Chapter 119

──────

The Battle with the Red Dragon (3)

The platinum sword aura was the Dragon’s Reverse Scale.

Merlin had mentioned this once.

Platinum-hued sword aura, resembling starlight. In the history of mankind, only one person, Arthur, could wield it. A thousand years ago, Arthur had swung this platinum-hued sword aura to slay countless demons and drop numerous dragons from the sky.

『I don’t know if he wielded the platinum-hued sword aura because he pulled out Excalibur, or if he could pull out Excalibur because he had the platinum-hued sword aura. But the sequence doesn’t matter.』

What mattered was the characteristic of the platinum-hued sword aura.

『Arthur’s sword aura resisted the mystique.』

『It resisted things that defied the natural order.』

『As if to uphold the rules of the world.』

The established rules of the world.

What is called the natural order, or providence.

『Do you know what witches, demons, dragons, fallen stars, and the accursed things of the abyss have in common?』

『They are beings that have deviated from providence.』

『They break, twist, and overstep the established rules. They are beings whose very existence is like cheating.』

『Now, do you understand what I’m saying?』

Arthur’s sword aura punished those who did not abide by the rules. As if to enforce those rules. Arthur cleaved through their mysteries, tore through their scales, and made those who did not bleed, bleed.

『Your sword aura, although fundamentally different from Arthur’s,』

『it shares that characteristic.』

『Remember when you fought the dark mage? You weren’t even at the Seeker level back then, but you endured the mystery of the masterpiece and tore through the dark magic.』

Merlin had smiled as she said this.

『So, how about now that you’ve reached the level of a Seeker?』

Now was the time to confirm that. Najin infused his sword aura into Roselin’s Resonating Echo. The highest output of sword aura he could muster. With the white star still strong within him, a pure white light burst forth first.

And then, followed by golden light. A pure white flash mixed with golden light. What was created was a sword aura that was very close to platinum. Ordinarily, he would have hidden it, but Najin had no time for that now.

It was a life-or-death battle. There was nowhere to escape, and dragging out time was not an option. Faced with an enemy that he had to crush with all his might, Najin revealed his hidden power.

A flash!

A dazzling light shone. The rumor that Najin could wield white and golden sword aura was well-known, so it could be mistaken for that. But not for Roselin Ascalo.

“Heh.”

Roselin felt the sword aura infused into her Resonating Echo. It was sword aura that made her soul’s other half scream. Her skin prickled, and her heart pounded hard. The sharp pain made Roselin click her tongue.

This would definitely work.

A smile crept onto her lips.

Gritting her teeth, Roselin swung her twin swords. The Resonating Echo, created by her masterpiece, spread out in a net-like form. Following her sword’s edge, the net of sword aura covered the dragon’s wings.

Kiiiiiiiiiiiing!

The combined sword aura of Najin and Roselin slashed at the dragon’s wings. The dragon’s scales disrupted the sword aura, but the scales were cleaved faster than the sword aura was dispersed. With a sound like Tididididik! the scales began to split.

『———————!』

With a shriek, the Red Dragon flapped its wings, and the net was torn apart with the gusts of wind. The sword aura scattered. However, the Resonating Echo created by Roselin had already served its purpose.

It had created footholds by splitting the scales.

It had created gaps to thrust their swords into.

Enduring the raging wind, the two clung to the dragon’s wings. Compared to the dragon’s massive body, the humans were insignificantly small. But the radiance on their weapons allowed humans to hunt monsters while still being human.

Climbing up the scales, Najin and Roselin sprinted along the dragon’s wings. They thrust their swords between the scales and drew out sword aura recklessly.

Kiiiiiiiiiiiing!

The sword aura, resembling a beast’s fangs, resonated.

Flash!

The sword aura, resembling starlight, flashed repeatedly.

Dragon wings were meant for flight.

Since they generate and ride the wind, they were not entirely covered in scales. The outside was covered in scales, but the inside was not.

Swoosh!

Roselin and Najin targeted that part relentlessly. They tore and shredded the dragon’s wings. So that it could no longer fly. Blood splattered, and the dragon’s wings became tattered. The plan was successful, but…

The Red Dragon did not remain idle.

The Red Dragon twisted its long neck and looked at its wings, opening its jaws wide. Fire swirled in its mouth. Breath. To shake off the humans clinging to its body, the Red Dragon breathed fire upon itself.

The fire emitted by the fully restored Red Dragon was more akin to a flash than flames. The intense heat caused nearby rocks to melt and the ground to become soft.

Roselin and Najin immediately leaped off the wings when the Red Dragon opened its jaws, but they couldn’t escape the heat. Their skin was scorched, and their melted flesh and clothes stuck together.

“Damn it. It set itself on fire?”

