Arc 7, Chapter 56B "The Flying Dragon Disaster"
--An alarm bell went off in Flop's head the moment he saw the girl standing in the plume of smoke.
It is not a real alarm bell that echoes throughout Guaral, but rather an alarm bell that is set off by his own survival instincts as a living creature. It rings so loudly that his head aches.
To be clear, Flop is not someone who can fight, unlike Medium.
He was frustrated when he tried to work out a bit, and he didn't want to deprive his sister of the role she had chosen, in her own way, when she realized that she was actually causing pain by stroking her brother's wounds.
Therefore, he has no warrior's intuition or warrior's eye.
And yet--,
"She's not good."
And swallowed a bitter spit as the girl pulled her foot out of the hole made by the impact of the fall.
"----"
A short girl of short stature glaring at Flop and the others, the pupils of her golden eyes narrowed.
She looks two or three years older than Schult and Utakata, but the atmosphere she wears is comparable to that of Medium or Mizelda - or even more dangerous.
That is so close to the threat of the "Nine Divine Generals" who took Mizelda's leg that it feels like a threat.
"......Redhead, can you manage to create a gap? Somehow, I want to get both the Butler and Utakata-sama out of there."
The only other person whom Flop suggested in a whisper was Heinkel, who could be a force to be reckoned with here.
He would be able to help protect Utakata and the others much better than Flop could as a meat shield, as he had demonstrated his swordsmanship by slaying a flying dragon.
Ideally, it would be great if Heinkel were strong enough to defeat that girl.
"--tsk"
"Redhead?"
Leaving his guard up for the girl, Flop wonders about Heinkel's lack of response.
He was hesitant to take his eyes off the threat before him, but working with Heinkel was a matter of the highest priority. Determined, Flop glanced at Heinkel.
--Heinkel's eyes were wide open and his pale face was covered in a thick greasy sweat.
"H-, Heinkel-sama? Are you all right?"
"Uh, ah......"
Flop noticed Heinkel's unusual behavior at about the same time that Schult did.
The red-haired swordsman's cheeks tightened and his inarticulate voice escaped from his throat at the youngster's words.
It is hard to tell from the side whether the response is that they know the girl's identity. However, regardless of the pros and cons, there is one fact that is clear.
That is--,
"What the hell, dude? Are you frightened?"
The squinting girl's gaze, she looked at Heinkel's feet as he stood there. His legs, which were shaking on both knees, so much so that he felt uneasy even standing.
What is there is enough fright and fear, i.e., despair, to be obvious to anyone.
"Hey, hey! First time seeing you, young lady, can I have a few words with you!"
At a glance at Heinkel's despair, Flop immediately shouted it out.
Immediately, Heinkel and Schult's shoulders jump, and the girl in front of them turns her eyes toward them. The gaze doesn't kill them, but it's an oppressive feeling that we're not surprised that it does.
But Flop roused his heart, loosened his cheeks, and spread his hands to make a smile.
"I am Flop O'Connell, a humble peddler. I'm a poor peddler, and I'm in the middle of a very difficult situation, and I'm confused. You seem to know more about it than I do."
"--. Collateral damage? Then you're out of luck."
"Well, I am not used to being called unlucky. I am proud to say that I have a lot of things that I lack, but luck is the only thing that I have. How can I be unlucky?"
"You can kill everyone in this city. So says the old man."
"All of the city."
Flop chuckles at the girl who responds with a small jaw squawk, indicating her surroundings. But inwardly, he was more than laughing, he was very upset.
Where is the room for negotiation when the goal is to annihilate the city's inhabitants?
He wishes he could talk to the 'old man' who ordered her to do something.
"As far as I've heard, the old man said that the city's annihilation was a mistake. I suggest you ask your friends and colleagues who are with you again."
"No friends, no companions. There are no friends or comrades, only compatriots and enemies. --You are making fun of the dragon. You seem to know no fear."
"It's outrageous to make fun of him! I'm just trying to get to know you. I'd even like to hear your name, for starters. Wouldn't you agree?"
"Y-, yes! I want to know your name! My name is Schult!"
The girl is about to get into a bad mood, and Flop, clapping his hands, asks his allies to agree. Then Schult got in on the act and said her name as she raised her hand.
The girl, who has now been introduced by two people, Flop and Schult, wrinkles the brow of her pretty face and introduced herself,
"--Madelyn Eschart. The dragon is the 'Nine Divine Generals'."
