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The Black Dragon and the White Dragon – Part 04

It was utter chaos. The arrival of the White Dragon alone was bad news, but the lookout watching the outside of the village had rung the bell—a raid was coming.

“Wh-Wh-What do we do?!”

“Don’t look at me! We’re here to escort the villagers. And they’re not leaving. We should at least save ourselves!”

“We can’t just abandon the villagers!”

“They said they were staying!”

“Oh, shut up already!” the leader of Wild Horns interjected. “A woman is fighting a dragon! We can’t be whining here. Let’s go!”

“G-Go where?”

“To fight the monsters outside, where else?! We have to get rid of the small fry, or they’re gonna get in the way with the battle against the dragon.”

And that was the matter settled. With grim determination, the adventurers—some of them anxious—headed to the village outskirts.

But what they saw beggared the imagination.

Up until now, the monsters that showed up were at most Rank D—such as the Treant, Lost Man, Evil Eye. And they only managed to kill them with the help of the Four Eastern Stars.

“Ah…”

The Rank F and G adventurers who came here for an escort commission were left speechless.

“Lesser Wyverns,” said a member of Wild Horns.

There were three Lesser Wyverns, Rank C monsters, and a few others here and there. They might be able to kill one Lesser Wyvern, though not without casualties, but three was a different story. The adventurers saw themselves getting annihilated.

The Lesser Wyverns advanced slowly. They were completely underestimating the adventurers.

“It’s over…”

Their determination from earlier was already wavering. Some adventurers fell to their knees. The leader of Wild Horns wanted to do the same. He knew that nothing good would come from fighting monsters much bigger than him. Such intuition was what allowed him to climb to Rank D.

“Are those three the most dangerous ones?”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

“So you just need those three gone?”

“If we could do that—wait, who are you?”

Beside the leader was a girl he had never seen before. She was wearing her hood low, so he couldn’t make out her face, but he was sure he hadn’t seen her before in the village.

“I see. Then please take care of the rest of the monsters,” the girl said. “I’m more concerned about the White Dragon.” She raised her hands in the air.

The leader rubbed his eyes. She was right in front of him, but it felt like if he lost focus, he would lose sight of her.

“O’ Elementals, heed my call. A raging fire is what I desire. Fire to burn down all living things, all creation, the laws of the universe!”

The leader’s hackles rose. The ground around her emitted a light about three meters in diameter. He knew it was the invocation of elemental magic, but he had never seen light glowing over such a wide area.

“Dance, Elementals! I offer you my mana, so sing, Elementals! Take back our once pure world and burn everything down to ashes!”

A tremendous torrent of mana swirled around them. One adventurer gasped and pointed to the sky. A huge magic circle appeared about ten meters above, and an enormous fireball slowly emerged from within.

The moment they noticed the spell, the Lesser Wyverns stopped, and immediately started running toward the adventurers. Their instincts were telling them to kill the humans before the spell could be activated.

What appeared from the magic circle was not a fireball. It was a twisting, serpentine flame.

“Flame Gospel!”

The Lesser Wyverns did not make it in time. The spell was cast, and the massive, coiling flames swooped down on the lesser dragons.

The monsters shrieked.

The spell scored a direct hit, but instead of bursting, the flames wrapped around the body of a Lesser Wyvern before leaping onto the next one. Just as the three wyverns were burned completely, the flames disappeared. The adventurers could only watch mutely.

“Phew. Please take care of the rest,” the girl said.

“R-Right,” the leader of Wild Horns responded.

The girl was already gone. He rubbed his eyes, but he couldn’t find her anywhere. It felt like he was dreaming. But when he saw the Lesser Wyvern crumble to ashes, he snapped back to his senses.

“L-Let’s take care of those monsters!”

“Y-Yeah!”

“R-Right.”

Though hardly spirited, the adventurers picked up their weapons and charged. The monsters were not that far ahead, and they didn’t seem to care that the Lesser Wyverns had been killed. This was the difference between a living monster and a dungeon monster.

They didn’t see my face, and it’s an emergency, so it should be fine.

Lavia glanced over her shoulder as she hurried to the village. Using a lot of mana at once left her a little fatigued.

The monsters outside the village should be manageable now. The problem was the White Dragon.

