Manowa

◎ East Dragon Village Zegan, Northern Seal Shrine

『Uuooryaaaaaaaaa! ! ! 』

One of the East Dragon Village"s guardians, the jet black dragon Northern Black Season Gen, slammed his crystal club into the dusky dragon before his eyes with a roar like thunder.

『Guggaaggo!?』

It was the mere shadow of the dragon that was formerly Raiel. It suddenly appeared at this Northern Seal Shrine, and Gen was repeatedly bashing the inexcusable individual who destroyed the keystone of this village"s barrier. Even if it was a dragon, it wasn"t an adult dragon, and it was already a dead, soulless husk. There wasn"t a single reason Gen would lose in a direct confrontation.

『Another one!』

Gen put all his strength into his finishing blow and crushed the head of the Undead Dragon. Then it finally stopped moving.

『d.a.m.n it, why did you do this!』

Gen bellowed with his fangs bared, but the dragon remains which had been released of everything it once was could no longer answer. And unfortunately, the situation was the worst. No matter how much he lamented, he couldn"t undo what had happened.

(It"s Raiel. Why did that Guildmaster"s dragon mount become undead? Why did he destroy the barrier?)

The answer to that question would likely come soon. The surrounding concealing fog was already clearing. That meant the barrier that had protected the village for 500 years without being broken through a single time had collapsed.

Then Gen left the Seal Shrine and took off. There were evil presences to the north, so he went that direction, and in that place was a group of over 1,000 monsters heading his way without raising a single cry.

Ogres, Dragon Bears, Fenrirs, Golems, Hydras; various monsters completely lacking any regularity were lined up. The common feature was that all of their bodies were dusky, and white faces of people were growing from part of their bodies. Their appearances resembled the Hiruko appearance that Kazane and the others saw Genzo transform into. Many of the faces looked like they were human, but other races, such as elves and lizard races, were also mixed in.

(What a huge number. Moreover, they seem dangerous)

Gen was extremely powerful even among adult dragons, and he was shuddering as he looked. The village"s protection had already disappeared. There was no method to prevent their advance.

(There"s an outrageous magician among them)

The dragon village"s seal wasn"t undone because Raiel destroyed the keystone in the Northern Seal Shrine. No, that was certainly part of it, but that was no more than a boost.

『You b.a.s.t.a.r.d, who are you?』

Gen was scowling at an old elf who was leading the monsters from the front.

He was a small existence possessing dreadful Magic Power. Gen was convinced that he was the one who destroyed the barrier. That old man put a load on the barrier, and with the barrier strained to its limit, he spurred Raiel to destroy the keystone. As a result, the load that was continuously applied to the northern part of the barrier was concentrated on a single point and destroyed the entire thing at once.

『I am the one called Zeku. Roughly, I am the one responsible for the Deadly Sin of l.u.s.t... is that how I should say it?』

The opposing old man who called himself Zeku spoke to Gen using Telepathy.

『Deadly Sin of l.u.s.t? What does that mean?』

『Who knows? I was the last member and that was the only one remaining, so that was simply the position I was given. I don"t really know either.』

Gen"s head was tilted to the side after those words, and Zeku smiled wryly at Gen"s confusion. Zeku also didn"t know what it meant. But Zeku pulled himself together and looked at Gen.

『Well then. I have plans for a reunion with my granddaughter after this. I"ll have you let me through.』

So saying, Zeku made the monsters advance. Dragons living in the village"s Black Northern Territory who had noticed the abnormal situation were gathering behind Gen.

The collision between the two groups was already inevitable.

◎ East Dragon Village Zegan, Dragonewt City

「What is that?」

Kazane said.

The Great Dragon Palace near the summit of Mt. Konron should be visible from the south. But they currently couldn"t see anything there. If it were daytime, they would likely be able to see something like a black sphere, but since it was already almost nighttime Kazane and the others simply couldn"t see anything there.

And it wasn"t just that. It seemed the fog covering the mountains north of the city was gradually clearing away. Byaku was staring at that as if she was seeing something unbelievable.

「The barrier protecting the village has collapsed... why?」

Her expression was verging on dumbfounded. An unexpected situation like this had never happened even once since Byaku was born. The Dragonoids were also making a fuss, but it didn"t end there. Kazane was sitting beside Byaku, and her expression stiffened. The reason was……

「A large number of monsters are descending from the Great Dragon Palace. More than... 100?」

The surrounding people stiffened after Kazane"s words. Byaku looked at the Great Dragon Palace with a pale face.

(Such an impossible... but, this is certainly!?)

Byaku couldn"t see them, but she could certainly sense countless malicious signs.

「Wait a second, you"re kidding me, right?」

Yumika had come to Kazane"s side and asked, but Kazane was using her『Night Vision』Skill and was accurately observing them with her Circlet of Wisdom"s Remote Viewing. It wasn"t a joke, and it wasn"t a mistake in vision.

「And they aren"t ordinary monsters. Their entire bodies are black, and faces are sticking out like that time with Genzo-san.」

Why were black monsters descending from the Great Dragon Palace? The authenticity of Kazane"s words became part of the Dragonoids" clamoring, but they were descended from dragons, and they were more capable than ordinary humans. Therefore, they could certainly sense the intimidating air from something approaching them.

Then Byaku jumped off the palanquin, and the surroundings quieted down.

「Kazane-sama, I"m very sorry, but I"m going to my lord"s side.」

After Byaku spoke, Kazae promptly replied「Me too.」Byaku shook her head, but Kazane snapped at her.