"Squeal......"
Heinkel was immensely impressed by the title of the girl - Madelyn - who came back to him with her name, without hesitation.
His knees, which had been shaking even when just meeting her, were getting even worse when he heard her title, which confirmed her ability. It was a miracle that she did not fall on her buttocks.
Flop was no laughing matter for Heinkel. Heinkel's opponent, whom he thought was as dangerous as the "Nine Divine Generals", was the "Nine Divine Generals" as it were.
And--,
"--Utakata-sama."
Quietly, Flop sees a change in the situation and calls the name of the opponent who made the change.
Utakata, the girl called to Flop, was moving, her eyes fixed on Madelyn in front of her. She lowers the bow on her back and aims an arrow at Madelyn.
The distance between them is seven or eight meters, a distance that even her arm would not miss.
However, then, it is not at all true that they are standing on an advantageous footing.
"That enemy, the flying dragon, is at the top of the herd. It's the same as the previous Me, and the same as the current Ta. If we defeat that enemy, we'll be done fighting."
"I-, Is that so!?"
"Perhaps Utakata-sama is right. Unless, of course, there are other 'Nine Divine Generals' besides her."
When Flop glances at her, Madelyn doesn't interrupt her to talk about it.
With her attitude so far, she is a child who responds to our words in a certain way. If we say something obviously wrong, it should be more natural for her to react in some way.
In other words, Madelyn is leading the attack on this fortress city. If she is defeated, Utakata's view that she can make the flying dragon pull back will be correct.
The only problem is that they don't think it is very possible.
"You're a warrior, you're also a warrior, you...... don't run away. You are a warrior."
"Huh...... you mean, me?"
"Yes. You're a warrior, too."
Schult rolls his eyes at being pointed at so abruptly and evaluated as such.
Surprising Schult, Madelyn pointed to Utakata, Flop, and Schult with her small hand and described them as 'warriors'.
As it was, Madelyn's finger pointed to the last one, Heinkel.
"You are no warrior. You slayed a dragon and you are a coward."
"Guh......"
"Draw your swords. The dragon will strike you. For every ounce of blood you shed."
As she said this, Madelyn slowly took a step toward them.
And so, slowly, Madelyn's feet close the distance and head toward Heinkel, who has killed the flying dragon, not caring that he is being targeted by Utakata's arrows.
"--Hit me!"
At the same time as her enthusiasm, Utakata's arrow was released, aiming at Madelyn's chest. It flew straight up and was caught between two fingers of Madelyn's lifted hand.
Madelyn did not even look at Utakata. Her gaze was fixed on Heinkel.
"Redhead!"
"Heinkel-sama!"
Realizing the danger, Flop shouted, and Schult tried to pull Heinkel's arm. Heinkel was not intimidated by Schult's ineffectiveness.
Rather, Heinkel cleared his throat at the approaching Madelyn and shook off Schult's arm to pull him away.
Schult falls on his butt and Heinkel bites his back teeth.
"Oh, ohhhh......!"
Heinkel's hand gripped the sword with a strong, strong force. His cheeks turned red as he clenched his teeth, and the blood that was pumping through his veins tried to crush the cowardice that shook his legs from the front.
Again, Madelyn kept her feet and closed the distance to Heinkel.
Compared to the flying dragon, this little girl is incomparably smaller in size.
Heinkel struck a blow with his sword against the approaching girl.
"--oh"
With a high pitched clang, the sword rolled out of Heinkel's trembling hands.
At the moment when the full force of his sword technique was released, his arm was not raised and he had taken down his sword.
And then--,
"I knew it. You're no warrior."
Madelyn's disdainful words are slammed into Heinkel's side with a fist.
The blow struck Heinkel's strong, tall body, and with tremendous force, the red-haired swordsman was blasted sideways. His entire body slammed into a stone building, cracking the stone wall into his human form.
A blow with a powerful wind, which causes Heinkel to go white-eyed with a single blow.
The flying dragon's repeated stone throws at the city, and the impact and roar that they bring, were no less than a blow thrown with a fist, but Madelyn's anger was not appeased.
"Kah"
Madelyn's opposite fist smashes through Heinkel's nose as he falls forward. He was slammed into the wall from the back of his head, and the girl's kick pierced his torso as he recoiled.
