“Gah, how’d you even get so insanely strong…?!”
“Hah… hah… whew… didn’t you know? This whole world… is made of macho…!”
“Yeah, no, it’s not. You’re a real pain in the ass, you know that?”
That’s a complint… right? Hey, I an, even if it’s conveyed through sarcasm, I always appreciated being appreciated. Also, this is just a sample of a Holy Warrior’s power… The boost that just this one title can give truly is terrifying.
Still, stronger as I may have beco, I’ll inevitably struggle whenever the Cobalt Dragon joins the fight for real. I kept my hand behind , drawing up a Teleportation Spell Circle. It should be done by the ti Dīnō fixed his stance and got back into position.
“I’ll leave this to you, Blue! The rest of you, get away!”
Blue. That’s the Cobalt Dragon’s na.
It nodded quietly to Chiquiata’s instruction. Not exactly a talkative one, unlike Dīnō, huh?
…Anyway, now I’ve got my Circle drawn. Just gotta control it and deploy it behind …
“……”
Man, Blue really is staring hard at .
Better use this instead of Remote Control, then…
“Rise, Ground Spell Delivery!”
Seeing how Chiquiata was caught by surprise by my magecraft again, I couldn’t help but grin.
“…What are you trying to pull this ti?”
“It’s a trap.”
“You’re an annoying man, you know that?”
“More like an annoying MANCHILD! Oh, what I wouldn’t do to tear you apart…”
Welp, now Dīnō’s rejoined the action.
A Kaiser Dyno and a Cobalt Dragon, both fearso monsters out to kill , both pairs of eyes locked on to …
Why must you contain so many scary things, world? Hurry up and beco peaceful already, damn it.
“Now you’re laughing at , huh?!”
“This is different! I’m only expressing my anticipation!”
…Huh? Why do I feel like I’ve been through this before, but on a different side?
Ngh, Dīnō and Blue are opening their mouths. Probably gonna use the Zenith Breath attack.
Works for . I can let the impact push into the Teleportation spell circle-
“GAAAHHHHHH!!”
-Now!
I jumped backward, and the blast sent over the hillside, after which I twisted my body into a suitable landing position.
…Huh? Is it just , or was it just Dīnō that unleashed a Zenith Breath?
Just as I was about to land, my eyes caught sight of Blue flying high in the sky.
Damn it, so this one’s got Chiquiata’s cool-headedness as well?!
It’s trying to catch the exact mont I land!
Blue’s mouth opened wide, and from it ca a Zenith Breath that was definitely more powerful than Dīnō’s.
With no way to deal with the incoming attack, all I could do was stick my hands out in front of .
Damn it, what am I even thinking!
There’s no way in hell I can stop THAT with my bare hands…!
Not that I could do anything else. At least I’m charging up my hands with a bit of arcane energy, I guess.
As the Zenith Breath made its impact, I started seeing flashes of mories from last year – like a random selection, but not really.
-So there’s that one ti… soon after we first arrived in this era, when we were headed to Brunnera together with Giorno and Lylia.
That one ti, Giorno showed one of his special moves, ‘Brave Blade’, and made short work of a wave of monsters.
I was quite amazed and awed by his thod of detailed arcane energy manipulation.
I had given up on trying it back then, knowing that it was impossible then… but what about now?
It’s kind of the sa as the Zenith Breath – a powerful special technique involving a monster or beast gathering its arcane energy into a concentrated mass, then unleashing it from its mouth.
How it works, for Pochi as well, is that either a part of the creature’s body or mind first forms a Spell Circle, and the opening of its mouth triggers the energy release – that’s what makes the technique special. Many years of research have shown that the sword techniques used by warriors also run off this set of general principles.
Which ans-
“You’re through!”
By the ti Chiquiata’s voice reached my ears, I’d already adjusted the arcane energy in my hands to equal the amount contained in the incoming Zenith Breath.
As the incoming impact made contact with my body, I sent my arcane energy flowing through to my muscles, letting it form a swirl in my being without resisting nor holding it together. Through that process, and also years of knowledge and experience, I got a grasp on Blue’s arcane energy signature.
Okay, I DON’T actually know how I understood it. But what I do know is that I couldn’t have done it without seeing Giorno’s technique and if I hadn’t done my silly and-or apparently nonsensical researches. Those and the experience I’ve gained in this era, the training I’ve received from Tūs… and above all, the fact that I’m ‘isolated and helpless,’ facing the danger alone. All those factors have helped and-or forced to understand Blue’s Zenith Breath as if it was a spell I had invoked myself. So much so that I could just… hold it in my hands.
…And yes, I ant that in a literal sense.
“-! Hah-hah! RIGHT BACK AT YA!!”
“”WHAT?!””
Holding the Zenith Breath in my hands, I used a special arcane energy manipulation technique to pour more power into it before throwing it back.
Faced with a larger and more powerful Zenith Breath, Chiquiata and Dīnō’s faces cramped up.
To them, all that was detailed in the previous paragraph had happened in but an instant, so they probably didn’t know how to react.
