Ep 141. Of Course Not. (3) (+Notice)

Ep 141. Of Course Not. (3) (+Notice)

Ep 141. Of Course Not. (3)

By no means are monsters inherently weak.

In fact, had they been of little threat, then no hunter would be offering their services at such steep costs; in fact, the profession may not even exist. No soldier or warrior would have to go on routinely hunts to cleanse towns of their presence.

The entire reason monsters were feared was because they possessed formidable strength, and because many had a tendency to attack people.

Of course, with time’s passing, common monsters had been hunted numerous times and their weaknesses were widely known. Asarda’s parworms were a prime example: every inhabitant of Asarda from elder to child knew that these creatures were prone to heat.

But sometimes...on an unusual, extremely rare occasion...

A completely new monster would appear unto the world: one that was never seen before, one that would never be seen again.

And they would often bring about great disturbances to the world around them.

“Light, get back! You’ll get hurt like this!”

“But...”

“Just come already!”

After the red dragon hurriedly pulled away her little sister, the place they’d been standing on was trampled underfoot with a thunderous thud. Raizel’s massive, scaled limb stood in place, covered in black flames that were slowly sizzling away within the trampled snow.

Chell’s warriors likewise began to step back, each glancing towards their guardian deity as they did so.

“Lady Aymeia! W, what’s happening? Were they not your allies?!”

“...This is no time to be complaining. We should stop them-“

“You plan to get in between THAT?! Don’t be absurd!”

“...”

Amidst the warriors’ shouts, Aymeia merely stood in place, watching the clash between monster and dragon.

“...Al...lies...”

Allies. They were allies.

One was an eager academic, who was also shadowed by her old mentor. The other was a loyal kin to the very person she believed to be her mother.

But what if they were after each other’s throats?

“Lady Aymeia...forgive my brashness, but they were on our side, no? Please, stop them!”

“...”

‘...Our side?’

Which side is ‘our side’?

“...”

Karas lowered his hand to meet the steel dragon’s glare. Levitating at Raizel’s eye level, even when he shifted his gaze downwards, the others were but a small speck in his vision.

Alas, none were too far to be out of reach.

“...Is that what you think? Very well, let’s change that then.”

When Karas next flicked his hands, faint rays of blue flickered about his fingertips. They soon gathered to form several giant icicles midair that soon aimed themselves downwards.

Following suit, the spells launched themselves forth, speeding towards Light and the warriors near her.

Raizel immediately reacted by raking her claws across the air, smashing nearly half the spells mid-flight. But the other half remained in their trajectory, soaring towards their potential victims.

“Ilias! Get the rest!!”

“...Ugh, I know!”

Before her friend even shouted at her, Ilias had already stepped forth to stand before the others. After taking a deep breath, the red dragon blew a torrent of fire forward, intercepting the icicles in their path. And not far away from her, Aymeia likewise summoned a wave of fire over the warriors’ heads, blocking off the ice that rained down on them.

“L, Lady Aymeia. We...”

“Stay still. Don’t let anyone step away from me.”

“But...are you certain we should remain in place? If they are now our enemies, should we not hunt them?”

“...Even if they are, hunts are held so everyone can stay safe. It isn’t a practice for you to throw away your lives against an enemy.”

Chaos ensued as Karas began to launch his array of spells at both Raizel and those far below. While the steel dragon gave her best efforts to keep the monster focused on her, he continued to send additional attacks downward.

And amidst it all, Light was studying her professor’s spells with torn, confused eyes.

‘...Why ice?’

Both Aymeia and Ilias were aspected to fire; there was no way her professor didn’t know of this. Ice spells were the poorest choice possible in attempting to harm those below.

‘I don’t get it...I don’t get any of it. Even all that talk earlier didn’t make any sense. He can’t possibly be trying to...kill me...right?’

Finally, Light’s gaze fell upon the dragonlord in the distance. Serenis was finally raising her gaze upwards towards the feathered figure, as if her long contemplation had finally come to an end.

“...Do something.”

“...”

“Please...”

Quiet, pleading whispers escaped the half girl’s lips. Even though she knew there was no way Serenis would hear her from this distance, Light seemingly couldn’t help herself from speaking outward.

As the dragonlord raised her hand into the air, waves of brilliant glimmers shone from her fingertips. Each light flickered in succession, and they were mirrored within the grey sky above them.

And soon, an enormous pillar of light would crash down from above to smite the levitating monster.