The dragonâs length was at least seven meters. With its whole body covered in jet-black scales, there were five sharp claws on each of its long forelegs. Big wings grew from its back which were slightly s.h.i.+ning as they were clad with magic power. Every time it flapped the wings an unbelievable gust of wind appeared, even after taking the size of itâs wings into account. However, its most impressive feature was its golden eyes that floated in the night like moons. Its eyes that closed vertically like a reptileâs, were dangerously narrowed as they released beautiful light.
The golden eyes were glaring at Hajime and the others from the air. A low groan was leaked from the Black Dragonâs throat. Its overwhelming power couldnât be compared to the Hyveria he saw at the bottom of Raisen Grand Canyonâs ravine. Although Hyverias themselves were generally recognized as troublesome, high level demonic beasts, when compared to the Black Dragon before them, it was as if they were small birds. Its majestic appearance made it suited as the king of the sky.
Just like a frog being stared at by a snake, Aiko and the others stiffened. Will was especially pale faced and gatagata, trembled as if he would collapse at any moment. Inside his mind, he might be having flashback from when he was attacked.
Hajime had already seen the claw marks from the Black Dragonâs attack that created branches off the river. He thought it must be a very strong demonic beast, but feeling the magic power and pressure from the Black Dragon in front of his eyes, he revised that it was three times of what he had imagine. Remembering the demonic beasts in the Abyss, it was not as strong as the Hydra, but he could feel that it had the same power as cla.s.s of demonic beasts from 90th floor.
The Black Dragon confirmed Willâs appearance and girori, sharpened its glare. Following that, in front of the stiffened humans, it slowly lifted its head and concentrated its magic inside the opened jaws where sharp fangs lined up.
KYUuWAaAAA!!
A mysterious timbre began to dye the sunset and reverberated throughout the mountains. Inside Hajimeâs mind, he remembered the Breath attack that erased the adventurers on the river.
âKh! Evacuate!â
Having issued the warning, Hajime immediately leaped away from his location to evacuate. Yue and s.h.i.+a followed after him. However, some people were unable to react to his warning, no, in this case it could be said most of them.
Aiko, the students, and even Will were stiffened and didnât move from their spots. Aiko and the studentsâ bodies were unable to keep up with such a sudden event, while Will was bound by fear that made him unable to even avert his gaze.
âTch!!â
âHajime!â
âHajime-san!â
Hajime issued an order to Yue and s.h.i.+a using âTelepathy,â then he suddenly returned to his previous location using âGround Shrinkerâ and stood between Aikoâs party and the dragon. Normally, heâd just leave. He didnât feel bad about abandoning Aiko, rather, he didnât understand why she came here to search for Will who miraculously survived. But, his âjobâ was to bring him back if he was alive. Thatâs why Hajime couldnât abandon him.
Hajime took out a two meters, coffin-like, large s.h.i.+eld from the âTreasure Boxâ into the empty s.p.a.ce, he thrust his left arm and linked it to the s.h.i.+eld. As he poured his magic power, on the lower part of the s.h.i.+eld gashun!, a stake appeared. Following that, it mightily pierced the ground.
Immediately, a straight, black, laser-like Breath fired from the dragon. The Breath didnât let out any sound and immediately reached Hajimeâs large s.h.i.+eld. The impact accompanied by a tremendous roar and the heatwave released melted the ground around the large s.h.i.+eld.
âGuu! Ooooo!!â
Hajime let out a roar filled with spirit as he resisted the Breathâs pressure. Before one was aware, Hajimeâs body and the large s.h.i.+eld let out bright red light. It came from Hajimeâs âVajra.â However, the Breath seemed to carry greater power, so after he resisted it for a while, his defense was penetrated as the large s.h.i.+eld received a direct hit.
Even so, the large s.h.i.+eld still endured the Breath. Power that penetrated Hajimeâs âVajraâ and heat gradually melted its surface, and itâd fall apart at any time, but Hajime used âTrans.m.u.tationâ to restore it. He wouldnât let any more breakthrough than this.
