Volume 5 Chapter 21
Volume 5 Chapter 21: True Identity and Plan
From Gale, who arrived at the briefing, we learned how the entire incident unfolded.
「So, to sum it up, a dragon head emerged from the Spirit Road, right? And after swallowing the magic stones, it attacked the staff? Even after destroying its inverted scale, the dragon didn’t die.」
「Exactly, Director of the Research Lab.」
Gale nodded, confirming Cattleya’s summary.
「A dragon hat doesn’t die even breaking its inverted scale? Is there really a monster like that…」
As we listened to the story, Botan muttered with a troubled expression.
Certainly, the inverted scale is a weak spot for dragon species, once destroyed, they die. Usually. I could understand why she had that expression.
But my perception was slightly different, so I asked:
「It had black spiky scales, and eight eyes?」
Gale replied with a nod.
「Yes. Axel, do you know what it is?」
「Yeah. That exceptional nature and appearance, I think it’s Ouroboros.」
Cattleya was the first one to react to my words.
「Ouroboros… You mean that ancient species!?!」
「So you knew about it as well, Cattleya?」
「I’ve lived for a long time. I’ve heard about it. During the Great Demon War, it crushed dozens, even hundreds, of warriors with its massive body. That one?」
「Yeah, has to be it. It’s quite huge…」
As I recalled my past experiences, Gale interjected.
「And as I remember, only part of its head emerged. We didn’t see its feet or hands, but it was still several tens of meters long.」
「Well, that makes sense. Ouroboros has a body that stretches several kilometers long, with heads at both ends. Even just its head is massive.」
At that, Botan’s eyes widened in astonishment.
「Se-several kilometers? Are you serious? That’s enormous…」
「Yeah. It’s huge even for a dragons, might arguably be called even the largest one.」
「Hmm… the way you talk about it makes it sound like you’ve actually seen one.」
「Well, yeah. I fought it during the Great Demon War.」
Though it was a long time ago, I did have that experience.
「You… defeated it?」
「Well, yeah. That’s part of being a dragon knight.」
「Amazing, to face such a huge opponent…!」
「Thanks for the compliment. But size is more of an annoyance. The real problem lies elsewhere.」
「Huh?」
「See, the real issue is that no matter how much you damage it, it regenerates. All your efforts are pointless.」
「What do you mean?」
「To put it simply, to defeat it, you have to simultaneously destroy cores in both heads. Other forms of attack are pretty much useless.」
I recalled the enemy from the past, that giant dragon that didn’t die no matter how many times I cut it, and kept creating casualties on our side.
「Attacking its body is useless, huh…」
「So that’s why it didn’t die even after breaking its inverted scale and core…」
The explanation seemed convincing to Gale as well..
「Yeah. Dealing with it until I figured that out, or rather, even after that, was tough. Even though I had formed a party with Gale back then, when I encountered it I was by myself. This was long before Berzelia and Saki joined. It constantly had me wonder, just what do I do with it now.」
「H-How did you manage to defeat it…? From what I’m hearing, there seems to be no clear way to break through…」
「Well, yeah. It was back when I was a dragon knight. When I faced Ouroboros slithering on the battlefield, I tried various attacks to see what worked. So I threw a spear at one of its heads, and then destroyed the other one with a sword, aiming for the timing when the spear would reach its target. After all, once you realize that you just have to simultaneously destroyed both cores, it all boils down to simply carrying that out.」
「Simply?… So you are saying that you threw a spear for several kilometers?」
「Incredible…」
Botan and Cattleya stared at me in astonishment.
Even if they give me such looks, back then, I had no other choice.
「Well, yeah. I used a skill meant for long-range sniping, controlling the spear semi-independently. Even so, back then, my arm got pretty much obliterated, so I had to deal with that for a while.. It was rough.」
「Ah, yeah. I remember when Axel came back to the base, the flesh was almost completely gone from one of his arms, only bones remained. The medical team was in an uproar because of it. I remember that even I had to assist with healing with my Breathing Technique.」
「Yeah, I appreciate that, thank you, Gale.」
Hearing our exchange, Berzelia and Saki quietly approached and gently grabbed my arms.
「Master, you’ve really been doing such things from way back?」
「You should be more careful, you are way too casual about putting your body or even your life on the line…」
「Well, yeah. I’m not planning on doing something so reckless all the time. I only did it back then because I had no other option. And now, I can’t use that method anymore anyway.」
Hearing that, Botan looked at my bag.
「Is it because you’re no longer a dragon knight, right?」
「That’s part of it, but more importantly, it’s because of the dragon’s location.」
「It’s somewhere in a different dimension—between the human world and the Spirit Realm, right?」
Berzelia nodded, understanding.