The impact penetrates and the house exposed to destruction behind Heinkel collapses noisily. Grabbing Heinkel's leg as it was engulfed in a plume of smoke, Madelyn forcefully threw him the other way.
He fell back onto the street ground, Heinkel's body rumbling and rolling vigorously. The building across the street from the house that had just collapsed, this time it caught him hard.
The window shatters with the impact, and the scattered fragments pour down on Heinkel like rain. Heinkel, who had fallen down, did not even twitch as his entire body was covered in fine cuts.
"----"
If it was Flop involved, it would have been a deadly attack.
Besides Flop, this is an attack that would kill most people. Heinkel's life or death becomes uncertain after being hit with a barrage of attacks that even Medium is not sure he can withstand.
But Madelyn, who makes her living fighting, would never allow such a half-baked settlement.
"Suckers."
Muttering in a voice that did not hide her contempt, Madelyn's hand reached behind her back. The bag on her back was unbuttoned, and immediately afterward, the items that had been stored in it were opened with a sound.
It is a folded, sharp blade, a long weapon shaped like a wide open pair of scissors. Flop has a memory of seeing something similar in the nomadic hunts of the nomadic tribes that travel across the wide, majestic steppes.
It is called a "flying wing blade", and if thrown by a good thrower, it can circle for tens of meters, spinning back to the user.
However, the weapon on Madelyn's back was as large as she was petite, and it was an advanced weapon with a handle for use other than throwing.
She turns it mercilessly on Heinkel, who is lying on the ground. Heinkel was in such a state after being hit by a barehanded blow. If she were to be hit with a weapon, there would probably be no prototype left.
"Why don't you stop, Madelyn-sama? I understand your anger, and I know you must be burning with rage after your friends were killed. But when you are attacked, the attacker has no choice but to fight back."
Biting her lip tightly to keep her attention, Flop said this to Madelyn's back. With the flying wing blade in her hand, she turned away and responded to Flop, "Don't get me wrong."
"The dragon is the greatest creature on earth. If you bite that dragon, you deserve to be exterminated. That too."
"That too?"
"I will not allow this scumbag to get away with this."
Madelyn's golden eyes flashed with anger, and Flop realized the reason for her irritation.
Naturally, he is angry about the killing of the flying dragon on his side, but bigger is the fact that Heinkel, who did it, took down his sword and couldn't fight.
She is angry that her friends were killed by someone so insignificant.
It was an insult not only to Heinkel, but to the lives of the flying dragons he had slain.
"Woah!"
"Ugh!"
A moment later, Madelyn kicked a pebble from the ground before Flop could move in an attempt to stop Madelyn's movements. It struck Flop, who was about to move, and Utakata's leg and arm, which were about to nock the next arrow, respectively, impeding their actions.
Meanwhile, Madelyn raised her flying wing blade and tried to smash Heinkel below.
But--,
"N-, No, you can't--!"
Unlike the two who were hit by pebbles, Schult, who was on the outside of the alert, rushed in with a broken heart. The young boy held out his hands and broke between Madelyn and Heinkel.
Schult's small body covers Heinkel, too fragile a shelter to resist the storm.
But Madelyn was not so kind as to hold back when she saw the boy's recklessness.
"No one would have let him live anyway."
Madelyn's eyes narrowed and a flying wing blade was launched down into Schult's head.
△▼△▼△▼△
"--Rem! Are you all right!?"
A slender woman opens the large door and jumps into the mansion, her voice rising.
Rem, who had been scrambling down the hall, looked up at the familiar voice and replied, "Yes!"
"Kuna! Holly, too!"
"Thank God you're okay! Geez, it's already a big mess all over the city!"
In front of Rem, whose eyes widened, two pairs of footsteps, one light and the other heavy, run up to her: Kuna and Holly, two members of the "People of the Shudrak" stationed in the city.
Hearing their voices, Rem's eyes relaxed with slight relief.
"I'm glad you two are okay. Are you hurt?"
"We're fine, for now. But....."
"......Everyone is falling into pieces."
They dropped the tone of their voices and spilled out, looking around the hall where Rem was running around.
Around the three of them, residents who had been damaged or injured in the chaos that had begun in the city were being brought in one after another, and it looked like a sanitarium where volunteers were helping to patch them up.
If the wound is shallow, it can be treated with stitches and bandages. However, if the wound is life-threatening--,
"I, have to answer......"
Biting her lip tightly, Rem clutches her hand.