The stake that penetrated the ground to fix his location was defeated by the pressure, as he gradually pushed back. Hajime trans.m.u.ted his soles into spikes, and once again, Hajime used Vajra to resist the Breath. The large s.h.i.+eld was connected to his outstretched left arm, and he also affixed his right arm to it.
The large s.h.i.+eld Hajime took out was using Taur ore as its main material while Star ore was placed in-between and the exterior was coated with Azanthium. Because Hajime was a Trans.m.u.tation Master, even with an attack that exceed Azanthiumâs durability, itâs possible to restore it if it could endure even for a few seconds. Even if that was penetrated, the Star ore in the second layer had a nature to strengthened if supplied with magic power, and Hajimeâs magic power wouldnât allow anymore penetration.
Thatâs why, the Breath that could exceed Azanthium wouldnât be able to destroy the large s.h.i.+eld. However, it couldnât be said that power wouldnât be able to blown the large s.h.i.+eldâs user away. In fact, Hajime who possessed inhuman power was gradually pushed back. On the ground were the gouged out marks from the large s.h.i.+eldâs stake that pierced it and Hajimeâs feet.
If this keep up, Hajime who equipped with large s.h.i.+eld and âVajra,â along with his inhuman endurance wouldnât receive considerable damage. But if Hajime lost the s.h.i.+eld, Aiko and the others would fall prey to the breath, and disappear from this world without even leaving a speck of dust behind.
When Hajime became somewhat impatient, an unexpectedly soft feeling was transmitted to his back. As he stole a glance over his shoulder, somehow, Aiko had jumped towards his back and supported him desperately. Apparently, while Hajime was resisting the Breath, she regained her senses and jumped to support Hajime who was gradually being pushed back. Having seen that, the students and Will also jumped to support Hajime, in panic.
The Breath continued even now. The surrounding water in the river was evaporated by the heatwave, the soil and stones on the riverbank were blown away by the impact and in awful state. From the time he received the direct hit from the Breath, a little time had pa.s.sed. Hajime felt it had happen for an eternity, but actually no longer than ten seconds had pa.s.sed. While he grit his teeth and thought about it, finally, he heard the long-awaited voice.
ââCursed Skyâ.â
At the moment the magicâs name was announced, a black, swirling orb of four meters in diameter appeared above the Black Dragon. The deep darkness that could suck in anyone who saw it, immediately fell and crushed the Black Dragon into the ground.
âGuuRUaAAA!?â
A roar came as the Black Dragon sprawled on the ground, and its Breath was interrupted when it raised a scream from the impact. However, the swirling orb, as if saying thatâs not enough, didnât disappear and exerted extreme pressure on the Black Dragon, sinking it into the ground.
âCursed Skyâ
It was Yueâs Gravity magic. By creating a swirling gravity ball, it crushed its target using supergravity that was proportional to the amount of consumed magic power. It was a convenient magic that could change its direction using the gravitational force.
The Gravity magic didnât consume much magic power if targeted towards the caster itself. However, if the gravity ball was used to attack things, s.p.a.ce, and other people, just like what happened just now, it consumed huge amount of magic power and Yue at the least need ten seconds to prepare it. Because Yue herself still hadnât completely master this magic, the invocation time and magic consumption could still become much more efficient by training.
The sky king was crucified on the ground, it painfully braced its limbs to somehow escape from the pressuring attack. But, immediately following that were the rabbit ears that came fluttering from the sky and s.h.i.+a was shouting, âStop~!â, as she fell together with Doryukken. Holding the sledgehammer which was further accelerated by outburst, she used the high-stance aimed at the Black Dragonâs head.
DOoGAaAAA!!!
The impact was incomparable to any impact that had happened before. At the moment of impact, the ground burst and flew radially, accompanied by a thundering sound, it created a crater that looked like a result of a bombing. That was thanks to Doryukkenâs remodelling by Hajime. Gravity magic was granted to the compressed Azhantium that was the main material. However, it was not the one that âneutralizedâ like the ones in the unmanned reconnaissance planes, but the opposite where the ore could âincrease its weight.â The weight increased according to the amount of magic power supplied. The current Doryukken was just like *****ton Hammer!, just like the one inside the manga.
