Chapter 72

The evil dragon emitted a purple light around itself.

"──This is bad."

The light radiated an immense amount of magic power, even from a distance.

"This is a technique used when surrounded by enemies! The black mist around it will decrease for a while, making it easier to attack..."

As Rahn said, it was probably an attack to peel off the surrounding enemies. It used part of the black mist covering its body, not magic.

Yuris and the others, riding pegasi, tried to create walls of magic to defend themselves, but – in front of the evil dragon's magic power, they couldn't defend themselves completely.

"──Let's go, Elysia, Rahn!"

"Yes!"

I mounted Rahn with Elysia and immediately used the *Transfer* spell.

The destination of the *Transfer* was above the evil dragon's head.

I immediately created a *Dark Wall* in front of each of the three Yuris.

Since we were hidden by the Shadow Wheel and wearing masks, it wouldn't be a problem even if we were spotted.

What protected us was the *Light Wall* Elysia had deployed. Elysia's magic power should be able to defend us somehow.

The purple light emitted by the evil dragon soon approached us. When it touched the *Light Wall* – it exploded brightly, causing an explosion around us.

The explosion sound immediately echoed, and a storm-like gale blew.

Elysia, while somehow maintaining the *Light Wall*, muttered.

"Ugh... What a shock..."

The immense shock could easily blow us away if we let our guard down for a moment.

However – Elysia, while casting magic with one hand, was holding me tightly to her chest with the other hand, so I was safe. She was holding me a bit too strongly...

The explosion itself was instantaneous. Thanks to Elysia's magic, we managed to stay in place.

The black mist surrounding the evil dragon had definitely thinned, and it was indeed a good opportunity to attack...

However, Yuris and the others couldn't withstand the gale and were blown away along with the *Dark Walls*. They didn't seem to be injured, but their pegasi had lost their balance.

Eventually, Yuris and the others fell off their pegasi. All three seemed to have lost consciousness.

Even the seagulls flying nearby, which didn't seem to be injured, were falling. I also felt a sudden drowsiness. It seemed that the explosion had some hypnotic or unconsciousness-inducing effects.

"Ugh! I'll rescue the three!"

I immediately used the *Transfer* spell.

I tried to rescue the nearby female knight first, but it wasn't easy to catch her.

Then, Rahn quickly bit the fabric of the female knight's armor with its mouth.

"Thank you, Rahn. Let's go back once!"

I *Transferred* back to the *Maereas* and had Rahn place the female knight on the deck.

"Next!"

I immediately *Transferred* to the female in the magic suit and had Rahn grab her with its mouth.

Just as I was about to *Transfer* back to the *Maereas* –

"──Lord Alex! Lord Yuris!!"

Hearing Elysia's voice, I looked at Yuris' magic power and saw the evil dragon with its mouth wide open approaching.

Returning to the *Maereas* wouldn't be in time. On the other hand, if I left the female in the magic suit to rescue Yuris, she might be killed...

"Rahn! Just withdraw!"

Saying that, I *Transferred* myself alone near Yuris.

"Yuris!!"

Yuris was indeed unconscious. Her mask had fallen off, and I could see her closed eyes. Her face was as beautiful as a doll... Indeed, this was Yuris.

I confirmed the position and *Transferred* right below Yuris, extending my arms.

"Ugh!"

Despite the armor, Yuris was quite heavy, but I managed to firmly hold her.

When I realized, the evil dragon was right in front of me –

As the evil dragon was about to close its mouth, I *Transferred* to the *Maereas*.

"Phew... We made it..."

I sighed in relief, having narrowly escaped.

Of course, I can *Transfer* in the air. However, I would immediately fall, so I would need to *Transfer* to another location right away.

I gently laid Yuris on the deck.

It was really Yuris...

It might sound strange coming from me, who is also seven years old, but she is so small. To think she would fight the evil dragon with such a body – huh?

For a moment, I thought Yuris opened her eyes. But when I blinked, she was still closed-eyed.

Was it just my imagination? Anyway, I'm wearing a mask, so even if she saw me, it would be fine...

Hearing the flapping of wings, I saw Rahn and Elysia returning from the sky at high speed.

While Rahn was placing the female in the magic suit on the deck, Elysia, with a worried face, trembled and called out.

"A, a, Lord Alex!! Are you hurt!?"

"I'm fine... I'm sorry for worrying you, even though it was a sudden move."

"No, it's fine as long as you're safe..."

Elysia looked genuinely relieved, but Rahn turned to the evil dragon.

"The evil dragon seems to be recovering the black mist... It's also letting out a louder cry than before. It sounds very painful."

"Is the dark magic power corroding its body... It might be in pain too."

I muttered and turned to the blue-haired people.

"Anyway, we need to regroup. Can someone take Yuris and the others to the capital's base? I want them to be taken to the invisible bedroom in the courtyard."

The blue-haired women answered "Yes" and immediately carried Yuris and the others away.

At that moment, Serene's voice echoed.

"Lord Alex! I've brought reliable companions!"

"An enlarged version of a demon... – that's too big!?"

Tika, who appeared behind Serene, widened her eyes at the sight of the evil dragon.

Nate, while aiming his long crossbow, said,

"The bigger, the easier to aim."

More armored people and dragons appeared from the transfer pillar in Ars, all holding long crossbows.

"Everyone, thank you for coming. I'm sorry for the sudden request, but I need you to fight in the air... Dragons, can you carry the armored people and fly?"

When I said that, Rahn turned to the dragons.

Seeing the dragons nod deeply, Rahn turned back to me.

"Everyone can fly. Please leave it to us."

"Thank you. However, it's fine if everyone attacks from a distance. If the evil dragon attacks, scatter quickly."

The armored people and dragons nodded at his words. The dragons immediately started to carry the armored people.

"Alright, the rest of us will attack the evil dragon's weak point, the inverse scale. The inverse scale is a single scale that grows in a different direction from the others, located at the throat."

I first turned to Elysia.

"Elysia, create a hole in the black mist near the evil dragon's head, and I'll maintain the hole. Nate... you will snipe from there."

"A big responsibility. I'll take care of it."

Nate answered calmly, as usual.

Serene said admiringly,

"Wow, you seem very confident."

"Of course. We have Lord Alex with us. Right? Nate."

Hearing Tika's voice, Nate nodded.

"Yup! I have a good weapon for this, so it'll definitely work."

Yuri also answered confidently. He seemed to have prepared a new weapon.

"Being confident is good... but, attacking the inverse scale will still be troublesome afterward."

Rahn said with a worried face.

The evil dragon will become even more violent when its inverse scale is touched. After that, it might be harder to aim at the inverse scale.

However, Serene encouraged everyone.

"If that happens, we'll just keep attacking! We'll all launch a fierce assault!"

"Attacking blindly won't do... We need to aim for the inverse scale properly."

Elysia said and turned to me.

"Lord Alex, we're ready whenever you are."

"Yes, let's go."

When I nodded deeply, everyone responded with a "Yes!"

Then, I mounted Rahn with Elysia and led everyone toward the evil dragon.

But at that moment, fireballs were suddenly launched from the south, all aimed at the evil dragon.