Chapter 173: Full Moon Night – Part 1 (6)

Raizein usually wields only a single Shadow Blade. There’s no real need to summon more when just one is enough to take a person’s head off.

However, when she needs to properly face an opponent, it’s a different story. There’s no reason to hold back.

This was exactly one of those situations—a rare, durable plaything in a fragile world where everything else breaks too easily. A chilling thrill flickered across Raizein’s smile.

“W-Wait a moment, Lady Raizein. Our goal is, above all, the Hero—”

“Hold Person.”

“?!”

Marianne, who had been trying to stop the fight, froze instantly. Raizein giggled as she looked down at her and whispered in her ear.

“Stay put. I’ll be back after I finish up!”

“……! ……!!!”

Marianne let out a silent scream, but her stiffened throat wouldn’t allow a single sound to escape.

The only thing she could do was stand there like a statue, a helpless witness to the tragedy about to unfold.

With the obstacle removed, Raizein slowly turned around and spoke.

“Well then, are you ready?”

“You didn’t run right away, so I’d say you’ve got some guts. Let’s see if that holds up.”

“Hah, you’re the one acting real relaxed—turning your back on me like that.”

Dorothy crossed her arms with a scowl.

“I’m really looking forward to this. Wonder how that pretty little face of yours will look after I beat it to a pulp.”

“Oh my, no need to worry about that. When this is over, I won’t be the one begging for my life—you will.”

Raizein shot back with a grin.

At this moment, the two shared one thing in common—they both completely underestimated each other.

Raizein, as the arrogant Commander of Arrogance, was a given, but Dorothy also assumed this was just some crazed outsider making a scene.

She never even considered digging deeper. After all, it didn’t matter who the opponent was—she was a dragon.

There was no way she could lose.

Because of this mutual overconfidence, their duel took on the feeling of an oddly fair one-on-one battle.

A proper fight, where the first to move would signal the match’s beginning.

“Well then, let’s start off light.”

Smiling brightly, Raizein sent her shadows surging forward.

Hundreds of razor-sharp blades shot out all at once.

—Swoosh!

Like a sea urchin’s spines, the densely packed blades rushed toward Dorothy, intent on piercing, slicing, and tearing her to shreds.

At this rate, Dorothy would soon become a thing of the past.

Faced with countless incoming attacks—

“Humph!”

Instead of dodging or blocking, she simply swung her arm from left to right.

Just that one movement was enough.

The blades, which had been swarming toward her in overwhelming numbers, shattered to pieces under her casual sweep.

Even the few that managed to reach her only left tiny scratches on her skin—mere pinpricks, no more painful than a fishbone prick.

Not even remotely a real hit.

A flicker of admiration lit up Raizein’s eyes.

“Oh? How surprising. My proud shadows couldn’t even scratch that weak-looking body of yours.”

Her attack boasted the ability to slice through steel like tofu, yet this girl—who wore no armor, no visible protection—had blocked it effortlessly.

That meant her defense was purely her own.

Was she not an ordinary girl, but some higher being polymorphed into a human form?

Perhaps. After all, no mere human could take a nap in a forest teeming with monsters.

Meanwhile, Dorothy smirked and mocked Raizein.

“So, is that it? Was that little trick your whole performance? You sure talked big for someone so weak.”

“Oh? Of course not.”

Amused by Dorothy’s taunt, Raizein chuckled and raised her hand.

Who the opponent was didn’t really matter to her.

If physical damage didn’t work, she had other ways to deal with it.

With that thought, she summoned dozens more shadowy tendrils and launched them at Dorothy again.

Dorothy scoffed and prepared to swing her arm once more.

“Hah, even if you send hundreds of these things, I can still—?!”

But this time, things were different.

Instead of piercing her, the tendrils coiled around her arms like chains.

At the same time, she felt something being drained from her—her energy, slowly seeping into the shadows binding her.

“Tch!”

Clicking her tongue, Dorothy yanked herself backward with force.

The tendrils were strong, but they weren’t stronger than a dragon’s strength. With a sharp rip, they tore apart and dissolved into smoke.

Along with them, the unsettling sense of weakness instantly disappeared.

Dorothy glared at Raizein with narrowed eyes.

“What the hell are you trying to pull?”

“Oh? As you can see, since physical attacks don’t work, I simply tried a different method.”

The official name is “Shadow Drain.”

It is an ability that continuously drains the energy of those who touch or are bound by the tentacles.

