Chapter 562: The state of power
With Corti leading the way, the other dragons followed behind in the search for Rainer. Since we did not have many people, we left the carriages behind. If you have four horses, not including Corti, you don’t need any tools to carry ten or so people. ……The carriages are just what an attacker would want to take a shot at.
“Be on your guard, Laila”
Dianne-san is riding hand in hand with me and urges Laila to be on the alert.
“Ho. I understand. But when we fly together like this, it’s frustrating to be reminded that I´m one step behind the ice dragons in terms of perception”
“Is that so?”
“A fire dragon has the advantage in terms of physical sturdiness, but the ice dragon seems to have stronger characteristics because it is made to withstand stormy weather. It might be better to let Maia take precautions”
“Of course, Maia will have to be very careful. We don’t want them to repeatedly target Andy like this”
“Yes, that’s right. I am sure that this time, with you watching over me, I will be able to rest easy”
Dianne’s direct escort while being held by a dragon. There is no greater alert than this.
“Haa……that’s a shame”
Anzeros, who was right next to me, let out a small sigh. During the Battle of the Imperial Villa, they sent in Anzeros, Neia and even Sharon to protect me. Normally, it was an excessive amount of escort, but in the end, it wasn’t enough in front of Rainer.
“You guys did enough. When you are up against such an unorthodox opponent, you have to be satisfied with the fact that no casualties were incurred”
“Yes, but one wrong move and……”
“The battle doesn’t always go 100% the way you want it to go. Last time, it was a defeat for Rainer´s group who couldn’t get the results they wanted when they had a thousand chances”
“…………”
“Don’t regret it. Don’t get too nervous. If this becomes an opening, it becomes a vicious cycle. ……If the results don’t move, you have to 『Choose』 the interpretation that is most necessary at the time. If it’s time to reflect and train in a safe place eventually, but now is not the time to look like you. Don’t you agree?”
“……I agree”
With Dianne’s gentle admonishing words, Anzeros regains her footing. I think that Dianne-san is an elder person in this area after all. The weight of her two hundred years of life experience made her way of thinking persuasive.
“Corti, what do you think? Do you have any idea where they might be?”
I call out to Corti, who is flying a little further ahead of me, just to change the subject. It’s a long way away, but with the dragon’s hearing, there’s no problem, and illusions can be sent this way.
“Maybe they don’t intend to run any further. I have a feeling it’s getting closer”
“On the other hand, your presence is also sensed? Maybe they don’t realize that you’re cooperating with us?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think my sister and Shario are that optimistic”
Dianne-san ponders as she faces Chibi Corti (which is normally life-sized, unlike the ones used by Laila and Maia) that flew in front of us.
“Because of their antipathy, they didn’t dare inform Rainer and the others of our approach……are they really expecting too much? Or they might be hiding Rainer in another place and waiting for us, acting alone”
“What do you mean?”
“Whether they intend to listen to us or intercept us, that would be the safest course of action”
How will Leyla come out of it? We approached the place, feeling anxious.
And. At the top of a small rocky hill, which can be seen from a distance, we discover a beautiful silver dragon sitting neatly on its haunches.
“……Corti”
“I know. I will persuade her……stay out of it”
With that, the illusion of Corti vanishes, leaving us in dragon form to descend to the ground.
“Sister”
“I’m so glad you’re okay. I am relieved”
“……I wouldn’t be surprised if they killed me at any time. But my sister is still different”
“I know. ……So, that’s what you came here to talk about”
“That’s right. Sister, you have the dragon rider over there to thank for that. Stop fighting while you still can. You said you don’t know Rainer-sama”
“No”
Leyla repelled Corti’s persuasion.
“You know as well as I do. You know that a contract of power is not something you can break just because the Lord is wrong or not what you thought he was”
“But!”
“And you know, Corti. ……I certainly didn’t understand Rainer-sama. But I understand him now”
“……What do you mean?”
Those of us who were listening would think that Rainer had used some kind of suspicious drug or artifice to control Leyla. But Leyla’s voice was calm.
“It was mediocre, man. We just couldn’t see it right the whole time
“Older sister……”
“Although he was strong as a person, his words were brave and he was carrying a heavy burden, he was simply dreaming of happiness. He did not bow down to the customs of a society of faded people and spent time with Shario and us. I was trying to find happiness without being interfered with by anyone. ……My ideas and desires were ordinary. There was no need to look deeply into what I was thinking. I grew up in a country with nothing. There was no way that humans could have such deep and big ideas that were beyond the imagination of dragons. ……We made a contract with such a person and just assumed that he was a great person. That’s all”
“Then that’s fine! If older sister found out that was the case……!”
“But we took an oath. We would help such people”
……A moment of silence passes. A few moments of silence, as they both choose their next words and say them to each other, knowing that if they don’t choose them, they will hurt themselves.
“We both know that people change. We know that unwavering will is a temporary thing, that people change into different beings, even in time, which for us cannot even grow old. Still, we make a covenant of power”
“……Yeah. Older sister once set up a question and answer with the elder about it”
“The elder said to me then, 『If you want to be a martyr to something that will never change, you don’t need a rider. You can make eternal laws and enforce them without hesitation. If we only need to be part of the mechanism of the natural order』. ……He couldn’t tell me any more than that and you were nodding your head too”
“……Yeah”
“Now I understand. What doesn’t change doesn’t need power.They don’t need values. We don’t want to protect eternity like that. Even if it changes, even if it goes wrong, we dragons are there to stand by it, to change the cold fate that will not allow mistakes to be made. We are there to protect what comes after”
Leyla slowly looks up at the stagnant Laila and the others……that is, us, who are hovering in the air.
