kscans

Chapter 141 - The Stalactite Cave Tea Party Incident, and the Spinning Summer Bird (Part 2)

A strong scent of tea. I awoke to Famu giving it to me mouth-to-mouth. It seemed I had been laid down with my head in her lap. We were still inside the dim cavern. It felt suffocating. I wanted to feel the outside air soon. With Famu's help, I sat up.

"The Earth Dragon King…"

"Levante and the Earth Dragon soldiers are fighting it."

It seemed I had been carried to the south side of the cavern while I was unconscious. We were near the tunnel leading to the farm settlement. I could hear the clamor of battle, but I couldn't tell what the situation was from here.

"Why didn't you run…"

The plan had clearly failed. This was an opponent that the Earth Dragon warriors couldn't defeat even when they ganged up on it. Moreover, this second Earth Dragon King had eluded the Earth Dragons' senses and hidden its presence.

"Master, you told Laciel-sama that you wanted to save the Earth Dragon Race."

"…I deeply regret trying to act so cool."

The fight with the Earth Dragon King was still going on. I took a mana potion from Famu and drank it all. Then, I stood up. I stumbled a little, but with each step, my footing and my consciousness grew steadier. I gripped my katana and headed toward the Earth Dragon King. Famu, clutching her half-moon blades, followed me.

"Famu… I'm scared. Aren't you?"

"I am…"

she murmured, casting her eyes down. "I will follow you, Master."

Laciel couldn't be summoned anymore. We could still run away.

"Master,"

Famu murmured.

"What is it?"

"Mizuki and the others think it would be best if I took you and ran."

"I'm sure they do."

Considering I'd been carried to a place near the farm, I knew that's what Mizuki and the others wanted. Yet, I was walking toward where they were.

"It takes a strong will to run away. All I could do was choose to stay here."

Was she talking about now? Or about the day her village was attacked? I still didn't have the courage to ask. Instead, I took her hand.

On the north side of the cavern, the battle with the Earth Dragon King was raging. There was one Earth Dragon King and about ten Earth Dragons. The main attackers were the Earth Dragon warriors. I could see their knight captain, Yanan. There were about thirty of them in total. Several warriors were down. They fought with their own elongated claws. It seemed they could change the length of their claws freely; some were barely longer than their fingers, while others were as long as their arms. The dog-eared race's traits were close to humans, giving them a more human-like image, but the Earth Dragon Race seemed to possess more beast-like abilities. There must be differences in abilities between the races. The Earth Dragons seemed to have a weak sense of fighting as a group. Yanan wasn't giving any commands; each of them was attacking the Earth Dragon King or fighting the Earth Dragons based on their own judgment. They probably weren't used to fighting in situations like this. Mizuki and Myra were fighting alongside the Earth Dragons. They too were challenging the Earth Dragon King with their weapons raised, but they didn't seem to be inflicting any damage. The Earth Dragon King rose up on its hind legs and swung its claws. Each blow tore through the earth, kicking up soil and water spray, turning the resulting debris into a long-range barrage. Mizuki and the others were trying to find an opening, but they couldn't easily get within range. At a distance stood Cecily and Aira. Cecily was supporting the Earth Dragons and Mizuki's group with fire magic, while Aira used support magic. We headed toward them.

"Showing up on the battlefield holding hands? You've got quite the nerve,"

Cecily said upon seeing me and Famu. Mizuki and Myra also spotted us and broke from the front line to head our way.

"I'm glad everyone's safe."

I let out a sigh of relief.

"It's good that we're safe, but…"

Myra sighed. "The battle is not going well."

"Are you having a tough time?"

"This isn't even a fight. Cecily's magic doesn't work on the Earth Dragon King. Neither does Mizuki's sword nor my attacks."

I watched the battle between the Earth Dragon King and the Earth Dragon Race. The king had almost no openings, and the other Earth Dragons protectively surrounded it, making it difficult to approach. Still, the Earth Dragons encircled the king, and some were managing to strike it from behind whenever a slight opening appeared. Their blows seemed to be inflicting at least some damage.

"If we focus all the attack opportunities on Mizuki, couldn't we take it down?"

It would be relying on her again, but if her special skill activated, couldn't we defeat the Earth Dragon King?

"I think it'd be difficult if the attacks don't land,"

Mizuki replied.

"It's because of the fur covering the Earth Dragon King. It's heat-resistant, water-resistant, absorbs shock, and is also resistant to tearing,"

Myra added, elaborating on Mizuki's words.

"That makes it invincible, doesn't it?"

A weak laugh escaped me. I observed the Earth Dragon King again. It seemed to be swinging its claws randomly, but it was actually reacting to the Earth Dragons' attacks. And it was said to be relying on its sense of smell, sound, and temperature sensors. It was hard to believe it couldn't see.

"…We have no choice but to pierce it instead of slashing. In any case, I want to create more attack opportunities for Mizuki. Mizuki… I'm counting on you."

"Leave it to me. But how?"

Mizuki nodded, then asked.

"Cecily and I will fire off a storm of magic to create an opening."

"I told you magic doesn't work, didn't I?"

Cecily said.

"I want to take out its hearing. We'll aim our magic not at the enemy, but at the surrounding walls. While doing our best not to become targets, we'll keep running around, making a racket, and firing magic. I'll leave the attacking to Famu and Mizuki. But the main attacker is Mizuki. Famu, support Mizuki's movements. Myra and Aira, provide support and heal the fallen. We'll have Yanan and the others take care of the small fry."

"So we're fighting?"

Cecily asked. I was about to reply, "I'm counting on you,"

when she pressed her index finger to my lips.

"I know."

She nodded, and Famu and the others nodded as well.

