mana in my throat, I felt another surge of mana rise behind me. Alarmed, I turned around. Shiro and Kuro were flaring their mana, just like me.
You girls look...
“Thanks to your healing, my eye feels amazing!”
“Kuro’s in peeeak condition too, thanks to you.”
Shiro’s dragon eye glowed a deep crimson—not like it was bloodshot, but actual red light burned in her gaze.
The same went for Kuro’s dragon arm. Its dark-red scales now shimmered brightly, shining so intensely it was like staring into a mirror reflecting the sun. I couldn’t even look straight at it.
Just like mine, their dragon bodies were radiating red mana. It seemed the holy magic infused with red mana had done more than just heal them. Maybe it served as a catalyst and activated their dragon powers? That had to be it. The same kind of mana that flowed through me now wrapped around them.
“Myaaaah!”
“Arf.”
But they clearly weren’t in control of their mana.
From Shiro’s eyes streamed blood the same color as her glowing light. Crimson tears pooled at the corners, tracing red lines down her cheeks.
Smoke rose from Kuro’s dragon arm, just like with my throat. The heat was burning her scales, searing her skin.
The red mana was hurting them. I wanted to tell them to stop, but with all my mana concentrated in my throat, I couldn’t speak. Still, they must’ve understood just from my expression. They looked right at me, clearly fighting the pain, and smiled.
“You’re the one pushing yourself too hard, Thor.”
“This is nothing for Shiro and Kurooo.”
“Totally!”
Seeing their expressions, there was no way I could stop them now. They were doing this for me. If I stopped them here, I’d be trampling on their resolve.
I turned forward, silently letting them know that I understood.
“I’m gonna do this,” said Shiro.
“Kuro too.”
From both sides, they grabbed my hands and squeezed tight.
It’s hot.
I couldn’t tell if it was my heat or theirs. It wasn’t unpleasant, though. If anything, the heat lifted my spirit.
Our red mana swirled together, rising like a single massive pillar of flame. We’re gonna smash this straight into the lord!
“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
“Myaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
“Awoooooooooooooo!”
This fireball’s—
What the? I was gonna spit out a fireball, but this is a beam!
A blazing red ray of light shot straight ahead, slamming into the lord’s exposed back.