Chapter 76

Chapter 76 \nThe purple miasma that the Wicked Dragon spat out covered the surroundings of the demolished mansion.\n

Usato who saw what the dragon was doing, called Neah to escape before jumping into the miasma as well.

Usato should be fine since he has his healing magic, also he’s strong as well. As I suppressed the urge to run away, I instead watched the situation, and a black figure jumped down from above the mansion which was surrounded by miasma.

 

“Cough, cough…. Uuh……Oee…….Uu……..”

 

It was Neah.

Seems like she has consumed a slight amount of the dragon’s miasma, as she coughs whilst shedding tears. Right after, she turns back and looked at the miasma with a confused expression.

 

“Why did you do such a crazy move…. Even dragging me in…..”

 

……I have no time to care for that woman.

I immediately turned my conscious towards the miasma. I wonder what would happen to him now that he has entered the poisonous realm which ordinary people would immediately die.

Then, something shook slightly at the thinner part of the miasma, and something popped out.

What came out was the huge arm of the dragon. However, on closer inspection, the arm was holding onto a body where the blood in his body has been frozen up and chilled.

 

“Usato!?”

 

Usato has been grabbed by the dragon.

Shaken by the sight of him being stuck, the next moment turned that into fear.

The dragon swung him up like a ragdoll and tossed him down at the western-style building.

 

“……….Ah.”

 

Being flung into the roof of the building with great force, he pierced through the building and penetrated right from the third floor all the way down to the ground.

No human would ever be able to bear such a force.

If they did receive such impact, they’ll fall apart.

Did Usato, die?—— Seeing such a reality in front of her, she could not accept it as she fell on her knees.

 

“No, I have not seen it yet….. Usato can’t be done in this place …”

 

I did not foresee his death.

The scene hasn’t come across yet.

While spinning words to convince myself, I tried running to the building to search for him.

However, Bluerin who was watching the situation as well, stopped me.

 

“Bluerin……?”

“Gu.”

 

The eyes of Bluerin showed neither anger nor sadness, but ones with trust.

 

“I don’t have to be worried?”

 

Bluerin nodded with a proud face and continued watching where Usato has fallen. Are you trying to say that Usato wouldn’t be done by that?

I’ve never heard of how Usato and Bluerin met, just occasional talks about it. He mentioned that he had found Bluerin when a snake monster killed Bluerin’s parents in front of him, and finally Usato stabbed the snake and Bluerin followed him since then.

Because they have passed through many hardships together, it may be understandable to Bluerin.

Thus, Usato is not a person who is easily stopped.

 

“You’re right. I can’t be shaken right now. Usato is fine, he won’t be hurt by that degree.”

 

It was only a while since I met him, but I’ve seen his actions many times. He’s insane, he changes personalities often, he likes doing wicked things to people, he’s messed up. But most of all, he will never betray me.

It’s the same even right now.

I have no choice but to believe in him.

Believe in what he can do.

 

“Thank you Bluerin, I have calmed down.”

 

Right now, if we go near the mansion where the miasma is infested, we’ll inhale the poison as well.

If Usato is safe, we’ll only hinder him. Thus, I shall protect Ark-san and Bluerin here while foreseeing the dragon’s movement.

Believing that he’s safe, I sat down and looked at the dragon wrapped in miasma. Then, near the miasma, a confused Neah stares at the place where Usato was knocked down.

 

“U…..Ugya, gyahi.”

 \nAt the same time, I could hear an unpleasant voice coming out from the dragon, blowing away the surrounding miasma with its one attached wings. 

The dragon then looked at the building, and cried out what seemed to be a joyous noise as it wagged its arms.

Even after that attack, are you still trying to attack usato…..?! At this rate, he would really die from it.

 

“Stop it!!”

 

As I was about to stop them, Neah who is now flying beside the dragon, screamed at the dragon to stop.

The dragon hardens as if bounded by her voice.

 

“You are prohibited to attack any further without my permission.”

“U…..Uu.”

“You’ve done it now. Look at the mess you’ve made! Now I have to go to the village to sleep tonight. Hmm, before that, should I have myself an Usato treat? Let’s chew him first………”

 

In front of the immovable dragon, she waved her hands and puts on a thoughtful face.

Whether she was reading the dragon’s thoughts or not, she tilts her neck suspiciously before shining the magical power she had on her hand.

