Chapter 263 - Vol. 4 - 62

The dragon opened its gaping maw and released a quick stream of flames. Instinctively, Ash raised her right hand up as Sinneah dashed away from it. 

"Protect me from the evils of this world!"  Ash cast  Barrier. A gleaming white wall appeared between Ash and the flames, but, the flames passed straight through it, and still covered her. 

"AAAGH!" Ash's body burned. 

However, just as soon as the flames had reached her, she was tackled away from it, dropping her Savior's Weapon in the process. Sinneah pinned her to the ground as Ash screamed through gritted teeth. The dragon closed its mouth, and as soon as Ash felt like she could breathe, she muttered:

"Desperation begets action, but kindness must not be forgotten, fffu..." 

Her body was healed back up promptly, though Ash almost felt like the flame was still covering her. Sinneah pulled her up to her feet harshly then, as the dragon opened its mouth a second time. 

Both of them dodged the incoming attack, and Ash glared at it as she realized she had dropped her bow. 

She didn't know what to do, but Sinneah, apparently, wasn't in the same position. Sinneah dashed straight to the monster and punched it in its draconic jaw. 

From what Ash could see, the dragon was unfazed. Instead, it lunged forward and tried to bite Sinneah's body, but the woman stepped back, sliding to a halt. Ash spotted her bow and ran toward it. She picked it up as the dragon tried to claw Sinneah's body into the ground with one talon. 

Sinneah dodged away, and Ash shot an arrow straight at its head. The shot pierced through its neck, and the creature let out a low screech. 

Noticing this moment, Ash raised her right hand. 

Closing her eyes for just a second, she opened them again as a beam of light appeared in her palm. Then, with a thrust of her arm, she launched it straight at the dragon's head, and the  Divine Spear exploded.

The dragon was clearly hurt, if its ear-rending shriek was anything to go by, but only a small amount of its blood fell on the dirt under its feet. 

Ash caught her breath then, trying to calm herself down. 

Okay, so, the Divine Spear works, but it won't win us the fight in one shot. Barrier doesn't work at all unless its Int stat is just high enough to break through it. But... I can't tell how much damage we're doing to this thing.

Ahead, the dragon shook its head and then raised it, turning its eyes onto Ash. 

"Fuck." 

It opened its mouth and instantly, Ash ran to the right. She narrowly managed to avoid the fire, but the dragon turned its head, following her.  Shit, shit, shit! 

At that moment, she saw Sinneah leap up. Her feet were covered in a fire that blazed as brilliantly as the dragon's own, and she spun in midair, kicking the beast in the side of the head. 

This strike, Ash noticed, visibly stunned the great creature. It stumbled to the side, its fire interrupting itself. Sinneah landed in front of it, readying herself as soon as she did. 

Good shit!  Ash cheered in her mind. 

Then, quicker than either Sinneah or Ash could react, the dragon swung one of its front legs towards Sinneah, and caught her. The smile Ash had just a second ago, from seeing her ally land that kick, faded away as Sinneah was thrown halfway through the makeshift battlefield of theirs. 

As she rolled to a halt, Ash saw that she wasn't moving, and the dragon was opening its mouth again. 

Crap. 

Ash charged towards Sinneah as quickly as she could. 

The fire surged out of the dragon's mouth, while the woman remained on the ground. Off of pure reflex, when Ash reached her, and the fire was about to surround them, she stretched her hand out toward it. 

With a thought, she triggered the  Divine Rejection ability, and the dragon's flames ceased in an instant. The monster itself appeared confused, as Ash quickly turned toward Sinneah. 

At the same time, she felt her body suddenly weigh a lot more than before. 

Fuck... 

"Desperation begets action, but kindness must not be forgotten," she spoke rapidly, healing Sinneah up in a moment. 

The woman's eyes opened and Ash helped her up. 

How much mana do I have left?  Ash wondered, looking up. 

Level 75

MP: 190/330

"My apologies," Sinneah muttered as she stared straight ahead at their shared enemy. 

However, as Ash looked back at her ally, she noticed something that made her raise a brow. 

Sinneah was borderline grinning. 

... Okay,  Ash thought as she looked back at the dragon.  Glad one of us is enjoying ourselves. 

At that moment, the dragon opened its mouth, and the two of them ran in opposite directions. The monster chose to follow Sinneah this time, spewing fire toward her, and Ash took that as an opportunity to land a closer shot. 

