The Order’s Flame (2)
…Divine.
The dragon growled low, its massive form lowering as it coiled its tail. A crimson glow flickered between its teeth.
Behind the dragon, the assembled monsters bared their fangs, each emitting its own menacing cry. The air tightened, and the half-melted valley trembled.
Lucia took a deep breath, watching the scene unfold. Memories of the past few months flashed through her mind.
The dragon legion’s assault from the rift had been relentless.
Since the battle with the Azure Scales, the Order had constructed three new fortresses, making a total of seven. Yet, they fell one by one, every few weeks.
By the time she arrived, all seven fortresses had been destroyed. Only the main stronghold remained.
But the Order held firm, thanks to the divine barrier of the main stronghold.
‘A barrier powered by relics and the ancient magic of the Sandstorm Dynasty,’ she recalled.
Though she didn’t fully understand the intricacies of the barrier, it was said to be similar to the labyrinth city’s defenses.
Regardless, the divine barrier had allowed the stronghold to endure for months.
The real trouble began about two weeks ago, not from within the rift, but beyond the Barrier Mountains.
‘Lady Lucia, all supply routes from beyond the Barrier Mountains have been cut off, including our own provisions. Reports from the gateway fortress have also ceased.’
‘What was the last report from the gateway fortress?’
‘It mentioned a large horde of monsters approaching from beyond the mountains.’
This was a conversation with Edgar Reinhardt, the commander of the Holy Knights.
In short, unknown monsters had isolated the Order from the outside world.
While the stronghold was self-sufficient, being in a vast basin within the Barrier Mountains, the loss of external supplies like seafood and spices was a blow to morale.
‘Can you lead a detachment to investigate the issue?’
‘Yes.’
Lucia immediately led a detachment to the gateway fortress at the mountain’s entrance.
Her mission was to identify and resolve the supply line issue, and if necessary, request reinforcements after reconnaissance.
Even in the worst-case scenario, the need for additional support seemed unlikely.
As a fifth-rank Holy Knight, she could reclaim a fortress overrun by monsters with ease.
Her skills were such that she could handle two or three lesser dragons alone.
’…This won’t be easy.’
But a true dragon was a different matter.
Her eyes, gleaming like white light, calmly assessed the enemy’s strength.
The most threatening was the massive dragon filling the valley.
Behind it, several lesser dragons licked their lips, and hundreds of monsters, including trolls, stood ready.
Even a lesser dragon’s breath was dangerous, and a troll’s punch could crush plate armor.
Assuming she took on the dragon, her remaining forces would have to deal with the lesser dragons and monsters.
‘But it’s not impossible.’
Just as she reached this conclusion, the dragon moved its forepaw.
Boom────!
Before the Holy Knights could react, the massive claw struck where Lucia had been standing.
“Lady Inquisitor!”
The Holy Knights shouted. The dragon smirked, lifting its paw.
[…!]
There was no sign of a crushed knight. Instead, the sound of footsteps echoed along the cliff.
[Slippery…!]
The dragon quickly turned its head. Its vertically slit red eyes caught sight of a slender figure sprinting along the cliff face.
Her steps accelerated as she leapt from crevice to crevice, closing the hundred-meter gap in an instant. Each step left a trail of divine energy glowing white.
[――!]
The dragon’s breath gathered in its maw, but Lucia’s sword was faster.
Slash!
She launched herself diagonally, her sword slicing down. Sparks flew as the holy sword clashed with scales.
Normally, even a holy sword couldn’t easily cut through a true dragon’s scales. But a sword imbued with divine power was different.
[Roar―!]
A long gash marred the dragon’s elongated body. Blood poured from the split scales like a waterfall.
The dragon spread its wings and took flight, shaking the narrow valley like an earthquake.
Its forepaw swung again, but Lucia evaded it with acrobatic grace, leaping from the cliff.
She landed on the dragon’s back, driving her sword into its flesh for stability. She glanced back at her detachment.
“Follow the sharpest blade of the War God!”
“For the divine! Forward!”
“Charge! Charge!”
The Holy Knights and Crusaders charged with their lives on the line. Lucia gritted her teeth.
Crunch!
She swallowed the curse rising to her lips and poured more power into her sword. The divine light pierced through the scales, tearing into the dragon’s flesh.
[――――!]
The dragon’s roar echoed like a spell.
Fireballs formed in the air, targeting Lucia. Flaming arrows rained down, and molten lava poured over her.
Lucia dodged, darting across the dragon’s back. Each move was a death-defying act on the rapidly ascending beast.
Swoosh!
She bent backward, narrowly avoiding a fiery spear, and severed the neck of a fire serpent lunging for her legs.
Ratatatatata!
She barely evaded the barrage of small flames, only to be confronted by fire spirits born from the dragon’s blood.
As she swung her sword at the spirits, the dragon twisted its body. Ignoring the laws of physics, it alternated between diving and climbing.
Rumble…!!
The dragon’s body slammed into the narrow valley walls, sending Lucia airborne.
The dragon shook her off its back and soared into the sky, its maw gaping toward the valley.