「My younger brother is still there! Even if I have to go alone, I"m going!!」

That was Kazane"s top priority. More than anything, more than anyone, that was her priority.

「Kazane. Are we also going?」

Her best friend asked. It was a conversation premised on Kazane not stopping. While feeling grateful for her considerate best friend, Kazane shook her head.

「No, stay here and protect everyone, Yumika. Once I pick up Naoki and Jinrai-san I"ll come back here.」

Even if it was only Yumika, Kazane wanted her to come. Through the sustaining power of Dragonoidization and the Wolf G.o.d Transformation, Yumika possessed stability surpa.s.sing Jinrai. She was certainly reliable. But although Louise might be fine, it would be dangerous for Tiara, Lyle, and Emily. Kazane thought it would be safer to leave them there, and since that was the case, she thought leaving the most reliable person to protect them was the right choice.

「N, OK.」

So saying, Yumika took her favorite spear Silky from her Item Box. When she saw that, Kazane said「Use these too」and took 13 Crystallized throwing spears out of her own Item Box and handed them to Yumika. They were originally disposable throwing spears that weren"t very expensive. Kazane had Crystallized them to improve their capabilities. They were heartening weapons for Yumika, who had the powerful throwing technique called Thunder G.o.d Spear. She wanted to reduce their numbers as much as possible before they arrived.

「Thank you. Lyle, you too.」

「Ah, I"ll gratefully accept and use them.」

Yumika also handed some crystal throwing spears to Lyle. Emily and Tiara behind Lyle also had faces that seemed like they wanted to come along, but they suppressed that desire. The two understood it wasn"t a situation where they could somehow manage with the power of love.

「Please collect them if you can. I used a lot of Magic Power.」

Yumika replied「If I can」to Kazane"s words. It would be an exchange of lives. Dying for such a dumb reason wouldn"t be funny. So Yumika intended to ignore Kazane"s words from the beginning.

「I"ll also leave the Hippomaru-kuns and Tatsuyoshi-kun Dragoon. It seems like something dangerous is coming from the north.」

Her companions turned north after Kazane"s words. Many dragons had been splitting north and toward the Great Dragon Palace in the sky since some time ago. Byaku could understand the dragons" roars and generally grasped the circ.u.mstances.

「It seems monsters started advancing from the north after the boundary came undone. They"re probably the same kind as the ones descending from the Great Dragon Palace.」

「They"re well prepared. They aimed for this?」

Byaku said「Probably...」and nodded after Kazane"s question. During their exchange, Louise was pondering alone.

(Suddenly appeared, that is to say, Transfer technique... are the opponents devils? But, such a group is impossible... but)

The Transfer technique was a technique restricted to single attribute existences like devils and magic races, and normal humans and monsters couldn"t use it. But the reality was that the monsters suddenly appeared. According to Kazane"s words, there was a high possibility that those monsters were possessed by devils. However, Louise had never heard about devils attacking as a group, and the absolute number of devils wasn"t that high in the first place.

(No, it can"t be, right? The ones we sealed...)

Although under a certain condition, at least the numbers problem could be settled. Louise didn"t want to admit that. There was the fear that the meaning of her life would be thoroughly s.n.a.t.c.hed away.

Louise"s Cancer family was a devil hunting organization. They had thousands of devils sealed for purification. Louise shook her head with a cramped smile. She muttered「Impossible.」

Name: Yuihama Kazane

Occupation: Magic Swordswoman

t.i.tle: Ogre Killer, Dragon Slayer, High Beast Summoner, Rea King

Equipment: Staff 『White Blaze』, Two Handed Sword『Black Fang』, Adhesion Sword『Gum』, Spell Dagger, Dragonscale Breastplate, Drake Gauntlets, Silver Sheep Clothes, Sylphyn Skirt, Plasma Pants, Dragon Ogre Greaves, Indestructible Cloak, Mysterious Pouch, Crimson Saint Coffin, Heroic Spirit Summoning Ring, Circlet of Wisdom, Aim Bracelet, Magic Acc.u.mulator, White Magic Acc.u.mulator

Level : 32

Health: 124

Magic Power: 235+420

Strength: 55+10

Agility: 50+4

Endurance: 32

Wisdom : 62

Dexterity : 39

Spell : 『Fly』『Torch』『Fire』『Heal』『Firestorm』『Healer Ray』『High Heal』

Skill : 『Kick Devil』『Warrior"s Memory』『Night Vision』『Crushing Blow』『Dog"s Sense of Smell』『Golem Maker: Lv3』『Rush』『Fire Principle: Third Chapter』『Healing Principle: Fourth Chapter』『Air Jump: Lv2』『Killing Leg: Lv3』『Fear Voice』『Invisible』『Tiger Eye』『Wall Walking』『Intuition』『Cheat Death』『Nimble』『Charge』『Material Shield: Lv2』『Information Link』『Optical Camouflage』『Dash』『Bloodsucking Blade』『Dragonization: Lv2「Dragon」』『Regenerate』『Soul Breaking Blade』『Stealthy Placement』『Thunder Chariot: Lv2』『St.u.r.dier Teeth: Lv2「Dragon」』『Crystallization: Lv2「Dragon」』『Fabricated Coercion』『Stone Minotaur』『Mega Beam: Lv2』『s.p.a.ce Expansion』『Pseudo-silver Creation』『Poison Claw』『Fireball「Dragon」』『Cuticle「Dragon」』

Kazane:「Naoki... he"s okay, right?」

Yumika:「Yeah, master is also there. So don"t make that expression on the verge of tears.」