Sarah felt her body float in the air, and her surroundings had suddenly changed.
âEuh!â
There was a dull feeling on her butt, but this wasnât the time to worry about it. She rubbed her neck.
A hot red blade cut through her throat.
She should have died but for some reason, her head was still connected to her body.
âI-I am alive?â
Or was this hell? All her eyes could see was darkness.
The world looked so dark to even see what was in front of her. Was there any other world that was darker than hell?
She was dead.
Having killed so many, it was natural for her to be in hell.
âAm I⌠dead?â
Her throat was cut, so she couldnât be fine. They all say death is instant and there will be no pain.
She wondered if she could die this cleanly.
But the problem was that she couldnât die just yet.
âI still have so many things to doâŚâ
Who would take care of her mother, who couldnât move, and who would bring her brother back to the light?
What did she hold the sword for, and why did she go on dangerous missions, risking her life?
All because of her family.
But to die in vain like thisâŚ.
âAs I thought, I shouldnât have come here.â
The mission was above her level.
A mission that she shouldnât have accepted, no matter how good the opportunity was. Isis was an amazing teacher, and yet Sarah died like this.
She should have just rushed back.
She couldnât help but feel that if she died, there would be nothing left.
âThe things I wanted to do with⌠Mom⌠Brother.â
Lastly, she wanted to see her family one last time. How would her family react to the news of her death?
Her mother would be unable to bear the grief of losing her child. She broke down when her husband died since she was such a soft-hearted person.
BrotherâŚ.
âMy brother in his current state.â
Would he be sad?
Angry?
She didnât know. Sarah hugged her knees and began to cry.
She shouldnât have died like this.
She kept repeating it over and over again.
AndâŚ
âWhat is she saying?â
The voice of an unfamiliar woman pierced Sarahâs ears.
Sarah jumped up from her seat and turned her head to the place where she heard the voice. It was too dark to see anything, but then she slowly began to feel something.
As she used mana on her eyes, her vision changed.
âI can use mana?â
She thought that a dead person couldnât do it. Was it possible to use mana in hell?
âLooking at your face, it seems like you are thinking about something else.â
Sarah spotted a figure in the fading darkness.
It was a woman leaning against something, her arms at her sides.
And the horns on her head reminded her of the demons she had heard about in the books her mother used to read to her.
âD-Devil!â
âWho is the Devil?â
âAck!â
As soon as the word âDevilâ came out, the form went right for Sarah and flicked her forehead.
Snap!
When the form snapped her fingers, lights in the form of spheres floated to the ceiling.
Sarah rubbed her hand on her forehead and frowned. It hurt her eyes, which were trying to adjust to the sudden change from darkness to light.
Narrowing her eyes, she looked at the person standing in front of her.
It was hard to see with the sudden light, but her beautiful form caught her eyes, and Sarah screamed when she realized that the woman was half-naked.
âKyaaa!â
âWe are both women, so what is so shocking about it?â
The blue-haired woman named Mayatrey looked at Sarah, who was in shock to see her wearing a fabric that barely covered her body.
And Sarah shouted,
âE-Even if we are both women, it is strange to see an unknown person naked during our first meeting!â
âSeriously. Humans are ashamed of so many things. I am quite dumbfounded. Even though he was a boy then, he wasnât too shy.â
Saying that, Mayatrey snapped her fingers, and a dark blue cloth wrapped around her body.
âIs this better?â
In response to her question, Sarah only turned her head and confirmed.
She nodded when she no longer felt shy. Sarah was once the daughter of the most powerful noble family, so she wasnât used to this. And also, being young played a part in it.
âW-Who are you, though?â
Who else could possibly come here if not the Devil?
Was she like Cerberus?
Thinking of being misunderstood again, Mayatrey sighed and introduced herself.
âI am Mayatrey. I am a dragon.â
â⌠Uh?â
Dragon?
Come to think of it, there were dragons in hell too.
âI am not that kind of dragon, so do not misunderstand.â
â⌠a real dragon? But I heard that right now, dragons are not able to move properly.â
âYou little one, you arenât so smart, unlike your brother.â
Sarahâs eyes changed at the word âbrother.â
âBrother? You know my brother?â
Mayatrey smiled at her sudden change of attitude.
âThis part resembles her sibling.â
Of course, she didnât spend a long time with him, and it was only a brief moment in her lifetime, but there was something about the child.
âI know him, I guess. I only met him once.â
âWhen? When did you see him?â
âIt has been so long. Not recently, though.â
âI seeâŚâ
Sarahâs face darkened. When it was related to her family, her emotions would change like a rollercoaster.
However, Mayatrey had no intentions of embracing that. Even now, a fierce fight was happening.
âWell, you are not dead, so donât think of useless stuff. Cause all of that just makes me tired.â
âIâm not dead?â
âYou almost died, but before that, I summoned you here. The timing was too close.â
Then the sensation she felt of being afloat in the air wasnât due to death but rather to magic.
âI am not dead. Huh! Thank God.â
When she thought she wasnât dead, her legs gave out.
She sat down and sighed in relief, and Mayatrey laughed.
Anyway.
