Chapter 42 – If that was my fault
I am a coward. From the mont I was born, I’ve never even thought about fighting demons. In the first place, just imagining a fight made paralyzed with fear.
The like that was strangely calm, despite having perhaps the most sinister demon before .
“I’m seeing you in a new light. I thought of you as nothing but a pathetic lizard, but heedless of danger you want to save that girl… you’ve actually got so guts, don’t you?”
Flashing a smile, Ariante grabbed my tail. She was misunderstanding a little. I’ve certainly mustered up courage, but it was only a resolve to be swung as a weapon. I didn’t really consider opposing Rēko dangerous.
“How should I say it… it’s not like that.”
“You should close your mouth now. I really would prefer to turn you into your original size first, but looks like it won’t go that easy.”
When Ariante’s and Rēko’s gazes locked, the lightning-like tension could be felt in the atmosphere. She was coming. Rēko extended each of her five blade-like claws and ca swooping down, trying to mow us down like weeds.
Rather than saying I stopped it, Ariante was the one who skilfully handled . This ti instead of swinging, it was more appropriate to say she put down. She foresaw the trajectory of Rēko’s assault, and holding my body with both of her hands thrust it in the position where it’d hinder her the most.
When the claws flashed――
Right after clashing with my stomach, Rēko was sent flying hard and landed on her back with a loud thud. Not being able to process what happened, she tilted her head puzzled in her half dragon form. Even though the source of her power, her wrong belief, was going strong, she probably wasn’t able to recognize who I was in her berserk state. Or she might actually have been refusing to accept the present reality, thinking “the Evil Dragon Lord cannot possibly be used as equipnt”, like how it went down when I was mimicking a goat.
Seemingly being on guard, she had once more flapped her wings and soared high into the air.
“Okay… good, just fly there and watch. Saintess, you ready to turn Rēvendia back?!”
“Please leave it to !”
From Lady Saintess’s feet appeared several water snakes which coiled around my torso. Then she had reeled the snakes like a rope in a tug of war and began to absorb the magic power.
However, maybe because she inferred sothing, Rēko moved into the offensive. The dragon scales coiling around her limbs stood up and the enormous wind born from her wings shot them like bullets.
“Sheet!”
Cursing, Ariante started dynamically swinging around. My eyes were spinning and I felt like puking, but I sohow managed to clench my teeth. Given the wide scope of the attack, Ariante’s hands were tied. Lady Saintess also hid behind , stopping the magic power absorption.
Moreover, I could dispel the magic power put into the scales, but I couldn’t void the wind. Each ti the scales collided with , I could feel a relentless pain run through my flesh and bones, as though I was hit with stones. Besides, Ariante’s stamina wasn’t limitless.
If we continued being shot at like this, we’d sooner or later succumb. And then, exactly when I was starting to believe we’d et with a tragic end, sothing occurred.
The path of bullets riding on the windstorm brought forth by Rēko suddenly bent, and they were sent flying in the other direction.
“Fuu, disregarding and trying to control the winds, what an absurd”
The silver dragon, which should have been bound and battered, had undone the iron chain and stood up. Seeing a portion of his body charred he must have been hit with the fireballs, which lted the binding.
“―― Co now, the stage is ready! Let’s now have our rematch, shall we, little girl?! And when I win, I will have you return my true na! That is how I will be able to discard this shaful Doradora na, and―― Ngaa!”
The huge fireball released by Rēko hit the silver dragon directly and blew him far away.
“We should be thankful, that dragon had earned us precious ti. Let’s erect him a tombstone later.”
“Hold it there, Ariante. He’s probably not dead yet.”
“How so? The power of that was pretty amazing. Even the ground is gouged out. It’s true the dragon kind is a tough bunch, but we’re talking here about that girl’s offensive ability…”
“That’s true thinking logically, but…”
I groaned.
“How should I say it… Even though she beca like that, I believe she’s still the sa Rēko. I an, how she’s a nuisance to others, how she’s strangely only listening to ; just because she turned more violent than always, I don’t think she changed fundantally…”
When I had realised this, I suddenly was no longer afraid. I didn’t know whether this was true. In actuality, she might already be reduced to nothing more than a demon. However, thanks to that my trembling stopped, so I didn’t mind.
Rēko, who got rid of the nuisance, turned over here in order to continue hunting her original prey. Behind her back the evening sun was slowly setting. Its place was being taken by the translucent moon floating on the horizon.
“Fundantally the sa, huh. She really is an incorrigible problem child, isn’t she?”
Ariante laughed in spite of the critical circumstances.
“That’s right. So I’ve reflected a lot, whether I’ve slipped sowhere or not, and”
Fwoomp! The sound of my noticeably larger paws echoed in the surroundings.
“I’ve finished! C-C-Can we start?!”
With her legs quaking, Lady Saintess shrieked at us. As soon as we nodded, the plan went into motion.
First off was Lady Saintess’ provocation.
“Heeeeey! Stuuuuupid!!!!”
She had really shabby vocabulary. Even Rēko, who had lost most of her reason, looked down upon her with a gaze full of pity rather than rage. In this way, we passed a while of painful silence.
“What do we do, Rēvendia? We pointlessly got so ti, in a setting where we don’t particularly need it.”
Who would have thought, that even though she had relentlessly touched Rēko’s “reverse scale” unintentionally when she was simply being herself, she’d just look pitiful when she tries to touch it on purpose.
“Uuu… how… I was sure she’s going to get mad…”
“Don’t cry, Lady Saintess. Right, you just need to make fun of . This child, she gets the most angry when soone ridicules .”
Or when soone brings up Raiotto.
“Ah? Is that so? In that case, it seems like a piece of cake. Well, here I go… Heeey!! Your pet is a useless lizard!!!”
Rēko roared loud enough to distort the surrounding space. I was a bit hurt. But I didn’t have the leisure to feel sad. Roaring, Rēko was converging the magic power in her mouth; I surmised she was going to unleash an attack that would, let alone us, wipe out the whole town in its aftermath.
“I-I’m leaving it to you!”
With her body bent forward, Lady Saintess vigorously pulled the water snakes for one more ti. At that mont, my body returned to its original size, a transformation into a form befitting an Evil Dragon.
Of course it was a re false impression. I was powerless. However, right here and now, that was entirely irrelevant.
“Rēko, if I am to bla for you turning like this”
Rēko was spouting flas. The quality was on a different level from what she had released so far. Focusing in a sharp straight line, it was a beam set on thoroughly burning all creation to the ground.
I clashed with this beam with my whole body and erased it without leaving any trace.
“―― it’s because I didn’t scold you properly upfront.”
Starting from my tail my body rose into the air, and after a quickly accelerating full rotation around Ariante I was flung at Rēko.
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