Calamity of the Dragon (2)
The princess's words slowed as her breath beca shorter.
The difference was minimal, almost negligible, but even that slight change opened up a path.
For the past ten days, Clay had trained to close this very distance.
The countless techniques he'd perford against Tedric, dozens, hundreds of tis, were all for this mont.
Using the footwork included in the Hidden Star Sword's 3rd technique, he could instantly close a distance of about six ters.
That was exactly the distance between Clay and the princess right now.
'Hidden Star Sword, Second Half, Third Technique - teor.'
He raised his sword, gripped in his right hand, horizontally and high.
This was more of a thrusting motion than a swinging one.
Piiiiiing!
Like an arrow tearing through the wind, his form shot out at her. Faster than a voice could form words.
Just as the technique's na implied, he flew like a teor and struck the dragon's horn.
Ka-ga-ga-gang!
"Khk?!"
As horn and sword collided, crimson sparks erupted.
An attack that Clay had thought would pierce right through only succeeded in making a long gash.
'Too shallow!'
Even though the sword was imbued with magic power, the dragon's horn didn't break. It only left a rough scratch, and that was all.
But that didn't an there was no gain.
Now, one thing had beco certain.
'The horn is definitely weaker than the rest!'
So far, the princess's body hadn't suffered a single wound despite countless attacks from the soldiers.
Neither arrows nor the mages' spells left so much as a mark on her skin.
Yet Clay's sword strike had left a clear wound on the princess's horn.
"Aaaargh!"
Crack!
Seized by pain for the first ti, the princess's arm lashed out and struck Clay's body.
He reflexively threw himself backward, but that alone wasn't enough to fully lessen the impact.
"Ghah!"
Contrary to her delicate appearance, the princess's physical strength was trendous.
It was like being hit by a giant stone pillar.
"Ghah! Khak, khak!"
It was only after flying several ters and rolling across the snowy field that Clay finally managed to stop himself.
Each breath brought stabbing pain to his lungs.
It wasn't just painful—it was to the extent he wondered if he might die right there.
'... Still, I got lucky.'
He managed a small sigh of relief at the feeling against his back.
If he hadn't caught himself on a tree trunk, he might have rolled down to the foot of the mountain range.
'I think I've cracked a few ribs.'
He struggled to stand, but he couldn't breathe properly.
But he hadn't been the only one seriously wounded.
The princess, too, was clutching her horn and screaming in agony.
"Aaaaahh, aaaaaaaah!"
Her golden eyes darted around as her human reason and the dragon's instincts tangled.
This was clearly the mont to strike, but even taking a single step forward was too much for him right now.
'... Hey, you said my sword should be more than enough to break that horn.'
[I did say, "Probably", though.]
Grancesia replied nervously.
True, she had said "probably".
So, in a way, he'd half-expected this disaster.
It was thanks to that precaution that he had reflexively pulled back when the princess's arm swung down.
Otherwise, it wouldn't have just been broken ribs; his spine would've been snapped in two.
'It's almost ti for them to show up...'
Yes, to this extent, he'd predicted what would happen.
He never thought he could defeat a monster that could cause a calamity of the dragon that easily.
That's why Clay had prepared an extra safeguard.
"S-Sir Vanhart! A-are you alright?!"
'They're here!'
Clay, who had been breathing anxiously, finally allowed himself so relief when he heard a voice from behind.
"You... You've arrived."
"What reckless thing did you just do?! You'll get yourself killed like this!"
Before launching himself at the princess, Clay had made one request to the Priest Michelle.
To co down here as soon as the princess's Dragon Tongue ceased.
'Heroes that fight beside the protagonist really are built different.'
Despite a monster that could literally turn a person into paste right nearby, Michelle had bravely co. He wasn't just any ordinary person.
Well, he was soone who'd received divine revelation and possessed the saint's relic, so maybe he hadn't had much choice.
Either way, none of that mattered now.
"I'll begin treatnt imdiately."
Clay had already received Michelle's healing once before, but her skill was indeed leagues above any typical priest.
His broken bones instantly realigned and fused, and every minor wound closed in an instant.
"You were still standing with those injuries?"
"I only could because I believed you would co, priest."
"H-ha... Really... Sir Vanhart, you're sothing else."
