The Battle to Destroy the Evil Dragon
(What the hell are they doing?)
The moment Hildegard wielded the new power of "Master Grip Magic," Moritz felt a chilling sense of foreboding run down his spine.
According to Moritz, the overwhelming aura emanating from this mere slave girl was unnatural.
The two, who had been fleeing from the Moon-Eclipse Dragon, Eclipse Dragon’s attacks, now froze in place, standing closely together.
This is the perfect opportunity.
They wouldn’t flee or hide.
In fact, there was nowhere to escape in this cursed forest, which had been largely turned into a barren wasteland. But if they were going to stop moving, this was the ideal chance to take down both of these dangerous individuals at once.
He should have understood that, yet Moritz’s heart was still in turmoil.
(This is bad.)
His instincts, honed through years of living as a secret operative within the chaotic organization, Asansukurita, screamed that he should flee immediately.
His instincts were right.
The "Mighty Grip" spell that Hildegard had activated was a magic of terrifying potential.
"Ahhhhh!!"
It converges.
The vast amount of magic power in the air surrounding them began to concentrate.
Like a forceful pull, all the magic in the area was being drawn toward Hildegard’s right hand, drawn to it as though it were being forcibly gathered.
This was due to the unique nature of Hildegard’s magic.
Possessing the inherent attribute of "Mud," her magic had a slight adhesive quality.
That characteristic caused the magic to strongly bind together, gathering every bit of magic in the atmosphere as though stripping it all away.
"Ughhh..."
The strain of gathering so much magic caused Hildegard to suffer.
The skin of her right arm tore, blood seeping from the wounds.
But still, she didn’t give up.
Only for one purpose.
To defeat the evil dragon-like beast that killed her mother.
"———! Eclipse Dragon! Breath attack! Breath attack, now!!"
In a moment of panic, Moritz chose to command the dragon to unleash its powerful Breath Attack.
In ancient times, this attack had been called "Ground Epicenter" by the imperial forces who faced the Moon-Eclipse Dragon, as it was a large-scale destructive move.
It had caused numerous knight casualties and even forced the "Knight of the Rushing Falls," Makkern Birdner, into a half-dead state, while partially destroying the Graniph Fortress—an attack of overwhelming power.
"Guuaaaa!!"
"What the hell are you barking about! Shoot! Do it quickly!"
Moritz was too hasty.
The Breath Attack, which required no charge-up, was far from its full power, lacking in both range and destructive potential.
Though it should still be enough to trample the two of them, these weren’t ordinary opponents.
"Hm..."
At the unsettling movement of the Eclipse Dragon, Vanitas quickly prepared to gather magic with one hand, ready to defend.
But there was no need to worry.
Immediately to the side, an overwhelming amount of magic was converging.
"Shoot!!"
"Gaaaaaaaahhhhh—!!!!"
The Eclipse Dragon unleashed its Breath Attack from its jaw, a torrent of destruction like a mudslide, tearing through the earth, forcing the air aside, and obliterating everything in its path.
But Hildegard—she...
"———Mighty Grip!!"
She knocked it away.
Though not the full force of the attack, she neutralized the Moon-Eclipse Dragon’s Breath Attack head-on.
"F-Don’t mess with me…"
(What did she do? What just happened? What am I witnessing!?)
Moritz's shock didn’t last long.
He had more pressing matters to attend to now.
The counterattack against the Moon-Eclipse Dragon began.
"Master Grip Mighty Grip!"
This was a new magic where Hildegard infused excessive magic power into the basic magic she had learned, the Mud Radan.
"Guah!"
The Moon-Eclipse Dragon's rock-like scales cracked upon impact.
Astonishingly, due to the magic concentration from the Master Grip Mighty Grip, the power of the attack had been significantly amplified.
It had been forcibly raised to the level of Vanitas's Ultimate Grip Cannon Impact.
Having grasped the technique of Master Grip Magic with Vanitas's assistance, Hildegard wasn't about to stop.
"Sticky Mud Dash!"
Hildegard ran up the massive body of the Moon-Eclipse Dragon, her feet coated in the adhesive mud. Despite the dragon's attempts to shake her off, she remained unmoved.
"Master Grip Mighty Grip! —— Haaaah!"
"Guah!? Gah!?"
The hard, smooth mud enveloped Hildegard’s arms like armor, allowing her to deliver powerful successive blows.
The Moon-Eclipse Dragon, relentlessly pummeled in the side, could only endure the attacks.
It was a one-sided onslaught, but naturally, the Master Grip Mighty Grip had its flaws.
Though the concentration of magic was high, it required Hildegard to stand still while gathering it, and with her current skill, she could only use the collected magic for attacking.
High single-hit power magic had its advantages, but it also left her vulnerable.
However, Hildegard wasn’t alone here.
Her master, Vanitas, was present.
But Vanitas couldn't immediately follow Hildegard's lead.
(Well, I guess it's time for me to join in... but I've pushed myself a bit too hard. I’ve lost too much blood.)
