Chapter 46

At that moment, Noah stepped forward decisively.

The blade he wielded glowed, leaving a trail of white afterglow. Pointing the tip downward, Noah was about to run to where it would reach.

The dragon, created by a curse, trembled, disliking his approach. It twisted its body, as if to avoid its wings touching each other, and opened the organ that resembled a mouth wide.

A mist, like flames, was expelled with a roar.

"Don't touch it. -- Charge through!"

Noah didn't need to be told by Claudia, "Do not fear." He accelerated without hesitation, his still slender body moving quickly and flexibly to shift his center of gravity. He leaped to the right and immediately turned to the left, evading the breath attack.

Claudia chanted two short incantations, creating a light to illuminate Noah's vision. At the same time, she summoned ice blades to slash one of the dragon's wings.

The black dragon, twisting its massive body, let out a cry of pain. The mist, which only mimicked the shape of a living being, managed to howl.

However, at that moment, Noah, who had dived into the dragon's embrace, cut off its right hind leg.

The surroundings were filled with the sizzling sound of the cursed mist evaporating. The dragon, losing its balance with a thud, immediately twisted its neck to try to expel black flames again.

"It's coming from the right, don't dodge!"

"---...!"

At Claudia's words, Noah immediately stopped.

Behind Noah were the weakening barrier and the children it protected. Claudia layered her incantations there, creating a barrier in front of Noah to protect both him and the children.

A thick, transparent wall blocked all the emitted mist. Claudia, who had consumed a large amount of magic, ignored the throbbing pain in her heart and straightened her back again.

The cursed dragon, having lost a wing and a leg, its form distorted, began to ripple on its surface. The children, terrified by its grotesqueness, screamed within the barrier.

"Damn. It's regenerating...!"

"The weak point is under its jaw. The core of the curse is there, cut it out."

"Understood. Give me your power!"

Watching Noah step forward again, Claudia immediately chanted the next spell.

The cursed core is protected and tends to be resistant to magic, but if that's the case, she could use magic to weaken its limbs. She summoned a massive ice pillar in the air and drove it into the remaining left leg.

The dragon, pinned to the marble floor, began to lose its form. Spotting Noah approaching its throat, it tried to knock him away with its remaining wing. Claudia continued her incantation.

"Capture"

Thorny vines appeared in the air, wrapping around the dragon to hold it down.

This only immobilized the dragon for a moment, but it consumed a lot of magic. However, this was as expected; destabilizing its center of gravity was enough.

The dragon's head touched the ground. At the same time, Claudia plopped down on the floor.

"Princess!"

"Look ahead."

Claudia told her cute servant that there was no need to look back. Still, her words were different from before.

"Go forward. ... I will definitely protect you."

These were not words to make Claudia abandon or sacrifice herself. They were orders to secure the future.

"Noah"

"---...!"

Noah responded clearly to the name Claudia called.

The dragon, still struggling, raised its head. Noah, without any fear, stepped straight under it.

"Lightning"

Claudia used magic to knock the dragon's head, which was baring its fangs at Noah. The red-glowing part under the dragon's jaw, which had avoided the throat, was clearly visible.

"---..."

Noah's sword tip did not waver. The children inside the barrier, forgetting their previous fear, were momentarily captivated by Noah's sword skills.

"Amazing... Claudia and that servant, fighting a curse like this, it's just like..."

Ehrenfrit, her older brother, muttered almost unconsciously.

"...Just like. The way Adelheit and his disciples are described in the biographies...!"

"--- Charge!"

Noah's sword pierced the dragon's reverse scale.

"..."

The dragon's body, having lost its core, began to collapse.

The mist that formed the dragon's shape let out a death cry. It made one last effort, raising its upper body.

Its mouth opened wide. The target was undoubtedly Claudia, who was sitting on the floor.

"Claudia!!"

From inside the barrier, her brother Wilhelm shouted.

However, Claudia, with sparkling eyes, smiled with blood-stained lips and stretched out her hand without hesitation.

"Princess!"

It was Noah who scooped up Claudia.

Noah's arms, which had even discarded his sword, lifted Claudia high. His limbs, which she had enhanced with magic earlier, moved much more as she wished.

Claudia clung tightly to him and, still on his arm, smiled and cast the final spell.

"Goodbye. Wretched curse."

The cursed mist, having lost its core, was much more fragile now. Thanks to this, even with her exhausted body, she could destroy the curse with her magic.

She wrapped her left hand around Noah's neck and twirled her right index finger.

"--- Scatter!"

At the moment Claudia chanted, the dragon's massive body stiffened.

Then, the black mist that made up its body began to disintegrate.

It was as if the petals of a tree were falling all at once.

"The curse is fading..."

"Not yet."

She gently advised Noah, who had muttered.

On the floor, the black mist, like stains, still pulsed.

Even after the core of the curse was eliminated, faint curses remained. As she tried to eliminate them, Claudia coughed again.

"Cough, cough...!"

"Princess!"

She winced, spitting out less blood than before.

Thanks to Noah, her magic output had stabilized, but the damage to her body had not healed. Noah, showing signs of impatience, hurried to put Claudia down.

"I'll do it. Princess, go back."

"That's silly. You're also at your limit, right?"

She couldn't have failed to notice that his arms were trembling. Noah denied it and opened his mouth.

"Someone has to fight here. If so, I will—..."

"It's okay."

Claudia smiled slightly.

At the same time, the air around them creaked, and with a crack, the sound of shattering glass was heard.

"This is..."

The fragments of light twinkled and fell.

Immediately after, the remnants of the curse were burned away. The strong magic was cast by the presence she had felt outside the barrier all along.

"Princess, are you alright!"

"...Karlheinz."