Chapter 224 - Hyakka-chan and the New World Quest, Part 7
The dragon's mouth opened wide again. The air around it was sucked in. Its scale-covered lungs inflated.
"Moo! It's going to use its breath again!"
"...I know."
Marmie raised her wand. She wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. It wasn't just because of the lingering heat from the crimson flames. She kept a straight face, but it was probably difficult for her to hold out much longer. Just as Marmie was about to prepare her spell, Chihiro stopped her.
"It's okay. I'll block it. Hyakka, you stay right behind me."
He took a step back with his right foot and lowered the tip of his sword, holding it at his side. The so-called wakigamae stance. I wondered briefly if he had also practiced kendo, but now was not the time for such thoughts. I would trust Chihiro. Seeing his back, a strange power welled up from within me. Driven by that impulse, I readied my lance and fell in behind him.
"Master..."
Fam also gripped her crescent halberd and stood beside Hyakka-chan. Mizuki, too, seemed intent on fighting and moved closer. Her footing was unsteady, and the hand holding her sword trembled slightly.
"Maira, I need you to heal Mizuki."
She nodded and supported Mizuki from behind.
"Wait, I can still fight!"
Mizuki struggled frantically in Maira's arms.
"It's okay. Leave this to us. But I'm counting on you for the finishing blow. With your Super Kill, Mizuki, it'll be a single strike."
I said that, but I had no intention of letting her fight anymore. Super Save had already activated several times. She might have reached a level where normal attacks wouldn't even faze her. Furthermore, the activation rate for Super Kill was probably higher now. Her next strike might be the one to defeat the dragon. Even in her current state, she was stronger than Hyakka-chan. But I didn't want to let her fight while she was so distraught. Levante wouldn't be able to function without her. For now, though, I needed her to accept the healing and regain her composure.
"Here it comes!"
Chihiro shouted sharply, drawing my attention forward. The monster had finished preparing to unleash its flames. In its wide-open mouth, a vortex of fire churned deep within its throat. That was the signal. Chihiro charged. Fam and I followed close behind him. With a roar, crimson flames erupted. Chihiro leaped into the inferno without hesitation. His jumping ability was superhuman. Body enhancement must be part of his special skill's power. He closed the distance to the dragon's mouth in an instant, a gap several times his own height. Then, he swung his sword in a wide, horizontal slash. The demonic aura that had risen from the white blade instantly swelled and was released. The crimson flames were snuffed out, turning into a white mist. Hyakka-chan and Fam slipped under him as he soared through the air. I poured every last bit of my mana into the tip of my lance and thrust it at the dragon's belly. A solid impact traveled up through my hands. The lance head pierced the golden scales, and the dragon's blood splattered.
"KISHAAAAA!"
The dragon thrashed its body, perhaps to escape the pain. It roared and brought its claws down with all its might. I tried to raise my weapon to defend, but the lance was stuck deep in the dragon's body and I couldn't pull it out. That momentary delay left me with no escape.
"Master!"
Fam swung her crescent halberd up from below, intercepting the dragon's claw and absorbing the impact. For a brief moment, they were at a standstill. But the dragon's overwhelming strength won out, and her arms were pushed down. Just as Hyakka-chan and Fam were about to be crushed, Chihiro swooped down from above and slashed the dragon's arm. The severed limb flew over Chihiro's and Fam's heads, landing behind us. A heavy thud echoed from the rear.
"GISHAAAAAA!"
The dragon roared again. No, this was likely a scream from losing its arm. We couldn't let this chance slip away.
"Moo!"
"...I know. [Thunder Magic, Lightning Strike]!"
Marmie had been waiting for that moment. A high-powered bolt of lightning shot from the tip of her wand and struck the lance embedded in the dragon's belly. In a flash, electricity engulfed the dragon's massive body. The smell of burning stung my nose as the dragon's huge form collapsed. The vibration hit the floor and spread, shaking the entire room. A while later, silence fell.
"Did we get it..."
Just as I approached the dragon to retrieve my still-embedded lance, the monster's eyes began to glow red once more. It raised its upper body and bared its fangs. Deep within, the flicker of flames was already visible.
"This is bad! It's going to breathe fire again!"
I tried to dodge reflexively, but there was nowhere to hide. And behind me were the members of Levante.
"Hyakka! I'll protect you!"
Chihiro rushed past a panicked Hyakka-chan and charged. However, he couldn't maintain his momentum, stumbled, and fell to one knee.
He was out of mana. The duration of his special skill, [Shirasaya-iri no Tsurugi], was about to reach its limit.
"Tch..."
Still, he rose to his feet. He started walking again, but his steps were heavy, and he stopped after just two or three paces. Just then, another shadow streaked by. The shadow snatched the sword from Chihiro's hand and kept running. It threw itself into the vortex of intense heat and scorching wind—into the approaching crimson flames.
"Fam!"
She swung the sword in a single flash. The sword's aura was released from the blade, extinguishing the dragon's breath.
"Not yet!"
She followed up with another slash. The sharp blow tore into the dragon's neck, and a torrent of blood erupted from the wound. At the same time, the dragon's body began to vanish like mist. The space that had been the Area Guardian's room also faded away like a mirage, returning us to the original dungeon corridor.
"Haaaah..."
A sigh of relief, though I couldn't tell whose it was, echoed in the silence. The sword Fam had been holding vanished, as did Chihiro's white robes, and he returned to his normal appearance.
Immediately after, Mash-kun and the others appeared.
"What happened?!"