The only action they took was a defensive posture.
Except for one – the only one who acted differently… Blue.
Blue grabbed Dīnō by its tail and threw it backward, then turned to Chiquiata and charged at her, pinning her down.
“Ngh- damn you-! Blue?!”
The Dragon coiled its long body around her, protecting her just as it had done during our first encounter.
“”No… no! Blue!”
The huge impact shook the earth… and made a direct hit on Blue.
A whole lot of dust scattered and rained down like actual water.
An unpleasant sound lingers in my ears. In the aftermath of the blast, lying in the smoke is the body of a Cobalt Dragon… Blue.
“Blue! Blue!”
Chiquiata’s trembling voice overrode the unpleasant sound, and…
“Damn it, you flying lizard! Answer !”
Dīnō’s voice, a mixture of anger and resentnt, caused a nasty lump to form in my heart.
“…Ahh…”
Chiquiata’s trembling voice turned into a cry, and Dīnō’s rage turned my way. I approached them, scratching my head with my free hand.
Now I wonder why I still haven’t used the Teleportation spell to get myself back to Kugg Village… it’s like my feet just moved on their own, before I could think of what to do next.
“…I hope you’re ready to die, you little shit.”
“Shut up.”
“What?! You’re the one who killed Blue, damn it! I know Myans wouldn’t like this, but I’ll have you dead, even if it costs my life!”
“The Dragon isn’t dead yet!”
I tried my best to control my emotions and tone when confronted with Dīnō’s bloodshot eyes, while Chiquiata looked at with tears welling up in her eyes.
The latter’s look was loaded with anticipation and hope… and disgust toward .
“Blue’s heart isn’t beating anymore……! There’s nothing you can do now!”
Chiquiata insisted to , her voice strained.
I pointed my staff at Chiuiata, cald my mind, and said to her,
“But I can. Here’s the deal…”
“…What?”
Dīnō blurted out, while Chiquiata gave no reply.
“If I save this Cobalt Dragon, the Douglas household will… no, just you is fine. You won’t take any action against the Traditionalist Faction, ever again. Just promise that.”
“You little shit, Blue is already-“
“-There’s not much ti. Deal or no deal?”
I interrupted Dīnō, I asked Chiquiata again.
“…If you CAN do that…”
As soon as I heard Chiquiata’s reply, I started looking for the fatal wounds on Blue’s body.
…Four on the torso. One on the face. One on the tail. A total of six.
“Rise, A-rise, A-rise, High Cure Adjust: Count 6 & Remote Control.”
The spell is usually cast on the whole target for general recovery, but naturally, targeting specific injuries will speed up the healing of those spots.
“Six large-scale spells, cast instantly… The hell are you, a monster? But using magic on a dead body won’t-“
“Shut up, Dīnō!”
I raised my voice to keep Dīnō in line, then sat down on top of Blue, around the seventh section of its torso where its heart should be located.
“Tch-! If you can’t actually do it, I’ll rip you apart, dammit!”
Dīnō WAS right – now that Blue’s heart has stopped, recovery magic won’t work on it.
It is for use on still-living bodies, after all. All mages… and anyone who has ever been in combat, for that matter, know that it does not apply to the dead.
And so I figured out an idea – why not apply the principles of recovery magic against it?
Back when Billy taught recovery magic at the Magic University, he had told that ‘one whose heart beats’ is the only target recovery magic spells worked on.
Even I hadn’t known that particular point up until then.
Thinking about it now, Billy must have been doing so dangerous experints to be able to pin down such a definition at that ti.
But no, now isn’t the ti to dwell on that. What’s important is that, basically, it should work if the target’s heart is made to beat, for example, with another individual’s hand.
Of course, no one can actually do that.
Simply making the heart beat with external force won’t be enough to trick the recovery magic spells’ chanisms.
But with the arcane energy manipulation technique I just used… I can make the heart beat realistically enough!
Modern wisdom, ancient technology!
After Remote Control got all of the High Cure Adjust Circles into position, I invoked the recovery spells.
A hefty supply of arcane energy is being used to force the heart to beat. Having experienced the manipulation of Blue’s arcane energy with my own skin, I’ve understood even the Dragon’s breathing pattern.
One, two, one, two… All right, that’s the rhythm.
At that exact sa mont, all six High Cure Adjust Spell Circles rang out, signaling their activation.
“No way…”
Once that was over, Blue’s fatal wounds were closed completely.
“Next up… Rise! Holy Virgin’s Boundary!”
A magecraft for healing internal wounds – I’ve used it on Pochi before.
The Dragon took one hell of an impact, so its wounds will take so ti to heal… hopefully its archetype’s innately high life force will help it pull through!
Suddenly, the supply of Arcane Energy that I had been sending was montarily pushed back.
Chiquiata, crouching down to hold a part of Blue in her arms, noticed that sothing was different.
“Just now… Blue moved.”
“All right…!”
I clenched my fists tightly, quietly rejoicing in the resurrection of Blue – one of my enemies.
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