 

“…..You’re definitely not a normal zombie, but that’s about it. As long as you’re under my control, you’re just a puppet. If I don’t unlock your abilities, you’re just a mere corpse.”

 

The dragon’s body cramps up. Then, from the body of the dragon, the same purple magic as that of Neah returns to her.

It looks as if the shackles that held the body are disappearing, and the so called container is slowly being drained out from magic.

If we go by that principle, is Neah absorbing her magic back from the dragon?

In about 10 seconds, the magic coming out of the dragon went completely still. Neah who was looking at the dragon returning to a corpse, breathes out a sigh.

 

“Phew—— What gives. It’s just a corpse after all. What sort of nonsense did Usato spout about it being a Wicked Dragon. Well then~, time to catch him now♪”

 

Watching her turn her back on the dragon, I looked at Bluerin.

If there’s no dragon, and it’s only Neah and the zombies, then we are more than enough to defeat them. It also looks like she needs time to turn the dragon back into a zombie, so she’s not scary in the meantime.

……..I can’t help but feel like I’m becoming like Usato, but this is the optimal solution right now.

While she isn’t noticing, I carried my legs to the building.

However, the eye of the dragon behind Neah comes into view.

 

“……”

 

The jet-black eyes that reflects the moonlight.

The moment the eyes wriggle, the dragon lifted its arms and grabbed Neah with her back turned.

 

“——!? W-Why!?”

“Shackles, gone. Disturbing magic, has disappeared. Annoying hero, has been killed.”

 

It talked……!?

Rather, didn’t Neah returned the zombie dragon back into a corpse? Why can it move!?

 

“I am thankful, necromancer. If you haven’t revived me, it would’ve taken me another 300 years before my resurrection.” 

“Resurrection!? …. But you’re just a corpse! I’ve checked that you have no soul as well!! Where are you hiding your soul…….!!”

“I don’t care for such measly talk. It is a fact that I am living right now.”

 

With Neah on the dragon’s hand, it stood upright, looked around and determined a certain direction. Neah who was captured has her face turned pale blue, as she saw something in the direction of the dragon.

The direction is where the village is at.

And that is where Neah used to live as a village girl.

 

“Being resurrected a second time, there is only one thing I will do. Which is destroy, kill everyone!”

“Stop……..!”

“Why?”

“T-Those are my things, please don’t do anything to them.”

 

Neah pleaded to the dragon who was tilting its head.

 

“Didn’t you use humans as bait? Didn’t your father, created that village as a food storage. It’s a place where they’re wasting their life while awaiting for your order to be eaten like a wasted animal.”

“…….T-That’s right. That village is mine. And it is my food source, so I want you to keep your hands away from them.”

 

Neah said to the dragon as if she had choked on something.

However, the dragon snickered at her words, then put more strength into its arms.\n 

“Ugh, gu……”

“That doesn’t matter, because I will destroy every village, and every country, and all the continental!”

“Stop it……Don’t lay your hands. Wasn’t I who revived you?”

“Gugyagya…… who cares, you vampire.”

 

The dragon smiled unpleasantly, then threw Neah to the third floor as if throwing away trash. There, she crashed into the building and disappeared from sight.

I don’t know why she wanted to shelter the village, but I don’t want to know either.

I don’t need to care because the root of this lies from her, but now that is hopeless as even she can’t stop the dragon.

 

“What should I do?”

 

Even if I can see the future, the only ending I foresee is being killed by the dragon.

When the dragon looked at us, with those murky jet-black eyes, my body shivered, and I could not feel my body at all.

The word ‘killed’ repeated in my mind——-When suddenly the wall of the first floor where Usato was blown away exploded and something flew out.

A blade-like object attached to a spear slammed into the lower jaw of the wicked dragon.

 

“!?”

“Think of it as a returning gift!”

 

The dragon leaned greatly to the side.

A white uniform flutters in the wind.

A spear with an axe-like blade in his hand.

He lifted the long spear lightly, and jumped down to the ground.

 

“Are you alright!?”

 

I’m so glad he came.

However, he——-when I saw Usato’s face, I exhaled a word that’s different from joy.

 

“Scary!?”

 

That is because, his face had turned bloody and his eyes looked dangerous from the aftermath.

 

 

 

After being slammed into the hall by that dragon, I managed to keep my consciousness despite being exposed to some terribly shocking pain. Looking down, I can see my body buried in rubble, and when I looked up, I could see the moonlight.

I have been hit by a wonderful blow. Thanks to that, my whole body hurts and I can’t move.

