The Order’s Flame (3)
“Dalen…”
Lucia didn’t look too well.
Her visible wounds were healing quickly, but her armor and clothes were completely melted away.
As a high-ranking knight, she would have been wearing a special suit of silver armor, crafted for someone of her status.
Yet, not a single piece of it remained intact, except for the dragon-scale armor he had gifted her, which was only slightly singed, covering her modestly.
“Did you get hit by a dragon’s breath?”
”…I had no choice.”
“Sounds like you jumped into it yourself. That’s practically suicide.”
”…”
Her lips pressed tightly together. She didn’t deny his words, but her expression made it clear she wouldn’t back down either.
Well, that was Lucia for you.
A paladin who would never abandon her comrades, no matter the cost. It was one of the reasons Dalen had prioritized recruiting her.
Dalen chuckled softly and pulled out a wide robe from his spatial storage, one of the relics he’d acquired at the auction in the labyrinth city.
“Here, put this on. You must be cold.”
“Yes… Huh? Oh!”
Her eyes widened in surprise. Perhaps she had just realized she was standing there, half-dressed in a thin layer of dragon-scale armor.
Leaving her with her slightly broken expression, Dalen quickly surveyed the battlefield.
Below the cliff, paladins and crusaders were fighting monsters, aiming to reclaim the fortress gate.
The fortress was practically in ruins, overrun by a horde of monsters. And from the sky, he had observed the massive encirclement of the dragon legion.
‘The Dragon God bypassed the rift barrier.’
The key Everlock had handed to the previous Azure Dragon must have ended up in the Dragon God’s hands.
Realizing their supply line was cut, the order had immediately dispatched a detachment, led by none other than Lucia.
Their primary mission was likely reconnaissance, with a secondary goal of reclaiming the fortress and securing the supply line.
Reconnaissance was achieved. Securing the supply line was impossible. As for the fortress?
Just then, a bird-like call echoed in his ear. It was the voice of Inuko Todd, the messenger from the Golden Palace.
[Dalen, reinforcements are coming through the dragon legion’s encirclement. Three true dragons. They’re not great dragons.]
“Reinforcements?”
[Yes. It seems they were sent because the scout dragon didn’t return.]
A scout, huh. Must be the one I’m standing on.
The stealth of Inuko Todd’s domain was truly remarkable, allowing him to fly through the dragon legion’s encirclement undetected.
However, one of the true dragons in the encirclement must have sensed something amiss. A scout dragon had been sent after them, and it had fallen with a hole in its chest, courtesy of Dalen.
[I’m sorry, Dalen. It was my oversight.]
“No, you’ve done well. Without you, I can’t imagine how many dragon necks I’d have to slice.”
[Thank you for your understanding.]
“Keep monitoring the dragon legion’s movements. And the others…”
Dalen paused, letting his senses sweep over the situation.
The fortress was beyond repair, a liability even if reclaimed.
Wasting time trying to reclaim it would only draw more attention from the dragon legion.
The priority was to shake off the pursuers and retreat to the safety of the main camp’s holy barrier. Breaking through the encirclement would come next.
His decision was swift. Dalen spoke up.
[Here’s the plan.]
His voice resonated through the sky.
[Abandon the fortress. We’ll deal with the enemies quickly and return to the main camp.]
From above the clouds where Todd and the others were, down to the valley where the detachment was fighting, his voice echoed.
[Sienna, Bjorn, support the paladins. Sienna, focus on rescue, Bjorn, on firepower support.]
‘Got it.’
‘A valley, perfect for some explosive action!’
Responses came from above. Moments later, something streaked like lightning past the mountain peak, descending into the valley.
Watching the black feathers scatter in the air, Dalen continued.
[Old man and Tommy, support me. Akasha, stand by. Todd, continue your reconnaissance.]
‘Understood.’
‘Yes, Father.’
“And Lucia.”
Dalen turned his head.
The paladin, now both a dragon slayer and a demon slayer, was wrapped in the robe, a faint blush on her cheeks.
For now, she was out of commission. Even if her external wounds were healed, having taken a direct hit from a dragon’s breath meant she couldn’t continue fighting.
Dalen intended to say as much, but his hand moved before his mouth could.
“You’ve been through a lot.”
”…I missed you. A lot.”
“I felt the same.”
His hand gently ruffled her hair, sticky with dragon’s blood. His hand was just as bloodied.
It was a bit sticky, but not unpleasant. Judging by how she leaned into it, she seemed to feel the same.
“Lead the detachment back once you’ve assessed the situation. You’ll be safe inside the holy barrier. At least for a while.”
“What about you?”
Dalen withdrew his hand. He took a few steps back, looking up at the sky.
Three massive presences were approaching from beyond the clouds. The reinforcements Todd had mentioned.
He habitually checked his armor, gripping his holy sword firmly. His condition was optimal. His axe was secure, and his mithril armor remained sturdy.
“I’ll catch us some dinner and return. We still have plenty of spices, right?”
Lucia chuckled softly. It was a smile he’d seen many times before.
