Chapter 76

The purple miasma that the Wicked Dragon spat out covered the surroundings of the demolished mansion .

Usato who saw what the dragon was doing, called Neah to escape before jumping into the miasma as well .

Usato should be fine since he has his healing magic, also he’s strong as well . As I suppressed the urge to run away, I instead watched the situation, and a black figure jumped down from above the mansion which was surrounded by miasma .

“Cough, cough… . Uuh……Oee…… . Uu…… . . ”

It was Neah .

Seems like she has consumed a slight amount of the dragon’s miasma, as she coughs whilst shedding tears . Right after, she turns back and looked at the miasma with a confused expression .

“Why did you do such a crazy move… . Even dragging me in… . . ”

……I have no time to care for that woman .

I immediately turned my conscious towards the miasma . I wonder what would happen to him now that he has entered the poisonous realm which ordinary people would immediately die .

Then, something shook slightly at the thinner part of the miasma, and something popped out .

What came out was the huge arm of the dragon . However, on closer inspection, the arm was holding onto a body where the blood in his body has been frozen up and chilled .

“Usato!?”

Usato has been grabbed by the dragon .

Shaken by the sight of him being stuck, the next moment turned that into fear .

The dragon swung him up like a ragdoll and tossed him down at the western-style building .

“……… . Ah . ”

Being flung into the roof of the building with great force, he pierced through the building and penetrated right from the third floor all the way down to the ground .

No human would ever be able to bear such a force .

If they did receive such impact, they’ll fall apart .

Did Usato, die?—— Seeing such a reality in front of her, she could not accept it as she fell on her knees .

“No, I have not seen it yet… . . Usato can’t be done in this place …”

I did not foresee his death .

The scene hasn’t come across yet .

While spinning words to convince myself, I tried running to the building to search for him .

However, Bluerin who was watching the situation as well, stopped me .

“Bluerin……?”

“Gu . ”

The eyes of Bluerin showed neither anger nor sadness, but ones with trust .

“I don’t have to be worried?”

Bluerin nodded with a proud face and continued watching where Usato has fallen . Are you trying to say that Usato wouldn’t be done by that?

I’ve never heard of how Usato and Bluerin met, just occasional talks about it . He mentioned that he had found Bluerin when a snake monster killed Bluerin’s parents in front of him, and finally Usato stabbed the snake and Bluerin followed him since then .

Because they have passed through many hardships together, it may be understandable to Bluerin .

Thus, Usato is not a person who is easily stopped .

“You’re right . I can’t be shaken right now . Usato is fine, he won’t be hurt by that degree . ”

It was only a while since I met him, but I’ve seen his actions many times . He’s insane, he changes personalities often, he likes doing wicked things to people, he’s messed up . But most of all, he will never betray me .

It’s the same even right now .

I have no choice but to believe in him .

Believe in what he can do .

“Thank you Bluerin, I have calmed down . ”

Right now, if we go near the mansion where the miasma is infested, we’ll inhale the poison as well .

If Usato is safe, we’ll only hinder him . Thus, I shall protect Ark-san and Bluerin here while foreseeing the dragon’s movement .

Believing that he’s safe, I sat down and looked at the dragon wrapped in miasma . Then, near the miasma, a confused Neah stares at the place where Usato was knocked down .

“U… . . Ugya, gyahi . ”

At the same time, I could hear an unpleasant voice coming out from the dragon, blowing away the surrounding miasma with its one attached wings .  

The dragon then looked at the building, and cried out what seemed to be a joyous noise as it wagged its arms .

Even after that attack, are you still trying to attack usato… . . ?! At this rate, he would really die from it .

“Stop it!!”

As I was about to stop them, Neah who is now flying beside the dragon, screamed at the dragon to stop .

The dragon hardens as if bounded by her voice .

