Volume 1 - CH 18

Chapter 18 – I Tried To Fight The Black Dragon

There are still some monsters left, but we should prioritize dealing with the Black Dragon.

First, let’s meet up with Iris.

Looking at the surroundings, Iris was fighting against a pack of Lonely Wolves at a little distance away.

While defending herself with the Dragon God’s Shield’s granted effect…《Dragon God’s Barrier EX》, she was making sure to kill them one by one with precise counters. There is no waste in her movements, which shows her solid ability as an A-ranked adventurer.

There were only six Lonely Wolves left.

Iris would probably be able to defeat them in less than a minute, but even that time is too precious right now.

“…It’s time to go.”

I activated the《God Speed Blessing EX》.

In the blink of an eye, I close the distance, and in the next instant, I cut down all six Lonely Wolves.

Iris was confused by the sudden event and blinked repeatedly.

“Eh…? Ko-Kou?”

“I’m sorry for snatching your prey. It’s an emergency; the Black Dragon is coming.”

When I told her that, the Gram on my right hand made a sharp metallic sound as if it was in agreement with me.

A few seconds later, Iris’s shield also made a similar sound. This one must also have sensed the revival of the Black Dragon. The delay in timing may have been due to the fact that she was fighting the Lonely Wolves.

“Master!”

An extremely loud electronic voice came from behind me.

When I turned around, I saw the Destroyer Golem in the distance, facing me and waving his right hand in the air.

“I’ll take care of the rest of the monsters! Master, please concentrate on the Black Dragon! Good luck!”

In fact, it seemed that the Great Flood was almost over.

There were still quite a few monsters left, but the Destroyer Golem alone would be enough to deal with them.

“Okay! I’m counting on you!”

I shouted loudly and waved my right hand back. Then Iris giggled next to me.

“You guys get along so well, don’t you?”

“Well, we’re fighting together, you know.”

The Destroyer Golem is a very reliable ally. Even if he’s against a high-ranked monster, he’s not going to lose, and you can trust him to have your back.

“…Now, I wonder where the Black Dragon is.”

For some reason, when I muttered that, it automatically triggered [Auto Mapping]. A pale blue window appeared and displayed a map of the surrounding area.

…A red dot of light was shining in the western part of the Phatos Mountains.

Could this be the point where the Black Dragon appears?

“Let’s go there.”

“Yes, let’s go.”

Iris and I exchanged glances and nodded at each other. Keeping our guard up, we headed toward the point of light.

In the western sky, the setting sun was sinking behind the mountains.

“…Hmm?”

At that moment, a strange phenomenon occurred. The sky suddenly seemed to distort, and a huge black sphere appeared, blocking the setting sun.

It was a scene like a solar eclipse.

The black sphere expanded little by little, shaking violently once every few seconds.

Eventually, cracks appeared on its surface.

One, two, three…

It was like an egg just before it was born.

Gram and the Dragon God’s shield emitted the most intense metallic sound ever.

And then the sphere bursts open from the inside.

“Guooooooooooo!”

After 4,000 years, the Black Dragon of Calamity had returned.

The huge body covered in jet-black scales looked like a fortress floating in the sky. Its appearance was so ominous that it gave off a sense of intimidation that almost suffocated me.

The red eyes, like boiling magma, glared at me.

“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

The roar was now a kind of attack. The tremendous volume shook my brain. A normal person would have fainted at this point.

…Fortunately, I’m safe.

Thanks to the [Transmigrator], all abnormalities have been shut out. But I am not the only one in this place. When I looked at Iris, she had a pained expression on her face but managed to hold her position.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Don’t underestimate the strength of the Dragon-folk.”

Iris smiled fearlessly. Her crimson, pure eyes were full of fighting spirit.

I think she can handle this.

“You’re amazing, Kou. How can you keep a calm face after hearing such a loud scream?”

“It’s because of my skills.”

I answered shortly and turned my gaze to the Black Dragon in the sky.