「So, no matter how much we attack from this side, if it has another head in a different dimension, we won’t reach it?」
「Exactly. Although attacks that can break though dimensions do exist… The question is do we have anyone capable of using them among us.」
Looking at my companions, I asked:
「None of you can do it, right?」
「I’m no good. I might be able to pull something like that if I had a huge magic circle that covers an entire country or some special magic tools, but as we are now….」
「Me neither.」
「I’m in the same boat. My attack power isn’t that high to begin with, so it’d be tough, friend.」
Everyone shook their heads.
Of course. Such overwhelming power can’t be used so easily.
「Even if we somehow manage to break through a dimension, just firing at random would lead to a disaster. We wouldn’t know where the damage would go. Also, we’d need to pinpoint where the other head is.」
After saying that, I turned to Gale for confirmation.
「By the way, Gale, when you fought it, did it have horns on its head? Two huge majestic horns?」
「Hmm? No, there were no horns.」
「Then you must’ve shattered the second head, its tail head.」
「Is that so?」
「Yeah. The Ouroboros has two heads, but the second head at the tail doesn’t have horns. It’s smaller, a kind of sub-head. Its defense isn’t as strong, and it’s easier to break its core.」
At my explanation, the staff murmured in disbelief.
「Easier to break…? We were overwhelmed by it, and it took the hero’s attack to bring it down…」
「The main head must be harder, then.」
As expected, the main head—the first head—is stronger. To break it, you’d need even greater power.
「Well, at least we managed to find the second head. We literally grabbed the tail. It probably reacted to the magic stones’ mana, right?」
「Yeah.」
「Then it should be easy to lure it out again. We can use the magic stone as bait. Ouroboroses are typically driven by their hunger.」
「But what about the other head? Won’t it revive unless we destroy that too?」
Gale’s question is valid. But there is a way to deal with it.
「There’s a way. Since the other head came out from the Spirit Road, we can follow the path leading to it and find the second head.」
Hearing that, Cattleya’s eyes widened in realization.
「Wait, wait. So what you’re saying is, Axel is that you are planning to run on its body to get to the second head?」
「Yeah. There are plenty of dragon types with long necks, and I’ve faced similar situations many times before. I can manage it without special skills.」
「More than once?… You’re really serious about this…? You’re doing some crazy stuff, huh…」
Cattleya’s mouth dropped open, and she slowly sank back into her chair. Crazy or not, it seemed like a solid plan to me.
「So, if that’s the case, as long as we find the body connected to the second head, we’re guaranteed to locate it.」
「That’s the idea.」
「—Then the plan is set!」
Gale looked directly at me and spoke.
「When one of its heads shows up here, we’ll take care of it. And—」
「The other head, I’ll track it down and bring it down. That’s the plan, right?」
「Wait, hold on, both of you. Even then, how will we determine the timing of the attack? If we don’t destroy both heads at the same time, it’ll revive, won’t it?」
Cattleya brought up a good point. It was crucial. But…
「Leave that part to me! After all, I’m Axel’s partner!」
「Yes, as his wife, I can align my movements even if I can’t see Axel directly. Even if it’s in a different dimension, that won’t be a problem. So let us handle the second head.」
「I can feel Axel’s attacks through vibrations and energy waves, so syncing up will be easy. Even if our timing doesn’t match perfectly, I’ll keep attacking until it’s down.」
Berzelia, Saki, and Gale said this together.
「And I’ll stay close to my friend as support when chasing the first head. If he looks like he’s falling, I’ll stab my chains into the Ouroboros’s neck and pull him up.」
「Haha, that’s reassuring. So, I just need to focus on bringing down the first head. Yeah, our plan looks solid, Cattleya.」
Hearing this, Cattleya stared at us, opening and closing her mouth a few times before finally nodding with a faint smile.
「Hmm… The plan itself is quite outrageous, but I suppose it is to be expected that heroes’ schemes would be on a completely different scale. Sure. I can’t come up with any better alternative, so I’ll go along with this plan.」
After saying that, she straightened her posture and looked at us again.
「Since we are the ones who will benefit from this Ouroboros subjugation, as a representative of this city, I’d like to officially request the heroes to undertake the mission to take down the Ouroboros. And Axel… you are the only one capable of passing through the Spirit Road. So I ask you—would you be willing to accept this important task?」
Cattleya’s request, with a serious expression, was clear. My answer had already been decided in my heart.
「Yeah. Leave it to me.」
「…Thank you. We’ll be counting on you.」
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