Chapter 185: Full Moon Night – Part 2 (3)
by fnovelpia
The idea of “enduring for six hours” might not seem like a big deal.
It’s not exactly short, but it’s also hard to call it truly long—so it can come off as rather ambiguous.
Especially because Sion casually described the plan of “holding off Raizein with continuous attacks until dawn” like it was nothing special, it might give off an even stronger impression that it’s no big deal.
But think about it.
If you had to go to the gym today and do intense workouts for six straight hours—would that really be easy?
Most people would be completely wiped out after just one hour, let alone six.
And the next day, they’d be suffering from brutal muscle pain and regretting their life choices.
Even just considering that much gives you a sense of how tough it is.
But the three who were currently holding off the demonic beasts were dealing with two extra handicaps.
First: the time they had to endure was in the early dawn hours—when people are normally deep asleep.
Second: even the slightest lapse in concentration would result in death.
And in this case, “death” wasn’t a metaphor.
It literally meant the loss of life.
A single mistake could mean paying the price with eternal rest.
Conditions like that would push anyone to the brink, but not one of the three uttered a single complaint.
Because they knew as well.
That inside the barrier, the hero was enduring a battle even more brutal and horrific than theirs.
“Raaaghhh!! Eat this!! [Gigantic Fist]!!”
With a loud battle cry, Therese leapt high into the air.
Raising an arm she had enlarged to giant size with her ability, she slammed it down at the demonic beast.
Boom!!
With a thunderous impact that shook the ground, the spider-shaped monster was smashed into the floor.
Dark, slimy liquid oozed from its shattered exoskeleton.
Having instantly taken down the biggest one, Therese laughed boldly with her hands on her hips.
“Ahahaha!! Now that’s satisfying!
The last time we fought, we were stuck in a cave and I couldn’t use any big moves like this—man, that was frustrating.
But I’ve finally let it all out!
How’s that taste, huh?! Thought I was all defense? Big mistake!”
After saying that, she wiggled her finger confidently, taunting the demonic beasts.
“Alright, alright. Line up, one by one! I’ll squash you all like flies!”
“gfahqertio…!!!”
Even if they weren’t intelligent, the demonic beasts could at least recognize when they were being mocked.
And Therese’s arrogant gestures were more than enough to piss them off.
Their dark eyes flaring with rage, they abandoned their original plan and charged straight at her.
Exactly the reaction she wanted.
“Now, President!”
“Understood!”
Martin stepped forward, taking a deep breath.
Facing the charging beasts, he raised his sword with resolve—
—a radiant golden blade adorned with a beautiful lily pattern.
“Holy Flame, be unleashed and strike down the royal enemy! [Searing Blast]!!”
As Martin shouted and swung the sword, searing golden heat burst forth in a straight line, mercilessly incinerating everything in its path.
While Exia, the Holy Sword, was often hailed as the greatest of all swords, that didn’t mean the rest were worthless junk.
There were many other magical swords with formidable power—even if they couldn’t quite match Exia.
And frankly, compared to the current, dimly-glowing state of Exia, many of those swords performed better right now.
Martin’s weapon—the so-called Holy Flame Sword, Tasmania—was one of them.
This famed sword had been passed down through the royal family of Salem since its founding.
It allowed the wielder to convert their mana into sacred flames and release them.
A special kind of sword aura, so to speak.
Thanks to this sword, Martin—though less skilled in raw technique than Lancia—was able to exert superior area-of-effect damage.
And that made it the perfect weapon for their current situation.
“Lancia! Five left! Clean-up’s on you!”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Lancia shot off like the wind.
Darting between the monsters in a zigzag, she slashed swiftly and precisely.
“Granfil Style, Form Two: [Lightning Flash]!”
Shwing-shwing-shwing!
With her ultra-fast swordplay, she finished off the ones that hadn’t gone down from the flames.
Each one was stabbed in a vital spot, collapsing on the spot.
As always, the slain monsters melted like water and vanished into the shadows.
None remained.
Therese grinned with satisfaction.
“Not bad teamwork at all, huh?
For our first time fighting together, we’re totally in sync!
At this rate, we just might be able to hold out until dawn without much trouble!”
“I’m not so sure about that. It’s too early to make that call,” Martin said with a serious expression, staring past the forest.
It was true—they had just wiped out the monsters with a beautiful combo.
But it was all for nothing.
The defeated enemies were already regenerating in the darkness.
Shadowy shapes squirmed and began to take form again beyond the edge of vision.
Unless the darkness itself was destroyed, they would resurrect over and over again.
That was the nature of this spell.
One successful round didn’t mean anything.
They had to keep succeeding—repeatedly—for it to matter.
Martin, understanding that, refused to let his guard down.
“The key is managing your pace.
