Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 8.5 - Chapter 3

Fire Dragon Emperor Alunaya

As on Earth, Forthorthe was home to a plethora of wildlife. Unlike Earth, however, the creatures were quite different. While some appeared to be similar at first glance, evolution in a different environment had produced very different beasts. For example, Forthorthian horses had horns and strange manes.

In addition, Forthorthe was home to several species that were already extinct on Earth. Though their numbers had diminished over the years thanks to changes in climate, several kinds of giant beasts were active under the surface of the planet, some of which occasionally posed a threat to surface-dwelling humans.

The most fearsome creature of all, even among the giant beasts, was none other than the dragon. Like the dinosaurs of prehistoric Earth, dragons were on the top of the food chain. Dragons were large reptiles that continued to grow for every year they aged. It wasn’t uncommon to see them standing over ten meters tall. There were also dragons known as elder dragons that could exceed thirty meters in height. They were massive creatures, and they used their enormous fangs and claws to kill and devour any enemy.

However, dragons weren’t feared for just their size. After all, creatures larger than that existed. There were two other reasons the dragons were so feared. The first was that, despite their staggering size, they had the ability to fly. The second was that they possessed a unique breath weapon.

Dragons had large wings on their backs, shaped similarly to those of a pterosaur, and they could freely fly through the sky. They were very mobile despite their size. Of course, their wings alone weren’t enough to lift their massive bodies, so they used the latent mana in their bodies as well. In other words, though only to a limited extent, dragons were also magicians.

But flight wasn’t the only way dragons used their magic. They could also concentrate it in a special way, using their breath to attack. Thanks to their colossal stature, they were able to exhale at unbelievable speeds, making it especially dangerous. Dragons used their mana to elementally charge their breath, sometimes even changing its form. Most dragons spewed flames, but there were also dragons that could spew ice, poison gas, or even acid. There were all kinds of variations, and from time to time there were specimens that would spew out something surprising. Largely, however, it was possible to guess what a dragon would spew based on the color of its scales. Red dragons used flame breath, white dragons used ice breath, and so on.

Between their extraordinary flight ability and their incredible attacks, dragons were feared far and wide. It was next to impossible to run from them because they could fly, and there was no way to defend against their breath attacks. It was true that there were highly intelligent and peaceful dragons, but most of them were brutal predators. When faced with a dragon, people had good reason to say their prayers. So until climate change reduced their numbers even further, they would continue to dominate the food chain.

The Fire Dragon Emperor Alunaya mentioned in the legend of the Blue Knight was one such dragon. His giant red body was easily twenty meters long. He moved as fast as a jet plane through the sky, but he was also just as dexterous as an eagle or a hawk. On top of that, he could spew flames so hot that they could be considered plasma.

Accordingly, when he appeared on the horizon flying towards Raustor, the fort got real noisy. And fast. The Reborn Forthorthian Army consisted mostly of volunteers. Lacking any proper training, they were shaking in their boots at such a sight. They all knew just how frightening a dragon was. On top of that, the weaponry of this age wasn’t meant for taking down a creature of such size and power. Like a storm, once a dragon appeared, the best the people could do was take cover until it passed.

“Veltlion, this is bad!”

After receiving the report from the soldiers on watch, Flair burst into Koutarou’s quarters in the barracks. The sun had just risen, and Koutarou, who had just woken up, was in the middle of changing.

“Lady Flairan?!”

A shirtless Koutarou stared at Flair in stark amazement. The surprisingly bashful Flair would normally have run right back out of the room red-faced after seeing him like that, but now wasn’t the time for that. She was already panicking about something else.

“It’s a dragon! A dragon is attacking! We’re going to be destroyed before we even reach the coup d’etat army!”

“A dragon?! That kind of thing― No, of course! With this timing, it must be Alunaya!”

Koutarou was flabbergasted at Flair’s declaration at first, but he quickly recalled Theia’s play. It was hard to forget Yurika’s performance as the Fire Dragon Emperor Alunaya.

“What’s the situation?!”

Koutarou quickly scrambled into his shirt as he asked Flair for the details. He didn’t have any time to waste. He was more worried about getting ready for battle than he was getting dressed properly.

“The soldiers on watch have spotted a red dragon coming this way! It’s too far out to tell exactly how big it is, but based on how fast it’s moving, it’ll be here any moment!”

From the lookout tower, the horizon was a dozen or so kilometers away. But based on a dragon’s birdlike speed, it would be at the fort in a matter of minutes.

“I got it! You go on ahead, Lady Flairan! Prepare the soldiers to intercept it! I’ll be there as soon as I’m ready!”

“Good! Make sure you hurry!”

Flair dashed out of his quarters without saying anything else. With a dragon approaching, there was no time to spare.

“Did you get that, Clan?!”

After changing his clothes, Koutarou called out to Clan on the other side of the screen as he ran up to the armor standing by the wall. He touched the right arm of the armor, and it opened up as if it to welcome him.

“Yes! I knew it’d be coming, but this timing is quite a pain!”

Clan was also hurriedly getting dressed on the other side of a folding screen. If Alunaya was as powerful as the legends claimed, he would be too much for the normal soldiers to handle. The only effective way of intercepting him would be for Koutarou and Clan to take the front line.

“We just took this fort after all...” Koutarou said with a sigh as he entered the suit of armor.

