Chapter 317 - 317. The Ancient Dragon’s Trial and the Battle
The Ancient Dragon slowly spread its massive wings, as if to announce its presence. That single motion filled the vast crystal chamber with oppressive weight, as though the very space bowed to it. The glow of the crystals merged with the dragon’s scales, now resembling divine light in praise of its being.
From its raised maw, a stream of white, freezing breath seeped out. This was no mere exhalation—it was a chilling force that numbed my body even from this distance.
"The Cold Breath is coming!"
Stella cried out. Instinctively, I thrust my hand toward the Ancient Dragon.
"Wait! Give me a moment to speak with her!"
But the primordial beast showed no mercy.
Its jaws opened wide, unleashing a torrent of freezing wind. The blast surged forward, threatening to engulf my vision in an instant.
"Damn it!"
I turned and ran with all my strength. I thought I’d narrowly escaped the direct blast.
But the cold from behind hit me like a physical impact. The gale lifted me off my feet, and my back froze instantly, losing all sensation. My muscles locked up. I stumbled, barely avoiding a fall.
"What’s wrong? Use your Three Sacred Treasures’ Special Skill to overcome the trial!"
Stella ran beside me, her voice tense but oddly detached. Her elegant skirt fluttered softly, untouched by the violent wind. She alone seemed immune to the Cold Breath, as if separated from the laws of physics.
"I can’t use it!"
"Huh?"
"I can’t use the Special Skill of the Three Sacred Treasures!"
"That can’t be… Could it be that Aira-sama is the ‘Shu-sa’?"
"What’s ‘Shu-sa’!?"
"One of the two Heroes summoned by Racshell-sama, the one especially favored!"
I didn’t fully understand what she meant, but it was clear—the people of this world believed only those bearing the Three Sacred Treasures were favored by Racshell. And I fell outside that belief.
The Ancient Dragon flapped its wings. The gust alone sent me staggering. Then its massive body lifted into the air. The ceiling limited its height, but it was now out of my reach—safe from my blade, free to dominate me.
"Can I use Special Skills in this fight!?"
"Yes! But half-hearted power won’t work against an Ancient Dragon!"
She sounded like a commentator.
"This is a trial, right? I surrender! I lose!"
"That’s not allowed. Those who fail the trial die!"
"That’s not a trial—that’s murder!"
I looked up. The Ancient Dragon’s throat glowed icy blue again, charging a second breath.
No escape. No time.
I raised my arm.
"Goddess Summon!"
I felt a massive drain of magic power. But nothing happened. My voice echoed in the empty chamber. No rainbow glow. No Racshell emerging from it.
I stared dumbly at the fingers of my raised hand.
"Mash, the breath is coming!"
Stella’s scream snapped me back. Above me, a silver-white torrent of extreme cold rushed down.
I kicked off blindly, running. In desperation, I hurled a fireball behind me. The blazing fire was swallowed instantly by the raging cold, erased without a trace.
And then the freezing breath caught me.
"Gwaaah…!"
My vision turned pure white. Agony like countless thorns piercing my lungs. My breath stopped. I felt my blood freeze, my consciousness slipping away.
"Stay focused! You avoided a direct hit!"
Stella’s face appeared in my vision. I realized I was lying on the ground. When I blinked, frozen bits of my eyelashes cracked and fell.
No feeling in my fingers or toes. I could move them with effort, but they didn’t feel like my own.
"Dodging the breath twice… You truly are a Hero from another world."
I could barely stand, yet she smiled, her ringlets and skin still flawless.
I fought to keep my fading consciousness and devised a plan. I had to reach one of the pillars, use it as a shield against the Cold Breath. My magic might not work, but standing here was suicide.
I staggered toward a pillar. I wanted to run, but my body wouldn’t obey. Stella followed.
"Why are you unharmed?"
She had been frowning, but now looked up.
"I’m not the one undergoing the trial, so I’m protected by a guardian blessing. No need to worry."
"I’m not worried about you!"
As I cursed, an idea struck me.
"So that means I could use you as a shield against the breath, right?"
Stella’s mouth dropped open. Then she narrowed her eyes.
"D-don’t suggest such a cowardly thing!"
"Survival comes first!"
"Mash!"
"What!?"
"I apologize for dragging you into this. But I won’t let you die alone. I’ll witness your brave end and follow you. Please, fall with honor!"
"You’re assuming I’ll lose! I don’t want you following me in death!"
The moment I shouted, a crushing impact slammed into my back.
"Kuhaa!?"
I was hurled forward. The Ancient Dragon had descended and kicked me with its powerful leg. After rolling across the ground, I lifted my head through the pain. Its sharp claws were smeared with my fresh blood.
I glared back in fury—but I’d landed near the pillar I’d been aiming for.
"Tch…"
Grunting, I hurled a fireball as a distraction. The Ancient Dragon swatted it away with a single wingbeat.
In that moment, I crawled into the pillar’s shadow. Right after, a new breath struck the pillar.
This one wasn’t a wide-area blast. It was a focused, compressed beam—like a cannonball.
With a thunderous crack, the pillar groaned and shook. Shattered crystal rained down from the ceiling. I saw a deep crack running through the thick column—wide enough that several people couldn’t encircle it.
"Unbelievable… Even a pillar this thick can’t withstand many more hits."
Stella had taken shelter beside me, murmuring in awe.
"You… how did you survive a trial from such a monster?"