Roselin muttered, coughing and gasping for air. Najin brushed off the remaining embers clinging to his clothes and looked ahead. There was the Red Dragon, engulfed in flames.

The Red Dragon’s wings were burning.

Other parts were protected by scales, but the wings, which Najin and Roselin had mutilated, couldn’t withstand the flames. The Red Dragon had counterattacked, sacrificing its wings. Najin steadied his breathing.

The first step was accomplished.

They had torn the wings and taken away its mobility. The Red Dragon could no longer fly. What should they do next?

-You need to pierce its heart or sever its neck.

Najin nodded. To seal an immortal creature like a dragon, it had to be killed first. They had to grant it the death of a living being by either piercing its heart or severing its neck. Najin gripped his sword tightly.

“Hoo…”

Najin had no means to counter the dragon’s attacks. If he took them head-on, his bones would be crushed like before. Avoiding them wasn’t easy either, given the dragon’s massive size and the attacks that utilized its full body weight.

Choosing only to evade would create distance. And distance favored the dragon in battle. He needed to both evade and approach simultaneously.

‘It’s not easy.’

But it wasn’t impossible. An idea popped into Najin’s mind. The chain stake. Holding the sword in one hand and spinning the chain with the other, Najin began to run.

Roselin, seemingly having her own method, charged at the dragon from another direction.

Different directions. The Red Dragon, instead of aiming at one person, chose to sweep them both away, spinning its body and swinging its tail.

The Red Dragon’s tail whipped around like a lash.

The same strike that had shattered Najin’s bones. But Najin wasn’t foolish enough to be caught by the same move twice. He leaped high and threw the chain. As soon as the chain wrapped around the dragon’s tail.

Ting! The chain pulled taut, and Najin’s body was roughly dragged, as if thrown. With the chain wrapped around the dragon’s tail, Najin’s body was swung around like a stone in a sling.

The chain creaked. His arm felt like it was being torn apart. But Najin endured. His intuition told him this was the right method.

Enduring the centrifugal force and calculating the direction, Najin released the chain at the peak of the swing. Like a stone from a slingshot, Najin was launched at the Red Dragon. Swoosh! Cutting through the air at top speed, Najin gripped his sword in a reverse grip.

And then, thud.

Najin’s sword embedded itself in the Red Dragon’s body.

A strike leveraging the centrifugal force and speed. The platinum-hued sword aura wrapped around the blade. All combined into a strike that pierced through the dragon’s scales. But this was just the beginning.

Despite the pain from the landing, Najin pushed himself to move. Twisting the embedded sword, Najin ran along the dragon’s body.

The sword aura flared wildly, scattering bright flashes. Maximum output. Without considering the consequences, Najin poured all his energy into his sword and swung. The relentless attacks had an effect.

Swoosh!

The scales split, and blood splattered.

Seeing his attack work, Najin moved even more aggressively. He swung his sword with such force that his arms tore, and despite the broken ankle’s pain, he ran along the dragon’s scales. He ignored the burning heat searing his skin.

Najin was immersed in his sword.

A state he had achieved in the previous battle against the witch.

His blood boiled, and his heart pounded fiercely. His vision narrowed, focusing only on what he had to cut and his swinging sword. He swung his sword, forgetting even to breathe.

In this state, Najin moved faster and more efficiently than usual. His blade cut deeply and lethally, and the sword aura gleamed sharply.

-…! Naj…jin!

The dragon’s scales split, and blood sprayed.

A mere human was ripping apart a dragon many times his size. Every flash of the platinum-hued sword aura sent blood flying high.

-Hey, hey! … Najin!

Najin’s sword moved even faster. Within less than a second, Najin’s sword had swung ten times. From a distance, his appearance seemed almost ghostly.

-Hey!

In a state of self-immersion, focusing on the sword. A state that only some swordsmen can achieve. Swordsmen strive to reach this state, but those who reach the transcendence of a Sword Master often say this:

One should not become intoxicated with the sword. It is a double-edged sword with as many disadvantages as advantages.

Najin did not know this. He focused solely on the fact that his attacks were effective against the dragon, and in his zeal to make the dragon bleed, he failed to hear Merlin’s voice. Therefore, he was late to realize the anomaly.

The dragon’s scales were trembling. Since when? Probably a few seconds ago. At that moment, his immersion broke. Najin’s eyes widened, and his vision expanded. Merlin’s voice echoed in his ears.

-Get away, move, now!

A voice that had probably been shouting for several seconds. Najin moved, but by then it was too late. The trembling scales shot towards Najin. Dozens of scales, each the size of a forearm, all at once.

Pa-pa-pa-pa-pa!