The Reborn Forthorthian Army had only captured the Raustor fort the day before yesterday. They were still in the middle of preparing men and supplies for their next battle. Because of that, no one had really gotten proper rest since the fort had been seized. It was really the worst possible timing for an attack. And what was worse, their enemy was a monster that the people of Forthorthe feared more than anything. If they wasted even a minute now, they’d pay for it in casualties.

“Hey, Clan.”

As Koutarou sealed himself into the armor and locked the various parts in place, he brought the armor’s systems online. And as he ordered the AI to scan for the enemy, he called out to Clan.

“Do you think this armor will be a match for a dragon?”

“I’m not sure.”

Clan answered Koutarou as she stepped out from behind the changing screen. She was already holding a large rifle, and she ran up to Koutarou after picking up Saguratin, which was leaning against the screen.

“The dragon population steadily declined as the climate changed, so there are no modern records of any battles with elder dragons. There are some on battles won against smaller dragons that managed to survive, but―”

“That won’t be of any help when dealing with this monster, huh?”

Koutarou’s armor projected a hologram in front of him. Combined with incoming data from Clan’s observation device, it was reporting information on the dragon flying towards them.

“Target is 26 meters long, flying at 198 kilometers per hour. Warning: High-density energy reaction detected. Be wary of energy weapons. Space distortion detected. Take care when attacking.”

The report was nothing but bad news. According to the armor’s AI, everything except its speed was on the level of a fighter craft. Things weren’t looking good for the Reborn Forthorthian Army. This wouldn’t be an enemy they could take any chances with.

“That’s right, sadly.”

Clan nodded as she handed Saguratin to Koutarou. Both of their expressions were serious.

“Thanks.”

Koutarou hung Saguratin from his waist and left the room with Clan right behind him.

“This is the moment of truth.”

“Most likely. Whether or not we can return to our own world all depends on this fight.”

Clan believed that Koutarou was the actual Blue Knight, but she had no real proof to back up her theory. In Theia’s script, the Blue Knight won against Alunaya, but Clan had no way of knowing if she and Koutarou could do the same.

And if they lost, history would greatly change. Once that happened, their chances of being able to return home would be next to nothing. Granted, there was a possibility that it wouldn’t even matter. There was no guarantee they would survive this fight.

“What was your god called again?”

“The Goddess of Dawn.”

“Then please pray to her for our victory.”

“I don’t mind, but... why now, all of a sudden?”

Koutarou didn’t strike Clan as very religious, so him suddenly turning to prayer struck her as quite odd.

“I feel like we should do whatever we can, even if it’s praying.”

If it was just his fate at stake, Koutarou might not have been so desperate. But since this was to protect Alaia and the others, he was intent to do whatever he could. That was just how much he treasured them.

“I understand how you feel. I will pray for us, but please keep it together in front of the soldiers.”

“Yeah. That’s why I’m counting on you, Clan.”

“I’m not sure if that means that you trust me or if you don’t...”

They flashed slight smiles at each other and hurried out of the barracks. The Fire Dragon Emperor Alunaya was almost upon them.

Once Koutarou and Clan stepped outside, the dragon was already close enough to be seen by the naked eye.

“So that’s the Fire Dragon Emperor, huh?”

“He really is huge...”

They both instinctively gasped as they saw Alunaya’s massive figure on the horizon.

That’s nothing like Yurika’s costume...

The real deal was on a completely different level from the dragon the drama club had created for the play. Koutarou could now see why they called him an emperor of dragons, and he couldn’t escape the feeling that the coming battle would be intense.

“Veltlion, there’s no telling if the weapons in this fort will have any effect on him.”

There were ballistas and catapults installed around the fort. They were intended to keep attacking soldiers at bay and destroy siege weapons before they could be deployed, but they were untested against a gigantic flying dragon.

“We don’t have any time to waste. We’ll just have to do things ourselves.”

“And as fast as possible at that.”

Fitting of the title “Fire Dragon Emperor,” Alunaya could spew scorching hot flames. If not stopped, he would burn down both the fort and the town. And if that happened, any victory the Reborn Forthorthian Army managed would be a hollow one. They had to bring down Alunaya before he could reach them.

“Kou... No, Layous-sama!”

“Blue Knight!”

That was when Alaia appeared outside of the headquarters. With her were Charl, Mary the maid, and Fauna the priestess.

“Your Highness! What are you doing here?!”

“With that thing here, it won’t matter where we are! More importantly, Layous-sama, I want you to position the soldiers closer to the town!”

There was no way to block a dragon’s breath attack. But as a princess, Alaia couldn’t just sit idly by as her people were destroyed. Aware it may lead to serious casualties in her troops, Alaia wanted the soldiers to try and protect the town. Anything they could do to help the townspeople.

“Got it! I’ll let Lady Flairan know! Hey!”

“Yes, sir?”

Koutarou called for his young adjutant and asked him to convey a message to Flair. She was currently busy mobilizing troops, so as long as she was informed of Alaia’s wishes, she’d be able to move the soldiers accordingly. After seeing the adjutant run off to find Flair, Koutarou looked up towards Alunaya with a serious expression once more.

“Clan, how long can this armor fly?”

“There’s no limit while using the standard flight module, but there’s only a certain amount of propellant for the emergency boosters. You’ll only be able to fly at max speed for about ten minutes that way, so please be careful.”

