Chapter 16

Today's third update.

The hut in the forest where Helrich lived.

Outside the hut, the sun was setting.

The shadows in the square were growing longer.

Lilithia and I stood side by side in the open area around the hut.

Although her cheeks, hidden by her silver hair, were still red, Lilithia seemed to have calmed down.

I began to share my thoughts.

"So, that dungeon looked very narrow."

"Yes, it seemed like three people standing side by side would fill it up."

"And it was very dark. We'll need to use a lantern."

"Right."

I held the lantern.

"But to avoid getting separated by warp or transfer traps, I want to hold hands."

"Would it be better to tie ourselves with a rope?"

"It would get in the way when I'm in front and Lilithia is supporting from behind."

"Ah, that's true... Should I use my angel form?"

"Angels are stronger, right?"

"Yes, that's correct. In human form, I can only use healing magic. In angel form, I can use both healing and attack magic, and the healing magic is much more effective."

"Lilithia, let's explore the dungeon in angel form. Helrich probably used it, and we don't know what other strong monsters might be there."

"Understood. Then, Master, you'll walk in front, and I'll hold the lantern behind you... like this."

Lilithia, swaying her white nun's habit, moved behind me and took the lantern from my hand, raising it.

Her free hand touched my back, and I could feel her supple fingertips through my clothes.

"It's good to know where you are when you're touching me—though, will you still be able to use Flail?"

"That can't be helped. But I can attack with my angel wings."

Saying this, Lilithia flapped her wings behind me.

Looking over my shoulder, I saw white wings spread from her back, and white feathers danced around.

When she moved her wings forward, the white feathers flew straight ahead.

As she spread her wings and pushed them forward, they drew a curve and flew ahead.

The trajectory of the feathers was sharp, cleanly slicing through the leaves of the weeds.

"You can use your feathers for normal attacks. ...How powerful are your attack spells?"

Lilithia frowned.

"Hmm, how powerful? I haven't confirmed my current state yet."

"That's true... Is there any good way to test it? A tree or a rock that could serve as a practice target—"

—

Suddenly, a sharp sound echoed from above.

Looking up, I saw a large dragon—wyvern—flying through the sunset sky.

It seemed to have just returned from raiding a farm, carrying a large bale of hay.

It might be for its nest. For some reason, it was twisting its body in pain.

—Oh, perfect. I think there was a bounty on that wyvern, right?

I pointed at the flying wyvern.

"Can you bring it down?"

"I think so... I'll try—Heavenly White Feather Cannon!"

Lilithia spread her white wings.

Many feathers rose, drawing circles in the air and flying in a trail of light.

Lilithia crouched, extending her white wings forward and closing them.

The feathers formed a tube and flew.

Then the tube, outlined by the light, began to glow—

In the next moment, it exploded.

BOOM!

A large ball of light was launched with a loud noise.

It struck the wyvern's belly with a loud thud.

"KYYYYAAAAA—!"

Not only did it pierce the wyvern's belly, but it also exploded in mid-air the next moment.

A large hole appeared in the wyvern's body, and it fell to the ground.

A little blood rain fell on us.

"Whoa!"

"Kyaa! —Heavenly Light Shield."

Lilithia extended her hands and wings.

A light membrane enveloped Lilithia and me.

Zzzzz...

Then the wyvern crashed into the corner of the square with a loud noise.

Lilithia dissolved the light membrane and looked around.

Not only the square but also the surrounding trees were stained red.

"...The power was great... To bring it down with one hit."

"More powerful than I expected. In the dungeon, we'll need to be careful about the surroundings; it could be dangerous."

"Yes, I'll be careful. ...What should we do with this wyvern?"

"If we leave it, it might attract more monsters—hey, it's still alive!"

I drew my sword and ran straight toward it.

I infused the sword with holy energy.

The wyvern, bloodied, lifted its head and glared at me.

Even at B-rank, it was a dragon.

To survive that attack was impressive.

Then it opened its mouth, revealing a row of teeth.

—Is it going to breathe fire?

—

Suddenly, a white feather flew in front of me.

It flew in a hexagonal pattern and became a glowing shield.

The inside of the wyvern's mouth began to glow, but my attack would reach it first.

Perhaps realizing the breath attack wouldn't be in time, it swung its large hand, attacking with sharp claws.

Clang!

The hexagonal feather shield deflected the claws.

Surprisingly strong!

Thanks to that, I continued straight and reached the wyvern.

"Haah! Holy Slash!"

Zing!