“So, how was it? How does it feel to have your life force stolen away so relentlessly?”

“Like absolute garbage.”

Dorothy spat on the ground beside her, her expression showing genuine disgust rather than empty words.

Raizein’s smile deepened.

“Ufufu, my, my. I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it.

Now, as you can see, I can produce thousands more of these tentacles.

And if you get caught by even one of them, you’ll be drained of energy and rendered completely incapable of fighting.

So, what will you do now? If you kneel right now and apologize, saying, ‘I’m sorry for resisting,’ I might just spare your life.”

“You sure love running your mouth, huh? Acting all high and mighty when all you’ve got is those damn tentacles.”

Dorothy raised an eyebrow, then pulled her arm back, taking a stance for a straight punch.

And in that position, she muttered a short incantation.

“Blink.”

In the literal blink of an eye, Dorothy had teleported behind Raizein.

“Die!!!”

“!?”

Caught off guard, Raizein quickly wrapped herself in shadows. At the same time, Dorothy’s devastating punch struck her barrier.

—KWOOM!!!

The impact sounded less like a fist hitting a shield and more like an explosion, sending shockwaves that rattled the forest.

The hastily constructed barrier couldn’t withstand the sheer force and shattered pitifully.

Though she avoided taking direct damage, Raizein couldn’t stop herself from being flung several meters away.

Groaning, she spread her wings midair to stabilize herself.

“Ugh…!? W-What kind of strength is this…?”

“You should’ve known your place and quit while you were ahead. Did you really think your pathetic shadows would protect you forever? Not a chance.”

Dorothy sneered at the airborne Raizein.

“Next hit’s the last! Blin—”

“Hmph, you won’t get me twice! Forbiddance!”

But this time, Raizein was quicker.

Forbiddance—a spell that completely blocks spatial movement within a certain radius.

If the opponent is vastly superior, they might be able to forcefully teleport through it, but Dorothy’s magic skills weren’t at that level. She preferred using her fists over her brain.

And Blink, being a short-range teleportation spell, was obviously included in Forbiddance’s effect.

As a result, the magic Dorothy had just gathered dispersed into nothingness.

“Haa… Haa… Well now, that was close. I never imagined you could even use magic.”

Raizein caught her breath, looking slightly rattled.

But only for a moment.

Soon, she returned to her usual smug demeanor, looking down at Dorothy with a condescending smirk.

Her black wings flapped arrogantly.

“So, what’s your next move? Surely this isn’t all you’ve got?

Come on, entertain me! Surprise me! Let’s see what else you can do!”

“You little—!!”

A vein bulged on Dorothy’s forehead.

She was fighting with all her might, yet Raizein was treating this battle like a game.

The fact that she could have attacked from a distance but deliberately didn’t was proof enough.

And yet, when it came to countering, she was quick as a damn bat—blocking Dorothy’s go-to combo, Blink Strike, with perfect timing.

That had been one of her few reliable options, and now it was sealed.

‘Damn it… Should I transform back? If I do, I could squash this gnat with a single swipe…’

Dorothy retained most of her physical strength even in human form, but if she reverted to her dragon form, she’d gain not only raw power but also reach.

In that state, she could strike before the tentacles even had a chance to grab her.

Or she could just retreat and blast Raizein from afar with her breath attack.

Either way, she would only get stronger—not weaker.

But she wanted to keep her transformation as a last resort.

Not because she was trying to conserve strength—that would be a foolish reason.

No, it was because if she turned into a dragon, the witnesses present—including Marianne—might see her true form.

She had already decided to leave the academy, so exposing her identity wasn’t the issue.

The real problem was that if people found out who she really was, then all the embarrassing things she’d done here—

Like coming in dead last during joint training, getting kicked across the field by a unicorn, dressing up as a bunny girl and flashing the audience—

Would be recorded not under “Dorothy,” but under “Dorothea Gwendolyn.”

And that was unacceptable. Even a 1% chance of that happening was something she had to avoid at all costs.

…Maybe that was a stupid reason.

‘But there’s no way in hell I’m losing to this smug bitch. So what do I do…?’

Dorothy frowned, looking up at the sky as she pondered.

Then, after a moment—

‘Alright, let’s go with this.’

Having made up her mind, Dorothy lowered her stance and began casting a spell.

The blue mana, the same color as her hair, swirled around her, gathering at her fingertips…