“Just as he changed his destiny, so will I change my destiny of destruction. Even if law and order deny the Master, I know that he will change even from there. For someday. The dragon vows eternity. We will be together as the world’s last ally”
“But, older sister, then……!”
Leyla spreads her wings.
“That’s my answer”
She tells Corti and flies up.
“I can’t go with you guys!”
Leyla approaches. Laila turns to face it and growls low.
“Dianne. ……I’ll leave you two in charge”
“Okay”
Before Dianne can finish her reply, I, Anzeros and Dianne are thrown into the air. Maia then follows us as we fall and while we are picked up, we watch as Laila and Leyla, the black and silver dragon with similar names, collide in mid-air. Laila roars in a low voice and Leyla charges in with a high-pitched cry. The serious battle between the two dragons was majestic, fierce……and fantastic. The two dragons are very different in terms of their power.
The first one to fall to the ground, covered in blood, was Leyla.
“Sister! Sister, that’s enough!!”
Corti, now in human form, clung to Leyla, who was lying on her side with her huge, battered, silver body. Leyla, however, does not become a human body, but lets her huge body still get up. By all accounts, Leyla did not stand a chance. It was obvious. The two fighters repeatedly wounded each other in the air with their claws and fangs and continued to heal each other with their spirits. However, Leiya clearly suffered more deep wounds than the other, showing Laila’s high level of attack power and combat skills.
“In a one-on-one fight, I am no match for anyone. Even among the black dragons, the strongest of the fire dragons, no one has ever been able to defeat me”
“……”I have nothing to say but what I say……”
“My master does not wish me to kill you”
Laila says this, but Leyla ignores her. With neither her epidermis nor her wings able to heal, she covers only her deep arms as if to mend her appearance and then try to head towards Laila again. Unable to resist, Corti transformed into a dragon and grabbed her from behind.
“Stop it! Stop it, sister! It’s enough for me and Shario to risk our lives for this nonsense!”
“……Let go, Corti. ……I’m good enough for this. For the first time……I’m fighting for that one…….”
“Sister!”
The sisters are spectacular. Each of them prepared to die in a different way and they are here for Rainer who is not……here, no. Think carefully. Shario’s dependable leg has a broken wing, so there’s no way he can escape. If that’s the case, while Leyla is acting up like this, she’s making plans to revive herself……?
“Is Rainer nearby?”
“Yes”
Dianne nodded, moving her ears.
“As long as he’s not surrounded, he still has the offensive power to mow down any opponent. He’s probably going to aim for me or you in an instant
“……Can’t detect it?”
“I’m looking for him……but as far as I can tell right now……!”
Dianne looked at the sky.
“That’s it……guys, it’s up there!!”
Against the sun, something is falling. A dragon with folded wings. It was Shario. It should have been broken.
“A dragon slayer’s wounds should never heal”
“Did you break the wing firmly?”
“……Human body, I just hit it on the back”
“Then maybe it was shallow”
“……Does that mean she’s been hiding it this far!?”
I’m such an idiot……If I think about it, I wonder if it’s possible to use illusions to make it seem like she’s seriously injured. They got me. No. But now.
“Everyone, intercept!”
With the exception of Laila, Lado, Maia and Broll-san, all three of them responded to Dianne’s words and ran up into the sky. But Shario, with a swing of her paw, sent them flying in all three directions.
“No way!?”
I am astonished. It was such a ridiculously strong dragon!? ……No, if that were the case, the game would have been won in the detached palace first.
“It’s the bracelet”
“Neia! She’s a dragon!”
“It must be worn on the human body”
“……You can’t do that”
“Instead, Smithson-san, please stay hidden”
As soon as Neia said that, a shadow landed with a thud behind her. It was Rainer Exeliza.
“Neia Grans. ……Let’s play one last game”
“Shall we?”
Neia takes her hat and hands it to me. I went behind her, protected by Dianne.
“Anzeros, Aurora! Becker and Kingfisher, cover Neia!”
“No need”
Neia refuses to help.
“You go and fight with Shario. I’ll take down Rainer”
“Neia!”
“Don’t worry”
“You think you can defeat me by yourself because I don’t have the bracelet?”
“Of course I can. ……Flash sword”
“Umm”
The flash sword in Neia’s hand, the rainbow-colored light runs. ……Hey, no way. Is she planning on using something like that in a PvP battle?
“Neia, you”
“Rainer. Let’s hear it for the last time”
She lifts her sword straight up in her right hand and thrusts it at him.
“Are you still a hero?”
“It’s a worthless question”
“I see. I am relieved. ……I’m not going to bother to state the law for the sake of judgment”
“What?”
Neia chuckles.
“Just a duel. That’s fine”
“Kukuku……I see. I’m tired of trying to come up with detailed theories”
Rainer said so, carrying Shario behind his back and drawing his sword.
“I don’t like all of you. That’s enough!”
I don’t know about Rainer. As for Neia……the Flash Sword can make even Shario disappear from the spot, regardless of her maximized strength.