As Michelle laughed awkwardly, Clay grinned and gripped his sword firmly.
Though his wounds had healed, it wasn't over yet.
"Ugh... Uuugh..."
Golden eyes glowing bright were fixed on Clay.
The dragon, clutching her wounded horn, let out a groan of pain as she took a step, another step, toward him.
"Priest Michelle, get away as far as you can."
"A-all right."
Michelle quickly nodded and dashed away.
The princess, after all, had no interest in Michelle, so she didn't give chase.
'Please, be safe!'
Climbing quickly up the mountain, Michelle glanced back at Clay.
Even standing before the monster that had just slaughtered hundreds of soldiers, he remained unwavered—the very image of a hero touched by divine revelation.
He had wounded the dragon's horn.
He'd accomplished a feat that countless soldiers and knights had failed to achieve.
"Hey, Grancesia."
Of course, Clay's composure didn't co from confidence in his own strength.
He simply had sothing he could rely on.
[What is it.]
"You made a mistake, didn't you?"
[W-what did I—?]
"I almost died just now because you gave the wrong info, you know?"
As Grancesia had suggested, attacking the horn had nearly cost him his life.
Had Michelle not shown up, he truly might have died.
[... So, what do you want to do about it?]
"The Eye of Shimosha."
The Eye of Shimosha, the saint's relic.
According to the settings, if one received the saint's permission, they could use its 'powerful' ability. It had been ntioned in the Synopsis as well.
To defeat the calamity of the dragon, the Eye of Shimosha was necessary.
"Surely the artifact's power isn't just a branding iron for demonkin, is it?"
[Damn it.]
Grancesia clicked her tongue at Clay's matter-of-fact tone.
It wasn't a rejection, rely a sign of admiration.
'He must be terrified.'
There was no way he wasn't afraid. Yet she found it both impressive and amusing how calmly he analyzed the princess.
[You...]
Just as Grancesia was about to explain the Eye of Shimosha's power, the princess opened her mouth faster.
"────!"
A language more akin to the dragon's than a human's thundered through the mountains.
Invisible waves split the air, warping reality and splintering nearby trees.
Kwa-gwa-gwang!
"Kuh!"
Clay dodged reflexively and barely managed to evade the Dragon Tongue, but his clothes were shredded to ribbons.
Hiding behind a shattered tree trunk, Clay clicked his tongue. There was no way to approach the princess like this.
Even if he'd managed a surprise attack on her horn earlier, the princess's gaze now hunted only for him. Any further ambushes would be nearly impossible.
[You're lucky.]
"What?"
[You're lucky, is what I said.]
Grancesia spoke with a calm tone.
She genuinely marveled at Clay's fortune. Whether it was true luck or a miracle he wrought himself, she couldn't say.
[The Eye of Shimosha holds a powerful ability, just as you said. It was originally one of my abilities.]
The princess advanced toward the tree trunk, opening her mouth.
Each ti, Clay slid his body behind the snow, evading by a hair's breadth, but there were limits. His accumulating wounds soon left his barely healed body sared in blood again.
If this had been an open plain rather than a thickly wooded mountain, he'd have already been nothing but a fleshy pulp.
[You said you want Divine Blood, right? That's not so simple. To obtain Divine Blood, you must beco a demigod.]
Saint, Grancesia Atell.
The reason she was called the strongest and greatest of all saints was simple.
She had reached a realm no other had.
[In the East, they call it the Divine Transformation Realm.]
Her divine body and divine blood ultimately originated from that.
Because she was a priest and a monk, her blood beca the world's most precious elixir.
[Yet you're trying to skip all the necessary steps and take only the Divine Blood. Do you have any idea how absurd that is?]
He didn't know.
He couldn't have known. And right now, he didn't have the ntal capacity to worry about Grancesia's words.
Grancesia gave a dry chuckle at Clay, who was desperately dodging attacks, letting one ear take in what she'd said.
[The artifact's ability is simple. When I was sealed in the ring, I imbued a portion of my power into it.]
A world visible only to those who transcended humanity's boundaries.
An ability that allowed him to see it.
[That's right: my eyes.]
The red jewel on the ring shimred, spreading through Clay's hand.
The crimson divinity crept up his wrist, over his shoulder, past his neck, and finally reached his eyes.
"...!"
Thud!