Don’t burn through all your energy right at the start.
Treat this like a marathon, and proceed with caution.”
“Pfft. I know that much. You don’t have to keep nagging,” Therese replied, cracking her knuckles.
Seeing another monster regenerate and bare its fangs at her, she shouted with renewed vigor:
“Come on, monsters! This girl doesn’t get tired or fall down! Let’s keep playing till the night ends!”
Six hours later.
“Huff… haa… ugh… I-I’m gonna die…No break time? No substitute to tag in for just a bit…?”
“There’s no such thing!!
That’s exactly what Prince Martin warned you about at the beginning!” Lancia snapped, clearly fed up.
Seriously, what was she even listening to back then?
Does she not learn?
“Hang in there a little longer. We’re almost at time-out anyway,” Martin said calmly.
“You can see the sky is a bit brighter than before, right?
The darkness will soon clear, and the sun will rise.
If we can just hold out until then, it’ll be our victory.”
“Ugh, gah… but my legs are trembling…”
“Same here!
Don’t say stuff that’ll just drain our energy!”
In truth, Lancia had expended at least twice as much stamina as Therese.
As a quick-sword specialist, she had no choice but to constantly dart around the battlefield.
Her limits had already been reached about an hour ago.
If not for her sense of duty to rescue Sion, she would have collapsed unconscious long before.
The only saving grace was that as dawn approached, the monsters’ regeneration had visibly slowed.
‘At this rate, I think I can hold out despite the exhaustion.
All that’s left is for the Princess and Teacher to break the barrier on time…’
It was the moment Lancia allowed a sliver of hope to rise in her mind.
“…!?! Wait, everyone, look over there in the sky!”
Martin, who had been scanning the battlefield with tired eyes, suddenly looked up and shouted sharply.
As Therese and Lancia turned their heads, they saw something dark and hulking flying toward them at full speed from the distance.
They weren’t seeing things.
It was definitely heading their way.
The fact that it was rapidly growing in size proved it.
No—more than that, that shape was unmistakably…
“A d-d-dragon?!”
The three shouted in shocked unison.
In Elpidion, there wasn’t a soul who didn’t recognize the appearance of a dragon.
Though the species had gone extinct due to internal strife during the Great Invasion 500 years ago, before that, they reigned as the highest race and exerted constant influence over the human world.
And that history had been passed down through written records, oral legends, and even theater plays without end.
Thanks to that, the three were able to immediately identify the creature as a dragon the moment they saw its form.
And at the same time, they realized—this was not a turn of events in their favor.
“Isabella!! Teacher Sally!!”
Martin screamed in near panic.
“Has the barrier been lifted yet?! We’re out of time! We need to run right now!”
“A-almost there. Just a little more…”
Sally replied in a hoarse voice, worn out after working nonstop through the night for the past six hours.
Isabella wasn’t in much better shape.
Though she wasn’t drenched in sweat like the others, her eyes were bloodshot from sheer exhaustion.
“About 90%…? I think I can break it with just a bit more time, so just hang on until then…”
“Tch, damn it all!!”
Martin cursed and raised his sword.
“Prepare for an assault! We’ll block the first strike no matter what, and counterattack while it recovers from landing! Spread out in formation!”
After giving his orders to the others, he took a battle stance.
They couldn’t let the last six hours of grueling effort go to waste.
Somehow, they had to stop that dragon here.
Even if his sword was nothing more than a toothpick compared to that massive beast—still, somehow.
Even if it cost him his life in a desperate fight—he must.
“Impact incoming!!”
Lancia screamed at the top of her lungs.
At that moment, the dragon streaking through the sky came crashing down like a comet.
BOOM!!!
With an earth-shaking roar, a violent tremor and a massive dust cloud swept through the entire area.
The three of them, caught in the shockwave head-on, staggered and fell into a stunned, groggy state before they could even counterattack.
Barely managing to regain her stance first, Lancia looked around and shouted:
“Ugh… Hey! Your Highness! Therese! Are you okay?! Are you hurt—”
But just then, a metallic voice cut off Lancia’s words.
[This the place? Where that fucking bitch is?]
“…Huh?”
Lancia let out a dazed sound in confusion.
Because the dragon spoke?
No, that wasn’t the surprising part.
In the plays she’d seen, dragons spoke human language fluently, so that in itself wasn’t shocking.
The real surprise was that the voice sounded… familiar.
It had gotten a bit rougher, but the tone felt oddly familiar and intimate.
“W-wait a sec. That voice just now…could it be…?”
The first to realize the oddity was Therese, known for her wide network among the first years.
She looked up at the blue dragon with a dumbfounded expression and asked:
“…No way. Are you… Dorothy?”
The dragon’s brow twitched ever so slightly.
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