While continuing to use healing magic for the time being, I removed the rubble one by one that is hindering my movement. After being able to stand up, pain courses through my right shoulder, indicating that I could not freely move my shoulder.

 

“Ouch.”

 

Did my shoulder popped out due to the impact?

I’ve been dislocated several times during training with Rose, but this is by far the most painful. Anyway, healing magic doesn’t heal a dislocated shoulder.

I placed my left hand on my right shoulder, bit my teeth strongly to endure the upcoming pain.

Pushing my left hand with all my might, I immediately used healing magic as soon as my bones are refitted.

 

“Ugh…..”

 

While turning my arms around, I checked for any major injuries other than my shoulder.

From the looks of it, there doesn’t seem to be any noticeable injuries. There’s only some blood bleeding from my head, but it’s not too serious.

Having experienced the same hits in Rose’s training, the previous blow is still within a safe range.

……..This is not a laughing matter. I can’t laugh at all.

 

“My body’s fine, but how do I defeat him….”

 

The poison is troublesome, and its smart as well.

I remind myself that frontal attacks wouldn’t work on it. So I just need to find a weakness……

Then, I remember something from the notebook that I took from Neah’s study room.

I heard that the hero jumped into its mouth and knocked its heart with his blade. In other words, attacks from inside should be effective.

 \n\nUnlike my previous punch, this time I punched the chest with the bottom of my palm.

Because I don’t have much power, it didn’t do much. However, my suspicion turned into conviction when I confirmed a pulsating feeling on my palm.

So, it’s heart is moving.

I don’t know why, but it’s true that it has one weakness. Then, I just have to enter its body and destroy its heart.

 

“Then I have to…….”

 

When I try to get up and avoid the dragon’s limbs and moved towards its mouth, my legs suddenly loses strength and my body loses balance.

…….I’m not completely healed yet…..!!

Perhaps because I’ve used too much healing magic and physical strength, the effects of my healing magic have tremendously slowed down! !

 

“You bastard! You’re trying to do the same thing again!”

“…..Tsk.”

 

In addition, it realized what I was trying to do. 

Perhaps because it didn’t want me to enter its body, it tapped its tongue and there, a denser miasma released from its mouth. I recovered the halberd that was pierced on the ground nearby, and left to where Amako was.

 

“Are you alright Usato!!”

 

Amako rushed towards me.

I answered her words while putting healing magic on my knees.

 

“………Honestly, I’m not doing okay……”

 

The poison and the previous injury were more serious than I thought. The pace of recovery is slowing down, and the abnormality on my leg hasn’t completely recovered.

What’s more, it will not allow me to enter its body which is filled with dense miasma. Or maybe I would run out of healing magic before then.

 

“…….Where’s Neah?”

“She was killed by the dragon……It seems like she couldn’t stop the dragon either.”

“I see…….”

 

So she’s useless as well.

For the time being, I should tell Amako and Bluerin about the dragon’s weakness. I have to come up with another plan before it approaches us.

After telling her about the weakness, she slightly frowns.

 

“We know that the heart is the weak point, but how do we attack…..?”

“That’s the issue now. Look at that…..It’s being cautious knowing that I’m aiming its heart. I can bend it over and go through it’s ass, but it’s better to enter through the mouth.”

 

I should’ve decided earlier, but……..I really hate how sweet I am.

…..No use regretting. I need to attack the heart somehow.

 

“Either 1 or 8, I still have to go into the poisonous mouth…..”

“I can tell that you’re tired……But don’t do something stupid that would take away your life….”

“I can just rush into the poison……Ah, I’m sorry.”

 

After looking at Amako’s face which slowly turns into sadness, I changed my way of thinking.

Self-sacrificing shouldn’t be the easy path. I have to live and travel with her.

Also, if Rose knew I was about to give up my life, I won’t know what she’s going to do to me.

Let’s look for a different solution then. The opponent’s about to moving, let’s fight——–

 

“Usato,-dono….”

“! !”

 

I suddenly heard a voice from behind.

Ark-san was standing up with the support of Bluerin.

His eyes are clear, as if they were released from the brainwashing effects.

 

“You’ve woken up Ark-san!”

“Yes…….And I can see the situation. I was conscious when I was manipulated…..and I’ve heard your story earlier and understood the severity of the situation.”

 

After saying that, he took off the armour which was disturbing his movement, and looks at me with a strong-willed eyes.

 

“I have an idea.”