Chapter 8

This incident took place a few hours before I arrived at what seemed to be an arena.

My heart was pierced, and a large amount of blood gushed from my mouth and chest. The spear had vanished the moment it pierced me.

I was surprised to still be conscious and endured the intense pain that made me want to faint. Shit, I'm going to die. I have to do something.

In my suffering, the spell came to mind.

I wished with all my might that it would work and, in my agony, I managed to create and chant the spell with a hoarse voice.

"Be... Po... Ma..."

It was a full recovery.

"Phew, that was close..."

Still, I really thought I was going to die just now.

That Knight Captain, what a bastard. He must have been lying in wait, expecting me to jump over the outer wall.

What the hell was that spear? It was way too dangerous.

He mentioned Gungnir, so it might have been some kind of treasure. Gungnir is famous as the spear of victory held by the chief god Odin. If it has the power described in the myths, the damage it inflicted just now makes sense.

The spear disappeared after piercing my heart, so it must have returned to its owner, the Knight Captain, by now.

Still, that Be Po Ma spell drained a lot of my MP or something.

I feel incredibly exhausted.

But I can't just stay here. I have to go save Shara.

What to do about that Knight Captain, though. It hurt like hell, and just a punch won't be enough. I'll make him cry for sure.

Anyway, how far did I get thrown? It's clear it will take a lot of time to get back to town.

If I don't hurry, Shara might not be killed, but she could suffer terribly.

I can't afford to waste time thinking, so I'll head back to town.

Just as I was about to start running, I heard a groan from behind.

It was a bit scary, like something out of a horror movie, but I turned around.

There, a huge dragon lay sprawled out. I had thought it was a rock or something, but it was a dragon. I must have hit it when I was thrown.

Looking closely, the dragon was covered in wounds, bleeding from all over. It looked like it was on the verge of death.

There were arrows and sword cuts, clearly inflicted by humans.

Seeing a dragon, the ruler of the skies, in such a state made me feel uneasy, and I couldn't help but call out.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Silence. Of course, it wouldn't understand me.

As I moved to the dragon's head, I saw that both of its eyes had swords stuck in them, blinding it.

"…Is the one there a human?"

It was the dragon speaking. A talking dragon?

"Yeah, that's right."

"Indeed, a human… But you smell different from the others. And it's been centuries since I've met a human who can speak the language of dragons."

The language of dragons? I can't speak it, and I don't even know it. When did I start being able to use it?

Then it hit me. The power of that jelly.

"Still, you're in pretty bad shape."

"I was ambushed by humans and ended up like this. Pathetic. I managed to escape this far, but I'm done for."

And he can't see, he added. The humans must have been on a bounty hunt or just hunting for fun.

I can't judge the right or wrong of it; I don't know enough about this world.

"For a long time, dragons have been hunted, even though we've never killed a human."

"I see, that's tough."

"Can you sympathize, human? Ah, I wish I could soar through the sky one more time."

Sigh, I'm in a hurry, but this is quite an event. Still, I can't just leave him after hearing this. I was helped by Donlago in Dragon Punk Quest VI.

Thinking that, I pulled out the swords from the dragon's eyes.

"Guuuu…!"

The dragon groaned, but I ignored it and pulled out the other one.

"…! Oh, human! Even you, who can speak the language of dragons, would torment me like this!"

While covering my ears from the dragon's loud voice, I created and chanted the spell.

"Be Po Ma!"

As I chanted the spell, the dragon's wounds healed rapidly, and it returned to its original, majestic form.

"!? What is this!?"

"Here, I healed you. You can fly as much as you want now."

The dragon got up, spread its wings, and roared.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

The roar echoed through the forest, and birds flew away in surprise.

"I don't have the words to express my gratitude, human!"

"That's good to hear."

My response was casual because I was struggling with intense fatigue, exhaustion, and nausea.

My vision was shaking. I was dizzy. It seems my mental strength was drained by the creation, and I was losing consciousness.

I have to save Shara… My thoughts slowed, and eventually, I lost consciousness.

---

I woke up. It seems I had fainted.

Using creation too much, huh? Even the gods put troublesome restrictions on it.

"Awake, human?"

I was dazed for a while, and the dragon leaned in to look at my face.

You're still here.

I stood up and stretched. I didn't feel too bad, and my mental strength seemed to have recovered.

"How long was I out?"

"Until the sun was directly overhead."

I looked up at the sky, and the sun was indeed directly overhead. A lot of time must have passed.

"Seriously…?"

Shara might be in trouble. I was a bit angry at myself for fainting.

The dragon then asked me for my name.

"Ria."

It's a good name, huh? It's clearly a sparkly one.

"Sorry, I'm in a hurry, so I have to go."

As I said this and tried to run, the dragon stopped me again.

"Wait!"

"...What?"

"I'll take you there."

...Oh, nice idea.

---

"Amazing! Do you always see such a view?!"

I was now riding on the dragon's back, soaring through the sky.

"Without Ria, I wouldn't have been able to fly again! Carrying you on my back is a source of pride for me!"

The wind was so loud that we had to speak in very loud voices.

"Right! By the way, I don't know your name!"

"Serpentine Bridgegate!!"

Whoa, that's a cool name...

"Bridgegate! Speed up!"

"Understood!"

Bridgegate's flying speed was incredible. I clung to his massive body to avoid being blown away.

Opening my eyes wide was painful due to the wind pressure, but it felt amazing.

Bridgegate flapped and folded his wings, diving sharply to gain more speed.

Before I knew it, we could see the town, and it was getting closer and closer.

In less than a minute, we were above the town.

Bridgegate slowed down and circled.

I stood up and looked down at the town.

I could see a crowd gathered somewhere. It looked like the arena, with a large magic circle in the center.

The moment I saw the magic circle, I knew.

That's a hero summoning.

Looking closer, I saw Shara lying next to the magic circle. The Knight Captain was there too.

The Knight Captain and the others must have noticed us circling above, as they looked up.

"You're the center of attention. Why are you here, Ria?"

"There's someone pitiful I need to pick up."

Saying that, I leaned forward on Bridgegate's back.

Bridgegate stopped circling and stayed in place.

"I see. Then I'll do one more thing. Cover your ears."

Bridgegate said this, but I didn't cover my ears. I thought it would look uncool.

Then Bridgegate took a deep breath and roared.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

It was a deafening roar. I was surprised but, at the same time, I jumped off Bridgegate's back.

I felt the wind rushing at me.

The Knight Captain, seeing me, had his right hand holding the spear, and he threw it at me.

"Eh, what! Seriously?"

I didn't expect Gungnir to be thrown at me, so I tried to dodge it, even though I knew it was futile.

Miraculously, Gungnir passed by me and flew somewhere else.

I don't know why I dodged it, but it was a chance.

The Knight Captain was stunned.

I landed and, without stopping the impact, charged forward.

"Take 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