“You are prohibited to attack any further without my permission . ”

“U… . . Uu . ”

“You’ve done it now . Look at the mess you’ve made! Now I have to go to the village to sleep tonight . Hmm, before that, should I have myself an Usato treat? Let’s chew him first………”

In front of the immovable dragon, she waved her hands and puts on a thoughtful face .

Whether she was reading the dragon’s thoughts or not, she tilts her neck suspiciously before shining the magical power she had on her hand .

“… . . You’re definitely not a normal zombie, but that’s about it . As long as you’re under my control, you’re just a puppet . If I don’t unlock your abilities, you’re just a mere corpse . ”

The dragon’s body cramps up . Then, from the body of the dragon, the same purple magic as that of Neah returns to her .

It looks as if the shackles that held the body are disappearing, and the so called container is slowly being drained out from magic .

If we go by that principle, is Neah absorbing her magic back from the dragon?

In about 10 seconds, the magic coming out of the dragon went completely still . Neah who was looking at the dragon returning to a corpse, breathes out a sigh .

“Phew—— What gives . It’s just a corpse after all . What sort of nonsense did Usato spout about it being a Wicked Dragon . Well then~, time to catch him now♪”

Watching her turn her back on the dragon, I looked at Bluerin .

If there’s no dragon, and it’s only Neah and the zombies, then we are more than enough to defeat them . It also looks like she needs time to turn the dragon back into a zombie, so she’s not scary in the meantime .

…… . . I can’t help but feel like I’m becoming like Usato, but this is the optimal solution right now .

While she isn’t noticing, I carried my legs to the building .

However, the eye of the dragon behind Neah comes into view .

“……”

The jet-black eyes that reflects the moonlight .

The moment the eyes wriggle, the dragon lifted its arms and grabbed Neah with her back turned .

“——!? W-Why!?”

“Shackles, gone . Disturbing magic, has disappeared . Annoying hero, has been killed . ”

It talked……!?

Rather, didn’t Neah returned the zombie dragon back into a corpse? Why can it move!?

“I am thankful, necromancer . If you haven’t revived me, it would’ve taken me another 300 years before my resurrection . ” 

“Resurrection!? … . But you’re just a corpse! I’ve checked that you have no soul as well!! Where are you hiding your soul…… . !!”

“I don’t care for such measly talk . It is a fact that I am living right now . ”

With Neah on the dragon’s hand, it stood upright, looked around and determined a certain direction . Neah who was captured has her face turned pale blue, as she saw something in the direction of the dragon .

The direction is where the village is at .

And that is where Neah used to live as a village girl .

“Being resurrected a second time, there is only one thing I will do . Which is destroy, kill everyone!”

“Stop…… . . !”

“Why?”

“T-Those are my things, please don’t do anything to them . ”

Neah pleaded to the dragon who was tilting its head .

“Didn’t you use humans as bait? Didn’t your father, created that village as a food storage . It’s a place where they’re wasting their life while awaiting for your order to be eaten like a wasted animal . ”

“…… . T-That’s right . That village is mine . And it is my food source, so I want you to keep your hands away from them . ”

Neah said to the dragon as if she had choked on something .

However, the dragon snickered at her words, then put more strength into its arms .

“Ugh, gu……”

“That doesn’t matter, because I will destroy every village, and every country, and all the continental!”

“Stop it……Don’t lay your hands . Wasn’t I who revived you?”

“Gugyagya…… who cares, you vampire . ”

The dragon smiled unpleasantly, then threw Neah to the third floor as if throwing away trash . There, she crashed into the building and disappeared from sight .

I don’t know why she wanted to shelter the village, but I don’t want to know either .

I don’t need to care because the root of this lies from her, but now that is hopeless as even she can’t stop the dragon .

“What should I do?”

Even if I can see the future, the only ending I foresee is being killed by the dragon .

When the dragon looked at us, with those murky jet-black eyes, my body shivered, and I could not feel my body at all .

The word ‘killed’ repeated in my mind——-When suddenly the wall of the first floor where Usato was blown away exploded and something flew out .