---

Meanwhile, devastation unlike anything Cotton-elka had ever seen lay all around the White Dragon. Collapsed houses, scorched earth, billowing flames.

“Lady Selyse!” Pia called. “We’ve moved all the injured!”

After a fight with her father, she came here to help Selyse. But against the overwhelming power of the White Dragon, she would only be a liability. Selyse quickly ordered Pia to rescue the villagers who failed to escape.

A few villagers had died, but some were still alive, injured. After Sophie healed the last person, she went to the square where the rest of the villagers were gathered.

Pia had witnessed Selyse cut through the White Dragon’s flames. It was a breathtaking sight that could only be found in a fairy tale or a play. When she realized that she was a part of this moment, Pia was filled with unspeakable rapture.

I have to help her!

From Pia’s point of view, Selyse was fighting the White Dragon all alone. She was facing the vicious and ferocious entity all by herself. She revered her, worshipped her.

But that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Sara, a scout, shot arrows from the shadows to inflict a small amount of damage on the White Dragon, and when the dragon tried to attack her, she quickly concealed herself, confusing it.

The Mage Serika prepared to cast a spell from the White Dragon’s blind spot, emitting mana. A direct hit from the spell would be bad for the White Dragon, so it tried to attack Serika first, but she cancelled the spell and fled. Incantation took time, and since Serika couldn’t move while chanting, she had not been able to fire a single shot so far, but simply turning the White Dragon’s body created an opening that allowed Selyse to attack with her White Ray Blade. The White Dragon’s body was covered in numerous shallow cuts, blood trickling to the ground.

Still not enough…

Selyse was tense. The dragon’s wounds were healing rapidly. Its huge body seemed to have an inexhaustible amount of stamina as it showed no signs of fatigue, while a single blow to Selyse and she was done for. She had to stay focused.

The situation was at a standstill, but Selyse continued to fight anyway, waiting for a report that would break the deadlock. She knew better than to choose an option that gradually led to total annihilation, and Rank B adventurers always fought with a clear vision.

“Ugh!”

The White Dragon spun, swinging its tail around. Flying rubble destroyed more houses. Selyse blocked the debris flying at her with her shield.

Then, the White Dragon let out a breath of fire. Selyse slashed it with her White Ray Blade, but it didn’t stop her surroundings from burning. Her skin felt hot. The White Dragon lunged at her, and she jumped to the side to dodge. Touching the ground would burn her hand, so she used her shield to prop herself, and jumped with one hand. The White Dragon, dashing past Selyse, whirled around, irritated. It was losing its patience.

At that moment, the long-awaited report came. A girl appeared on the other side of the village’s central square, now nothing more than a place littered with debris. She was an adventurer and the pastor’s daughter, Paula. She raised her arms high and wide in the shape of a circle.

Selyse immediately understood.

The girl had succeeded in convincing the villagers to leave the village.

Well done!

She wanted to shout. This was something that even the Four Eastern Stars, as strong as they were, could do nothing about. Only someone who could strike at the villagers’ heart could accomplish this difficult task, and Paula did it.

Now they could execute a strategy. Buy time against the White Dragon and wait for dusk, and once the sun had completely set, retreat. The government wouldn’t ignore a monster of this level, and Selyse could use her contacts to assemble high-ranked adventurers. Once killed, the White Dragon would no doubt drop a stone or gem of considerable value, and there were plenty of adventurers who would love to earn the title of Dragon Slayer.

But one moment was all it took for the situation to turn dire. The White Dragon followed Selyse’s gaze and spotted Paula, completely defenseless. It bent forward and broke into a run. It seemed slow, but it had huge strides.

Clicking her tongue, Selyse stepped to the side of the White Dragon and swung her sword. Draw its attention and immediately retreat. But she thought wrong—the White Dragon ignored her. The wound she inflicted was shallow because she meant to withdraw. The dragon had learned that she was actually not thinking of killing it. That even if it went after her, she would just run away.

There was no one left to protect Paula. Despair colored her face.

“Haaaahhh!”

Pia stepped in front of Paula. Gripping a long sword in both hands, she dashed toward the White Dragon awkwardly. A thoughtless move. Selyse’s hunch told her the girl was dead.