"Spear," Ash said, transforming her  Lust before she ran straight toward it. 

The dragon saw her out of the corner of its eyes, and turned toward her, while its flames were still shooting out of its mouth. 

Wait, shit, I'm too close!

Right as the flames were about to reach her, Sinneah dashed in, landing the same kick as before onto the side of the dragon's neck. Ash saw its flames falter, and although she'd stopped, she started running again, determined to pierce this thing. It swiped at her then wildly, and Ash half-blocked the attack with her spear's shaft as she was launched back, crashing into a tree.

This time, however, although her body was tired and in pain, when Ash fell to the ground, she quickly got back up. 

Keep trying,  she told herself. One of us is going to distract it, and we'll be able to land a hit. Just keep at it! 

Charging forward again, Sinneah stood in front of the dragon, dodging out of the way of a bit as Ash approached. When she reached it, Ash raised her spear. 

"AGH-"

In a motion so quick that Ash could never have seen it coming, the dragon swung its tail forward, and it caught Ash up her head. 

And, Ash was knocked out.

---

Sinneah

Sinneah gawked as she saw Ash get sent flying, landing a few steps away as a result of being struck by the dragon's tail. And, then, her eyes widened as she saw the dragon turn toward her. 

However, Sinneah didn't feel scared at all. Instead, she felt rather excited as she saw the flame coming to her. She ran away from it, avoiding the fire and circling her enemy until she saw an opening and took it. Sinneah ran straight toward it, triggering Tomoe's Divine Arts, the Fire version, as she did. 

And her body was covered, from her head to her toes, in fire. 

Unlike Ash's techniques, the rate of exhaustion for Sinneah's Fire techniques was dictated by how much of her body she affected at any given point, and for how long. 

Because of that, Sinneah preferred to keep herself from using too much of this, but at this moment, she felt fairly focused. 

It was the only one she could think of to describe the single-minded determination she was feeling right now. 

Charging at the dragon, her body covered in fire, Sinneah went under it in a flash, and punched up, under its head. 

The dragon let out a pained, mighty roar. It reared its head back as Sinneah's punch landed, recoiling from the force of her hit, enhanced by Tomoe's technique. 

Then, its tail swung too quickly for her to see it, and it struck her body from the top, planting her into the ground.

And, Sinneah spat out some blood as soon as she hit it.

Quickly, however, she got back up, though, now, she was shaken. 

Sinneah wasn't thinking much at this point. All she wanted was to land as many solid hits as she could, and see what happened. 

However, the dragon prevented her from doing that when it opened its mouth, looked down at her, and threatened to cover her in its own flames. 

Stopping in her tracks, Sinneah froze in front of it. 

Her eyes widened. 

And Sinneah, at that moment, all of that focus, all of that determination, appeared to dissipate.

And, Sinneah understood something.

---

Ash

"... Ohhh... Fuck. Me." 

Ash's eyes blinked open. She looked around and quickly found that she was at the bottom of the mountain, having taken a few seconds to writhe in pain before she healed herself back up. 

Although her wounds had been removed, at this point, the half-demon was utterly exhausted. 

Come on, get up.  She told herself.  Sinneah's in trouble. 

She took a few seconds and finally, she started walking up the mountain, but, as soon as she started, she saw Sinneah standing beside her.

"What the... Sinneah?"

Sinneah, who had been sitting stoically on a rock, stopped, saw her, and walked over to her. She was carrying Ash's stuff, her bag, and her Savior's Weapon, in her hands. 

"Holy shit, what happened? Did you beat it?" 

"... Yes," Sinneah answered. "Here." 

Sinneah then took out one dragon eye from her pockets. The side of her clothes looked burnt. She handed everything over to Ash. 

"Thank you, Ash," Sinneah said, and her throat sounded tight. "For indulging me." 

"... Okay," Ash stared down at everything she'd been given. Specifically, of course, the eye she needed for the potion. 

Wordlessly, Sinneah walked away. 

Ash did a double-take, looking at the eye and then back at Sinneah. 

Wait, hold on, how much EXP did she get? 

So, she checked the woman's level. 

Level 65

Wait...  Ash tilted her head.  Isn't it... the same it's always been? 

But, as bad as Ash was at reading social cues, something about the way the woman was walking let her know she didn't want to be asked anything. Still, she couldn't help but wonder.

.... What the fuck happened up there?