While answering Koutarou, Clan readied the rifle she was carrying on her shoulder. It was the one she normally used, but this time it was loaded with different ammunition. It was something she had prepared ahead of time, knowing that Alunaya would appear sooner or later. They were high-penetration rounds that exploded on direct hits. It was a forward-facing charge, giving it extra power to blast through even the thickest armor. She wasn’t sure what it would do against a dragon’s hide, but it was far better than trying to attack using normal bullets.

“Ten minutes, huh? Not sure if that’ll be enough...”

With such a massive opponent, Koutarou knew that if he was really out of his league, things would be over in an instant. And even if he could win—if he really stood a chance—there was no telling how long it would take to defeat Alunaya. But now that had been decided for him. He only had ten minutes before the propellant ran out. Koutarou and Clan were armed with extremely advanced technology, but it was still just the two of them against an elder dragon. The odds weren’t in their favor. But since the Cradle hadn’t been fully repaired yet, they had no choice but to defeat Alunaya in the allotted time with the weapons they already had on hand.

“All right!”

Koutarou steeled himself. There was no time for weakness, doubt, or hesitation. There was no question about what he had to do. He simply had to do it.

“Princess Alaia, please take Princess Charl with you and take cover somewhere safe.”

“Blue Knight, what will you do?” Charl asked, looking up at Koutarou with a worried expression.

“We’re going to keep that thing from getting any closer.”

“Please leave it to us, Princess Charl.”

Koutarou and Clan smiled at Charl. They were both ready for what was to come.

“Blue Knight...”

However, Charl’s expression didn’t change. Thanks to her good intuition and her keen ability to read people, she could tell that Koutarou and Clan were preparing to take part in a dangerous battle.

“No! You can’t, Blue Knight! You and your servant can’t win against that thing on your own! You can’t go!” Charl pleaded, grabbing the hem of Koutarou’s mantle and shaking her head.

“Your Highness, if I don’t go, a lot of people will die.”

The best case scenario would be defeating Alunaya right away, but they had to at least buy enough time for the soldiers to position themselves around the town. If they didn’t, it would be the citizens who suffered.

“I know that! But I don’t want you to go!”

Tears began forming in Charl’s eyes as she clenched Koutarou’s mantle in her tiny hands. She didn’t want to let him go, and she didn’t know what else to do. Charl was desperate. She didn’t want Koutarou to die.

“Charl, you mustn’t trouble Layous-sama any more.”

“Sister! Don’t you care if Blue Knight dies?!”

Alaia smiled at Charl and gently wrapped her hands around Charl’s, still clutching Koutarou’s mantle.

“Of course I do.”

Alaia then gently uncurled her fingers one by one.

“But Layous-sama swore an oath to protect us. If he died here, he wouldn’t be able to uphold that. Charl, your Blue Knight isn’t the kind of man to go back on his word, is he?”

Alaia was well aware how dangerous this fight was going to be. There was an undeniable possibility that Koutarou might die. But as a princess, Alaia had to trust in the oath her knight had sworn to her. And as a woman, she believed in the man she loved. If she had no faith in him and his promises, then who would?

“Sister...”

Understanding how her sister must feel, Charl let go of Koutarou’s mantle. Having been released, Koutarou smiled at her.

“Your Highness, I will return victorious. I haven’t let you ride a horse yet after all.”

“You better! You better return!”

“I swear it.”

Koutarou nodded at Charl and turned towards Alaia.

“I’m going now, Princess Alaia.”

“I scorn the part of me that won’t let me say ‘don’t go,’ Layous-sama...”

Alaia was smiling courageously, but her eyes were moist with tears. Though she believed in him, it wasn’t like she wasn’t worried. In reality, she wanted to stop Koutarou more than anyone.

“Don’t. That’s how my princess should be.”

Koutarou himself was nervous, but he wanted to repay her trust in him more than anything else.

What let Koutarou and Clan float in the air was the localized ability to manipulate gravity. Because of that, it made no noise like a jet engine or even the flapping of wings would. They flew through the sky in silence.

It was nearing the end of the fall season in Forthorthe. Winter was approaching and the cold, dry wind felt even colder to Clan and Koutarou at the speed they were moving. However, neither one of them paid it any mind. All of their attention was focused on the gigantic red dragon in front of them.

“You often see dragons in movies and things, but seeing one in real life like this... It’s almost like a joke.”

“Look at how mobile it is despite its size. This is no laughing matter.”

Alunaya seemed to have noticed Koutarou and Clan as well. He’d turned his head towards them and changed his course. Despite being over twenty meters long, he maneuvered through the air like a deft bird of prey. Clan had seen Forthorthian movies about the Blue Knight, but Alunaya was never this big or quick. Koutarou and Clan trembled more before this threat that was beyond all imagination than they did from the bitter pre-winter cold.

“I’ll be lending a hand too, Blue Knight.”

Someone had followed Koutarou and Clan into the fray. She was sitting on a long staff, flying quietly alongside them.

“Caris...”

It was indeed none other than Caris. She was using her own magic to make her staff fly, which was child’s play for a magician like her.

When Caris’s eyes met with Koutarou’s, she smiled as her black clothes fluttered in the wind.

“To think you’d go without telling me first... You must not trust me at all.”

