Reincarnated as a dragon’s egg ～Lets aim to be the strongest～ - Chapter 541

541 – One Hit Kill (side: treant)

From the ground behind Aro-dono, two more copies of her rise. It seems she intends to use [Clay Doll] to hold Aruane back again.

As the clay dolls run towards her, Aruane readies her claws of blood. With Ool is being held down, it seems she intends to break through the clay dolls from the front.

…Aro-dono already saw ealier that a pair of clay dolls can’t do much against Aruane. I don’t think planting [Rope of Regret] inside them to take her by surprise will work a second time, either.

Still holding Ool in place, Aro-dono closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, then returns her gaze to Aruane. Her expression hardens.

Even though we’ve captured Ool and forced Aruane to rush, it doesn’t change the fact that we’re at an overwhelming disadvantage… If Aruane lands even a single real hit against me or Aro, we’ll be taken out of the fight in an instant.

“…Can you use [Guard Lost] on her?”

『I-I’ll try.』

…[Guard Lost] is a skill I gained with evolution. It lowers the target’s defence, but raises their attack. Using it on Aruane is dangerous, but… If we can’t defeat her now, we’re dead regardless. So then raising her attack power shouldn’t matter much.

Aiming for the moment the clay dolls launch their attack, I shoot out [Guard Lost]. The ball of magic light flies towards Aruane. She glances up at it, but it seems she’s prioritising taking down the clay dolls over dodging it.

The [Guard Lost] hits… We should be able to deal a bit more damage now. But, her already terrifying attack power has also been raised even further.

― Suddenly, Aro-dono’s enlarged arm grabs me.

『A-Aro-dono… Did I make some sort of fatal mistake…?』

I think for sure that she’s angry with me, but then I see her staring at Aruane with a grave expression.

“…You’ll probably only get one chance, so… Don’t hesitate.”

『H-huh…?』

Aro-dono hurls me up into the air.

『A-Aro-dono!?』

At the same time as she throws me, Aruane’s claws carve through the two clay dolls. Aro-dono slams Ool down onto the ground, and points both her arms forwards.

Magical light surges in front of her hands. It seems she’s putting more mana than normal into it.

“Maximum output [Gale]!”

Pushed by the winds, my body flies further up.

『Ubuh!?』

As the world spins around me, I somehow manage to keep sight of Aruane. I can’t afford to lose track of her.

At the same time as Aro-dono shot out the wind magic, Aruane jumped into its path… No, that’s wrong. Aro-dono shot her [Gale] towards where Aruane was going to jump.

Aruane is hurrying to rescue Ool, and she also has to be wary of [Clay Doll] and [Rope of Regret]. Having taken down the clay dolls, she needs to quickly get away from the remains.

“Kyaaah! Aaah! It hurts, it hurts…!”

The [Gale] shreds Aruane’s body. Right now, her defence is lowered due to [Guard Lost]. It’s thanks to that the damage is getting through.

This can work… While she’s suffering from the [Gale] damage, I’ll attack! If we can’t defeat her now, both of us are dead. It’s the opportunity that Aro-dono has created by using all of her wisdom, so matter what, I can’t miss!

I quickly undo my [Tree Spiritisation], returning to my giant tree form. I cast [Fire Sphere] to ignite myself, and then use [Statue] to turn my body to metal, protecting myself from the heat. The burning giant metal tree is completed.

My [Meteor Stamp] will crush Aruane before she can recover from the [Gale] damage! She’s probably been keeping an eye on me since Aro-dono threw me into the air, but there’s no way she could have expected this. Please let this end it…

“Sorry, sorry about this… It was a plan you desperately put tougher to fight Aruane, and yet… Sorry, Aruane already knew, she already knew.”

Her face shredded by the [Gale], Aruane calmly looks up at me and speaks with a pitying voice. Her eyes open wide.

“These eyes, Aruane’s eyes you see, they can see everything. She pretended to fall for it, so she could crush it at the last moment.”

Her eyes seem to pierce into my soul. This is bad… I won’t be able to hit her. The only chance was while she was distracted by the [Gale]. But it looks like she can see through anything I might try to do to counter her dodge.

“Sorry, sorry about this, Aruane can’t afford to lose eithe-”

Upon saying that much, Aruane’s expression clouds over. Aro-dono has jumped into the [Gale] herself, and is shooting towards the wounded Aruane.

Using the force of the winds, her left arm swings towards Aruane. Moving against the winds, Aruane slices through the enlarged arm with her claws, cutting it off. But Aro-dono continues to plunge towards Aruane, managing to bite into her slender arm.

“Hi, kyaah!”

Aruane has exposed an opening in the face of Aro-dono’s unexpectedly fierce attack. Aiming for that moment, countless arms sprout from Aro-dono’s body, wrapping around Aruane.

If I keep falling like this, Aro-dono won’t be safe from the impact. But if I stop, she’ll soon be torn to shreds by Aruane.

…I don’t know what to do.

Aro-dono’s words from earlier pass through my mind.

『…You’ll probably only get one chance, so… Don’t hesitate.』

…Aro-dono probably didn’t know that it would turn out like this. It looked like her decision to jump at Aruane was a spur of the moment. But, she might have known she would have to sacrifice herself.

『…I’m sorry, Aro-dono…!』

I use [Gravity] to increase my velocity.