Furthermore, those who received the ultra-heavy blow wouldnât be able to escape from serious damage. Thatâs right, if it was directly hitâŠ.
âGuruaaa!!â
Together with the Black Dragonâs roar, a flame bullet approached Yue at tremendous speed from inside the dust that scattered by Doryukken. Yue immediately did an emergency evasion by âfallingâ to the right. However, the gravity ball magic was canceled instead.
The dust was cleared up as the after-effect of the previous flame bullet, and there was the Black Dragon who managed to evade Doryukken which sunk to the ground by a paper-thin margin. At the moment of impact, it seemed to somehow evade using the peculiar strength of a dragon. Having its restraints removed, the Black Dragon did one rotation in high-speed as if trying to dispel its grudge and its large ma.s.s of a tail hit s.h.i.+a who was just pulling out Doryukken.
âAgh!!â
By a hairâs breadth, s.h.i.+a used Doryukken as a s.h.i.+eld and jumped back to kill the impact, because she was greatly blown away at the same time, shedisappeared into the trees.
The Black Dragon used the momentum from the rotation and recovered its posture, and its golden eyes were glaring at Hajime⊠⊠not, just pa.s.sed towards Will behind him. Hajime immediately put the large s.h.i.+eld back into âTreasure Box,â then pulled out Donner-Schlag and fired them. Many roars resounded, accompanied by flashes that cut through the sky and attacked the Black Dragon. Without being able to evade, the Black Dragon received direct hits from the storm of destruction, blown away from its spot, and thrown into the river with a tremor, creating a magnificent sprays.
Because Hajime thought itâd be bad for Will to be in its line of fire, he charged at the Black Dragon. Using gunspin in mid-air to reload Donner-Schlag in his hands, he repeatedly fired in succession just like before. However, the Black Dragon got up accompanied with roar that scattered the riverâs water, somehow, it ignored Hajime and fired a flame bullet that was aimed at Will.
âKh!â
Because it aimed at Willl, Hajime dared to approach it and tried to attack furiously to gain its attention. But, the Black Dragon acted as if it didnât even care if Hajime was there, continue to target Will.
âYue!â
âNh âWave Castleâ.â
âHih!â, was the miserable scream that came from the cowering Will, and in front of him was high-density wall of water. The flame bullet was obstructed by the rampart-like wall of water created by Yue and disappeared. And, at that time, the students finally regained their senses from this raging development and began to chant their magic. They were trying to support the party. Quickly, fire bullets and wind blades rushed towards the Black Dragon as they created archs.
HoweverâŠ.
âGOoAAA!!â
The impact from the dragonâs roar dispersed the attacks. Moreover, having heard the tremendous roar and stared by the golden eyes, Will let out similar âHih,â scream as he backed away and fell on his b.u.t.t, reaching the female studentsâ spot.
Hajime, who completely judged her to be outside of the combat a.s.sets, shouted at Aiko to escape. Aiko was hesitating. Hajime was also Aikoâs student after all, so to left him in front of this powerful demonic beast made her hesitate as a teacher.
At that time, the Black Dragon began to flap its wings and flew into the sky while blowing the surroundings river water away. In addition, it rapidly shot flame bullets at Will.
Although Hajime had fired the railguns in quick succession, he couldnât get its attention at all. The Black Dragonâs scales, similar to scorpion-like thing that boasted its hardness in the past, was only slightly scratched even after receiving direct hits from the railguns.
The Black Dragon stubbornly targeted Will. It was as if it was being manipulated by something. It faithfully obeyed the order like a robot. It kept trying to kill Will even after being restrained by gravity before, it seemed to think nothing of those who tried to obstruct it.
Although Hajime didnât understand why it obstinately targeted Will, it was a convenient thing, since its target was already decided, so he gave out an instruction to Yue.
