Horn-san took a palm-sized gemstone from his pocket.
He gripped it tightly...
Then crushed it.
Clang! — A high-pitched sound echoed through the air.
"..."
I instinctively braced myself, but nothing happened.
A dud?
While I looked on in confusion, something began to happen...
"...Ah."
The ice encasing the Purgatory Dragon had started to melt.
As if time itself had sped up, the ice melted at an unnatural speed.
Before long, a crack formed with a sharp crack! sound.
It quickly spread throughout, turning the surface into something like glass on the verge of shattering.
"Both of you—it's coming."
Horn-san readied his sword.
Following his lead, Sofia and I also drew our swords.
And then...
CRASH!!!
With an ear-splitting noise, the ice shattered all at once.
"OOOOOOOOOOOAAAAHHHHH!!!!"
Like the cry of a newborn, the Purgatory Dragon let out a deafening roar.
The air trembled violently, and it felt like my ears might give out.
"Grrrrrrr..."
The mightiest of dragons had returned to reign.
It must have felt joy at being released from its seal.
It grinned, showing off rows of sharp fangs.
And yet it must also have felt rage at being sealed away.
Its eyes glowed as it glared furiously at Horn-san.
"This... thing..."
It was a monster beyond imagination.
An overwhelming pressure, like standing before a towering wall.
A sense of impending doom, as if death was staring me in the face.
My breathing faltered, and my mind almost went blank.
But—
"Ngh..."
I bit my lip, using the pain to snap myself back to reality.
I can’t afford to be overwhelmed by its presence.
We have to defeat the Purgatory Dragon here.
Protect Snowlake…
And avenge Licorice’s friend.
Support Horn-san.
As I recalled what we needed to do, courage and strength welled up within me.
“Let’s go!”
“Yes!!”
Horn-san was the first to charge.
The sword prepared for this final battle was massive and long—
like a chunk of iron.
Wielding that sword as if it were part of his own body,
Horn-san brought it crashing down on the Purgatory Dragon’s head.
"Gwah!?"
The Purgatory Dragon flinched...
And in that moment, Sofia charged forward.
"Divine Dragon King Sword Style, First Blade… Mountain Breaker!!!"
Right from the start, she gave it everything she had.
The strike, unleashed through the holy sword Excalibur, tore through the flinching Purgatory Dragon's body.
"Divine Dragon King Sword Style, Second Blade: Gale!!!"
She followed up by slamming another attack into the wound she had just made.
I don’t have the power to cut through the tough scales of a dragon.
But if the wound is already there, I can inflict additional damage.
"GYAAAAAAHHHH!!!"
The Purgatory Dragon screamed in pain.
Its massive body recoiled.
We can do this!
That’s what I thought—but…
Of course, it wouldn’t be that easy.
"GRAAAAAAAHHHH!!!"
The Purgatory Dragon, its eyes burning with fury, unleashed a breath attack.
A direct hit would leave nothing behind—not even bones.
Even grazing it would be fatal.
We gave up on chasing it down and focused entirely on dodging.
I dove to the side with all my might.
"Hot—!!"
Even though I should’ve put a good distance between us, my whole body burned like I’d been doused with boiling water.
What insane power…
At this rate, getting close would be—
"Hrrrgh!!"
"Horn-san!?"
A breath attack? So what.
With that attitude, Horn-san charged in once more.
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