First, let’s start with [Appraisal].

Black Dragon of Extreme Destruction: A dragon of calamity that appears only once every four thousand years. Its flames are the flames of the apocalypse, turning all civilizations to ashes. Its jet-black scales contain a great curse that only a dragon-slaying magic sword can wound.

It seems that the Black Dragon’s real name (?) is The Black Dragon of Extreme Destruction.

But what’s more important is the second half of the description.

For example, even if I brought the Destroyer Golem here, it would not be an effective fighting force. Even the special power of the super high-powered magic laser cannon would not work against the Black Dragon as it would be bounced by the cursed scales.

The only thing that could defeat the Black Dragon is the dragon-slaying magic sword.

If I hadn’t found Gram in the vault, I would have had to flee in a panic.

The Black Dragon was positioned high in the sky, so direct attacks were unlikely to reach it.

But I have the《God of War Slash S+》.

“First, let’s do a little test…!”

When I put magic power into Gram, the blade is enveloped in silver light.

The amount consumed is about 10% of my maximum MP. The value is around 3000. The magic power of an average magician is 100, so it’s the equivalent of 30 magicians giving it their all.

“Haaaaaahhh!”

When I swung Gram down with spirit, a silvery slash was released. It reached the Black Dragon at lightning speed, carving a not-so-shallow wound in its torso.

A splash of blood danced and poured down to the ground.

“Guuuu… ooooooooo!”

The Black Dragon looked in agony for just a few seconds and then roared in anger. It opened its mouth violently and glowed red ── a huge fireball was released.

This is the hellfire that burned through the ancient metropolis. A direct hit would easily obliterate Iris and me.

…Of course, there is no way that we will just sit back and let it happen.

“Iris, please!”

“Leave it to me. …I’ll protect you, I promise.”

In response to my shout, Iris raises the Dragon God shield.

The《Dragon God’s Barrier EX》was activated, and a huge wall of light appeared in front of us.

The fireball crashes into it.

A roaring sound shook the ground with the explosion, and a fierce wind blew through.

The other side of the wall had been burned to the ground, but we were unharmed. The wall of light was still intact. Apparently, the Black Dragon’s fireball had been successfully blocked.

“Guuuu, gaaaaaaaah!”

The Black Dragon roared irritably and then it flapped its wings and soared high into the sky.

…I wondered if it would just fly away into space. But unfortunately, my wish was not fulfilled.

“Gaaaaaaahhhh!”

The Black Dragon circled vigorously at a high altitude and swooped down towards Iris and me.

I guess it couldn’t break through the defensive barrier with the fireball, so it switched to a direct attack.

The huge body of the Black Dragon, with its overwhelming speed, hit the wall of light.

…The wall of light shattered without any difficulty. Then the Black Dragon continued to plummet down to crush us with its momentum.

“I can’t believe it broke through the barrier…!”

Iris gasped.

In this situation, if you think about it normally, you will be in a desperate pinch. But I have a way to turn the tables.

I activated the《God’s Speed Blessing EX》and ran through the accelerated world. As much as 10,000 magic power were consumed per second, so I couldn’t afford to be complacent.

First, I ran to Iris’ side and picked her up.

If I were to apply the laws of physics on Earth, I would be moving at several hundred kilometers per hour, and I would have flipped Iris off, but that didn’t happen. Is there some special law at work here? Well, I’ll have to wait until after I survive to think about that.

I took Iris in my arms and left the place.

When I had gained enough distance, I lowered her to the ground and deactivated the《God’s Speed Blessing EX》.

During these two seconds, it consumed 60% of my MP, but I can’t risk my life.

The Black Dragon noticed that we had disappeared and made a sudden stop in midair.

This would be a fatal gap in the battle.

I pointed my left arm ── technically, the Black Spider’s gauntlet on my left arm ── at the Black Dragon.

“I have to stop it from moving first.”

I poured magic power into the gauntlet and activated《Black Spider Thread EX》.