“I wouldn’t ask you for help in a situation like this where I’m unsure we can win.”

Caris used to be one of the court magicians under Grevanas. She defected after Grevanas tried to kill her along with Alaia at the harvest festival, but she had no real obligation to help Alaia or Koutarou. She had been working with them along the way to repay them for curing her when she was sick, but Koutarou wasn’t willing to ask her to fight against Alunaya for that.

“But with me here, we might have a better chance of winning.”

“...Are you sure about this?”

“Not really, but... after this is over, you’ll treat me to a ton of delicious food, won’t you?”

Caris, an orphan, had thought of the court magicians as her family. But after being betrayed, she had nowhere to go and nothing left to lose. All she really had was Koutarou and the others. To Caris who had lived a rough life since she was a child, they were nice people. She thought of them fondly, and after everything she’d been through, being with them was nice. That’s why she was willing to fight to protect them. Deep inside, she hoped these kind, accepting people might become her new family.

“Leave it to me. I’ll ask Her Highness about it once we’re done.”

“All right! Now I’m getting all fired up.”

As Caris cheerfully nodded, Alunaya, who was closing in fast, let out a roar so loud that it made even the air around Koutarou and the girls tremble. It was intense enough to make them all instinctively recoil.

“Well, aren’t you something? To think anyone would go up against that thing of their own free will,” Clan sighed with a shake of her head.

Clan herself was still steeling her nerves. She was as calm as she could be, but she was still afraid. They were fighting a beast of legend, after all.

“You two were going to fight it on your own, weren’t you? I think that makes you much more eccentric than me.”

Caris smiled wryly as she spoke, but she secretly felt like she may have been too rash. Her opponent was said to be the strongest elder dragon in the area. No other dragon of its kind dared to come near Forthorthe because Alunaya was there. Caris now realized that she must be some kind of crazy to want to fight something like that.

“That’s enough chatting.”

Koutarou flew up ahead of Clan and Caris. He was frightened by Alunaya as well, but he had the strength of the promises he’d made driving him forward.

“He’s almost here.”

Thanks to Sanae’s powers, Koutarou could feel Alunaya’s bloodlust. His handle on the power was weakening as time passed, but he had no trouble telling when something so strong was directed his way. Alunaya was clearly targeting the three of them, particularly Koutarou who was in the lead.

Koutarou pulled Saguratin from its sheath and pointed it at Alunaya. As he did, the blade reflected the morning sun. It was almost as if his determination to keep his promises was making the sword shine.

“We don’t have much time, so let’s just settle this for now by saying we’re all eccentric.”

“Yes, let’s. We can save the matter of who’s more eccentric for lunch.”

Clan readied her rifle and Caris began incanting a spell. Even though they were preparing for battle, just one look at the giant dragon in front of them made them both tremble.

“I’m counting on you two.”

But there was also a young man wearing blue armor in front of him.

“Please leave it to me.”

“I know. Don’t you forget your promise.”

Watching him, their trembling settled down. In its place, they were filled with a strong fighting spirit.

Alunaya made the first move. The crimson dragon took a deep breath and exhaled flames from his mouth. But it wasn’t like an ordinary flamethrower. No, this was a giant pillar of fire. It was a strong opener, even for a declaration of war.

“Spread out!”

Since Koutarou could see Alunaya’s intent to attack, he knew where he was aiming. And thanks to Caris’s spell creating a mental connection between the three of them, he was able to let everyone else know to get out of the way.

“ROOOAAAAAAARRR!”

Yet even though they had all dodged the flames, they could still feel the flickering waves of heat and the shockwave the blast created. The pillar of white flame continued flying through the sky and vanished across the horizon.

“That’s practically a plasma cannon. We won’t stand a chance if we’re hit by that.”

“Make sure you don’t eat that, Caris.”

“As if I would!”

The flames of Alunaya’s breath attack were so hot and condensed that they came out in plasma form. The only other weapon Clan knew that was capable of producing such a blast was the kind of plasma cannon mounted on large spaceships. She was honestly staggered at Alunaya’s power.

“Blue Knight, dragons only use magic to fly and breathe fire, but their bodies are large enough to store a great deal of mana! Be very careful!”

Alunaya had used magic to change his breath to flames, but based on the power of the effect, Caris could tell just how massive the dragon’s mana reserves were.

“I’ll take the front! Cover me!”

Koutarou had used his emergency boosters to dodge the flame pillar, and he now set them to full thrust to accelerate forward in an instant. Cutting an arc across the sky, he approached Alunaya at top speed. He was getting closer to the dragon so he could attack and to make it harder for Alunaya to use his breath weapon against him.

“Grrrrr...”

Alunaya responded by turning his head and opening his mouth once more. He was planning on frying Koutarou before he could get close.

“I won’t let you do that!”

However, before Alunaya could bellow flames again, a small explosion occurred near his face. The barrel of Clan’s rifle was smoking. The explosion was the result of a bullet she fired. Both Koutarou and Alunaya were moving at several hundred kilometers per hour, but Clan’s firearm control system allowed her to accurately snipe at those speeds.

“ROOOAAAAAAARRR!”

Because of the shockwave and the fire from the explosion, Alunaya temporarily lost sight of Koutarou. He shook his large head, shaking off the smoke and scanning for his target, but during that time, Koutarou closed in on him.