I asked between ragged breaths. Stella blinked rapidly.
"My trial opponent was the Wyvern I rode here. Though now she’s grown strong, back then she was still a cute little hatchling."
"Why couldn’t I have faced her instead!?"
"I can only bring the one undergoing the trial. The opponent is chosen by the Phantom Beasts themselves. So Mash, you’ve been recognized as worthy to fight this Ancient Dragon!"
"Overestimating me much!?"
At that moment, the pillar shook violently. Another direct hit. Though it absorbed the impact, the cold wind circling around bit into me mercilessly, draining my body heat. A deep freeze gnawed at my core.
The pillar creaked as the crack widened. It wouldn’t last much longer. I glanced toward another pillar—but it looked impossibly far. I couldn’t run that distance in my exhausted state. I’d be devoured before I made it.
I pressed my back against the thick pillar’s shadow, hiding from the Ancient Dragon’s gaze.
I pulled out potions and magic recovery vials from storage, but my grip had failed. I couldn’t open the caps. I used my teeth to pry one open and chugged it. But my frozen throat couldn’t swallow properly. My numb face and limbs showed no sign of recovering. I felt no return of magic—only its further draining away.
I tore a strip from my sleeve with my teeth, tightly wrapping it around the hilt and my hand to prevent the sword from slipping.
"Mash, it’s coming!"
Stella’s desperate cry rang out. The moment I stepped away from the pillar, the space exploded with sound. The pillar shattered under the Cold Breath’s direct hit. A wave of freezing wind engulfed me, and shards of crystal rained down like hail.
I charged through the blizzard, roaring.
"Earth Magic, Stone Ball!"
I poured all my strength into creating two massive stone spheres. One I launched upward, as a shield against falling debris. The other I hurled forward, as a platform to leap from. Sharp crystal shards pierced my body, but I gritted my teeth, endured, and stomped hard on the stone ball, launching myself upward.
Cutting through the wind, breaking through the membrane of cold. My vision cleared. The Ancient Dragon’s massive head loomed before me. Its aquamarine eyes widened as it saw me. Its forehead—defenseless. My body surged toward it like it was being pulled in.
"Take this!"
I swung my sword with all my strength.
"Mash! This is a trial! You must not kill it!"
Stella’s sharp warning struck my mind. For a split second, my blade’s path veered. Instead of its forehead, I struck its hard horn. The blow severed the horn halfway through.
But the cost was too great. The Ancient Dragon, spared a fatal blow, roared and headbutted me in retaliation. I had no way to dodge. The massive, solid skull struck me directly. The air was forced from my lungs. I couldn’t even scream. I was slammed into the ground.
My vision flickered. My consciousness blurred. Clawing at the ground to clear my daze, I found my fingers wouldn’t respond. Agony, as if every bone was shattered, wracked my body. I curled in on myself.
The Ancient Dragon landed calmly, looking down at me. From its maw, the white breath of a final Cold Breath gathered once more.
"D-damn…"
I twisted my body in panic, but only a pitiful groan escaped. The cold, heralding death, was about to be unleashed. I couldn’t stop trembling.
Then—
A shockwave like the sky splitting apart shook the space.
I looked up. A massive hole had been torn through the crystal ceiling. Falling shards sparkled like a shower of light. Through it, a goddess descended, her rainbow robes fluttering, riding atop a long spear.
She floated down in slow motion, inserting herself between me and the Ancient Dragon.
"R-r-r… Racshell-sama!? So the rumors of her appearing across the land were true…!"
Stella’s voice cracked with shock as she nearly collapsed.
Racshell calmly brushed back her shimmering golden hair, looking down at me with exasperation.
"Racshell! Why didn’t you answer my summon immediately!?"
"Don’t make unreasonable demands… This Phantom Beast World isn’t under our management."
She puffed her cheeks in response to my shout. Then, lowering her long golden lashes, she sighed softly before turning a sharp gaze to the Ancient Dragon.
"Even though this world is beyond our control, I know everything about this one. If this is truly a trial, then cutting off your prized horn should be proof enough of his strength."
She pointed the spear’s tip toward the Ancient Dragon’s snout, which was still charging its breath and radiating killing intent.
『The scent of the one who destroyed our world lingers on this being. I despise it.』
A heavy voice echoed directly into my mind.
"T-the Ancient Dragon spoke human language!?"
Stella cried out, eyes wide, completely distracted. I wanted to tell her to shut up, but pain left me only a muffled groan.
"If you insist on continuing, then from now on, I will answer this one’s ‘Goddess Summon’—and I will be your opponent."
Racshell declared it calmly, yet with such authority it pressed against the chest. The goddess and the Ancient Dragon locked eyes, tension rising—until the dragon snorted, dissipating the cold breath from its mouth.
Seeing this, Racshell smiled gently, slid off the spear, and landed gracefully. She walked toward me with elegant steps, knelt, and leaned in.
"It seems you’ve passed the trial. You should be grateful to me, you know?"
Her playful smile only made me angrier.
"Ugh… Shut up. But what do you mean, a world you don’t manage? And what did the Ancient Dragon mean—‘destroyed our world’?"
As I tried to ask, my vision warped. A crushing drowsiness and dizziness overwhelmed me.
Racshell’s pale, smooth hand reached for my cheek, gently stroking it. The freezing cold from moments ago felt like a lie—her touch was warm, soothing. With strange comfort, my consciousness faded.