Leeha’s voice vaguely echoed, but Kidd couldn’t clearly understand it.
Did he shoot? What?
Kidd tilted his head quizzically and looked towards the rear where the swarm of vampires was gathered.
“Holy...... Shit.”
Seeing the situation, Kidd understood why Leeha had abruptly stopped speaking, astonished.
“What exactly did you shoot?”
Kidd also grasped why within Saur Land, Luger had been jumping up and down in excitement.
Kyle was undoubtedly an exceptional shooter. He understood too that there were countless undisclosed secrets about the firearms Kyle used.
Yet, didn’t Luger boast that he could surpass Kyle?
“Was it because of...... this?”
Beneath the moonlight, the vampire bat swarm appeared dark.
A massive hole had pierced through their center.
In stark contrast to the polluted black surroundings, only the pure and clear night sky remained in that spot.
Something had passed through and annihilated all the bats in its vicinity.
Kidd was astonished by Luger’s new skill.
“A piercing shot......?”
However, the shock felt by those who experienced it firsthand was exponentially, if not dozens of times stronger than Kidd’s.
* * *
“Don’t you hear something?”
『Caution! 〈Protect from Normal Missiles〉!』
Before Alexander could react to the explosive sound, Bailephus had already started evasive maneuvers.
───────────────!
Though they even fortified the shield to prepare for physical defense, Bailephus overlooked one fact.
“Kaah!? The, the wind―”
『Hold on tight, Alexander!』
Hooowwwwwwwllll─────......!
It was an immensely powerful wind.
When an overwhelmingly fast object tore through the atmosphere, the ensuing shockwave was extraordinarily tremendous.
“Is there a Wind Master around?”
Alexander, even while questioning himself, somewhat sensed that it wasn’t the power of a Wind Master.
It was a shockwave with fatal destructive power, akin to compressed air being shot out.
Most importantly, his eyes took in the scene after the shockwave dissipated.
A ‘massive hole’ torn right in the middle of the clustered bats.
What if this attack had been aimed at him?
‘I couldn’t say it would be impossible to block.’
However, if caught unaware? Alexander conceded that assuring perfect defense would be difficult.
To that extent, Alexander was impressed by his allies’ attack.
“As expected of Saur Land. They said they couldn’t attack, yet their skill is―”
『No, it’s not the work of the Dinosaur Race.』
“What?”
Unlike Alexander, Bailephus already knew.
『...... That guy Luger......』
Who had carried out the attack just now.
Hearing Bailephus’ murmuring, Alexander’s eyes widened. His expression had even forgotten its usual composure.
“Luger? Impossible! No attack effects were visible, if it was his attack there should have been an explosion!?”
An assumption that there would be no skill without visible effects.
It was natural for a user to think this way.
And Alexander wasn’t wrong. Luger’s skills did indeed have graphic effects.
『That’s not it, Alexander, partner. The gap ‘there’ right now...... is merely the aftermath of his attack.』
The only problem was that the ‘massive hole’ Alexander discovered belatedly was created unrelated to any skill.
Listening to Bailephus’ dry voice, Alexander swallowed.
“......You’re saying that sound was a sonic boom? No, even if it was a sonic boom......”
How would he handle the overwhelming recoil powerful enough to shake the entire mass of the Red Zeppelin?
“Hehe... that’s why it’s good. High risk, high return.”
“What?”
“No! Just do your job! I’m fighting like this, and Kidd is rampaging too. You should show something as well― hmm?!”
“What?”
─────────────.......
Just as Luger was preparing to mess with Leeha after finally finding a reason, a massive explosion of light occurred near the vampire swarm.
The light disappeared in an instant.
However, it didn’t fade away by spreading out but rather converged into a single point, forming a new shape, creating a bizarre kind of alienation.
When Alexander fully activated his new skill, not only were Leeha and the humans surprised, but even Ulrek and Ji-em had to show astonished expressions.
What stood there was not a human.
Nor was it a dragon.
“Is that...?”
“What is it...?”
If you enlarged Lizardia twenty times, would it look like that?
However, the soft golden glow emanating from his skin and the perfect golden ratio stretching from his horns to his wings and fingertips made any comparison to the Lizardia race impossible.
The users felt a sense of familiarity with that form.
It wasn’t simply because they suspected he was Bailephus.
It wasn’t just because he held a spear that looked about twenty times larger than what Alexander used to wield.
― Could it be Bailephus?
―... It looks that way even to Kidd? Just look at those perfect proportions, like a statue...
A being that wasn’t in dragon form nor human form.
“Is this Da Vinci’s ‘Vitruvian Man’? Damn it, then now it’s neither a dragon nor a human? No, it’s a fusion of human and dragon― Damn, what am I even saying!”
Though his words were garbled, Luger’s hunter instincts picked it up.
If you drew wings according to Da Vinci’s ‘Vitruvian Man’ proportions in the golden ratio, it would look similar to that being.
As Leeha listened to his words, a term flashed through his mind.
A being that combined a dragon and a human.
“... Fusion?”
“What?”
“Damn it. Fusion! Alexander and Bailephus have fused!”
Supporting Leeha and Luger’s joint speculation was an NPC. And not just any NPC, but one of a different league, nodding in admiration.
“So it is. It’s a bit different from the dragon knowledge we know.”
“Lord Ulrek... do you think so too?”
“This isn’t a phenomenon registered in Saur Land’s information records. It means that humans from the outside have achieved something even our ancestors hadn’t seen.”
“So, later― please help convince the King! I’m telling you, it won’t hurt to step out of Saur Land!”
When Ulrek showed genuine emotion, Leeha tried making a “side sales pitch”, but it wasn’t the right time.
“This isn’t the time for that, Ha Leeha! Although Alexander is restraining the majority, many of them are still approaching!”
Listening to Luger’s reprimand, Leeha cocked the bolt of the Black Bass.
There was a reason he could exchange even a single line of honest, half-joking conversation with Ulrek.
“Luger, Alexander... they are amazing humans.”
“What?”
“They may have acted instinctively, but that makes it even scarier.”
This was a game, but it wasn’t a game. If the synchronization rate was maximized, all senses could be felt exactly like in reality.
‘So, it’s only natural to be afraid.’
Therefore, it was natural for defensive instincts to come out.
In terms of slaughtering and halting the advance of the vampire bat swarm, the continuous combination of skills by Luger and Alexander was very effective and deadly.
So, how would the ‘users’ within the vampire bat swarm perceive it?
When their strategic formation fell into chaos, Leeha saw a group where the defensive line thickened the most.
From Leeha’s perspective, the bats trying to circle to the rear of the Red Zeppelin appeared to be in such a formation.
“You’re there, Chiyou? 〈Multi-Warhead Shot〉”
Bababababang―!
Leeha immediately raised Black Bass and used his skill.