“ROOOAAAAAAARRR!”

Alunaya was quick to recover and swung his giant claws at the approaching Koutarou. The force behind such a blow from a twenty-meter giant was equivalent to a car smashing into something at high speeds. It would inevitably obliterate Koutarou if it hit, and it was currently approaching him dead on. Since Koutarou was moving forward at high speed too, dodging the attack would be difficult.

“Too bad that Blue Knight is a fake!”

However, the moment the dragon’s giant claws touched Koutarou, he vanished like a mirage. At the same time, a second Koutarou appeared behind Alunaya, aiming right for his neck.

The first Koutarou was an illusion that Caris had created while Alunaya was distracted by the explosion from Clan’s bullet. Alunaya then targeted the fake Koutarou while the real one got into position to attack the dragon from behind.

“Haaaaaaaah!”

Koutarou’s sword struck Alunaya’s neck exactly where he’d been aiming, but his sword bounced right off his hide like it was rubber. It was similar to trying to strike Dextro’s magic soldier.

“It didn’t work?! These scales are tough!”

Despite the distance between them, Koutarou’s thoughts were directly transmitted to Clan and Caris’s minds thanks to Caris’s magic. Hearing Koutarou’s concern, Clan shook her head.

“You’re wrong, Veltlion! He’s being protected by a powerful barrier!”

Clan’s bracelet, linked to the scope of her rifle, had captured the moment when Koutarou’s attack hit the dragon. In the footage, she could see that Koutarou’s sword had been repelled before it even reached the scales.

“A barrier?!”

Though Koutarou was shocked by what Clan said, he continued to evade Alunaya and tried to maneuver into his blind spot without getting too far away. Distancing himself from Alunaya would only put him at a disadvantage, both offensively and defensively.

“Looks like it’s not just flight and fire! He has a third spell!”

Generally speaking, dragons only used two spells. The first was to fly and the second was to attack with their breath weapon. In addition, Alunaya also used a spell to protect his body. It was originally an ability that he had developed to stabilize himself in the air. By wrapping his entire body in a streamlined barrier, he could fly more aerodynamically at high speeds. The protective barrier also granted him the ability to briefly fly at extreme altitudes where there was little oxygen. And although the ability wasn’t initially intended for combat, it made an excellent shield.

“I see! So that’s why he was completely unharmed even with a direct hit from my rifle!”

Though Clan’s bullet had temporarily blinded Alunaya, it hadn’t injured him. The barrier had protected against both the bullet and the following explosion.

“Clan, what do we do?! Don’t you have any good ideas?!”

Koutarou repeatedly dodged Alunaya’s claws while getting in an attack where he could. Each time, however, his sword was blocked by the barrier. Since things were basically at a standoff as they were, Koutarou turned to Clan for advice.

“Use your left hand!”

“My left hand? You mean Kiriha’s gauntlet?”

“That’s right! Even though that barrier can block physical attacks, it shouldn’t be able to block electricity or magnetic fields! Aim for its nervous system at point blank!”

Clan’s plan was to use the gauntlet built into the armor’s left arm. Physical attacks were blocked by the dragon’s barrier, but electromagnetism that had no physical form might be able to get through. If things went well, they might be able to shock him inside of his barrier. If not, they could still expose Alunaya to an electromagnetic field.

Alunaya’s nerves operated through minute electrical signals just like any living creature. Striking him with a powerful electromagnetic field should be enough to interrupt those signals and keep him from moving properly. If they aimed for the cerebellum or cerebrum, they might even be able to knock him unconscious. Closing in and using the gauntlet at point-blank range seemed like the best option they had right now.

“Got it! I’ll give it a try!”

“I’ll try using optical weaponry! It’s not as powerful, but it just might work!”

Clan could see Alunaya, so there was a chance that using an attack that relied on light might do the trick. Barriers in present-day Forthorthe were designed to block both physical attacks and the light from lasers, but Alunaya’s barrier had never been exposed to lasers before. It was quite possible that they would work against his magical protection.

“Let’s do this, Clan!”

Koutarou pointed the tip of Saguratin at Alunaya once more. This time, he held the blade with his left hand and generated an electromagnetic field. The field expanded past the tip of the sword, turning it into an invisible spear. Under the influence of the powerful electromagnetic field, electrons began gathering a few centimeters from the tip of the sword. They began a huge, negative discharge, and the sword began sparking and glowing.

As Koutarou was about to charge forward, several more people appeared around him. They all looked like Koutarou, dressed in blue armor and wielding swords.

“Is that your doing, Caris? Thanks!”

“It’ll be hard for me to do any damage with my magic, so I’ll be in charge of defense and diversions. I’ll leave the attacking to you, Blue Knight!”

Koutarou was surrounded by eight mirror images of himself. They were all illusions created by Caris. She had determined that her spells wouldn’t have much offensive power against the dragon, and defending against a dragon’s claws or flame breath would be quite an undertaking even with defensive magic. She figured her best bet was to keep Koutarou from getting hit at all, so she’d chosen to shield him in a collage of illusions.

“Veltlion, here he comes!”

Clan squeezed the trigger while warning Koutarou. As she did, the barrel lit up for an instant. What was fired wasn’t a bullet, however, but light imbued with incredible energy. And since lasers moved at the speed of light, by the time the attack could seen, it had already hit. No matter how mobile Alunaya was, he wouldn’t be able to dodge that.

