Akatsuki Translations

On the outer perimeter of the Sky Garden, Ur was screaming, his voice filled with panic.

“Waaaaaaahhhh!!??” he yelled, his eyes wide with fear.

『Nuuaaaa!!! It’s hell, it’s hell!!!』 echoed Rock’s voice

Explosions were occurring in rapid succession around them without any warning. A storm of destruction with unpredictable range, power, and timing was unleashing heat and flames one after another. Ur and his companions, racing in the Rock ‘n’ Roll chariot, were right in the middle of this hellish storm.

『GYAAAA!?』

『OOOOOOOOOO!!!』

『KIAAAAAAAAAAA!!!』

Naturally, these explosions were also engulfing the numerous monsters flying about. It was truly indiscriminate. However, there was absolutely no reason to rejoice. Being targeted and attacked by monsters would have been far more predictable.

These continuous explosions had no pattern whatsoever. And the cause was crystal clear.

『AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!』

It was the “Hybrid Dragon” rampaging in the sky above.

Having literally received an iron fist sanction from the 【Divine Hand】 created by the Wise Heavenly King, the dragon that had stubbornly survived was now thrashing about chaotically in the sky. As a result, the magical eyes possessed by the dragon were firing indiscriminately. Both monsters and Ur’s group were getting caught in the crossfire.

“Anyway, let’s get away from here!!” Ur shouted

『I’m trying——— Ngh!!?』 Rock responded

“Whoa!?” Ur exclaimed

As they hurried to return to the inner part of the central barrier, a sudden impact shook the chariot. Thinking a monster had fallen from above, Ur hastily checked the situation outside. Then, his eyes widened in shock.

“Ikaza-san!?” Ur gasped

“Sorry, let me ride with you,” Ikaza said as she landed on the chariot, cradling an unconscious Begude in her arms.

“…”

His complexion was terribly poor. His right arm was badly burned. Though recovery potions had been applied, he still seemed to be writhing in pain, unable to shake it off.

“He exposed himself to the dragon’s magical eyes to forcibly buy us time. He’s likely been cursed as well. Recovery potions aren’t enough. Can we return quickly?” Ikaza asked

“Rock, hurry! Shizuku! Treat Begude!!” Ur commanded

“Leave it to me!” Shizuku responded

『Of course! I’ll go full speed!!!』 Rock shouted

Rock started moving again. As if switching places with Begude, Ur went outside to clear the way of monsters. However, the driving was rough to avoid the burning, falling monsters, and it was all he could do just to hold on and not fall off.

“Don’t push yourself too hard. If you can fit, stay inside,” Ikaza said.

In contrast, Ikaza stood firm atop the wildly shaking chariot. Her stance was far more stable than Ur’s, who should have been accustomed to the ride. He was tempted to lean on her reassuring presence, but—

“…I… can’t… do… that…!” Ur grunted.

Doing so would compromise his dignity as the chariot’s owner. While desperately clinging on, Ur swung his dragonfang spear at approaching monsters. No matter how unsightly it might look, he had to do what he could.

Seeing Ur’s efforts, Ikaza smiled slightly, continuing to mow down monsters alongside him, releasing lightning-like flashes from her sword. And so, the Rock ‘n’ Roll continued its retreat.

『KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA』

However, even during this time, the dragon continued to rampage, letting out an eerie laugh. Despite having just taken a literal iron fist punishment head-on, it still showed no signs of dying.

“So damn noisy!!! After being hit by such a huge fist…!” Ur shouted.

“The King is concentrating most of his power on supporting Proudia. Even sparing power for the black dragon must have been pushing it,” Ikaza explained, as if reading Ur’s mind. She, too, was glaring at the black dragon that had kidnapped Sua with disdain.

“He’s still managing to hold the black dragon back somewhat, but we can’t keep burdening him like this. We need to do something quickly…” she added.

“Can’t Sua-sama escape on her own?” Ur asked.

From what they could see, 【Heavenly Prayer】 had been swallowed whole by the black dragon. At the very least, she hadn’t been chewed up and killed. If so, it seemed like she might be able to do something if she struggled inside, but Ikaza shook her head.

“If she could, she would have done so by now. Rather, it might be better to think that it’s because she’s still resisting that the dragon’s rampage has been limited to this extent,” Ikaza replied.

“To this extent… you mean this?” Ur said, his face tightening as he looked at the hellish battlefield where explosions were scattering everywhere. But if that was the case, they needed to retrieve Sua all the more urgently. Before the dragon could digest her in its stomach.

“Ur, can you use Uuga?” Ikaza asked.

“I’ve been trying to contact it since earlier, but…” Ur trailed off.

He had been attempting to contact Uuga multiple times since the dragon’s appearance. But there was no response. While there was a possibility that the communication magic itself wasn’t working properly due to the large number of monsters and magical disturbances, it was more likely that some problem had occurred on their end.

“The headquarters is probably preparing other countermeasures besides Uuga. But the more options we have, the better. Please try to get in touch with them,” Ikaza requested.

“Understood…” Ur nodded, glaring at his adventurer’s ring.

“I hope they are alright over there…” he muttered.

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Dragon-Devoured Uuga Command Tower Rooftop

“…This is… too bad…!!” Jain gritted out.

The Dragon-Devoured Uuga was in an even more critical crisis than Ur had worried about.

