kscans

Chapter 108 - Rey Cuelebre

"■■■■■■ooooo───!"

A high-pitched roar echoed deep in my gut. As the aftershock still trembled through the palace, I raised my sword and charged.

Almost simultaneously, several of Rey Cuelebre's scales suddenly detached... no, they separated from its body.

They floated on their own, coated in a purple frost—and then aimed their 'spearheads' at me.

"Tch!"

Following the premonition from my [Spirit Eye], I veered hard to the right. A moment later, a beam of concentrated mana shot past me.

As the air sizzled with frictional heat and the snow at the impact point melted, I saw that the main body was already in motion.

"■■■■aaah!!"

The king, Rey, closed the distance with a speed unbelievable for its size and swung its long tail.

Pivoting on its left foot, it brought its tail down in a twisting strike. A blade of ice formed at its tip, slashing down diagonally.

I hastily retreated, and Rey spun once more. With the light-footed grace of a waltz, it unleashed another slash.

In response, I dove forward and to the left. For an instant, our eyes met as we crossed paths, and I saw purple mana begin to gather in the dragon's mouth.

The charge time was less than two seconds.

"──────iiiiiih!!"

A torrent of light outpaced sound itself. Relying on my foresight to dodge, I heard something shatter behind me.

The beam of light, which had tracked me for a moment, had sliced the palace in two. Without a moment to check the damage to the building, several more scales had already detached and were hovering in the air.

As soon as they were coated in purple frost, they fired their light beams without pause. Against them, I dared to press forward.

Dodging sideways or backward would only get me cornered. I had to get in close!

The lances of light, angled to target me from multiple directions, had a space in their midst. As I leaped into it, Rey tore through the air and ascended.

It flew up to the ceiling, a good dozen meters high, and launched additional scales. Then it dove diagonally, gripping the floor with its backward-jointed legs, each as thick as a man's torso.

In that instant, beams of light rained down from above while a 'flying slash' condensed from mana shot toward me from the side.

"Chi!"

Foresight alone allowed me to evade the attack from above. I ran in a zigzag pattern, meeting the flying slash with my sword.

[Concept Interference].

I absorbed its power, then swung. I closed the distance without a moment's pause and attacked, but Rey leaped diagonally upward, evading by a hair's breadth. The mana-infused slash only grazed the scales on its flank.

And they were hard. That single exchange confirmed that its scales were several orders of magnitude tougher than a normal Cuelebre's.

Rey Cuelebre turned to face me, gained altitude, spread its wings, and deployed its scales. Even more than before, a dozen or so of them all turned to face me. The main body moved sideways as the lances of light were fired.

He's creating distance again!

"You're not getting away!"

I dodged the light coming from the front, upper-left, and left by combining triangle jumps with a spiraling trajectory. What I lacked in turning ability, I made up for with straight-line acceleration.

I closed the gap, switched my mana flow to wreath my sword in wind and fire, and unleashed a single slash. Rey twisted its massive body to avoid a direct hit, but several scales on its flank shattered, and the flesh beneath was scorched.

It's working... I can fight this thing...!

My opponent was on a whole other level, but our compatibility was good. My mobility and attack power had to be difficult for it to deal with.

If I kept chipping away at it, I could win.

Just as I felt that sense of certainty...

Crack. The wounded skin regenerated, and new scales covered the spot.

"What?!"

My eyes widened, but I leaped backward with all my might, dodging a volley of light from the scales that had surrounded me. I kicked off the snow-covered floor and raised my sword again.

Regeneration?! And it's fast. At that speed, even if I inflict what should be a fatal wound...!

"■■■■■■───iiiih!!"

Rey Cuelebre unleashed another breath attack at the same time its scales deployed. There was no opening to close the distance.

My vision was obscured by the billowing snow, but I continued to dodge, relying on the flow of mana and my foresight.

This might turn into a battle of attrition, but if so, I would be at a disadvantage.

As I ran across the floor, I broke into a cold sweat at the small, strange sound coming from the soles of my feet.

The horseshoe-shaped magic items I got from the professor were about to reach their limit. They were meant to be disposable items for travel in the first place. This was inevitable, but having them break now would be a problem.

My speed would drop. If that happened, I wouldn't be able to dodge everything.

Furthermore...

"──────iiih!"

I leaped upward to avoid the beam of light sweeping horizontally, and the palace wall was sliced open in a straight line. Cracks spread across the entire building, and chunks of ice began to fall from above.

Can it supply all this mana on its own?

I could, so it was possible my opponent could too. But if the information I'd gathered on the way here was correct...!

"Aira-san, are you okay?!"

"Okay in every sense of the word, I am not! My mana is being drained like crazy, and the building is shaking! Can't you fight a little more quietly?!"

"No can do!"

"Right!"

I retreated backward in a 'Z' pattern, dodging the lances of light raining down from above.

Immediately after, Rey closed the distance and unleashed a tail slash. I timed it to dive into its guard and slash at its pivot leg.

Too shallow. I'd definitely cut through scale and flesh, but I didn't feel like I'd severed the tendon. More importantly, it had a regeneration ability that made anything short of complete severance meaningless.

I had to be on constant alert for attacks from all directions. And to top it off, every single one of those attacks was a killing blow. It was so absurd I almost wanted to laugh.

However, from Aira-san's condition, it seemed Rey wasn't draining enough mana to dry out the prisoners.

Was it just incredibly fuel-efficient despite its appearance... or did it already have another 'battery'?

I hadn't seen any human mana signatures in the ice structures surrounding the palace. So, where...?

My thoughts were cut short by the continuing onslaught. I had to be careful with my positioning, or a breath attack might fly toward Aira-san and the others.