A blade-like object attached to a spear slammed into the lower jaw of the wicked dragon .

“!?”

“Think of it as a returning gift!”

The dragon leaned greatly to the side .

A white uniform flutters in the wind .

A spear with an axe-like blade in his hand .

He lifted the long spear lightly, and jumped down to the ground .

“Are you alright!?”

I’m so glad he came .

However, he——-when I saw Usato’s face, I exhaled a word that’s different from joy .

“Scary!?”

That is because, his face had turned bloody and his eyes looked dangerous from the aftermath .

After being slammed into the hall by that dragon, I managed to keep my consciousness despite being exposed to some terribly shocking pain . Looking down, I can see my body buried in rubble, and when I looked up, I could see the moonlight .

I have been hit by a wonderful blow . Thanks to that, my whole body hurts and I can’t move .

While continuing to use healing magic for the time being, I removed the rubble one by one that is hindering my movement . After being able to stand up, pain courses through my right shoulder, indicating that I could not freely move my shoulder .

“Ouch . ”

Did my shoulder popped out due to the impact?

I’ve been dislocated several times during training with Rose, but this is by far the most painful . Anyway, healing magic doesn’t heal a dislocated shoulder .

I placed my left hand on my right shoulder, bit my teeth strongly to endure the upcoming pain .

Pushing my left hand with all my might, I immediately used healing magic as soon as my bones are refitted .

“Ugh… . . ”

While turning my arms around, I checked for any major injuries other than my shoulder .

From the looks of it, there doesn’t seem to be any noticeable injuries . There’s only some blood bleeding from my head, but it’s not too serious .

Having experienced the same hits in Rose’s training, the previous blow is still within a safe range .

…… . . This is not a laughing matter . I can’t laugh at all .

“My body’s fine, but how do I defeat him… . ”

The poison is troublesome, and its smart as well .

I remind myself that frontal attacks wouldn’t work on it . So I just need to find a weakness……

Then, I remember something from the notebook that I took from Neah’s study room .

I heard that the hero jumped into its mouth and knocked its heart with his blade . In other words, attacks from inside should be effective .

“But the dragon is now a zombie . So the internal organs should not be moving . ”

What’s more, it’s a corpse that has been neglected for hundreds of years . The organs may have been crumbled past the rot .

———Or maybe .

“Wait a minute . Why at that time, my punch… . . ”

… . . I need to confirm once more .

I might be able to defeat the dragon the same way the hero did .

Once I’ve decided, it’s time to head out .

As I was approaching the exit, I felt something under my feet . The armour, which barely retained its shape, had a long spear on its hand .

“……This is . ”

A halberd which is more than 2 meters long . When I lifted it up, it has a considerable weight, which felt like it’s made out of iron .

……I guess it’s necessary to prepare this much for that monster?

Fortunately, the weight is just right for me to swing around!

“W-What the!?”

When I was swinging the halberd around, I could hear the sound of something falling from above the building .

Don’t tell me, as I went to the nearby room and looked out the window . There, I could see Amako in front .

“This is not the time to be fooling around…… . !”

That bastard is trying to touch my friends this time… . . ! !

I backed away slightly from the window, held the halberd on my shoulder with both hands .

I can’t afford to go through the main entrance, I’ll break through as is!

Accumulating power, I rushed towards the window and the glass and walls shattered and smashed, then I set up my weapon again and jumped at once towards the dragon .

“Think of it as a returning gift!”

I did a full swing to the lower jaw of the dragon that was facing sideways . Some of its teeth were broken from the lower jaw, as it fell to the ground .

“Are you alright?!”

I spoke after confirming Amako’s safety—–However for some reason she looks at my face and turns pale blue .

“Scary!?”

How can you react that way when you see your precious friend .

Despite some unreasonable reaction, I immediately faced the dragon who attempted to attack again .

The dragon was staring at me in hatred, spilling miasma from its mouth .