A shock hamred his head, and he widened his eyes.
His vision shook as the world shifted into monochro.
White and black overlapped, and brilliant colors erupted all around.
But these weren't re 'colors' of objects.
What flowed through the air and over all things was a kind of stream.
'This is...'
That flow touched everything—even Clay and the princess.
It was only then that he realized. This was the stream of the world's governing principles.
[Didn't I say you were lucky?]
Grancesia's words echoed again.
[Right?]
With her laughter trickling through, Clay laughed as well.
His body was battered, and his muscles ached from overusing the footwork of the Third Technique in dodging the Dragon Tongue.
Even so, he could laugh.
"──."
He saw the princess's mouth open, as if in slow motion.
The flow of magic power twisted, and a path cut through the monochro world.
He knew at once: that was Dragon Tongue.
'I can see it.'
That alone was enough.
"...!"
The princess's eyes widened. The Dragon Tongue, as it flew through the air, barely grazed Clay.
It was no different from before: a narrow escape. But this ti the princess instinctively realized it.
That this move had been intentionally induced, unlike every previous ti.
Facing a now-tense princess, Clay flashed a fierce grin.
'If I can see it, then the ravings of a mad monster...'
He had nothing to fear.
Kwahhh! Kwahang!
He dodged the Dragon Tongue as he raced through the mountains.
He moved in a wide circle around the princess, closing the distance little by little.
Even if he could see the attacks, Clay's body couldn't withstand taking on the princess and her Dragon Tongue head-on.
So he made use of the terrain.
High and low ridges, the densely packed trees, he cut through every gap.
"──!"
The princess's Dragon Eyes targeted a location for her Dragon Tongue to strike.
If she couldn't see properly, her accuracy would drop sharply.
Crack!
His overstressed leg joint creaked. His muscles felt like they could snap at any mont.
But the surging adrenaline dulled the pain.
'Eight ters.'
He evaded the color of Dragon Tongue targeting him as he ran along the ridge.
The magic power of the Hidden Star Sword wrapped around his entire body, and a silver blaze began to gather at the sword tip.
'Seven ters.'
He raised his sword, readying the now-familiar technique.
The princess's breathing had grown rough from her repeated use of Dragon Tongue.
'Six ters.'
Kwakwakwa!
Bursting through a gap between the trees, a Dragon Tongue attack grazed his earlobe.
Fragnts from shattered trees blocked his view, but Clay barreled straight through and leapt.
"...!"
His own face was reflected in the princess's golden eyes.
Her open mouth inevitably aid right at him.
'It's the sa.'
Grancesia calculated the speed at which the Dragon Tongue would trigger and the ti it would take Clay's sword to strike the horn.
'They'll both hit at exactly the sa mont.'
Clay would be struck by Dragon Tongue, and his sword would reach the horn.
It was a hastily conjured attack, but at this range, it could kill him.
There was no way that cunning guy wouldn't know that.
So did he have another plan ready?
Thinking that far, Grancesia realized—
'Could it be...'
The final condition needed to obtain Divine Blood.
A single act of 'self-sacrifice for another.'
Clay had never fixated on this last condition.
As if expecting that the ti would co naturally.
'Is that mont now?'
Clay's current appearance was as if he was risking his life to free the princess from her curse.
On the surface, he looked every bit like a hero sacrificing himself for another.
'Yes, that's not wrong. But this is...'
But Grancesia could tell.
This wasn't simply about acquiring Divine Blood.
Clay hadn't charged in thinking only of that goal.
He had known—
That the mont the condition was fulfilled
Would be right now.
The perfect opportunity to defeat the calamity of the dragon.
Kwahhh!
From the sky, a silvery light rained down.
Pure white snow reflected the silver radiance in a blinding flash.
"Ugh!"
To escape that dazzling light, the princess instinctively shut her eyes.
Her Dragon Tongue activated only on locations she could see with her Dragon Eyes.
In other words, if she couldn't see, she couldn't use Dragon Tongue properly.
With her eyes closed, Dragon Tongue was reduced to nothing but re 'language.'
[Plausibility condition fulfilled.]
[Divine Blood added to the settings.]
Slash!
Slicing through the floating lines of text in the air, Clay's sword plunged forward.
Slashing through the blinking mont in ti—
The silver teor severed the dragon's horn.
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