The one who had the misfortune of being caught by Russelant was Helbertron. Though he had left a rather
large wound on the Black Dragon’s temple, he had gone in too deep and, through sheer bad luck, been caught.
Since it was his lower body that had been seized in the dragon’s foreclaw, everything below Helbertron’s waist was soon crushed beyond
recognition.
Crunch.
While he was at it, Russelant tried to crush the captured Death Knight’s upper body as well. But
before he could, countless things came flying toward his eyes.
“Wh-what is this?”
It was only natural to close one’s eyes when faced with danger. Russelant hurriedly shut his eyes, and something
hammered endlessly against his eyelids. They were the Magic Missiles Damon had fired.
“Damn it.”
Feeling a dull pain, Russelant immediately deployed a Shield. Normally, he would not have cared about
mere Magic Missiles, but with them striking his eyelids head-on, he had no choice but to tense up. There was no way
his thin eyelids would be covered in scales, so Russelant had no choice but to
deploy a Shield. He was freed from the pain, but this time another pain
assailed him.
Kwaoooo.
Feeling his talons being severed wholesale, Russelant opened his eyes wide. While he had been distracted by the Magic Missiles,
a group of Death Knights had rushed in and cut away every talon that held their comrade.
Streams of blood spurted intermittently from the severed area. The Death Knight whose lower body had been crushed
had already slipped out of his grasp. Their cooperation was so perfectly in sync that
Russelant instinctively felt a sense of crisis.
“N-no. I have no chance of winning.”
If the battle continued like this, he would be the one to fall instead. Though he had not suffered any fatal wounds,
blood continued to flow from the countless gashes carved into him. In this state, the longer he fought,
the more disadvantageous it would become.
Dragons, too, were undeniably living creatures. If he continued to leave his bleeding unattended like this,
his strength would eventually drain away. For the first time in his life, Russelant was seized by the fear
that he might die. He had never dreamed that he would be driven this far by humans he had considered insignificant.
At the terror of death closing in on him by the moment, Russelant let out a scream.
Kyaaaaa!
The combination of a mage and a Sword Master that he had only heard about in words. It truly was a perfect combination.
If he had not been an Ancient-class dragon, he would already have died several times over. To think that combination
could be this terrifying……
Even now, the Death Knights were darting around him, continuing to carve sword wounds into his body.
With the repeated blood loss, his consciousness was gradually growing faint. The mage was undoubtedly
gathering a vast amount of mana, fully prepared to dismantle any magic he cast.
In the end, Russelant abandoned his mission. If things continued like this, he would be the one to die.
“I-I have to aim for the next opportunity. To catch him, at least two dragons or more have to attack together to have any chance
of victory.”
Russelant had completely lost his will to fight. This was not a situation in which he could possibly win. However,
escaping was not easy either. He could not even consider teleportation,
which had the greatest chance of being interfered with. Considering the enemy’s skill, that was even more the case. In the end,
Russelant decided to fly up and escape. To do that, there was a procedure he had to prepare first.
“Take this!”
Countless rays of light and fireballs spread out from Russelant’s hands.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
Beginner-level spells such as Fire Ball and Lightning Bolt, spells one could hardly believe a dragon had cast,
blanketed every direction. Because they had never imagined he would do such a thing,
Damon and the Death Knights had to scatter and throw themselves aside to avoid them. Of course, not a single one of them
was hit. But even if they were beginner spells, they were still cast by a dragon, so their power was nothing to scoff at;
there was no reason to take them head-on.
Glancing at that scene, Russelant quickly cast Aviation.
He could have flown by his own power, but that would inevitably take time, and if by any chance
the Death Knights targeted his wings, he would be helpless. That was why he chose this method.
Aviation was an intermediate spell, so there was very little room for interference. Moreover, since he was
continuing to pour out magical attacks at the same time, his attempt seemed likely to succeed.
As expected, when he confirmed it, the mage’s face twisted.
“You bastard. Are you trying to run?”
He could not let the dragon escape here. If his full strength were exposed, dealing with them
would become even more difficult, so he absolutely had to kill him on the spot.
Damon’s position was that he had to hide the forces he possessed no matter what. However,
Russelant was already floating in the air at a height equal to his own body. Even that much
was enough to block the Death Knights’ approach.
Seeing that, Raindelf hurriedly shouted.
“Hurry and summon phantom steeds!”
Phantom steeds could fly. Remembering that, Damon immediately
summoned three phantom steeds without even a moment to think. However, Damon did not believe
that this alone would be enough to stop the dragon from fleeing. Because of that, he was already considering another solution.
Sssssss.
Three phantom steeds, their forms nothing but bone, appeared in midair. They could not
attack anything, but they were useful riding summons for movement. As if there was no need
to think any further, the Death Knights mounted the phantom steeds. But Russelant, who was flying upward,
only snorted when he saw the phantom steeds……
“Only phantom steeds? You fools…… Dispel.”
The phantom steeds, which had been rising vigorously while carrying the Death Knights, suddenly vanished with a pop.
Through Russelant’s Dispel, they had returned to a state of nothingness.
The three Death Knights had no choice but to crash ungracefully into the ground.
Thud.
Raindelf, who rose with his body covered in dust, ground his teeth. Even if they were dispelled again,
they had to try. In this situation, they could not afford to let him escape.
“Hey. Instead, cast Aviation on us……”
Raindelf, who had been speaking urgently, closed his mouth. It was after he saw
that Damon had already begun some kind of work.
“Are you sure about this? If something goes wrong, you could overlap with the dragon and be annihilated.