Immediately after, the sticky spider silk was spat out like a flood. The amount clearly exceeded the volume of the entire gauntlet.

It must have been converting the magic power into spider silk. In a way, it’s like a relative of the [Creation] effect.

An enormous amount of spider silk entangled the whole body of the Black Dragon and took away its freedom.

“Guugaaaaaahhh!”

Unable to move its wings due to the thread, the Black Dragon fell directly to the ground.

With a thunderous roar, a cloud of dust rolled up.

The Black Dragon tried to stand up immediately, but due to the spider silk, it was unable to move properly.

At my side, Iris was looking at me with wide eyes.

“Hey, Kou… Could it be that we’re beating the Black Dragon…?”

“For now, it’s all good.”

And I’m going to push through this if I can.

I hold up the Gram.

The《God’s Speed Blessing EX》and《Black Spider Thread EX》consumed a lot of magic power, but in my case, one percent is recovered per second. My magic power had already returned to 40% of its maximum value.

I poured all of it into the《God of War Slash S+》.

“Let’s just push it through.”

I set up the Gram as if carrying it on my right shoulder and swung it down with all my might.

“Haaaaaaaaaaa!”

A flash of light, like a cosmic supernova explosion, shot out from the blade. It was no longer a slash of light but a bombardment of light.

It would be as powerful as, if not more powerful than, the Destroyer Golem’s super high-powered magic laser cannon.

“Guoooooooo!”

But the Black Dragon wasn’t without resistance either.

Struggling against the spider silk, it turned towards me, opened its mouth wide, and unleashed a fireball with all its might.

The slash of light and fireball collided, causing a huge explosion.

“Kou, get back!”

A barrier of light was  deployed in front of me.

Looking behind, Iris was holding up the Dragon God shield.

Apparently, she reactivated the《Dragon God Barrier EX》.

It was a close call. If Iris had not put up the barrier, both of us would have been caught in the explosion.

“Thanks, Iris.”

“I told you I would protect you, didn’t I?”

Iris muttered a little proudly.

“I wonder what happened to the Black Dragon.”

“…I hope we managed to defeat it.”

There was nothing to see beyond the barrier. The explosion had passed, but black smoke was still billowing from the charred ground.

My vision was completely blocked.

I checked my [Item Box], but there was no Black Dragon corpse in there.

…This means that the battle is not over yet.

As if to reinforce this perception, the Gram emits a metallic screeching sound.

Immediately after…

There was a thunderous roar, and all the black smoke in front of me was blown away.

“Guaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

The roar was the most violent yet and was followed by a shockwave. Several cracks appeared in the light barrier.

The Black Dragon was staring at us from high in the sky. Its body was deeply wounded, but it didn’t seem to be weakened.

An aura like a black mist rose from its body, giving off an air of misery.

The Black Dragon roared again.

At the same time, something unexpected happened.

The jet-black aura seemed to swell greatly, and the madder-red sky closed in on abyssal darkness.

It was as if night had fallen… No, it was even darker than night. There are no stars or moon in sight, only darkness.

The abnormality had reached us as well.

It’s hard to put into words, but I felt as if something was slipping out of my body.

When I checked my status, I saw that my MP had stopped recovering, and in fact, had begun to decrease.

What was going on?

Just as I was wondering, [Full Assist] was activated, and an inorganic voice sounded in my mind.

The Black Dragon of Extreme Destruction has activated the [Dark Field]. This is a skill that absorbs magic power from any living being within a radius of two kilometers.

When I heard that explanation, I gasped.

…This is not good.

My magic power recovers one percent per second, but the absorption speed of the [Dark Field] exceeded that. My MP is already less than 10,000, and I can’t even retreat with the《God’s Speed Blessing EX》.

The longer the battle drags on, the more disadvantageous it becomes. I should hurry up and settle this.

I gave all my remaining magic power to Gram.

“Oryaaaaaaa!”

《God of War Slash S+》── a silver flash of light ── gushed out and approached the Black Dragon.