"We were attacked. We fought Yuuki's special skill, the Dragon of the Great Cosmic Origin and Ancestry."
"What?! And Yuuki?"
Mash-kun looked around, but there was no one there besides the members of Levante and the New World. There was a chance we could be trapped in an Area Guardian's room again, but I didn't think it was an ability that could be used repeatedly. We should assume Yuuki and his group were gone.
"That guy..."
I explained how the space had transformed and trapped us in an Area Guardian's room, how it was similar to the ability of Emma, the transferrer we had fought before, and how we fought the dragon Yuuki had summoned within that space.
"Besides them, there are other transferrers here?"
I couldn't explain it. The idea that Emma was on this floor and used her special skill in conjunction with Yuuki was just unimaginable. The face of Liley, the black panther girl, came to mind. I didn't want to think that she was our enemy again. Mash-kun strode up to me. He raised his arm and slapped Hyakka-chan. A sharp crack echoed through the corridor.
"What was that for?! Not even my old man ever hit me!"
I rubbed my cheek. I could feel it swelling up, growing hot. Mash-kun must have forgotten we'd swapped bodies and hit me with all his strength. It hurt so much that tears welled up in my eyes.
"Are you stupid?! You've been hit plenty of times! Chihiro's even hit you a bunch!"
Chihiro has hit her before? What in the world was going on with these siblings?
"I told you never to use that last special skill! Don't drag Chihiro into danger!"
"Why are you so overprotective?! Then why did you choose this ability in the first place?!"
"That's... This world doesn't have smartphones, maps, or GPS. If we get separated, it's over."
So it was in case they got lost? Come to think of it, the white horse from her 'White Horse Prince' skill also had the ability to take Hyakka wherever she wanted. Besides landmarks like towers and inns, it could also take her to a person, as long as her mana held out. That's why the New World party was able to meet up with Levante earlier. It seemed she really didn't want to be separated from Chihiro.
"You want to be with him that much? If you love him so much, then..."
Before I could finish, Mash-kun covered my mouth. She glanced around nervously, but everyone present just awkwardly averted their eyes. Even Chihiro did the same. It was plain for anyone to see that Hyakka's feelings for Chihiro were more than just sisterly affection.
"We'll talk about this later. Just the two of us. Okay?"
I had things I wanted to say to Mash-kun too. But this wasn't the place for that conversation, not with the small chance that Yuuki and his group were still lurking nearby. With my nose covered too, it was getting hard to breathe. I wondered what would happen if Hyakka-chan died while we were swapped. I was curious, but not enough to risk my life to find out. I nodded, and Mash-kun released his hand.
"So, what's the plan? If you're leaving the dungeon, you should come back to our place with us."
I asked the members of the New World. Chihiro had used up one of his special skills. He still had two left, but it was better to play it safe. As I was thinking this, Etowan shook his head.
"No, it seems like Yuuki and the others are gone, but I still want to investigate a bit more. I can't explain it well, but something about this floor is off. There's something here."
He walked over to Shizuka and patted her on the shoulder.
"Well, don't get your hopes up."
Then, he walked past her. Chihiro and the others followed. It was a corridor of endless, unchanging scenery. Many people must have explored this floor and fought monsters here before. And yet, it was a sterile space with no trace of such activity. Despite that, had he really found a clue about Toratsuna? As I watched them go, Mash-kun gave my butt a light smack.
"I'll be back later. We'll talk then, okay?"
Before I could nod in reply, he ran off to join the New World party.
Finally, we were back at the house. We'd only been gone for a day. And we had only spent a single night in this house. Yet, it was strange how just thinking of it as my own home brought a sense of relief. Patricia was at the gate to welcome us.
"I'm home."
As I said that, she gave me a look as if she were seeing something utterly bizarre. I had forgotten I was in Hyakka-chan's body. She hadn't gone to the Wandering People's camp, saying she needed to tidy up the house. In other words, she didn't know that Hyakka and I had swapped bodies.
"Um... Mash is...?"
She asked Marmie.
"...We left him in the dungeon."
"You left him there all by himself?"
"...No. The New World members are with him."
"Oh. Then, why is Hyakka-san here?"
"...She said she wanted to come home."
Patricia tilted her head. The two of them were having a conversation that wasn't connecting at all. Patricia looked around at everyone, then sent a pleading glance toward Fam, but Fam didn't seem to notice what she was asking. She must have used too much mana in the last fight. No, maybe she was thinking about Sameim again. Her focus seemed to be gone. We had already dropped Shizuka off at the Starunion estate. I followed Patricia into the dining hall with Fam, Mizuki, Maira, and Marmie.
"Actually, I have a letter for Mash."
"Oh, really?"
As I reached for the letter she was holding, she quickly raised it above her head.
"Wh-Why are you being so mean?!"
I stood on my tiptoes and reached for it, but the letter remained just out of my grasp.
"What have you been up to this whole time?!"
Patricia scolded me. I thought a fist might follow, but it seemed she hesitated.
"...Patricia, please let that person read it."
Marmie threw me a lifeline, but it seemed she had no intention of explaining the situation.
"Huh? But..."
I snatched the letter while she was hesitating. But before I could even check it, Fam took it from me. She immediately broke the wax seal.
"It appears to be an invitation. The sender is... Clovis Leafclout..."
Thank you for reading. To those who have liked, bookmarked, or rated this story, your support is a great encouragement. Thank you for pointing out the typo. It's a huge help.
The "Hyakka-chan and the New World Quest" arc is now over. Starting next time, I'll put some real thought into the episode titles.