If that happens, I won’t ever be able to bring you back……”
“It’s fine. If that happens, the dragon bastard will take a serious blow too, won’t he?
If I’m going to the afterlife together with a dragon, I won’t have any complaints.”
Damon nodded. In front of him, Helbertron, of whom only the upper body remained, was gripping the Rehert Saber
while light gleamed in his eyes.
Damon was now trying to teleport Helbertron. Of course, since it was a teleportation
without fixed coordinates, done only by rough estimation, the danger was extremely high.
But at present, it was the only way to catch Russelant, who had flown high into the sky.
Damon suddenly twisted his face.
“If only that damned secret weapon had been completed, I wouldn’t have to worry about him running away……”
But there was no helping it. For now, though it was dangerous, he had no choice but to use this method.
Moreover, Helbertron had already agreed to it…… Because half his body had been blown away,
his weight had decreased, but it was still just as dangerous. Even so, Helbertron was burning with the determination
to catch at least one dragon, even if it meant his own annihilation.
“Good. Then I’ll do it.”
Having made up his mind, Damon immediately called the remaining Death Knights and began discussing the plan.
Russelant, who had risen into the distant sky in an instant, looked down below. Seeing the Death Knights
standing there blankly with nothing to do, a good idea occurred to him.
“There’s no need to run. I can just rain magical attacks down from here.”
Earlier, he had been so frantic that he had not thought of doing this. That was how urgent
the situation had been. But once he gained some composure, Russelant regained his reason.
As he grasped the situation, killing intent once again surged in his eyes.
“First, I should heal my body. Then I’ll blow them all away.”
Regret washed over him, wondering why he had not used this method sooner. If he had rained magical attacks
from the sky, beyond their reach, then no matter how strong the combination of mage and Sword Master was,
they would have been helpless. If he poured magic down from the air, there were limits
to how much the mage could interfere.
There was certainly a difference in circles between a dragon and a human mage. Even if they summoned
phantom steeds, he did not need to care. With a single Dispel, those bastards would have no choice but to
plummet headfirst from the sky. Of course, if there were several mages, the sky would not be so safe either,
but in the current situation, there was only one mage he had to deal with.
Russelant turned his head and examined his body. When he saw his entire body drenched in blood, rage
surged up like a fountain.
“You bastards! I’ll smash you all to pieces……”
Russelant immediately cast Healing. The blood that had been flowing endlessly stopped, and the pain
slowly subsided as well. When he turned his head, he saw that the mage had once again summoned
three phantom steeds. Seeing that, a good idea flashed through Russelant’s mind.
“When the phantom steeds come close, I’ll Dispel them. If they fall from this height,
even those sturdy undead bastards won’t be unharmed……”
As he continued healing his body, Russelant flapped his wings and waited for the phantom steeds carrying
the Death Knights to come close.
While Russelant was focusing on healing, the remaining Death Knights, excluding the one whose lower body had been crushed,
mounted phantom steeds once again and flew up. Of course, their target was Russelant. The sight of the Death Knights
rising through the air on phantom steeds while wildly swinging swords wreathed in vivid Aura Blades—
it was as if they were determined to settle life and death here.
“You fools……”
But Russelant merely snorted and focused on healing. Because he had so many wounds,
healing them was bound to take time.
The phantom steeds were quite fast. In the blink of an eye, the phantom steeds and Death Knights
arrived within a stone’s throw of Russelant. As they approached, Russelant immediately
cast Dispel.
Papapak.
The phantom steeds vanished in an instant. Along with that, the Death Knights who had been riding them
began to fall, flailing their limbs fiercely. The Death Knights plummeted
uncontrollably toward the ground. If they fell from this height, there was no way they would be unharmed.
“Serves you right, you bastards……”
Russelant focused his attention on the mage. This time, it was his turn to interfere with magic.
He had to prevent the bastard from protecting the Death Knights with Feather Fall, Reverse Gravity, or the like.
Just as he had expected, when the mage cast a spell, Russelant inserted his own mana
into the rearranging mana without hesitation.
“Hehehe.”
As expected, bewilderment appeared on the mage’s face. The falling Death Knights instead gained speed
and fell even faster. Watching that, a satisfied expression appeared on Russelant’s face.
Once the Death Knights were rendered powerless, there was no need to care about a mere mage.
No matter how much of a 9th Circle mage he was, he would have no chance against a dragon in a frontal confrontation……
Thud.
The three falling Death Knights bounced nearly two meters back into the air the moment they struck the ground.
The impact was so great that when they fell back down, half their bodies were driven into the ground.
Judging by the situation, it was clear they would not be able to attack for a while.
“First, I’ll tear you to pieces and kill you.”
Russelant prepared to descend. Before the Death Knights came to their senses, he had to deal with
the mage first. One by one, they were not at all frightening, but when they formed a combination,
even he found them difficult to handle.
Just as Russelant was about to descend, he suddenly felt some kind of presence directly above his head.
It was the presence of teleportation manifesting. Sensing it, Russelant was scared out of his wits.
“D-damn it…… Teleportation.”
Being distracted by the Death Knights on the phantom steeds and failing to keep teleportation in mind
had been the cause of his downfall. If he had been in the middle of battle, there was no way
Russelant would have failed to notice the signs that his opponent was casting teleportation. But now, he was far away,
so he could not sense the flow of mana, and he had been too busy focusing on healing while dealing with
the Death Knights. On top of that, he had never imagined that the bastard would warp
the remaining Death Knight, whom he had deemed combat-incapable.