As I desperately moved my arms and legs on the defensive, I heard Mia-san's voice from my earring.

"We heard your telepathy! We'll be at the palace soon!"

"From the shaking and the sounds of battle, I can tell that I and the other victims are in the room behind where Kyouta-kun is fighting. Mia, can you get in by circling around from the outside?!"

"Erina-san and the others, focus on freeing the captives! The enemy is regenerating by absorbing mana! If we don't cut off its power source, we can't kill it!"

I dodged another breath attack by dashing diagonally forward, only for a beam of light from a scale to be fired from my flank.

I accelerated to evade it, but I heard another strange noise from the horseshoes. They were at their limit.

"Tch... I can't get in from the outside. The walls are too hard!"

"If we try to break it recklessly, we might kill the people being held captive. Aira, give us the detailed layout of the cages from your side."

"I can't, Grandma. From my cage, I can't see what the birdcages below look like!"

"Kyouta-chan. Think you can lure it outside?"

At Erina-san's words, I took a split second to think while parrying a flying slash.

Then, I nodded.

"I can! I'll do it!"

"I'm counting on you, Kyouta-chan! I'll back you up with one shot!"

"Huh? How are you going to..."

"Grandma, help me!"

"Very well. Kyouta-kun, on my signal, Erina will throw that shuriken. Coordinate with her."

"Tch, right!"

I weaved through the rain of light and, to counter the breath attack, I closed in with a forward-leaning posture, almost falling to the floor.

I leaped at Rey Cuelebre as it gained altitude, lightly slashing the base of its neck.

My target was its throat, but it dodged. If it has the same weak point as the other Cuelebre, then if I can just hit it...!

"Three, two..."

As if to overlap with the countdown, Rey scattered a large number of its scales.

Beams of light assailed me from all directions. My body blurred as I dodged, keeping my eyes fixed on the main body.

"One..."

Mana gathered in its mouth again as it took a stance to fire its breath.

With the onslaught from the scales, my chances of dodging were fifty-fifty. If it came down to it, I'd have to use [Concept Interference] to mitigate the damage, but...

"Zero."

I believed my partner would do something.

In an instant, the self-proclaimed ninja with blonde hair and green eyes teleported to the top of the palace amidst a shower of golden particles.

She was already in a full wind-up, her aim set.

Just before the breath was unleashed, the Daisharinmaru flew in a curve. It cut into the path of the torrent of light and, with [Concept Interference], absorbed the river of mana.

Matching her timing, I charged. I leaped into the light, slashing at the breath alongside the shuriken.

Dual [Concept Interference]. Alone, I might have been sent flying like when I fought the demon, but...!

"Oooooooh!!"

With a roar that shook my own throat, I swung my blade. The beam of light was torn in two, and both halves were reflected back at Rey Cuelebre.

With incredible reaction speed, the monster curled its wings into a defensive posture, but its massive body was slammed into the half-destroyed palace wall.

The wall buckled for an instant. With a deafening roar, Rey was blasted out of its own palace.

Though thrown into the air, it instantly spread its wings and controlled its posture. Spreading its injured wings, it glared at me and fired a volley of light from its scales.

I dodged, hiding in the blind spot created by the large hole in the wall, and glanced up.

At the same time, a silver object came flying toward me. I caught it reflexively. It was a mana-infused bracelet... the drop item from the Orc Champion.

I immediately put it on my right wrist and held it up briefly. Erina-san, hanging from the ceiling by a grappling hook, gave me a thumbs-up in return.

I couldn't keep my opponent waiting. I immediately leaped out from the gap in the wall. The horseshoes on my feet had already shattered; from here on, it was up to my own strength. The soles of my shoes, now back to normal, kicked off the snow-covered road.

Now then. After all that, how much of a threat did Rey Cuelebre judge me to be?

An enemy to be eliminated at all costs, or would it prioritize protecting its mana supply?

To rescue Aira-san and the other captives, I needed to pin it down.

And the result was...

"■■■■■■■■■■!!!"

...It seemed I had been acknowledged as an enemy by the lord of dragons.

With a roar that shook heaven and earth, Rey gave chase as I tried to put distance between myself and the palace. I dodged the rain of light by jumping left and right, using the other ice buildings as shields to weather some of the blasts.

The ice buildings shattered in an instant. In their shadow, I desperately pumped my legs to gain distance and break out onto the snowy plains.

This must have once been a major road, with heavy traffic. But now, it was just an empty white space.

A sideways blizzard assailed me as the lord of dragons flew several dozen meters away. Position-wise, I was facing the palace with it between us.

And so I could see them. A grandmother and granddaughter, their blonde hair whipping in the wind, running through the open main gate and into the palace.

I let out a long breath. Honestly, I just wanted to go home and sleep. My overtaxed body, though regenerated, was screaming with phantom pains, and the intense cycle of mana consumption and recovery was making me dizzy.

When I get back, I'm making that good-for-nothing college girl treat me to something. Some really expensive meat, or sushi. I'm gonna make her pay for all of this.

Rey Cuelebre circled slowly, looking down on me. As I glared back, I heard the voices of other Cuelebre from afar.

And then, another voice reached my ears.

"Well hello, Kyouta-kun."

Even though we'd only known each other for about two months, her voice was already so familiar.

"It's impromptu and inefficient, but I've come up with a plan. Care to join?"

"Of course. I'll bet everything on it."

"A fine answer."

Through the earring, I heard the sound of ice cracking. Erina-san and the others had begun the rescue.

"Hold out for three minutes. We'll bring it down."

"Roger."

After that short exchange.

A dragon's roar signaled the start of round two.