Inheriting the Novel

Proof of Qualification (3)

I raised my left hand and pointed upward to Arsabin, who was staring at me with wavering eyes.

"I think we should move out of the way first."

"Gasp! F-follow behind me, quickly!"

Only then did Arsabin realize the situation, and he began leading people away once again.

In contrast, the dragon was now clearly wary of us, unlike before.

「You are not ordinary humans.」

It was merely a light question, but the surging magic power stifled our breaths.

'So Soila... plans to just watch for now.'

Now that Darsha's soldiers had all escaped, soila didn't come forward, simply erecting a barrier in anticipation of any unforeseen casualties.

It seemed to mean that the conditions were set, and we were being told to fight the dragon to our hearts' content.

「Yes, the Lord also said there are humans extraordinarily strong among your kind.」

BOOM!

When the guy took a step forward, the ground trembled, and as he spread his wings, fierce winds whipped up, making it hard to steady oneself.

Indeed, it was worthy of a dragon, reputed as the strongest single entity among all races on the ground.

Few could remain calm in its presence. In reality, we too only clutched our weapons and swallowed dryly.

Except for me.

"So what?"

As I jeered, the dragon's gaze—and that of my companions—all turned to me.

The shared feeling in their stares was, 'Is this guy insane?'

Only Kisea looked at me with eyes tinged with slight curiosity.

"Weren't you shrieking moments ago, in pain, just from a little scratch? Now you're acting all dignified..."

I spoke with a smirk; and the response was nothing short of dramatic.

The dragon's gaze fixed on me, and the air around seemed to press down heavily.

'Dragon Eyes.'

I had already seen Riya use that, so I immediately recognized what that power was.

But the power of the Dragon Eyes had no effect on me at all.

「Insolent little worm. I shall crush you in an instant!」

When the beast roared, countless magic arrays began to appear all around us.

It was an enormous multi-casting feat impossible even to dream of for most mages.

"It's dangerous, Clay!"

Seeing that spectacle, Kisea shouted frantically, but I shook my head. I was telling her to focus on the enemy, not on me.

'With our current abilities, we can't subdue a dragon alone.'

The Seven Heroes must surely know that.

But if the four here worked together, it was certainly doable, at least against a young dragon.

Perhaps this was what Soila and the other Seven Heroes were expecting from us in this trial.

'Up to now, they've been watching individual strength...'

But in this trial, all four of us would need to combine our strengths.

In other words, this trial was not only about bringing back a dragon's heart, but the process itself was just as important.

[You can do it, right?]

'What do you take me for.'

I grinned as I watched the rain of fire and ice descending from all directions.

At first, I wondered how we were ever supposed to face a dragon.

But thinking about it, there was no one more suitable to deal with a dragon than me.

'A young dragon that's only just become an adult...!'

I ran, taking the blazing fire and shards of ice falling from the sky head on.

The spells crumbled and scattered the instant they touched my body.

「What?!」

A startled voice escaped the dragon's mouth.

I looked at that scene and grinned.

'The Divine Relic of Lavantara... it works even better than expected.'

The bracelet given to me by the King of Servan.

The Divine Relic of Lavantara grants its owner powerful resistance to magic.

Even if it was dragon magic, most spells could not harm me at all.

Then, as a massive fireball shot at me head-on, I cut it down with Genova and absorbed it with the Sword of Boundary's power.

Of course, there were spells too powerful for the relic to absorb, but those I neutralized using the Sword of Boundary's ability, so in the end, no magic could threaten me.

'I can't use the Sword of Boundary's power endlessly...'

But the same goes for the opponent.

'No matter how great a dragon is, it can't keep shooting such powerful magic back to back!'

I kicked off the ground and leaped up.

With Deltode's strength, I pushed my body's abilities to the limit and in a single leap reached chest height on the dragon.

"Haaa!"

Then, I thrust my sword at the visible area near the dragon's chest.

A barrier formed instantly to protect its body, but Genova's blade shattered it easily and embedded itself in the dragon's chest.

「Grr! What is—?!」

With its gigantic size, a sword embedded in its chest couldn't possibly bring it down.

As spells failed, the guy swung a massive forepaw at me, stuck to its chest.

CRASH!

I had anticipated such a move, so I quickly leapt backward, evading the blow.

And in that fleeting gap created by the dragon's swing, the other three made their move.

Three sword slashes wrapped in aura instantly wounded the dragon's body.

「That hurts!」

The continued assault drew a scream from the dragon.

The reaction was especially dramatic to Kisea's attack.

SWWISH!

Kisea's sword moved like a whip, dealing the largest, deepest wound among us to the dragon's body.

That's because her sword was no ordinary sword.

The Serpent-Belly Sword (蛇腹劍).

Dozens of blades, connected by chains and moving like a snake, literally minced the dragon's flesh.

"Heeheehee!"

With her crooked smile as she swung the Serpent-Belly Sword, Kisea's once gentle gaze turned sharp, creating an entirely different impression, almost like Martial Uncle Eyes.

"Dragon blood is no different after all!"

Each of the dozens of blades bore its own aura, and the dragon's scales grazed by that aura were sawed off, spraying red blood like rain.

'No wonder they call her Rakshasa.'

I clicked my tongue, recalling Kisea's alias.

The problem was—compared to when she was truly called "Rakshasa," this was still only a fraction of her strength.

Her real power is shown when facing humans.

[Don't let your guard down.]

'I know.'

The dragon still hadn't truly started fighting.

Though it was wounded, none were fatal.

Rascal and Jerta's attacks were textbook, but that was why they left no openings.