Between Hildegard’s attacks, Vanitas used a healing potion to mend his wounds, but his lost stamina hadn't returned.
But Vanitas had a spell prepared for moments like this.
Even if he were injured, unable to move from excruciating pain, or had no strength left to move, the magic would allow him to act with sheer willpower.
"Double Grip—Self Manipulate!"
As he gathered magic from the air, he simultaneously used the magic within his own body to control himself.
This spell, which enhanced his physical abilities through magic, could be considered an advanced form of the magic that concentrated energy.
Moreover, the duration was far longer, and the degree of physical enhancement was much higher.
"This should be enough... Don't forget about me. Heavy Grip Layer Grip—Extreme Grip Destruction Impact Full Impact Disruption!"
"Gaah!? Damn it, damn it, you bastards!!"
A little while earlier...
This was a vantage point about three kilometers away from the battlefield between the Moon-Eclipse Dragon and Vanitas and his group, and approximately one kilometer from Graniph Fortress.
"Hah, hah, I should have made sure I could use body enhancement magic..."
Panting as she climbed the steep slope was Habermesia, the second-ranking court mage, who was now temporarily serving as Vanitas's slave.
"Even though he said he'd signal when the time comes... My lord really is asking the impossible. Telling me to attack the evil dragon from this far away?"
Though the Moon-Eclipse Dragon’s attacks likely wouldn’t reach her here, the position Habermesia was climbing to was far outside the effective range of magic.
However, Vanitas had instructed through Christina that she should wait here, at this vantage point, where she could observe the entire Moon-Eclipse Dragon.
"Well? True... The target dragon is huge, but still. Even though I'm the second-ranking court mage, this kind of impossible request... But... My lord is so... sly. No, sly isn't quite the word... I don't know... ugh!"
What exactly was sly about it?
She knew the truth.
She was, in fact, a little flattered by the fact that Vanitas was relying on her strength, while also keeping her at a safe distance from danger, which was gently stoking her pride.
"Hehehe, he really needs my power, huh... After saying I was too slow and not bringing me along, now he needs me... Ugh, my lord..."
Despite her slow pace, Habermesia eventually reached the top of the hill.
After recognizing the location of the evil dragon, she caught her breath, and after a while, she saw a magic shot into the sky.
A seemingly pointless magical cannonball shot into the air.
This was the signal.
"It’s here...———Infinite Magic Furnace."
A spell that generates infinite magical power.
Habermesia, with her hands clasped in prayer, conjured a miniature floating furnace in front of her.
"Fuh..."
This all started with Vanitas’s words.
"Habermesia, you have no creativity at all."
In truth, most of the magic Habermesia had learned was general-purpose magic, and she had only a handful of unique spells.
Nonetheless, she had been able to remain a court mage because of the Infinite Magic Furnace, which generated boundless magical power. This power allowed her to unleash limitless spells and incredibly high destructive force.
However, due to the nature of general-purpose magic, she didn’t have many ways to apply it in battle other than casting it directly.
Vanitas had pointed this out and made a suggestion.
"Habermesia, if you’re only good for a stationary turret... then snipe."
"———'Bind the Breeze.'"
This wasn’t a chant-based spell.
However, the words Habermesia spoke held power.
Her image sharpened, and she manipulated the magic as she envisioned.
Her actions resembled a sacred ritual, as though no one else could approach, and with her appearance, it almost seemed divine.
She wove the magic for the sake of others, for her comrades, and most importantly, for something she held dear.
"The projectile is 'Radiant Stone.' The fuel is 'Lamp Light.' Inside, I will house a 'Furnace,' and cool it perfectly with 'Water Droplets.'"
The furnace contained within the radiant green Radiant Stone was filled with high-density magical power.
The magical energy stored in the furnace was on the verge of going out of control, an extremely dangerous substance that could easily explode at any moment.
"Ugh... The control... is tough... But I can do it!"
This was a spell that combined the five innate attributes.
Such a spell would typically be difficult to even activate, and would usually fail as a magic, wasting magical power without achieving anything.
However, she had developed her own magic that generates infinite magical power.
She had the foundation.
What had been missing was simply a catalyst requiring strength and the desire to protect something precious.
Moreover, in this situation, there was infinite magical power that could be wasted without consequence.
Habermesia, with a pained expression and sweat beading like pearls on her face, manipulated the magic.
And then, it bore fruit.
The magic that embodied the "infinite" as it raced through the heavens, flying endlessly.
"———Endless Radiant Green Star Core, Ark Rise: Drelight Meteor!!"
It was a meteor streaking across the sky, glowing in fresh grass green.
In the blink of an eye, the magical meteor reached the Moon-Eclipse Dragon and then, due to the incomprehensible compression of the magic contained within, triggered a massive explosion.
"———!? GuaaAAAHHHH?!"
The Moon-Eclipse Dragon's scream shook the earth beneath it, which had been trampled and ravaged.
TFTC
ReplyDeleteThe author is milking this arc exactly like I want to milk the princess's titties