Akatsuki Translations

“Jain-san!!” exclaimed Rabin.

Rabin and the White Serpent mages, who had been waiting on the upper floor nearby, witnessed their leader tumbling down and collapsing.

Rabin rushed over and saw the grotesque tentacle piercing through Jain’s leg.

“What the hell is this–!” Rabin started.

“Don’t touch it with yer bare hands!!!” Jain warned, stopping Rabin from trying to pull it out. Despite his pale face, Jain glared fiercely at the writhing tentacle in his leg.

【”…Z”】

“It’s still… alive,” Jain muttered.

“–I see?”

Rabin’s movements were swift upon hearing this. She drew her knife, slammed it into the exposed tip of the tentacle, and twisted it to pull the tentacle out of Jain’s leg.

“Gaaaahh!!?” Jain cried out in pain.

“Healing magic!!!” Rabin commanded.

The mages moved instantly at Rabin’s order. Rabin glared at the tentacle, which continued to writhe even after being stabbed with the knife, and was still trying to attack her.

“This is disgusting,” Rabin said, throwing the knife. From the knife stuck in the ground, the tentacle continued to squirm and take shape. A lizard-like form. White wings soaring through the air. And most notably, a giant magic eye attached to its head–

“I won’t let you,” Rabin declared.

『Z』

Before the magic eye could open wide, Rabin had already drawn another knife, thrown it, and embedded it in the eyeball. Simultaneously, the mages incinerated it with fire magic. Only after all this did the tentacle finally burn, cease moving, and disappear into dust.

Seeing this disposal, Jain let out a sigh.

“Yer so reckless…” Jain muttered.

“But I saved you, right?” Rabin replied.

“Thanks, ya bastard,” Jain said.

Jain leaped on his healed leg, wincing slightly. While healing magic can restore simple wounds completely, more complex injuries are harder to heal fully. The White Serpent mages were first-class and, of course, had mastered advanced healing techniques.

The fact that it hadn’t healed completely was because the black tentacle had utterly destroyed Jain’s leg. If left unchecked, it would have gouged out and destroyed the leg itself. Rabin’s decision to forcibly remove it, even if roughly, had been correct.

“So, what the hell was that thing anyway?” Rabin asked.

“It grew from the ground. Probably the ‘root’ of the Dragon of Sloth,” Jain replied.

Rabin and the other members of the White Serpent widened their eyes. They all understood the implications of Jain’s words.

“That damn dragon didn’t just stop moving after it fell. It spread its roots to Uuga from underground,” Jain explained.

                    ◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

Eckstein of the Envy Knights frowned as he heard the report through the communication magic.

“…That’s troublesome,” he muttered.

“Captain!!” one of his subordinates screamed.

Eckstein understood the reason. Black, tentacle-like roots were squirming and rising from the ground.

“All personnel, get to higher ground immediately–“

Eckstein was breaking out in a cold sweat at the sight, but he remained calm. The movement of the “dragon roots” was slow. They were rising gradually, creeping up bit by bit. While it was unclear what would happen if one got too close, keeping a distance seemed manageable.

That’s what Eckstein thought. He quickly realized how complacent that idea was.

『…z』

The roots squirmed and then formed into round clumps.

The moment he saw this, Eckstein felt his spine freeze. He instantly understood what was about to happen.

“Hurry!!!!” Eckstein shouted.

As he yelled, the round clumps split vertically. From within, giant eyeballs appeared. They were magic eyes, glowing with magical power. Numerous eyes lined up.

“【Lightning!】”

As the magic eyes began to shine, Eckstein unleashed lightning. Several of the magic eyes were burned away. But not all of them. As the glow of the remaining magic eyes intensified, the area around Eckstein distorted and then expanded with heat.

“Vice Captain!!!” a subordinate cried out.

“Tch!!!” Eckstein clicked his tongue.

Eckstein leaped just as the surrounding area exploded. Clutching his scorched body, he rushed to the upper floors.

“Vice Captain!! Are you alright?!” his subordinates, who had been waiting above, called out. They were also burned here and there, though not as severely as Eckstein.

Regretting that the evacuation order had been slightly late, Eckstein tried to reply that he was fine, but noticed his tongue wouldn’t move properly.

“To think it even had the 【Slumber】 magic eye, this is the worst…” he muttered.

Shaking his head as if to clear away the drowsiness, Eckstein rushed up to the higher floors. Along the way, he tried closing doors to slow down the pursuit, but it seemed futile. The roots were crawling out from everywhere, chasing after him. It was like fighting a slime. Eckstein gave up and continued running upwards.

As he ran, he caught a glimpse of the scenery outside.

“Gh-” An odd cry escaped Eckstein’s throat as he saw it.

『Z』

The scene outside was nothing short of hell.

Centered on the hybrid dragon, those black roots had begun to writhe. The once-pleasant hall that would have been brightly lit by sunlight on a clear day had transformed into a mass of darkness squirming in the night. Among the writhing darkness and black roots, what reflected the glow of magical lights were probably magic eyes.

“And they said it wasn’t aggressive… Is this…!?”

Recalling the Hero’s explanation, Eckstein’s face contorted. According to her, the Sloth Dragon was supposed to be the least murderous among the dragons. Of course, he understood this wasn’t the pure Sloth Dragon, but still, this was too much.

Or perhaps this was still considered “less aggressive” compared to the others?

Either way, it was beyond their ability to handle now.

