Chapter 28

We were driving the carriage towards the capital.

Until this point, we had been pushing the horses to their limits, maintaining full speed.

Thanks to our efforts, we had returned to a distance where we could see the capital's walls and the spires of the royal castle, in less than half the time it took us to reach Misra.

However, the sky over the capital, unlike when we set out in the morning, was dark and shrouded in mist.

"–Could it really have come to this–!?"

Ines, who was controlling the reins of the carriage, glared at the sky over the capital with a tense expression.

Black smoke rising here and there –

The smell of something burning carried by the wind.

The smoke was not rising from just one or two places,

but from dozens of locations, from one end of the vast capital to the other –

as if the entire capital was engulfed in flames.

I understood why my brother had tried to keep me away from the capital.

But to think that we would flee at a time like this –

I felt ashamed of my shallow thinking, even now.

"Huh? What's that–?"

At that moment, Mr. Noll muttered as if he had noticed something.

"Is something wrong…?"

The teacher was looking up at the sky quietly,

almost directly overhead.

"I feel something coming from there."

"From above–?"

I squinted, but I couldn't see anything.

Mr. Noll pointed to the sky directly above the capital.

"Look, there. Can't you see it?"

"No, I can't see anything–!?"

As I stared in the direction Mr. Noll was pointing, I gradually began to see something descending from the dim sky of the capital.

It was a subtle disturbance, almost imperceptible,

but the disturbance was too large.

It seemed to cover almost the entire sky of the capital –

it was far too big to be a single creature.

Next, Ines was the one who spoke.

At the same time, everyone present gasped.

"That, that is–!?"

As we all gazed up at the sky in shock, 'it' revealed itself.

Someone must have used [Concealment Removal].

It appeared as if a transparent film was being peeled away, slowly revealing its form –.

"…What…!?"

I was speechless at its enormous size.

I had never seen a creature that large before.

But I recognized its form.

It was a legendary being depicted in various traditions – storybooks, encyclopedias, magic books, and history books.

It resembled the [Disaster Dragon] closely.

"…Could it really be…!?"

I couldn't believe what I was seeing with my own eyes.

Seeing its form floating in the sky over the capital, I was just stunned.

Ines and Roro also seemed to be at a loss for words at what had appeared before them.

–The appearance of that creature meant the destruction of the capital.

Even if one didn't know the legend of the [Disaster Dragon], or even if it wasn't the [Disaster Dragon] – the scene before us made it clear.

The dragon seemed to be heading straight for the royal castle.

"–Father"

I muttered involuntarily.

Father was probably there right now.

The royal castle of the Kingdom of Crease serves as a command tower in emergencies.

The king, as the supreme commander, is supposed to oversee the capital from there in times of crisis.

The entity that sent that dragon must have known this and directed it towards the castle.

No matter how much of a seasoned warrior Father was, he couldn't face something like that.

What awaited him there was certain death.

The capital would be destroyed, and the king would die.

In other words, the country would be–

"Leen"

My mind was overwhelmed, but I snapped back to reality at the sound of the teacher's voice.

"Is that – not a good situation?"

The teacher asked me calmly.

"–Yes, it's very bad."

I managed to respond as calmly as I could, despite my confusion.

"That appears to be the legendary being known as the [Disaster Dragon].

And there, Father is. If that dragon reaches there – and if it wreaks havoc in the capital – the capital, the capital –"

But I couldn't bring myself to say the rest.

What was I saying, stating the obvious?

What good would it do to tell Mr. Noll such things?

We were quite far from the capital now.

There was nothing we could do from here.

Even if we reached the scene, what could we possibly do–

"–Then, I should go and help, even if it's just a little. If we start running now… maybe we can make it in time. Can you do what you did with the goblins before?"

"…What…?"

The teacher said casually, as if it were nothing, that he would go there.

And by "that" he meant–

"–[Wind Blast]? If that's what you mean, yes, I can do it… but–"

"Maybe I'll just be in the way, but perhaps I can buy some time. I owe a lot to that city and to Leen's father, so I want to be of some help."

The teacher said this calmly, as if it were nothing.

He smiled at me.

My hesitation vanished at that moment.

It couldn't be too late.

Because –

Mr. Noll said he could make it in time.

I made an immediate decision.

This time, I would do my best to get the teacher there.

–[Wind Blast], a high-level wind attribute attack magic.

It's not usually aimed at people.

A direct hit would scatter even a regular monster into pieces, and it could blow away several houses if it hit a building.

That's why I hesitated to use it on Mr. Noll's back in the previous battle.

I was probably using less than half my power, worried about injuring him.

But – I wouldn't hesitate anymore.

I realized there was no need to.

The teacher didn't seem to have taken any damage after that.

He didn't even have a scratch –

It was inconceivable, but for the teacher, it must have felt like a gentle breeze.

He was out of the ordinary in every way –

So I decided to use all my strength to cast [Wind Blast] to meet the teacher's expectations.

There was no need for hesitation or restraint.

Because the person in front of me was none other than Mr. Noll.

"–Understood, Ines. Please lend a hand."

"Yes."

Ines, following my instructions, deployed multiple layers of [Divine Shield] to form a large 'light tube'.

She directed it horizontally towards the capital, and I asked the teacher to stand at its tip –

I placed both hands on the opposite end of the 'light tube'.

"Then – I'm going to start. The shock will be much greater than before – please bear with it."

"–What–?"

I concentrated instantly and began preparing to channel all my magic power into the teacher's back.

To withstand the shock amplified and compressed by Ines's absolute defense [Divine Shield], I generated multiple layers of [Magic Barrier] on my palms, coated them with [Physical Reflection] and [Magic Reflection] for extra safety – and added [Magic Enhancement], [Magic Amplification], and [Magic Explosion] to maximize my magic output, condensing all my magic power into my palms with [Magic Condensation].

At the same time, to further increase the power of the [Wind Blast], which could blow away a fortress, I activated [Multiple Incantation] taught by Master Oaken, the [Magi Saint] –.

My limit for simultaneous incantations is three per hand.

With both hands, that's 'sixfold incantation' –

I decided to channel all of them into the 'light tube' formed by Ines, concentrating the power into a single point.

I would use this power to propel Mr. Noll –

This was my all-out effort, my maximum capacity at the moment.

I completed all preparations in a single deep breath.

–This was the best I could do with my current abilities.

At most, it would break the sound barrier.

I couldn't imagine it reaching the dragon.

–But, if it's the teacher.

If it's Mr. Noll.

"–I'm going – [Wind Blast]"

–The activation of the fully enhanced, sixfold incantation [Wind Blast].

At that moment, an incredible shockwave surged through both my hands.

My hands, which were placed on the 'light tube', were flung away as if they had been hit, and I felt my bones shatter.

Even with all my defensive magic deployed to withstand the shock, the power was overwhelming.

The teacher, who received this power in his back, –

The teacher – disappeared silently.

At least, it seemed to me that he simply vanished from my sight.

But immediately after, the road leading to the capital sank deeply.

And as if by the footprint of a giant – large holes were punched into the road one after another, and the ground split open widely. The cracks gradually extended towards the capital –.

–Suddenly, the earth shook violently.

An incredibly massive earthquake –

As if a huge meteor had struck the ground.

At the same time, something large was seen jumping up from a great distance.

It looked like a figure holding a black sword in one hand –

"–Teacher – good luck"

The figure was sucked into the [Disaster Dragon] floating in the sky over the capital and disappeared into the distance in an instant.