âYue! Protect Will! Iâll defeat this guy!â
âNh, leave it to me!â
Hearing Hajimeâs instruction, Yue immediately âfellâ towards Will, and stood in front of him. When she snuck a look at her back, irritation surfaced when she saw Aiko and the students who couldnât move well in this situation and she muttered in displeasure.
â⊠⊠If you donât want to die, hide behind me.â
The students were trivials, but regarding Aiko, Hajime was at least concerned about her, so she let out those words to not let her die. Incidentally, she had already forgotten how Aiko became a hindrance to them.
The students moved closer to Yue without particularly reacting to Yueâs cold words. They realized by Yueâs side was the safest place, thanks to the rampart of ice that chantlessly constructed using the surrounding moisture.
Normally, theyâd have the ability to fight some more. But, no matter even if they knew Hajime was alive, the day they were almost killed by the Behemoth and Traum Soldiers as well as how Hajime fell to his âdeathâ into the abyss still traumatized their minds. They followed Aiko because even if they couldnât join the hero group in the dungeon, they couldnât just half a.s.s things.Even so, their magic was ineffective against the Black Dragon, coupled with the roar filled with killing intent, made their heart completely withered. Their mental state was completely unsuited for combat.
Because Yue was there, Hajime was a.s.sured of Willâs safety, and concentrated on attacking. The flying Black Dragon was concentrating on destroying Yueâs defensive wall, as it targeting Will on the other side of the wall, even now. However, flame bullets were incapable of penetrating the wall, then it raised its head in an arch again as it realized it. It began to focus magic power inside its mouth.
âHah, itâs the first time Iâve been ignored this far⊠⊠thatâs why, Iâll do anything to make you not ignoring me!â
As Hajime put back Donner into its holster, he took out Schlagen from the âTreasure Box.â Immediately after he activated âLightning-clad,â the three meters weapon with an atrocious form let out bright red sparks. As expected, the Black Dragon realized Hajimeâs next move was a dangerous one, and it turned its mouth, aiming at Hajime. It was just like Hajime had predicted: it couldnât ignore him.
At the same time the Black Dragon fired the death spreading Breath, Hajimeâs Schlagen finished the loading and fired.
They let out the same extreme flash. They became a storm of death. Black and red aurora were clas.h.i.+ng against each other. At the moment of collision, a terrific shock wave was generated and the surrounding trees were blown away. Just by power alone, they were probably equal. However, the two auroras clearly divided between the victor and the loser from their nature. Although the Breath continued to let out an excellent aurora, Schlagen was specialized in penetrating through a single point. Therefore, the Breath was inevitably broken through, and that power reached the Black Dragon.
The head of the Black Dragon which fired the Breath suddenly curved upward. The full-metal jacket made out of star ore penetrated the Breath and hit the dragonâs opened mouth. However, the wound was far from a mortal one. With the bending of the Breathâs trajectory and power, several of its sharp fangs evaporated and as it nearly pa.s.sed through the side of its head, it stopped before one of its wings on its back was blown off.
âGURUaAAA!!â
The Black Dragon fell as it spun towards the ground and let out a pained scream. Hajime was fortunately able to evade the Breath using âAerodynamic,â and while he was upside down in mid-air he used âAerodynamicââs âGround Shrinker.â As he dived at high-speed, he used âGrand Legâ to attack the Black Dragonâs abdomen.
ZUDONh! The lower abdomen let out a roaring sound from the impact, and the Black Dragonâs body folded. The ground was radially cracked by the impact. It couldnât be said that the damage was considerable even though the Black Dragon let out a scream. Its armor was capable of enduring the Railguns after all. However, having a.s.sumed that, Hajime attacked further as he greatly held out the artificial left arm. KIiIIIII!!! Machine-like sounds came from the artificial arm. The âOscillation Smashâ he used before fell down.
It was Hajimeâs fist of destruction that was thrust in high speed and was capable of pulverizing a large boulder in a single blow, and it mercilessly attacked the Black Dragonâs abdomen.
DOoGUuUU!!