“ROOOAAAAAAARRR!”

The laser burned the crimson dragon’s hide. As Clan anticipated, Alunaya’s barrier couldn’t block lasers. Not even a dragon could block something it didn’t even know existed. Alunaya writhed in pain and howled as the laser bored through his scales and into his flesh.

“It’s working! Now, Veltlion!”

Since Clan’s laser was designed as an anti-personnel weapon, it didn’t have enough power to fully penetrate Alunaya’s body. However, the pain and surprise of the attack gave Koutarou an opening.

“Taaaaakeeeee thiiiiisss!”

Koutarou charged in with his sword thrust out in front of him. Since he was already in close range, it was only a matter of seconds before he was upon Alunaya. While his sword was repelled yet again, the electromagnetic field passed through the barrier with ease. As it did, the gathered electrons scattered, though they immediately gathered back up once on the other side.

“How about thiiiiisss?!”

The moment the electromagnetic field came into contact with Alunaya’s body, Koutarou focused on his left hand. As he did, his spiritual power—enhanced by Sanae—began flowing into his left hand and extended the electromagnetic field, which in turn created an enormous difference in electric potential between the tip of the sword and Alunaya’s body.

The white flash that followed prevented Koutarou from seeing anything. At the same time, a sharp snapping sound, as if someone had cracked a large whip, shook the atmosphere around him. Though it might have sounded like a whip, it was much, much louder. It was the sound of the electric current flowing into Alunaya.

“ROOOAAAAAAARRR!”

The artificial lightning bolt created by Kiriha’s gauntlet struck Alunaya and ran through his body. It was an effective attack, even against a dragon like Alunaya. Doubly so since it had hit a gathering of nerves. The AI in Koutarou’s armor had guided Koutarou’s aim after analyzing Alunaya’s anatomy. And just as they’d hoped, Alunaya lost control of his own body.

“Uwaaah!”

The only miscalculation was that Koutarou had failed to dodge Alunaya’s swinging tail while he was momentarily blinded by the flash of light. Not even his spirit sight could have helped him since Alunaya had flailed his tail out of reflex in response to the shock. It wasn’t an intentional attack. The heavy blow, however, sent Koutarou flying.

“Veltlion!”

Koutarou was disoriented from the hit and spinning out of control. He’d lost his bearings and was having trouble recovering.

“Leave it to me!”

Caris began chanting a spell to use on Koutarou.

“Gather, spirits of the wind! Like the gusts that fill great sails, show us your tremendous power! Become as a whirl! Dance with him and correct his rhythm!”

Caris cast a spell that would use the wind to slow down Koutarou’s rotational speed. It activated at the same time the armor’s control system kicked in, using gravity controls and boosters to slow the spinning. So between Caris and his armor, Koutarou was able to stop spinning altogether and stabilize himself.

“Ugh, d-damn it... What...?”

But even though his body might have stopped spinning, his eyes hadn’t. His armor kept him upright, but he had no sense of balance. He shook his head repeatedly to try and regain his equilibrium. As he did, his armor let out a warning.

“Alert: High-density energy reaction detected. Immediate evasive maneuvers required.”

The shock from before apparently hadn’t been enough to defeat Alunaya. Now recovered, he was shooting flames from his mouth at Koutarou again.

“I’ll leave that to you!”

“As you wish, my lord. Evading using irregular algorithms.”

Unlike Alunaya, however, Koutarou was still reeling. Realizing that it would be difficult to evade on his own, Koutarou left that job to his armor. The AI began accelerating and decelerating at sporadic intervals and angles to dodge the flames. However, since the armor couldn’t see the attack’s trajectory like Koutarou could, he didn’t escape the attack unscathed. Although he avoided any direct hits, he was burned several times by the flames.

“Veltlion!”

“I’m fine! Don’t worry!”

Fortunately, Koutarou was finally able to recover before taking any serious damage from the fire. He used his spirit sight to read where Alunaya was going to attack, and then took over dodging.

“All this just because I let my guard down for a moment...”

Now that he’d made it through the immediate crisis, Koutarou looked at the damage he’d taken and pulled himself together. The blue plates of his armor had scorch marks here and there from the flames and a dent from when he had been hit by the tail. Any one of those attacks could very well have been lethal.

“Theia... The real Alunaya is far stronger than the one you imagined...”

Koutarou gripped the handle of Saguratin firmly while looking at Alunaya’s gigantic, intimidating figure.

Alaia prayed as she looked up, watching Koutarou and the others battle.

Koutarou-sama...!

Koutarou’s opponent was a monster well over twenty meters long. He was brave to face it, but it was like a cat challenging a lion. No matter how strong Koutarou was, there was no way for him to overcome the sheer gap in strength between him and an opponent over ten times his size. Even though Clan and Caris were helping him, it seemed it was all for naught.

At this rate, Koutarou-sama will die...!

That dreadful thought slowly creeped over Alaia. When it set in on her, she realized that she was feeling insecure for the first time in a long while. Ever since she had met Koutarou, she had always felt safe. She was certain that even if something were to happen to her, Koutarou would protect Charl and support the country. That certainty had brought her great comfort in desperate times.