When she was sure she was alive, she asked,
âThen why save me? Dragons hate humansâŚâ
âYou only know half of us, though?â
âUh?â
âAmong the dragons, the Blue Clan is granted freedom by the Demon King. Because we contributed to defeating the Dragon God by siding with the humans.â
Sarahâs eyes turned sad at the words âDemon King,â because that Demon King was none other than her brother, Jamie Welton.
Mayatrey wanted to comfort her, but she continued talking.
âI wasnât in the position to help then. Well, isnât it a good thing?â
âI think so.â
âIt isnât just because of that reason that I saved you.â
âWhat?â
âI was saved to some extent by your brother in the past.â
Sarah tilted her head at the word âsaved.â
However, it would take a long time to explain, and the story itself was embarrassing for her, so she didnât bring it up, and there were more important issues.
âYou just wait here because I need to help out a little.â
Mayatrey teleported after she said that.
Sarah, who had been left alone, stared blankly at the spot where she had vanished.
Isisâs greatsword scattered the huge swordâs energy in all directions as if she were tearing the heavens and land apart.
Albert, the knight, frowned and blocked her attack with the flames of the Sun God. His sword was bent to the side as if it would break anytime, and the effect of the force was reaching his arm.
âStronger than I thoughtâŚ!â
Being chosen by the Sun, he quickly crossed the wall, and he now had superhuman strength, but what Isis had was too much.
In particular, the Aegis, the power that blocked the flames of the Sun God, was so strong that the rumors about her seemed wrong.
That didnât mean he would lose.
[Ability.]
She wasnât the only one who had an ability. Albertâs eyes turned white.
Pure white flames began to spread around his back like the wings of a bird.
[Brutal Sword.]
All the flames began to condense into a single sword.
Albertâs sword, which shone, looked like a white sword now. It had an odd form, but it didnât matter since he was wielding it, and he was able to stop Isisâs attacks.
âIt isnât just about the heat.â
Like the knight who tried to kill Sarah earlier, it wasnât just about using the flames coming out of the sword. It was more like a sword that embraces the Sun.
Its power to cut things down would probably be shocking.
There was a high chance that even Aegis couldnât stop it.
âYou are quick-witted. A warrior who has gone through all sorts of battles, I guess.â
Albert complimented Isis with the sword in his hand. Isis unwrapped Aegis, which was around her, and began to put it on her greatsword.
And she raised her aura to the maximum limit and directed it all around Aegis.
âThe best defense is the best offense⌠right.â
âI donât know why you keep using that mouth.â
Isis held her sword straight and took the stance for a forward slash. And Albert felt a terrifying energy surround him.
He frowned as he focused on the sword.
âThis isnât a joke.â
To be honest, they thought that the Rans, which had taken damage a while ago, couldnât fight them. But he was currently looking at his two subordinates struggling against the Rans.
Not everyone here was as strong as Albert, but he thought that the three of them were enough to deal with them.
However, the Ran warriors were not giving them a chance to fight back, and they continued to attack.
âGagor is unconscious now.â
Gagor was the knight of the Sun, who was hit by the Breath of the dragon, who suddenly appeared. He was now sucked into the terrifying vortex.
Normally, it wouldnât be a threat, but since he was unconscious, he was going to drown. And they were not immortal.
âIf I lose here, I cannot look captain in the eyes.â
Right now, the troops of the Sun and the Ran warriors led by Hasyath are fighting a little further away from here.
Judging from their situation, the power of the Rans must be shocking. If that was the case, he had to end this fight and go help them.
He didnât think it would take this much time to fight three Rans, and now Albertâs eyes began to shine like his sword.
The two looked at each other without making a single sound.
They didnât even blink, as they each wanted to exploit the other from a single gap. However, their concentration, which had reached a high level, wasnât something that could be easily broken.
Then, maybe they had to wait for a small sign.
ââŚâ
ââŚâ
His short sword had the power to cut everything, but Aegis, with the greatsword, had the best defense.
Kwaaaak!!
Suddenly, appearing behind Isis, was a blue dragon that spread its huge wings and flew up. Using that as a sign, they rushed at each other.
The white sword moved in the air, leaving a white trail and a haze that distorted the space.
Isis took a deep breath, feeling the heat melt her skin.
Her lungs felt like they were burning, but this was nothing to her.
[Body Sword Unification.]
The sword and her body turned into one. The power that slashed the Dragon Godâs neck had manifested again.
The flame sword and the greatsword with Aegis collided in the air. The swordâs heat began to pierce through Aegis.
The attack surpassed the best defense, and this made Isis frown.
But she didnât stop.
She continued to make Aegis stay in the sword, and then brought another greatsword.
A state where she could freely move even if she abandoned the weapon in her hand.
In Ryo, this was called Air Sword.
Puak!
Albertâs left arm was dismembered, and the power of his sword was reduced by half.
But regardless of losing one arm, his sword continued to push forward.
Eventually, it got close to Isisâs chest.
At that momentâŚ
[Feel the power of flexibility.]
Isis heard a strange voice inside her head.
âFor this.â
She reached out her hands in a way she had never done so before.
Albertâs sword cut through the air, making his eyes wide.
He looked at someoneâs hand wrapped near his wrist, and the path of the sword changed.
âMy wrist is missing!â
Now that his left arm had been blown off, he had lost both of his arms, and this meant one thing.
âI donât know how, but I won.â
Aegis separated from the greatsword and flew like a blade, piercing Albertâs neck.