“Aha-ahahahahaha! Ahh-HAHAHAAA!!!”
Eve’s laugh rang in my ears. But my eyes were locked on the dragon that had appeared from the magic circle.
The dragon was a green color. It was the color of wind affinity. Its two wings were much bigger than those of a wyvern, and its tail was like a long and thick whip. All four limbs were strong and had sword-like claws at the ends. And those fangs. The numerous teeth were sinking into Daniela’s arm. Her resistance was the only reason the jaw hadn’t closed completely…
“I’m coming…!”
The dragon’s eyes turned towards me as I ran, sword in hand. Its eyes were a green that was even darker than the scales. The moment they fixed on me, a blast of wind followed. It wasn’t an ordinary wind. It had the power of a dragon in it.
I was nearly blown away, but managed to thrust my sword into the ground and hold on. By sending currents of magic through my clothes, I was able to weaken the force of the wind a little. Eve must have been watching me, because she started to laugh once again.
“Ahahaha!! See this! My secret weapon. A magic passed on by the dark elves, summoning magic!!”
“Tsk. Summoning magic…!?”
It must have been some secret art. Even Master Daniela had never mentioned it during our lessons.
“Hehe. It is one of the ancient magic arts that has long been a secret. No, you would not have known about it! But here it is. An adult wind dragon! I very much doubt that you can beat it, not even if the world were to end! Ahahaha!!”
Oh dear. So it was much better than what my armor was made of. Well, I’m not exactly surprised…
“That won’t stop me from trying!”
I look towards Daniela, who continued to resist as she desperately tried to stab the dragon with her sword. Even from this distance, I could see the blood streaming down her arm and to the ground. I didn’t know how much longer she would last. But it would not be long now.
I enveloped my legs in green and silver wind and sent blue magic into the great sword in my hands. A sword with a water blade should be able to cut through the scales of a wind dragon.
Legs of the Forest Wolf activates with a violent burst of wind. I raise it to its limits, there would be no holding back now. I was against a dragon, and I had no choice but to go all out.
I didn’t care about what happened to me after this. I would save Daniela. I would protect her. Even if I lose all four limbs, I would kill that dragon!!
“AAAAAHHH!!!”
I hold my sword at my waist and fly out with a roar. The wind around my legs takes me forward towards the dragon at a speed I have never experienced before. The ground under me shatters as the dragon appears before my eyes. It all happened in a flash.
And with that momentum carrying me, I thrust the great sword upwards into the dragon’s lower jaw. It tore through the hard scales and tough flesh and came out the other side. The extended water blade even cut into the upper jaw. While it did not go through, it was still a serious wound.
“GGGGRRRAAAGHHH!!!”
The wind dragon screamed and went mad. And just like that, its mouth opened and Daniela’s arm slipped out into the open air.
“Daniela!”
“Ghh…”
She let out a moan before crumbling towards the ground. I pushed the sword all the way up until it reached the hilt before letting go. Then I caught Daniela before she hit the ground and then made a run for it. Eve and the dragon might attack us again, and so I ran until they could no longer see us.
I knelt on the roof of an abandoned house and let Daniela down while supporting her upper body.
Her left arm was damaged badly. It was terrible… I saw the bloody skin and the white of her bones and suddenly I felt very cold. It had gone through her arms and clothes. However, it had not been torn off. Daniela had avoided that fate by resisting. In that case, perhaps the potion I got from the old man would work.
I took out the green potion and removed the cork.
“Asa…gi…that…”
“This’ll probably sting.”
“Ugh…”
I would pour the liquid on the open wounds. Of course, it would hurt. As Daniela bit hard on her lower lip, I tilted the bottle. The liquid flowed from the mouth and fell on her arm as white steam rose into the air.
“Ughhhhh…!!”
Daniela endured the pain. I had never seen steam rise from a wound like this before, and for a moment I panicked over the possibility of it being acid. However, I then noticed that there was no longer any bones visible. There was red flesh covering them. When I poured more of the potion over it, Daniela’s smooth arm returned to normal.
“It-it healed…!”
“Hah…hah…”
Sweat ran down her forehead as she became limp with exhaustion.
“Danila. You should drink the rest.”
“Ah…mm…”
As I brought it to her lips, she raised the arm that had been wounded a moment ago and held the bottle herself. I was relieved. Even the smaller wounds she had received from Eve were now healing themselves.
“Hah… Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. Who would have thought she’d start summoning dragons like that? …What should we do?”
Daniela had been traumatized by dragons. She could not fight them…
“We will finish things here. Besides, we cannot ignore the fact that there is a dragon here. Can we?”
“But Daniela, don’t you…”
“…Yes. But I have no choice.”
Yes, many people would suffer if we left the dragon as it was. Still, Daniela’s life was more important to me. If Daniela were to die in the fight with the dragon… No, I didn’t even want to think about it.
“I’ll lure the dragon towards me. You take care of Eve.”
“You cannot face a dragon alone!”
“I’ll manage somehow. I’ll do anything to protect you.”
Yes. I had decided it. I would take down anyone who got in my way and eliminate all obstacles. I was ready to kill for her.
“Asagi… Just as you wish to protect me, I also want to protect you.”
“Daniela…”
“Please do not forget that. I do not want to see you die.”
She felt the same way… Thinking about it brought an irrepressible smile to my face.
“Don’t worry. I won’t die. And neither will you.”
“…Yes. We have always made it through hardships together.”
Yes, no matter the enemy, we had always defeated them and moved forward. This time would be no different.
“We can do this. Right?”
“Aye, there is nothing that can stop us.”
Just then, the dragon’s roar reverberated throughout the town.
It seemed like the wind dragon also had no intention of ignoring us.
“Alright, hold on Daniela. We’re going to go kill that thing!”
“Aye!”
Daniela jumped in the air and into my arms like a princess. Then she threw an arm around my neck and held on tight. I had told her to hold on, but I didn’t expect it to be like this… But I wasn’t complaining. It would be worse than embarrassing if I dropped her now!
“Hehe. I will protect you. So fight without worrying.”
“Yes. I’ll protect you. So fight without worrying.”
Our foreheads touched. I could feel determination welling up in me. Right now, a dragon didn’t seem like too bad of an enemy to beat.