But more than anything else, after losing her parents, Koutarou was the only one who knew Alaia’s heart and truly understood her. And knowing her situation—all of the details and all of her emotions—Koutarou had told her that she was doing the right thing. Regardless of how she felt as a princess, that comforted the girl named Alaia.

Losing Koutarou would mean losing both those pillars of support at the same time. Just the thought was terrifying. And now that it seemed like an imminent danger, her delicate, pale hands began to tremble.

“I should have broken the seal on that sword before this happened...”

Alaia uttered those words in her anxiousness. Upon hearing them, Fauna, who was next to Alaia, looked troubled.

“Your Highness... that’s...”

As a priestess of the Goddess of Dawn, Fauna knew the true weight of those words. It was something she never would have said were it not for her impassioned concern for Koutarou.

“You can do it, Blue Knight! I’m with you!”

“Please refrain, Princess Charl! It’s dangerous to lean out like that!”

“Let go, Mary! I won’t hide any longer! Our knight is out there fighting! How can we not cheer him on?!”

Charl’s heartfelt words helped ease Alaia’s worries.

“Charl... you’re so strong...”

At first Charl was worried and didn’t want to let Koutarou go, but once she did, her belief in him was unshakable.

“Sister! You should be cheering for the Blue Knight too! If you do, he will surely return home safely!”

She believed in him, and she was willing to do whatever she could to support him. In her position, all the young Charl really could do was cheer, but she was determined to do it with all her heart and soul.

Charl... you might be more suited to be empress than I am...

Charl’s unrelenting will dazzled Alaia. Seeing her like this was like looking at the sun or watching a large flower bloom at dawn.

“You’re right, Charl... I’ll cheer for him too.”

Alaia decided to take a lesson from Charl. She would put all her faith in Koutarou and cheer for him from the sidelines. Everything else could wait.

“Sister! Over here!”

Charl smiled and beckoned for Alaia to stand with her. Alaia nodded and walked over next to Charl.

“Blue Knight! You can do it! Alaia is cheering for you too!”

“Layous-sama! Stay strong!”

They had no way of knowing if their voices could actually reach Koutarou or not, but they chose to believe they would and continued to shout with all their might. It was all they could do to support him now. Following their lead, the soldiers nearby began shouting as well, and before long, the entire fort was shouting the Blue Knight’s name.

Koutarou was fighting several hundred meters away from the fort, and between the wind, his boosters, and the dragon’s roaring, he never heard Alaia and Charl.

“Tch, I definitely can’t lose! Her Highness and everyone else are waiting for me to come back!”

However, even though their voices never reached him, their feelings certainly did. Koutarou knew that everyone at the fort was cheering for him. Having played baseball for years, Koutarou knew exactly what it felt like to be cheered for even when you couldn’t hear any distinct voice in the crowd. And feeling that now lit a new fire within him.

“I can do this! It’s not like he hasn’t taken any damage!”

Koutarou glared at Alunaya, his newfound will to fight burning in his eyes, and pointed his sword at the giant dragon. Just as Koutarou had said, Alunaya was weaker now than when the battle first began. The damage from Koutarou’s gauntlet and Clan’s laser had gradually taken its toll on the dragon’s body. And having been flying at full speed for several minutes now was taxing Alunaya’s stamina. Alunaya may have been a legendary dragon, but Koutarou no longer saw him as unbeatable.

“Veltlion, only a third of the propellant is left! The entire frame has taken considerable damage too! There’s no time to slack off!”

However, Alunaya wasn’t the only one worse for wear. And since he was much smaller, the damage Koutarou had taken was much more significant. The armor had taken hits from both Alunaya’s flames and claws, and each blow put him more at risk. The armor’s systems were currently making up for the damage, but if he took any more, he would be in danger.

“My mana is running low as well. I’m restricting healing magic to serious injuries only.”

It wasn’t just Koutarou’s armor that had been a target, either. Koutarou had suffered everything from cuts, bruises, and burns to dislocation and fractures. Caris had used her magic to heal them all, but now that her mana was running out, it was getting harder to take care of Koutarou.

“Don’t worry. Just focus on what you can do.”

“Let’s all do our best then.”

“I am kicking it into high gear here, just for the record.”

“You’re just reckless.”

“This isn’t exactly the kind of opponent I can beat without being reckless!”

Koutarou readied Saguratin with both hands, pointed it towards Alunaya, and charged. The eight illusionary Koutarous created by Caris surrounded him. The nine of them swapped positions repeatedly as they closed in on Alunaya.

“Grrrrrrrr!”

Alunaya bared his fangs to intimidate Koutarou, but he wasn’t bothering to use his breath weapon like before. He was well aware by now that the majority of the Koutarous were fakes.

Not good. He’s learning.

Koutarou clicked his tongue in his mind. Alunaya was calm. In Koutarou’s experience, the winner of a fight was always the one that could keep their composure the longest.

“Blue Knight, if you want to finish this faster, I have an idea.”

Sensing that Koutarou was beginning to panic, Caris came up with a proposal.

“Tell me.”

Alunaya waited for Koutarou to close in before swinging his massive tail at the nine Koutarous. Koutarou responded to Caris while defending with his sword. The moment he did, the armor’s AI inundated him with alerts.