“So you’re still alive, hero!!”

“Hah! I didn’t know you’re so talkative!! You shitty lizard!”

While avoiding the claws swung from the dragon, I swung the halberd with both hands against the side of the dragon . However, similar to my punches, it had no effect .

Even the blade is useless, how bloody hard is this dragon .

“How about this!!”

With the halberd on my left, I threw a healing bullet to the eyes of the dragon . With a small popping sound, the dragon whose view is crushed, growls loudly while swinging its arms blindly .

However, it didn’t hit me when I went behind him immediately .

“Eat this!!”

I kicked the back of the dragon’s leg, which loses its balance and rolls down .

The ground shook violently as the dragon falls down . At that moment, when I saw the dragon’s chest exposed and unprotected, I pierced the halberd onto the ground, and ran towards the dragon bare fists .

“If my idea is correct———-!”

Unlike my previous punch, this time I punched the chest with the bottom of my palm .

Because I don’t have much power, it didn’t do much . However, my suspicion turned into conviction when I confirmed a pulsating feeling on my palm .

So, it’s heart is moving .

I don’t know why, but it’s true that it has one weakness . Then, I just have to enter its body and destroy its heart .

“Then I have to…… . ”

When I try to get up and avoid the dragon’s limbs and moved towards its mouth, my legs suddenly loses strength and my body loses balance .

…… . I’m not completely healed yet… . . !!

Perhaps because I’ve used too much healing magic and physical strength, the effects of my healing magic have tremendously slowed down! !

“You bastard! You’re trying to do the same thing again!”

“… . . Tsk . ”

In addition, it realized what I was trying to do .  

Perhaps because it didn’t want me to enter its body, it tapped its tongue and there, a denser miasma released from its mouth . I recovered the halberd that was pierced on the ground nearby, and left to where Amako was .

“Are you alright Usato!!”

Amako rushed towards me .

I answered her words while putting healing magic on my knees .

“………Honestly, I’m not doing okay……”

The poison and the previous injury were more serious than I thought . The pace of recovery is slowing down, and the abnormality on my leg hasn’t completely recovered .

What’s more, it will not allow me to enter its body which is filled with dense miasma . Or maybe I would run out of healing magic before then .

“…… . Where’s Neah?”

“She was killed by the dragon……It seems like she couldn’t stop the dragon either . ”

“I see…… . ”

So she’s useless as well .

For the time being, I should tell Amako and Bluerin about the dragon’s weakness . I have to come up with another plan before it approaches us .

After telling her about the weakness, she slightly frowns .

“We know that the heart is the weak point, but how do we attack… . . ?”

“That’s the issue now . Look at that… . . It’s being cautious knowing that I’m aiming its heart . I can bend it over and go through it’s ass, but it’s better to enter through the mouth . ”

I should’ve decided earlier, but…… . . I really hate how sweet I am .

… . . No use regretting . I need to attack the heart somehow .

“Either 1 or 8, I still have to go into the poisonous mouth… . . ”

“I can tell that you’re tired……But don’t do something stupid that would take away your life… . ”

“I can just rush into the poison……Ah, I’m sorry . ”

After looking at Amako’s face which slowly turns into sadness, I changed my way of thinking .

Self-sacrificing shouldn’t be the easy path . I have to live and travel with her .

Also, if Rose knew I was about to give up my life, I won’t know what she’s going to do to me .

Let’s look for a different solution then . The opponent’s about to moving, let’s fight——–

“Usato,-dono… . ”

“! !”

I suddenly heard a voice from behind .

Ark-san was standing up with the support of Bluerin .

His eyes are clear, as if they were released from the brainwashing effects .

“You’ve woken up Ark-san!”

“Yes…… . And I can see the situation . I was conscious when I was manipulated… . . and I’ve heard your story earlier and understood the severity of the situation . ”

After saying that, he took off the armour which was disturbing his movement, and looks at me with a strong-willed eyes .

“I have an idea . ”