The sword, drawing a bluish-white trail, cut through the base of the long neck.

Without a death cry, the wyvern's head and body fell to the ground separately.

After a while, it didn't move anymore. Its breathing had stopped.

It seemed to be dead.

Lilithia flew over to me in an instant.

Her violet eyes shone with amazement.

"Truly, Master! To defeat a wyvern before it could breathe its rapid fire breath!"

"Thanks for the defensive magic, Lilithia. Good teamwork."

"Yes! I'll protect you with the angel's shield whenever you charge."

"Thanks... Now, where are the parts needed for the bounty?"

I asked, and Lilithia examined the wyvern's body with her monocle.

"Please wait a moment... The parts are the fangs, horns, wings, and tail. The meat is too toxic to eat."

"Let's cut the parts and leave the rest in the forest."

"Yes."

After cutting the parts and putting them in a bag, we cut the wyvern's body into manageable pieces and left them in the forest.

We wanted to bury it, but the wyvern was larger than a house.

There was just too much of it.

It took a while just to dispose of it.

The bale of hay, taller than a person, was too cumbersome to carry, so we rolled it and placed it next to the hut.

After finishing the cleanup, we finally entered the hut.

◇ ◇ ◇

A little earlier, at dusk.

The wyvern was flying leisurely through the red sky.

It held a bale of hay it had stolen from a farm. It was for its nest.

The wyvern trembled with dark joy.

It grinned, its sharp teeth gleaming in the sunset.

Every time it felt the evil aura in its belly, it felt a surge of laughter.

—Live Marell... Destroy the world, calamity...

The wyvern was delighted to be chosen as the host for the world's destruction.

The evil aura from its growing belly made its heart leap.

No one, not even a god, could have predicted that the chaos dragon, which is born once every ten thousand years, would come from a wyvern.

Building its nest near the human capital was a deliberate choice.

The chaos dragon is born at SSS rank.

It eats its way out of its mother's belly and grows by eating nonstop to reach SSS rank.

It would die the moment it was born, so it couldn't feed the chaos dragon.

That's why it built its nest near the capital, where there was plenty of food.

—In a few days.

In a few days, the world will be destroyed... Hehehe!

Just as it was grinning darkly again,

A shock ran through its massive body.

A searing pain, like a hot iron rod being thrust into its belly, struck it.

It couldn't help but scream.

"KYYYYAAAAA!"

—Live Marell!? N-no!

That's right.

Due to its high-speed flight, its lack of vigilance in its joy, and the evil aura emanating from its belly, it didn't notice Alex's holy energy.

As a result, the wyvern was hit by high-concentration holy energy, taking a massive hit that drained half of its life force.

The chaos dragon inside, being even more evil, took even more damage and was near death.

This pain was fed back to the host, causing the intense pain.

Moreover, Alex's holy energy slowed down the wyvern's movements.

The air, which had been refreshing, now felt like water, dragging it down like it was falling into a swamp.

No matter how much it flapped its wings, it was being pulled down to the ground.

—What!? What is this!?

It flapped its wings desperately, trying to escape the air swamp, but it had flown in at high speed, and it was a considerable distance to safety.

It gradually lost altitude.

—

A shock ran through its belly. The pain exploded!

"KYYYYAAAAA—!"

This time, it was external pain.

While spiraling down to the ground, it caught a glimpse of the area below.

There were two humans.

It realized it had been attacked by magic or something.

It also realized that its child, which was supposed to be born in a few days, was lost.

In a way, the chaos dragon in its belly had acted as a shield, sparing it from instant death.

The wyvern fell to the ground.

It raised its long neck and bared its teeth in anger.

The pain from the impact on the ground was nothing compared to the rage that surged within.

I won't forgive this...!

I'll eat these humans alive!

The wyvern opened its mouth.

The wyvern's sonic breath is a wind attribute attack. It's a rapid vacuum blast that can attack first, regardless of the opponent.

It's powerful enough to shred even a fully armored human before they can get close.

So this time, it opened its mouth to breathe its breath.

But it was too slow. The breath didn't rise in its throat.

—Why!? What's happening!?

It felt like a dream. A nightmare where you're being chased and can't run fast enough.

The wyvern thought it was in that nightmare.

Before it knew it, the humans were right in front of it.

It instinctively swung its claws.

But they were deflected by a shield, and the next moment, a hot shock ran through its neck.

It realized its head was flying through the air.

The wyvern thought, 'It must be a dream. This nightmare is finally over,' and closed its eyes.

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→17. Dungeon Exploration