“The first and third top left drive units as well as the load-bearing right elbow joint have exceeded the maximum tolerance. Bypassing circuits. Readjusting balance of drive units. Left arm output reduced by 20 percent. Mobility of the right elbow joint decreased by 14 percent. In addition―”

In addition to reporting the situation, Koutarou’s armor displayed a hologram mapping the damage. It was littered with red marks.

“That’s enough with the detailed report! I know I’m in trouble! Just tell me what won’t move!”

“As you wish, my lord.”

The next moment, the red marks on the hologram all disappeared, leaving only a yellow mark on the right elbow indicating a loss of mobility.

“Are you okay, Blue Knight?!”

“Veltlion!”

“I’m still fine! So what’s this idea, Caris?”

The illusions around him vanished, leaving Koutarou all alone. If he backed off from Alunaya like this, he would inevitably go for the fire breath again. Koutarou figured he was better off sticking close and trying to attack. He put his left hand on his sword and generated another electromagnetic field. He was planning on attacking with that again.

“A strange gathering of mana is focused in the back of that dragon’s neck. Attacking there might be a good idea.”

Caris had already used a spell to determine what kind of magic Alunaya was using, and she had detected several spells doing so. There was the strengthening spell surrounding his body that assisted with flight, the defensive spell that worked like a barrier, and the spell that turned his breath into a pillar of flame. Caris had expected that much, but she’d used a detection spell to try and discern their exact power, hoping that information would be of use.

The real surprise had come when she detected a fourth spell. It wasn’t something she knew, either. It was a spell she had never come across before, but she could tell where the mana for it was gathering. It was right on the back of the dragon’s neck. She hoped that attacking it might have an effect on Alunaya. It was a gamble, but Caris believed that it was a better bet than just letting things continue the way they were.

“The back of the neck, right?!”

Koutarou quickly made his decision. He felt the same way Caris did. He was willing to try anything that might give him a chance. And so while aiming for Alunaya’s neck, Koutarou put his boosters to full thrust in order to get behind him.

“Be careful, Blue Knight! He’s about to use his flame breath!”

“At this range?!”

Koutarou had assumed that Alunaya wouldn’t be able to use his flame breath once he was up close, so Caris’s warning startled him quite badly. Since Alunaya didn’t want Koutarou getting behind him, he was willing to take some collateral damage to hit him.

“Leave it to me!”

As Alunaya opened his mouth to spew flames, Clan fired several shots from her rifle. The moderately spread out lasers hit all over Alunaya’s face. Before now, that was enough stop Alunaya in his tracks for a while, but not this time. He had expected the attack and endured it while continuing to breathe fire.

The glowing white pillar of flame came straight for Koutarou. He would be able to easily dodge it with more distance between them, but evading was impossible at this range. And just as it looked like Koutarou was about to be swallowed in the torrent of flames...

“Then I’ll just do this!”

Koutarou had a sudden flash of an idea and altered the electromagnetic field generated around his sword to envelop himself as well. He poured as much of his spiritual energy into his left arm as he could. As he did, Koutarou shot forward like a bullet, instantly putting him out of the range of the fire.

“V-Veltlion, you idiot! Just... Just how reckless can you get?!”

Since Clan was monitoring the condition of Koutarou’s armor on her bracelet, she knew what he had done. He’d used the powerful electromagnetic field from his gauntlet to forcibly accelerate the armor. Not even his advanced space armor, however, could completely block out magnetism of that magnitude. Though the armor itself didn’t break, the AI spat out all kinds of errors as the onboard systems shut down.

“Not so fast, Clan!”

However, Koutarou didn’t stop moving. The armor’s functionality had been compromised, but the gauntlet on Koutarou’s left arm was still working. Koutarou used that power to push himself forward.

“I’ll show you...”

Propelled forward by the power of Kiriha’s gauntlet, Koutarou charged right at Alunaya. His sword was aimed at the back of his neck where Caris had sensed gathering mana. The armor’s systems had shut down and it was unclear whether or not they’d come back online, so Koutarou knew this was his last chance to attack.

“...exactly how reckless I can be!”

Saguratin clashed with Alunaya’s barrier. In that moment, Koutarou could see a large crystal attached to the back of Alunaya’s neck. It was the only thing glowing blue on Alunaya’s gigantic red body. Koutarou used all of his remaining strength to unleash a pulse of electricity there.

There was a white flash. The largest lightning bolt Koutarou had unleashed yet passed through Alunaya’s barrier and zapped the glowing blue crystal.

“ROOOAAAAAAARRR!”

Since Koutarou was exhausted, however, the last of his energy wasn’t enough to create sufficient electricity to shatter the crystal. Yet though the crystal remained intact, Alunaya seemed to be in great pain. He nearly doubled over in the air, his massive body wriggling like a fish out of water. The howling roars he let out echoed all the way into the town, leaving the villagers shaking in their boots. Alunaya then lost his ability to keep himself in the air and fell towards the ground.

“D-Did that do it...?”

The exhausted Koutarou also entered free fall as he watched Alunaya plummet. The armor still hadn’t rebooted, and he no longer had the strength to use his gauntlet. At this rate, Koutarou would smash into the ground at terminal velocity.

“Heh, heheh... We win... Your Highness...”

However, before Koutarou reached the ground, he lost consciousness. He was so battered and weakened from the fight that, once he relaxed after being assured of his victory, he blacked out completely.