[――!]
A short, powerful incantation.
Magic twisted violently within its maw.
Spells rained down, restricting her movement. She couldn’t dodge, suspended in midair.
Below her, the Order’s knights charged at the lesser dragons and monsters in the valley.
If she dodged, they would be engulfed by the dragon’s breath, melting away without resistance.
“Damn it―!”
There was no choice.
She thrust her sword forward, channeling divine power.
Her holy tattoos flared to their maximum, making her body shine like a small star.
The power of the sacred sword, Lerredonatel, guided her. She became a beam of light, shooting toward the dragon’s maw.
Boom─────
The red breath cleaved the sky.
━━━━━━━!
The white beam split the breath in two.
[Kyah…!]
The beam struck the dragon’s chest.
The divine power within the holy sword exploded beneath its scales, turning its heart and innards to mush.
The dragon, momentarily airborne, vomited blood and began to plummet.
Lucia, still embedded in its chest, fell with it as one.
The fall ended quickly.
Crash─!
The dragon’s massive body slammed into the steep ridge of the Barrier Mountains.
It bounced like a skipping stone, then slid down the mountainside like a sled.
Rumble──!!
Rocks ground to dust under its immense weight. The dragon finally stopped after sliding hundreds of meters.
”······.”
Dust rose like mist. Lucia managed to lift her head.
The dragon, its heart burst by divine power, lay motionless. She staggered off its body.
Sizzle…
The smell of burning filled her nose. She didn’t need a mirror to know her body was in shambles.
The lack of pain was likely due to most of her nerves being damaged.
Piercing through the dragon’s breath head-on, it was a miracle she survived at all.
‘If not for the armor Dalen gave me… I’d be a charred corpse.’
Armor made from dragon scales. While her silver armor and even her clothes had melted away, the dragon scale armor remained intact.
”…Oh divine, bring forth the healing winds.”
Grateful for her salvation, she briefly smiled before placing her trembling hand on her head in prayer.
Her holy tattoos glowed, and a refreshing sensation washed over her from head to toe.
A tingling feeling accompanied the formation of scabs and the growth of new skin.
It was a high-level healing prayer, one that only a few in the Holy Order could perform, far surpassing any healing potion.
“···Ugh.”
Overwhelmed by the returning pain, she briefly collapsed, then rose and approached the cliff’s edge.
The dragon’s massive form came to a halt midway up the towering Barrier Mountains. As the dust settled, the view beyond the mountains surrounding the Holy Knights came into sharp focus.
“Oh, dear God.”
What lay beyond was a hellscape.
Lava flowed across the horizon, and a blizzard raged in the sky.
The forest encircling the Barrier Mountains had transformed into a swamp of boiling poison. Beyond that stretched a desert, dry and cracked.
The fortress gate below was in ruins.
It was understandable that the fortress had melted when the dragon appeared, but it hadn’t just melted and collapsed.
It had been melted by heat, frozen solid, swept away by massive landslides, and then charred by lightning.
”…”
This wasn’t the work of a single dragon. There had to be at least a dozen.
The fortress had lost contact just two weeks ago, which meant that in a mere fortnight, this vast area had been reduced to ruins.
How had the dragon legion, which should have been confined within the rift, managed this? The answer was quickly apparent.
“The dragon army bypassed the rift’s barrier.”
The rift was a massive valley leading to a labyrinth.
Flying monsters and dragons like the Azure Scales couldn’t escape the valley because of an invisible magical barrier covering it.
This magical barrier, known as the Rift Barrier, was constructed alongside the Holy Knights and had been under their care for a millennium, impenetrable by any monster or demon.
That was until several years ago, when Everlock Glastin, the deputy commander of the knights, stole the key to the barrier and vanished.
“That damned traitor.”
The situation was dire.
The fact that the barrier key, which they hadn’t recovered even after defeating the Azure Scales, was now in the hands of the Dragon God was alarming.
If the dragon army had bypassed the rift barrier, then the main base blocking the rift’s entrance was effectively meaningless.
Yet, turning the area around the main base into a hellscape suggested they intended to encircle and annihilate the Holy Knights.
“I must report to the commander.”
Breaking through the supply lines was the least of their worries.
Lucia pulled the sword from the dragon’s chest and stepped to the edge of the cliff.
The detachment she led was still locked in battle with monsters in the valley near the fortress.
With the threat of another dragon assault looming, could they survive another attack like this? Lucia was doubtful.
Dying with her comrades was one thing, but she couldn’t leave without delivering the news that the dragon army had encircled the main base.
“I can’t abandon my comrades and return.”
After a brief internal struggle, she prepared to leap off the cliff.
Thud―!
A dragon crashed down beside her.
”…”
It was a bloodied dragon. Its neck was half-severed, and its chest bore a gaping hole, its scales blackened with soot.
Startled, Lucia half-drew her sword before realizing it was a dragon’s corpse.
A dragon’s corpse? Who could have slain a dragon…?
“Long time no see.”
The answer appeared, standing atop the dragon’s body.