「Damn, damn, damn! I can't believe I was wounded by such worms!」

The dragon furiously beat its wings and pushed us back.

It then unleashed another flurry of magic—all at once.

「Shatter to pieces, meet your pathetic end! Crawl with your limbs torn off, like bugs!」

Dragon Tongue.

Multiple spells of Dragon Tongue began tampering with the laws and shaping reality.

'It's... weaker than Riya!'

It was almost funny.

That a human with dragon blood could wield a stronger Dragon Tongue than an actual dragon.

Of course, Riya could only use Dragon Tongue on things she could see, but its power was greater than that of an average dragon.

'As expected.'

This was the biggest reason I had the advantage in dealing with dragons.

Unlike the other three, I already had experience fighting a dragon.

Even if it wasn't a complete dragon, that experience was invaluable.

Especially with Dragon Tongue.

Having faced it before, I was more skilled at handling it than anyone.

'One coming at Rascal, one at Kisea, and one at me.'

I rolled my eyes quickly.

Through the Eye of Insight, I instantly sensed the shifting flows.

Sensing the flow of laws shifting with each Dragon Tongue invocation, I rushed toward that spot.

I clearly saw the stream of power begin to emerge from the dragon's mouth.

I was the first to swing Genova at that stream.

SHHH!

I felt the smooth sensation, like pulling back a thin curtain, and created a gap in the knotted flow.

I cut through the spot where the stream coalesced—right before the Dragon Tongue could be fully invoked.

Genova was a sword that could "cut even the uncuttable."

Even the flow of Dragon Tongue and the moving laws—if I saw and aimed accurately, I could sever them.

"Grrk!"

"Tch!"

Meanwhile, rascal and Kisea barely survived the Dragon Tongue bombardment by shielding themselves with magic power, but they paid for it by burning through most of their reserves.

"That's... impossible."

Only Jerta, who hadn't been hit, had watched me cut the Dragon Tongue.

Even his composure, so steady despite facing a dragon, broke.

'What's up with him?'

[I'm not sure... just be careful. I've got a bad feeling.]

But I didn't have time to worry about him right now.

I had to dodge the continuing barrage of spells and block the Dragon Tongue attacks incoming at me.

「Why does Dragon Tongue not work on you?! How are you nullifying it? Even the power of the gods shouldn't be able to do that!」

Hearing the dragon declare that even the gods couldn't do it, jerta's face darkened even more.

His shock probably stemmed from the same reason as the dragon's.

'So that's it.'

Thanks to that, I realized a truth.

The Seven Swords Under Heaven are a level above the standard "authority" of the gods.

I hadn't thought interfering with Dragon Tongue would be that significant.

But now that I think of it, an ability like "cutting all boundaries" is the kind of absolute power only a god might have.

「Are you really human? Are you sure you're human?!」

"So what else would I be?"

As I kept severing Dragon Tongue, the dragon's gaze locked onto me again.

I couldn't advance, having to hold off the endless magic and Dragon Tongue attacks—but that was enough.

With the dragon so fixated on me, rascal, Kisea, and even Jerta landed attacks.

「Gah!」

This time, a wound on the neck. That one clearly hurt.

Most shaken I'd seen, the dragon spread its wings and began to beat them frantically.

'He's not just trying to push us back—he's trying to fly!'

If the guy took to the air and began attacking from above, things would get a lot more complicated.

We needed to finish this while he was still on the ground.

"Kisea!"

Kisea reacted immediately to my shout.

Her sword pierced through the membrane of the flapping wing and coiled around it.

Just as expected, her Serpent-Belly Sword was no ordinary weapon. It stretched to its limit, connecting from the dragon's wing all the way to the ground.

"I've got it!"

Of course, that didn't last long.

As the wing flapped hard, Kisea's body was jerked into the air.

"Aaah!"

She screamed as if air rushed out of her, but still, Kisea never let go of the Serpent-Belly Sword.

If left alone, she'd have soared up into the sky with the dragon. But I had no intention of just watching.

Using my sword's power to push my physical abilities to their limit, I snatched Kisea in midair and pulled her down to the ground.

"Sir Rascal!"

"I'm on it."

No sooner had I landed, rascal grabbed the sword with me.

And as the three of us yanked on the Serpent-Belly Sword with all our might—CRACK—the wing bones snapped.

「SKREEE!」

With its wing broken, the dragon crashed down from the sky.

The impact sent up a thick plume of smoke, and I seized the moment to charge straight at the dragon.

Now, splayed hideously on the ground—this was the chance.

「Stop! Damn it, stop!」

Seeing me closing in, the dragon fired off waves of Dragon Tongue again. Naturally, I cut them all down and in an instant reached right before the beast's snout.

Its mouth suddenly gaped open.

"Wait! Be careful!"

Perhaps realizing what that meant, rascal shouted, but I paid it no mind.

From that gaping maw, an enormous power began to condense, and a thick green radiance poured out.

The dragon's unique authority—its most destructive force.

Dragon Breath.

「If Dragon Tongue doesn't work, then I'll melt you myself!」

The breath melted the desert earth as it advanced, vaporizing stone.

The other three scattered, putting as much distance as possible from the venomous blast. Soila reinforced the barrier, doing everything possible to prevent the effect from spreading.

When the emerald annihilation ceased, the land left behind was a melted monstrosity.

No life remained atop that ground.

「Heh... heh heh! See that? How dare you, mere humans—」

"What's that?"

「......?」

I was standing atop the beast's head.

While the dragon was melting the ground with its breath, I had slipped into the gaps of space using the Sword of Boundary.

The dragon's eyes blinked a couple of times, then slowly focused on me.

The emotion in those eyes was "fear".