The scales shot up from where Najin had his footing, from where he was about to step, from where he could escape to—all directions. The scene seemed slow in Najin’s eyes. However, there was no way to avoid it. It was already too late.

If only he hadn’t been immersed in the sword, narrowing his vision.

If only he had listened to Merlin’s voice.

If he had noticed the signs, if only his leg hadn’t been broken, he could have reacted to the attack.

Thud.

The dragon’s scales pierced Najin’s body.

It wasn’t the dragon’s blood but the human’s blood that splattered. Najin’s vision turned red.

His body felt hot. His vision was blurry.

A ringing sound filled his ears. Najin realized he had briefly lost consciousness. The shock of sustaining a critical wound while already having overexerted his body caused him to black out.

Gasp, cough, cough.

Najin coughed up a handful of blood. After blinking several times, his vision slowly returned. Najin noticed he was lying on the ground. He should have been impaled by the dragon’s scales.

“…Hey…”

A voice echoed in his ears.

Najin slowly lifted his head. In front of him stood a man with his back turned. As his vision and hearing gradually returned.

“You’re finally awake.”

Rihard Polsen. He stood before Najin, planting his large shield into the ground.

“Thank Roselin. The moment you were impaled by the scales, she threw you here.”

“…How long was I out?”

“About three minutes.”

Three minutes. Not a long time, but not short either.

“Huff, huff…”

Najin panted, struggling to get up. He looked ahead. There were the rampaging Red Dragon and the White-rank adventurers rushing towards it. Roselin led the charge with three White-ranked Adventurers fighting the dragon.

It had been just him and Roselin. When did the other White-ranks join the fight?

“It started to look possible. I don’t like fighting battles with little chance of winning, but seeing you two struggle made running away feel wrong.”

Noticing Najin’s gaze, Rihard shrugged. He had left his knightly duties to avoid being bound by duty, but he wasn’t cowardly enough to flee and be called a coward later.

Panting, he pushed his large shield forward.

Though made of rare metal, its edge was melted. As if it had blocked a breath attack. Najin noticed the ground around him was melted radially. Only the spot where he lay was untouched.

‘…Did he protect me?’

When he was impaled by the scales, Roselin threw him here. Based on the situation, the Red Dragon likely breathed fire at him. Rihard must have blocked that breath attack.

“Thank you. I owe you my life.”

“It’s nothing. Sorry for joining late. We debated too long before stepping in.”

Rihard smiled wryly.

Turning to Najin, he asked.

“Can you move?”

“I can manage.”

Najin staggered to his feet.

“It’s ridiculous to rely on an injured person, but it seems you’re the only one who can inflict a fatal wound on that dragon.”

Rihard pointed to the Red Dragon.

Despite the constant attacks from the White-ranked Adventurers, the dragon had no significant injuries. The only visible wounds were those Najin inflicted when he climbed the dragon’s back. Blood still trickled from those wounds.

“Will you go?”

“I have to. We must kill that thing.”

“In your condition?”

“I can still swing my sword.”

Najin raised his arm.

His fingers were broken, but the melted skin had fused with the hilt, allowing him to grip his sword. Seeing Najin’s determination, Rihard clicked his tongue.

“You’re insane. Do you have a plan?”

A plan. Najin looked to the side.

There stood Merlin, looking anxious.

-You, you, really…

‘I’m sorry.’

Merlin, with a worried expression, sighed in relief. Her fingertips trembled. After all, he had almost died. Panting, Najin contemplated a method. Almost as if seeking Merlin’s permission.

His thoughts flowed to Merlin.

Reading his thoughts, Merlin glared at him.

Are you crazy? Are you out of your mind? Her eyes seemed to say. Yet, she didn’t voice those words. She simply sighed and nodded. It was the only way to turn the situation around, even in her opinion.

The prepared means were destroyed.

Normal methods were impossible.

His body was already at its limit.

But, Najin had one way to overturn everything. And to use it, there was only one method.

“I have an idea.”

Najin answered Rihard.

Pointing with a finger, he indicated something.

Rihard followed his finger and blinked. Then he frowned and asked Najin.

“You’re out of your mind. Are you serious?”

“It’s the most reliable strategy.”

“Usually, a suicide mission isn’t called a strategy. It’s insanity. Who on earth would…”

“Isn’t it about doing the impossible to achieve greatness?”

Huh, Rihard scoffed.

“You’re worthy of being the youngest Sword Seeker. Someone who doesn’t value their life.”

Despite his words, Rihard raised his shield.

“But I can’t deny it’s the only way. At this rate, we’re all dead.”

“What will you do?”

“What else.”

Thud, he took a step ahead of Najin. Raising his large shield, Rihard grinned.

“I’ll play along with your madness.”

I’ll get you there somehow.