Along with the m.u.f.fled sound, the scales on the abdomen were cracked. With the purpose of transmitting the impact, its insides received considerable damage from this attack, and the Black Dragon raised a pained voice again as it vomited large amounts of blood from its mouth. Maybe because it thought itâd be dangerous if this kept up, the Black Dragon poured its magic power in one of its wings and a windstorm appeared, then it tried to forcefully regain its posture. Once again, Hajime used âAerodynamicâ to evade. He didnât forget to leave a parting gift.
At the moment the Black Dragon turned its golden eyes towards Hajime who escaped into the air, a big explosion occurred under its abdomen. The dragonâs gigantic figure flew two meters from the surface from the impact. Hajimeâs parting gift was a âGrenade.â
âKUuWAaAA!!â
Receiving an impact at the same place as before, it couldnât be helped that it was unable to raise a scream and only let out a m.u.f.fled groan. With its head drooped to endure it, blood was flowing from the Black Dragonâs mouth. Somehow, its groan weakened.
Maybe because the Black Dragon recognized Hajime as a threat, it looked away from Will towards Hajime and rapid-fired flame bullets from its mouth. The flame bullets flew through the air as if they were anti-aircraft fire. However, none of the fire hit Hajime. Hajime was using âAerodynamicâ and âGround Shrinkerâ simultaneously to freely run in the sky, leaving after-images, Hajime knocked down the Black Dragon using Hit & Away tactic.
He fired Donner-Schlag from medium range at nasty places such as the claws, gums, eyes, tailâs base, and b.u.t.t. In the next moment, he drew closer and used the combo of âOscillation Smashâ from the shotsh.e.l.l outburst + âGrand Armâ to hit the head and flank.
âKURUu, GUWANN!â
Somewhat, no, the Black Dragon certainly began to give out a weeping voice. With its scales cracked all over the place, a large amount of blood dripped from its mouth.
âIncredibleâŠ.â
Having watched Hajimeâs fight, Tamai Atsus.h.i.+ spontaneously muttered that from the safety area behind Yue. Without having to say it, the other students and Aiko were silently agreeing as they nodded, and they were unable to look away from the overwhelming fight. As for Will, he intensely watched Hajime with sparkling eyes as if he didnât remember he was trembling in front of the Black Dragon before.
By the way, unbeknownst to them s.h.i.+a had returned and tried to enter combat, only to be stopped by Yue who had guessed Hajimeâs intentions. Currently, she watched him together with Yue by her side. Having been blown away at the beginning, she actually felt somewhat depressed.
Hajime didnât immediately pull out Schlagen, Orkan, and the others because he thought it was a good chance to show off his fighting prowess to Aiko and the students. Although the Black Dragon was certainly st.u.r.dy and the power of one of its attacks was to be feared, itâs easier to attack its huge body if one fought calmly, and its attacks were monotonous. So, it was possible for him to put into practice âno matter what, it wonât hit,â after all it was an opponent Hajime could go easy on. Because heâd separate from Aiko and the students, to put a hard-line so the Church and Kingdom wouldnât be relaxed when the heroes received the information from Aiko, he thought of showing off his true power to them.
Because of that, although Hajime completely knocked down the pitiful Black Dragon, he held grat.i.tude towards it in his mind. Even though there were cracks all over the place, none of the scales were completely crushed in the least. Truly significant durability. Because he remembered the scorpion-like thing, to be sure of it, he used âMineral Appraisalâ on the scales and because there was no reaction, it seemed it was a mineral that couldnât be trans.m.u.tated.
Slowly, because he thought it was enough to make them understand his true strength, it was about time for the finis.h.i.+ng blow. He slipped onto the Black Dragonâs chest in an instant, and kicked with âGrand Legâ to roll him back towards its abdomen. Following that, he pulled out the Pile Bunker from the âTreasure Boxâ on the Black Dragonâs abdomen.
From the direction of Will and the others, he could hear a clamor but decided to ignore it. The anchors fired, and the arms fixed its location on the Black Dragon. Following that, he released âLightning-clad.â The reason he chose the Pile Bunker was because he couldnât pull out all of its power inside the Raisen Great Dungeon, so he wanted to do an actual combat test.