Jain was on his knees, gritting his teeth. The 【White Serpent】 around him were in a similar state. His right-hand woman, Rabin, was lying face-down on the ground.

Looking around, the members of the Envy Knight Order and the priest apprentices led by Kalkara were in the same condition. However, neither they nor Jain’s group were injured or wounded.

“……………Zzz………mnya……”

Hearing the surprisingly comfortable snoring coming from Rabin next to him, Jain felt like he was about to snap. But even if he wanted to get angry, his body wouldn’t move properly.

The members of Dragon-Devoured Uuga were all assaulted by an overwhelming “drowsiness.”

It was indeed midnight, a time when they would normally be asleep. It would be a lie to say they didn’t feel a bit sleepy. But this drowsiness was clearly abnormal. Despite monsters still attacking and aiming for their lives, they hadn’t exerted themselves enough to fall into such a deep sleep!!

『GIAAAAAAAAAA!!』

“D-damn it!!!”

Jain smashed the monsters targeting the sleeping Rabin. But his aim was beginning to waver. If he wasn’t careful, he might have smashed Rabin’s head instead of the monsters.

The barrier surrounding Jain’s group had completely sealed the entrance the moment this abnormal situation began. They had agreed to prioritize defense regardless of magic consumption in such crises.

“Ugh… uah…”

However, that barrier was starting to weaken. The casters were also being assaulted by this terrible drowsiness. The barrier, maintained and constructed by multiple people, was now barely being sustained by just one person. Everyone else had collapsed.

Why had it become such a scene of carnage? The cause was clear.

“…Damn it… that’s cheating… that dragon…!!” Jain cursed, looking up at the sky.

Something was crawling out from a hole in Uuga’s barrier.

『………Z………E…….』

The huge white wings on its back made it undoubtedly one of Proudia’s underling dragons. But its body was far from the appearance of an infant. It was an ugly, enormous blackish-blue mass of flesh. Parts of its flesh seemed to be rotting away, its face was festering, with neither eyes nor nose visible. If not for the wings, one might have thought it was some subspecies of a slime.

And on the belly—or rather, the lower part—of this giant mass of flesh, there was a “huge eyeball” attached. Its pupil was glowing, illuminating Jain and the others.

“A combination of the Magical Eye of Greed and Sloth’s Slumber?!! This is the worst…!!!” Jain shouted at the evil combo of the wicked Hybrid Dragon.

But of course, shouting wouldn’t make such a being relent. The drowsiness was progressing rapidly. At this rate, they would certainly be annihilated.

If everyone fell asleep, it would be no different from everyone dying.

“Damn it!! Lynne!! Can’t you activate the “formation”?! Lynne!!”

Jain, throwing away his pride, called for help from inside the command tower.

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【Dragon-Devoured Uuga】 Command Room

《Lynne…!! …The formation…!!》

“…Ugh… ngh…” Echelle groaned.

Of course, Echelle and the others inside the command tower were not unaffected either.

Even in the command tower’s interior, where defenses were strongest to protect Echelle, the key figure, the workers had collapsed. Every single person – Echelle, Lynne, the 【White Serpent】 mages, and the warrior guards – all of them without exception.

This was their condition despite not being directly exposed to the underling dragon’s magical eye.

The cause was clear. The command room had somehow become filled with a very faint, pale black gas. By the time they realized it was emitted by the underling dragon, it was too late. Everyone had been assaulted by drowsiness, unable to move.

“We have to… do something…!” Echelle muttered.

One of the dangerous attacks dragons could unleash on the battlefield, as Diz had informed them before this battle began. 【Sloth’s Death Smoke】. Because they knew about it, they should have been well-prepared.

But mocking those preparations, a single dragon had brought Uuga to the brink of annihilation.

“It’s… alright… I’m wearing lots of… anti-magic pendants… I’m still… okay…” Echelle said desperately, trying to put the situation into words while fighting the drowsiness. But even so, her consciousness was gradually becoming hazy. If she let her guard down for even a moment, she’d be carried away by sleep.

From what she could hear through the communication, the situation on the rooftop seemed to be the same. If everyone on the rooftop, the key to withstanding the monster attacks, fell asleep, Uuga would truly be annihilated.

“Somehow, somehow…! Lynne!!” Echelle called out.

After hearing about the dangers of the dragons beforehand, they had prepared countermeasures for emergencies. If it was Lynne, there was still a possibility she could do something.

But the problem was…

“………..”

“Please, Lynne, wake up!!”

Lynne had already fallen.

She had worked the hardest during the preparation stage. No matter how much she had boosted herself with enhancement potions, she had accumulated the most fatigue. She could endure pain, but she couldn’t resist her body’s desire to rest.

But even if Lynne were in perfect condition, this would be impossible. In fact, only a handful of people in the command tower were still able to sit up. Echelle, too, was at her limit.

“Somehow… Lynne… That’s right… Ur…”

In the midst of her hazy thoughts, just one step short of her limit, Echelle remembered Ur’s words. The words that would pour gasoline on the fire within Lynne’s soul, a forbidden phrase that would surely set the surroundings ablaze if carelessly uttered, that was—

“The White King Formation… isn’t that great… after all!!!”

“Wha’dya say, YOU FUCKING BASTAAAAAAAARD!!!!!!!!” Lynne roared, suddenly awake and slamming her staff on the ground.

“【OPEN: FLOOD OF SINS!!!】”

The White King Formation drawn across the area activated, and surging water engulfed the command tower.