“Of course. Just don’t be late.”
Thud—
His foot kicked off the air.
Whoosh!
The wind whistled past his ears.
The heat swirling behind him propelled his flight like a dragon’s wings. Beyond the clouds, he could clearly sense the three true dragons.
Crack! Crash!
Faint sword winds and shards of ice shattered against his armor. As expected of true dragons, born with innate mystique, they altered the environment just by existing.
As he broke through the clouds, the three dragons came into view. The nearest one had green scales, while the two further away had blue scales.
‘They’re keeping their distance?’
It wasn’t a natural formation. The ancient dragon in his mind confirmed his suspicion.
[Dalen, be careful. That’s a formation for fighting a stronger dragon.]
It was a tactic for dragon-on-dragon combat. Dividing into vanguard and rearguard meant they intended to split melee and support roles.
In that case, he just needed to call for his own support. Dalen silently summoned his familiar within Todd’s domain.
‘Old man.’
[Ready when you are.]
A discreet voice reached his ear. At that moment, the two rear dragons roared.
[―――――!!]
It was a spell.
With a proclamation in dragon tongue and a single flap of their wings, hundreds of magical formations appeared before their outstretched wings.
Massive ice blocks materialized, and sharp ice spears trembled like drawn bowstrings.
As hail rained from the clear sky, the spells unleashed in a torrent.
Boom!
The air froze.
The sky filled with blinding cold.
A storm of spells surged like a tidal wave, the chill tightening around his skin.
Thud, thud, thud!
Dalen’s sword began to dance in response to the spells. White spell stones were sliced by the sword’s tip, dozens of ice arrows deflected by the blade.
It was an acrobatic feat, blocking rain with a single sword while suspended in midair. The difference was that each raindrop had the power of a siege weapon.
But the spell bombardment wasn’t the real threat. Dalen sharpened his senses, focusing on what lay ahead.
Beyond the overwhelming storm of spells that obscured sight, sound, and even magical detection.
Hidden among the hundreds of decoy spells, the true killing blow was approaching.
“Dream Pursuit”
─────!
He saw it.
A power beyond the realm of the sixth sense.
The Dream Pursuit ability, derived from Ackerman’s theorem, precisely tracked the presence of a target once encountered, even amidst the storm of spells.
The hidden killing blow was the dragon itself.
A massive green form, wings folded, diving like an eagle targeting its prey, concealed within the spells.
Caught between countering the spells and evading the dragon’s ambush, it was an impossible choice.
But the breakthrough was already prepared.
‘Old man. Now.’
[El— Memento Elegus.]
A grand incantation filled the sky above the clouds. Golden waves bloomed instantly in all directions.
Rumble—
A vast barrier of golden concentric circles rose to meet the storm of spells.
“Domain Unleashed: The Hand of the Earth Rewinding the Clock”
“Wheel-Breaking Art”
As the barrier blossomed, the timeline of the descending spells momentarily rewound.
Creak—
[Musk… Aaaaargh!]
Amidst the storm of spells, the dragon’s roar echoed thunderously.
The rewind of time lasted less than a second, but it was enough to disrupt the combined attack of the two dragons.
Even the most skilled surfer would struggle if the wave they were balancing on suddenly rewound by a second. Inevitably, they would be swept away. The dragons, hidden within the waves of countless spells, were no exception.
Crackling thunder resounded.
[Roar!]
[Tirvran!]
The green dragon’s scream and the blue dragon’s shout intertwined. Dalen gripped his holy sword with both hands.
No dragon scale, no matter how tough, could withstand a barrage of spells from behind unscathed. Especially when those spells were unleashed by another dragon.
“Return to the Abyss.”
With the vanguard in retreat, Dalen seized the opportunity to strike at the rear support.
He reappeared above the heads of the two blue dragons, having leapt through space.
“Step.”
“Twelvefold Scattering Steps.”
As he flipped in mid-air and stomped towards the ground, his form multiplied into twelve.
With a rustling sound, chains of Arvor passed by, and each of his duplicates wielded a weapon.
The original, clutching the holy sword with both hands, and eleven duplicates, each brandishing a relic weapon.
“Domain Unleashed: Sky of the Sealed Snow Mountain.”
Rumble…
A new layer of dark clouds had formed above the sky, already heavy with clouds.
Red energy and blue lightning crackled fiercely, the dark clouds growling like a wild beast.
[This is madness…]
Perhaps sensing its impending doom, the blue dragon let out a despairing sigh.
Then, twelve warriors descended from the sky, each a streak of light.
“Azure Thunder.”
“Chain Lightning: Twelvefold Strike.”
Boom━━━━━!
Lightning flashed beneath the dark clouds.
The shadows cast on the clouds depicted the massive form of the dragon, surrounded by twelve intersecting blue streaks of light.
The shadow shattered into pieces, raining down chunks of flesh and a spray of blood.
The warrior who had slaughtered a dragon turned his blood-soaked gaze to the remaining blue dragon.
A grin spread across his face, baring his fangs.
“Who’s next?”