“…Time to retreat, huh?”

Eckstein lightly scratched the Envy Knights’ emblem on his armor. He didn’t have any particular attachment to the emblem itself, but he bore the position that allowed him to wear it. And his duty now was not here.

                    ◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

Dragon-Devoured Uuga, Southeast of the Hybrid Dragon’s fall point – Observation Deck

“K-Kalkara-sama!!” the “Wind Girl” cried out in panic.

“Calm down,” Kalkara soothed her.

SHe understood her tension. From their position slightly removed from the battlefield, the two could clearly see the situation. Centered on the hybrid dragon, black roots were writhing and continuously expanding.

Though called roots, they showed no signs of the vitality typical of plant roots. As their dark color suggested, they seemed more like a hollow void simply squirming about.

Such an ominous entity was rising up around the dragon. The Wind Girl’s reaction was actually quite composed in comparison. If Griffin had seen this, he might have fainted.

“You just focus on purifying the air. Don’t think about anything else,” Kalkara instructed.

“B-but…” she started to protest.

“You’re performing a high-level task without any practice. If you don’t concentrate fully, it will fall apart.”

“…Yes,” the girl replied, seemingly convinced by Kalkara’s words. She quietly spread both hands in front of her again and closed her eyes. Instantly, the black mist permeating Uuga’s atmosphere began to disappear around her.

‘Incredible,’ Kalkara thought in silent admiration.

It was only very recently that she had received the blessing of the wind spirit. The power of a spirit’s blessing is strong, allowing one to wield overwhelming power without training. However, training is usually necessary to control that power. No matter how amazing a tool one acquires, it’s natural that nothing can be done without learning how to use it properly.

She had mastered it in just a few days. There was no doubt about her innate talent.

However, even with her power, there were things that couldn’t be helped.

“…It’s far more vicious than we expected…” Kalkara muttered quietly so the Wind Girl couldn’t hear.

The dragon’s encroachment showed no signs of stopping. It was a small mercy that its movement was slow, but if that invasion progressed, it would eventually reach this observation deck some distance away. It would only be a matter of time before it reached the command tower. There were still a few countermeasures against dragons left, but it was uncertain if they would work.

Kalkara instinctively felt that time was running out. If they were to consider retreating, now was the last chance. If they hesitated any longer against this dragon, they would completely lose the opportunity to escape.

This decision would mean life or death. As she was thinking this, a voice rang out from the communication device around her neck.

《Can you hear me, Kalkara-dono? This is the Envy Knights.》

“What is it?” Kalkara responded.

《We recommend retreat. If refused, the Envy Knights will withdraw from the operation.》

‘So it’s come to this,’ Kalkara thought, unsurprised and understanding.

This was something they had agreed upon beforehand. The knights’ cooperation was primarily for their original duty of “inspecting Uuga as a dangerous magical tool,” and their current fight was an extension of that inspection. It had been decided that if the inspection became too difficult or dangerous, they could withdraw.

Therefore, Kalkara felt neither surprise nor anger at these words.

In fact, even from a non-knight perspective, this judgment was correct. They too should withdraw–

《You guys do that. We’ll carry on by ourselves,》 came another transmission, slightly surprising Kalkara. The voice belonged to Jain of the White Serpent.

“You’re still going to continue?” Kalkara asked.

《We haven’t used up all the 【Dragon Slayers】 you lent us yet.》

Jain’s voice sounded calm. He hadn’t lost his mind. But to Kalkara, this response was quite unexpected.

“I thought you’d be the first to suggest a retreat,” Kalkara remarked.

During the 【Uuga Incident】, Jain had been the first to bail out. He had focused solely on stable monster hunting within Uuga and refused to take any risks until Ur dragged him into it. Frankly, this was unexpected.

《We can still see a chance of victory. Besides,》 Jain replied.

“Besides?” Kalkara prompted.

《There are times when you’ve got to go all in, not just keep backing down.》

Kalkara understood the meaning behind those words.

While Jain had likely come to this conclusion based on his own assessment of the situation, Kalkara herself strongly felt that this moment was indeed the time to “go all in.”

Unlike the Envy Knights, they had no line of retreat left. Escaping would mean abandoning Uuga itself. Although Gradol had agreed to participate in the 【Sun Devouring Ceremony】, if they lost it entirely, there would be no convenient scenario where they could escape responsibility.

Fleeing now might save their lives. But that would be all. It would be the bare minimum.

It would take them far from the place where they sought Echelle’s happiness.

“Then, we’ll support the White Serpent. Is that alright?” Kalkara asked the Wind Girl about remaining in this dangerous situation. She nodded firmly.

“It’s fine. I understand,” she replied.

Kalkara sensed the resolve in her words. She was an exceptionally perceptive child for her age, clearly understanding how she had ended up here and what would happen if they lost this place.

《…The Envy Knights will standby at a distance. Contact us if you need assistance escaping.》

“You don’t need to leave Uuga completely?” Kalkara asked.

《Neither I nor my subordinates are so cold-hearted as to immediately abandon you all, even if this is just a job. We owe you for treating us well during this short time, even though we could be considered enemies.》

With that, the communication ended.

Kalkara sighed. The situation was dire, but not hopeless. It was far too early to give up everything. To be honest, she was sick and tired of giving up, running away, and living passively.

Therefore, she clearly declared what they should do next.

“Well then, let’s slay a dragon.”