It’s an attack with all my might. If I can’t beat it with this, I’ll never have a chance.

“Guuuuu… oooooooooo!”

The Black Dragon spreads its wings wide and deploys a dark-colored barrier in front of it.

The two opposing sides, light and dark, collided violently. In conclusion, the silver flash managed to break through the barrier.

However, at that point, it had lost most of its power and was unable to do any damage to the Black Dragon.

“Gaaaaaaaaaaa!”

The Black Dragon roared as if it was proud of its victory and immediately began to counterattack.

Its jaw opened wide, and its mouth flared red.

What came out of it was not a fireball but a torrent of heat rays.

My magic power is running out. I don’t have any items that can turn things around, and I’m completely out of options.

Will I have to give up now?

“Kou!”

That’s when it happened.

Iris jumped in front of me and deployed a light barrier.

“I will protect you. That is what I promised…!”

The walls creaked and squeaked as they received the heat rays of the Black Dragon. However, the confrontation did not last long.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaa!”

The wall cracked here and there and eventually shattered into pieces.

As a result of the aftermath, Iris’ body was flung away. There is nothing to block the heat rays anymore. At this rate, both Iris and I would be burned to a crisp.

I don’t want that. I’ve just started a new life, and I don’t want it to end halfway like this.

When I was working in Japan, I didn’t have anything worth living for, and to be honest; I didn’t care when I died.

But now, it’s different.

Ever since I came to this other world, I’ve enjoyed every day.

Iris, Milia, Chrome-san, Relic, Chief Zitan, the old man of the Golden Bear Restaurant, the adventurers, the town residents… everyone warmly welcomed me as a visitor.

I felt very comfortable spending time with them, and that’s why I don’t want to let go of them.

I don’t want to die.

I want to live.

I’m going back to them.

With my determination, my concentration increases to the limit, and my thoughts accelerate to the limit.

In a second that felt like an eternity, I saw the ring on my left hand.

It was given to me by Milia last night.

It was a Spirit Ring. There are several letters like the alphabet engraved on its surface.

Now, each of the letters was shining with a golden light.

“You who come from a faraway land, if you challenge the dragon, empty your vessel. The blessings of the spirits cannot be placed there.”

There must have been something like that written on it.

As I remembered this, I heard an inorganic voice.

Kou Kousaka is a [Transmigrator].

Second, Kou Kousaka is engaged in battle with the Black Dragon.

Third, Kou Kousaka’s magic power is zero.

Since all of the above conditions are met, the [Spiritual Blessing] will be temporarily released!

In the next moment, my body was enveloped in a warm, golden light.

My magic power, which should have been exhausted, is now full, and in fact, it continues to increase beyond the upper limit.

The number of my MP is 100,000, 200,000, 300,000… and eventually, it breaks through the one million mark.

I don’t know what is happening, but it is definitely an opportunity.

“…Let’s go.”

I activated the《God of War Slash S+》. I raised the Gram high in the air and put all the magic I had into it, and swung it down!

A golden flash of light was released.

It pushed back the heat rays at a furious pace and finally attacked the Black Dragon.

“Guaaaaaaaaaa!”

The screams of the Black Dragon echoed. The golden light burned its entire body, and it began to crash to the ground.

When the huge body eventually crashed into the ground, its feet trembled violently with a roar.

“Gu… aaaaaaaaa!”

But the Black Dragon was still alive. It opened its mouth wide and was about to release the heat rays again.

Of course, I wasn’t going to let it shoot me.

I readied the Gram.

My magic power is still increasing, and the MP equivalent is over a billion.

I channeled all of it into the blade, converged it, and unleashed the final blow.

“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

The flashing blade cut through the Black Dragon.

I cut it.

I could feel it in my hand.

The Black Dragon’s body slowly tilted and fell to the ground.

It never moved again.

Soon, the darkness that surrounded the area had cleared up, and the sky returned to a deep crimson.

I’ve won.