The stake which coated in Azanthium started to rotate intensely inside, and the Pile Bunker let out bright red sparks. If this kept up, the four ton stake would mercilessly end the Black Dragonâs life.
However, just like the proverb âa cornered rat will bite the cat,â a wounded beast was something one should be cautious of. It was the same as the Black Dragon.
âGUuGAaAAAA!!!â
Along with the Black Dragonâs roar, a violent blast was generated towards all directions. It was an explosion made of pure magic power. In addition, using a moment to strengthen its body to the limit and the explosive power from its muscles, the anchors that pierced the ground to fix the Pile Bunker were raised and at the same time it pried open the arms with its muscles. Following that, it turned around in an instant to shake Hajime off.
âUoh!?â
Hajime instinctively stepped back. The heavy Pile Bunker was, the Pile Bunker that was on the verge of firing was turned to target the sky, and the stake that was accelerated to its max launched into the sky. A straight line that made ones narrow their eyes ascended through the sky, and Hajime who put the Pile Bunker into the âTreasure Boxâ confirmed the Black Dragon used its last struggle to move towards Will.
âTch, s.h.i.+a!â
âY-Yesâ
As he clicked his tongue towards this blunder, Hajime called s.h.i.+a. s.h.i.+a, having realized his intentions, jumped towards the sky using the rampart of ice, and let out a yell so she wouldnât be blown away this time. With the free fall and the outburst from the shotsh.e.l.l, she fell towards the Black Dragon just like a meteor.
If it was the normal Black Dragon, itâd be able to avoid it, but the Black Dragon that was literally in its last struggle didnât have room for that, it was unable to avoid the hammer. s.h.i.+a, who held the ultra-heavy Doryukken in a high-stance, further poured her magic power to explosively increase its weight. Subsequently, it directly hit the crown of the Black Dragonâs head without missing an inch as it let out a thundering sound.
The Black Dragonâs head sank to the ground, and its lower body floated as it stood on its hands because it was in the middle of a charge. After a moment of stillness, it finally fell down and made the earth tremor.
s.h.i.+a, who pulled out Doryukken from the Black Dragonâs head that was on the ground, was surprised by what she saw. It was something natural. Although the Black Dragonâs head was smashed and considerably cracked, it wasnât completely broken. It was truly dreadful durability.
Hajime came towards the Black Dragon from behind. Also, the stake launched from the Pile Bunker pierced the ground between Hajime and the Black Dragon. Hajime knew the sprawled dragon wasnât dead by percepting its presence, next, he suddenly recalled the talk with Mottou about the Ryujin race from before. The one about âkicking a dragonâs a.s.s.â
Hajime pulled out the stake that pierced the ground using âGrand Armâ and carried it on his shoulder as he positioned himself before the base of the Black Dragonâs tail. Following that, he made a stance just like a javelin thrower. Naturally, in his hand was the Pile Bunkerâs stake.
Everyone there was able to guess what Hajime was going to do, and their cheeks convulsed. Even though the scales were troublesome, it shouldnât be a good thing to thrust it there(··). Even though Yue, s.h.i.+a, and the others floated expressions of horror towards Hajimeâs mercilessness, Hajime only thought of that as blowing wind.
And finally, Hajimeâs Pile Bunker mightily pierced the Black Dragonâs âbleepâ and zuburi sound resounded. At that moment,
âAhâ â â nanojyaaaaa â â â !!!â
With its eyes immediately opened wide, the Black Dragon let out a heartbreaking scream as it woke up. In truth, having thrust half of the stake and using his fist to make it pierce further, as expected, even Hajime was surprised by the scream that obviously came from the Black Dragon, and he inadvertently removed his clasped fist.
âa.s.s is~, this oneâs a.s.s is~â
Because of the Black Dragonâs grieving, painful, and somewhat excited tone, everyone let out a âWhat the heck is this!?â in amazement as they stared at the Black Dragon while stunned.
Apparently, it didnât end as just a normal dragon subjugation.