I splashed myself with water from one of the pools to lower my body temperature. The sheer cold made my body tremble. And I was enveloped in the scent of tea. I wonder if this was enough to block its sense of smell. I ran around with Cecily, unleashing magic. Our targets weren't the monsters, but the walls, the ground, the ceiling. However, I couldn't create the kind of noise I'd imagined. The sound of the Earth Dragon King's claws tearing up the earth was louder. This wouldn't be enough to cover Famu and Mizuki's movements. Not giving up, I created a rock sphere with earth magic. As I tried to make the largest chunk I could, my feet faltered.

"Whoa!"

As I braced myself to keep from falling, the rock sphere dissipated before it could form. I had used up all my mana summoning the goddess earlier. A potion wouldn't be enough to recover from such a massive mana expenditure. I looked at Cecily. She too was running around, creating fireballs and launching them at the ceiling. She shattered stalactites, dropping fragments on the Earth Dragon King, but the monster showed no signs of flinching. The fur covering its body was acting as a cushion. She started running, breathing heavily through her shoulders, and unleashed her fire magic again.

"Hah… hah… Is this even doing anything?!"

She was already out of breath. It seemed running was taking more of a toll on her than casting magic. Her magic alone couldn't block the monster's hearing. Mizuki and Famu couldn't even get close to the Earth Dragon King. I needed to keep casting magic too. Just as I was about to take a mana recovery potion from my storage, a piece of debris thrown by the Earth Dragon King came flying toward me. I tried to dodge, but my body wouldn't move as I wanted. Thinking I was about to be hit, I braced myself, but Yanan leaped in front of me. She blocked the debris with her claws.

"You okay?!"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

I nodded. She didn't return to the fight, instead watching me drink the mana potion.

"You want to make a lot of noise, right?"

"Right. I want to block the Earth Dragon King's hearing."

"Then I have an idea. Leave it to me."

Yanan gave an order to a nearby Earth Dragon warrior. The one who received the order immediately fell back.

"What are you planning to do?"

"The power of the gods has reached our world beneath the earth as well. Now is the time to show you the power of us Earth Dragons."

Soon, Earth Dragons appeared in the tunnels carved into the cavern. They lined up at equal intervals, filling the passages. So this many people had stayed behind instead of evacuating. Each of them held something made of iron, like a pot or a plate, and something to strike it with. It was a spectacular sight.

"You didn't escape to the farm…"

"We sent the children away. But you said you would fight."

It meant they couldn't just leave everything to us and run away themselves. Here, too, were those who couldn't flee. Yanan raised her hand. Simultaneously, the Earth Dragons began to raise a clamor, letting out shouts and making a racket. He was saying something. But I couldn't hear anything anymore. I looked at the Earth Dragon King. It had stopped moving and was turning its head as if to survey its surroundings. Cecily looked at me. She was still breathing through her shoulders, just like before. She looked tired, but her eyes still seemed to hold the will to fight. I pointed at the Earth Dragon King and yelled, "Aim for its nose!"

but she probably couldn't hear me. However, as if she understood my words, she raised her staff and began to create an enormous fireball. The Earth Dragon King reacted to the heat and charged toward her, raising its claws. At the same time, she unleashed her magic, and the fireball struck the monster's face directly.

"GISHAAAAAA!"

The Earth Dragon King let out a roar that sounded like a scream. That voice, too, disappeared into the vortex of noise created by the Earth Dragons. However, the monster's movements didn't stop. From behind the monster, Mizuki and Famu were slashing at it, but it wasn't enough to stop its movements. A claw swung down toward Cecily. Whether it was from physical exhaustion or a daze from mana depletion, she could only watch the approaching claw with a look of frustration.

"Cecily!"

Just as I leaped to shield her, another shadow moved at the same time, trying to protect her. It was Aira. The two of us pushed Cecily out of the claw's trajectory. I threw my arms around them and plunged into a pool of water. A searing pain ran down my back.

"Gah!"

In the water that had been stained crimson, a new shade of fresh red began to spread. It seemed I hadn't completely dodged the claw. I looked back to see if there was a follow-up attack, but the Earth Dragon King was just swinging its claws blindly at nothing. The part of its nose not covered by fur was charred black. As I caught my breath, Aira grabbed my clothes and dragged me out of the pool. Cecily had already crawled out on her own.

"I'm glad you're both okay."

When I said that, the two of them looked at me and said something. I couldn't hear well. They looked angry. Aira pulled me into a hug. My face was buried in the ample swell of her chest. Her hand was placed on my back. It seemed she was casting a healing spell. The softness of her chest felt more comforting than the fading pain in my back. I realized Famu was standing in the pool of water, in the spot where I had just fallen. And she was holding the katana I had dropped.

"Master, I'm borrowing this,"

I thought I heard her say. She took a formal stance, facing the monster. Her posture was far more refined than mine. The monster, which had been standing on its hind legs and swinging its claws blindly, seemed to have tired and was about to return to all fours, placing its front paws on the ground. Famu timed her move perfectly and charged forward. Her movement was natural, free of any excess force. The white blade flashed across the monster's neck. Fresh blood spurted from its throat. It was the beautiful, clean strike I aspired to. After landing the blow, she backstepped out of the monster's range. In her place, Mizuki leaped at the monster. Her sword pierced its ear. The monster roared again and swung its claws. But it was a blind attack, not aimed at them, and the two easily dodged it. Mizuki thrust her sword again. This time, into the other ear. This time, the Earth Dragon King located Mizuki's position and swung its claw.

"Mizuki!"

I let out a cry that was almost a scream. But it didn't reach her ears. Famu leaped toward the descending claw. And she sliced it off.