Akatsuki Translations

A powerful flame struck the great dragon tree right before Jain’s eyes as he took refuge on the rooftop.

It was a white flame. The moment Jain thought he saw light from the command tower, the flame hit sideways. When the terrifying flame bullet struck the massive tree that had appeared on Uuga with its horrifying roots, it bent with a tremendous explosion. The impact sent Jain and the others watching nearby flying.

“Whoaaa!?” Jain exclaimed.

Even though he had braced himself and lowered his posture, the impact was still incredible, causing Jain to roll. If there hadn’t been a makeshift fence behind him, he would have kept rolling indefinitely.

“Damn, that hurts!” Jain cursed. “But that’s great, ya bastard!!” he added, praising the attack.

Alternating between curses and praise, Jain raised his head again to check the state of the hybrid dragon. The great tree, now enveloped in pure white flames, was swaying unsteadily. Unless the intense heat was distorting his vision, the tree had undoubtedly taken significant damage.

The glow at its center flickered as if screaming. Furthermore,

『Z』

Jain felt the mass of black roots that had been pursuing him from below stop chasing and retreat. He understood what this meant.

“It’s trying to protect itself!! Fire away!!!” Jain shouted.

Simultaneously, the 【Dragon Slayer】 began firing from the rooftop. Even without detailed instructions, all of Jain’s subordinates understood. They knew this was the crucial moment. They loaded the cursed spears they had been saving and fired immediately.

『Z』

More giant spears pierced the tree, which was still being consumed by white flames. The swaying intensified. In place of the quiet dragon, the glow at what seemed to be its vital point became increasingly intense and irregular.

And then,

『Z』

“It’s falling—” Jain observed.

The dragon tree fell. It tilted diagonally, partially buried in the rubble Kalkara had created. Though not completely fallen, it was undoubtedly unable to support itself.

However, it wasn’t dead. The glow still persisted. Jain could see a massive number of roots trying to gather around the tree again.

The Crucial Moment

Jain shouted towards his adventurer’s ring.

“The spears!!” he yelled.

《We’ve used them all up!!》 came the reply.

“The White King Formation!!” Jain demanded.

《We’re recharging magic from Uuga, but it takes time! We need at least 10 more minutes!》

Ten minutes—the ability to unleash such destructive power in just ten minutes was astounding, but in this situation, it was far too long. There was no way the dragon would sit quietly in place for ten minutes. If all those black roots were used for defense, they’d have no means to deal with it!

“Kalkara!! Can you make a bridge from where I am to the dragon?!” Jain called out.

《Huh…!? Well, I can, but the dragon’s roots are writhing below! It’ll collapse immediately!》

“It’s fine as long as you can maintain it until I reach it!! Quickly—”

Before Jain could finish, something suddenly grazed his cheek. He couldn’t avoid it. It was mere chance. However, that something extended far enough to shatter the fence behind Jain.

He thought it might be an arrow, but it wasn’t. It was a black root. A thorn-like root from the great dragon tree had reached all the way to where Jain was, despite the considerable distance.

“…!!”

Jain acknowledged the fact that he had narrowly escaped death, felt relief, and then immediately shook off that relief. He wasn’t safe yet. The root that had just tried to pierce his skull was still there. And if the root was there, it meant—

『z』

“Damn it!!” Jain cursed.

A magic eye appeared on the spot. Jain swung down his axe, cutting through the root. But this would only buy him time!

Jain pulled out one of the 【Dragon Slayer】 spears he had been saving from the turret beside him.

“Rabin!! Be careful!!” he shouted.

《It’s oka—but—two of—!!》 The response came fragmented.

“Damn it!! Kalkara!! Do it now!!! Right now!!”

There was no time for ten minutes. Understanding this, Jain leaped from the rooftop. He sensed the presence of magic eyes behind him. A strong drowsiness shook his head. There was no time.

《Don’t do anything reckless!!!》

Jain was aware that he was asking for something quite unreasonable from someone he had barely practiced or experienced coordinating with. But where he jumped, a thin, seemingly fragile stone bridge had formed. Jain landed on it and started running.

『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』『z』

The mass of black roots beneath his feet began to writhe. All of them were trying to create magic eyes. Jain kicked off the ground even harder. The bridge he kicked crumbled and collapsed immediately. There was no way back. He knew that. That’s why Jain kicked off the ground without hesitation.

Don’t hesitate. Don’t get scared. The moment his legs froze, he would truly die.

“Uoooooooooooooh!!!!” Jain roared.

He jumped again. Aiming the 【Dragon Slayer】 at the fallen dragon tree, he descended. Concentrating all his weight and muscle power into the tip of the spear, he thrust it forward.

With a squelch, the spear pierced into the black roots. Jain felt the black roots dissolve the moment they touched the cursed tip. The flickering light increased its brilliance, like an even more piercing scream.

『Z——————』

Jain gripped the spear that had pierced through. Several black roots from the tree he landed on pierced his legs, but Jain ignored them. Rather, using his body now fixed in place, Jain twisted, dug into the deeply embedded great spear, and swung it out.

“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!” he yelled.

『Z             Z    Z』

From where the cursed great spear had torn through, something like blood gushed up. A death cry-like scream could be heard. But Jain didn’t let his guard down, nor did he let go of the 【Dragon Slayer】.

He continued to slash until he reached his limit. With that resolve, he raised the spear again—

『                    Z                        』

—and noticed an enlarged magic eye suddenly appear right in front of him.

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Command Room: Briefing Over Dragon

The 【Hero】 who had declared that dragons could be killed, however, shook her head.

“But killing should truly be the last resort. If there’s a way to escape, there’s no doubt we should run,” she said.

“So we really can’t win against dragons after all?” Jain asked, furrowing his brow.

He fully understood the threat of dragons. He also accepted that it was too terrifying to face them without knowledge, and that it would be difficult to fight without the cooperation of the Hero and access to weapons.

However, Jain and his companions now correctly recognized the dragon threat and had taken measures against it. They had arrangements to protect themselves with various magical items and had thoroughly solidified their countermeasures.

Whether they could win or not was uncertain. But it wasn’t impossible to resist.

That was Jain’s current perception. He was confident that this assessment was neither optimistic nor pessimistic. It was a sense derived from years of accumulated experience as an adventurer.

“What you’re saying is correct,” the Hero continued. “Indeed, with this level of force and preparation, we probably won’t be helplessly defeated. To begin with, Proudia’s goal is the 【Wise Heavenly King】. They likely won’t send a single strong dragon here on a detour.”

“But you know,” the Hero continued, looking at Jain. Her golden eyes pierced through Jain.

“Dragons are scary. They’re truly terrifying.”

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Suddenly, Jain understood the meaning of the Hero’s words from the bottom of his heart. But either way, it was too late.

“——Fuck.”

Immediately after, Jain’s consciousness was blown away in the face of the massive explosion created by the magic eye.