On her right hand, which is opposite to the one that holds the staff, there is already blood that does not belong to Rem himself. Blood that cannot be wiped away, no matter how many times you wipe it off.
Soon after Rem and Priscilla observed the herd of flying dragons from the bathhouse's dew platform, the black spots approaching from afar quickly became a threat and launched their attack on the city.
Some flying dragons throw down large rocks from the sky, and some hunt cruelly, snatching fleeing people from the ground and throwing them down, also from great heights.
Citizens who do not have the strength to fight either attack are easy prey.
People who have been exposed to such damage have rushed to the house as a shelter and treatment center, which is the reason for the current devastation of the house.
She thought Priscilla would be very angry with her if this happened, but--,
"The house was confiscated in order to keep the location of the valuable healers clear and secure. I have also ordered Zikr and others to send the wounded to us."
"I-, is that so......!?"
"What, you didn't really think that I took the house for the hot spring? The correct answer is that we took it for the bathhouse and the size of the house."
Adding the fact that such an exchange occurred.
Anyway, Priscilla is allowing the wounded to enter the mansion. Apparently, she had informed Zikr, Mizelda, and other key officials in the city.
"So I don't know why you won't tell me the bottom line, but......!"
As far as she was concerned, Rem didn't pursue that because she didn't feel she would get a good answer.
Above all, Rem has no time for Priscilla's childishness and mischievousness. At any rate, one after another, injured people who need Rem's help are brought in one after another without a break.
"Both Kuna and Holly are......"
"The Chieftain...... Ah! Not anymore! I was told by the Former Chief Mizelda!"
"More dead people means lower morale. The more people die, the lower the morale, and we don't want fewer people to be able to fight, so we have to play the role of Rem's babysitters. That's why......"
Then Kuna breaks off and narrows her slitted eyes. When Rem stiffens slightly at the sharpness of the look, Kuna scoffs at the mansion full of wounded people and said,
"Who's the princess taking care of you? Surely you're not relaxing in your room with all the commotion going on?"
"If you were, you would be a very sleepy person. If it were me, I'd wake up even if I was full to the brim and asleep."
Asked by slightly different standards of urgency, Rem shook his head at their questions.
Certainly, Priscilla has an arrogant, self-centered personality, and she can understand why the two of them would be concerned about her quirkiness.
"Surprisingly, Priscilla is a very dependable person."
Yes, right after Rem's comment about the unseen Priscilla.
"--!!"
A high pitched sound, like a strong wind passing between buildings, falls headlong into the front yard of the mansion.
It was a huge winged dragon that had failed to land from the sky. With its wings spread out, the flying dragon was roughly four meters long, and it landed awkwardly, as if it had just flown for the first time.
But not unreasonably.
The basics of landing, which he would normally have judged by rule of thumb or instinct, would not have been satisfactorily powerful with that head smashed in.
Then, right next to the crashed corpse of the flying dragon, a figure from the sky landed. It was Priscilla, a beautiful woman with a fluttering red dress and a crimson treasure sword in her hand.
"I am surprised you used a concubine to get rid of the dew. This loan is going to cost you, Rem."
"Thank you very much. I wash your hair with all my heart and gratitude."
"What audacity to get away with it. I forgive you. I like it."
Priscilla accepts Rem's answer in a hawkish response through the open door.
Ah from earlier, Priscilla has been using her unorthodox physical abilities to slash down and return fire on flying dragons that come flying at the mansion.
Witnessing this firsthand, Kuna and his colleagues could not hide their astonishment.
For some reason, Rem feels a little proud of their reaction. However, Priscilla, relative to the flying dragon, is not entirely without concerns.
The main reason for this is the beautiful red treasure sword she holds in her hand--,
"Priscilla, how's your yang sword doing......"
"As you can see, the sun has set. For the time being, this is not a sword, it is a namakura. More than likely."
She reveals some kind of malfunction in "The Yang Sword," at which point Priscilla turns back around.
A moment later, a flapping flying dragon aimed at Priscilla's back and opened its mouth to furiously thrust its fangs. Priscilla relentlessly thrust her yangshen, which had lost its sharpness, into the oral cavity of that ground dragon.
The fangs snap, the tip of the yang-sword pierces the back of the flying dragon's throat, and the dragon dies from the momentum.
"With me, a pterosaur is nothing, even if it is an unsliceable catfish."
Priscilla swings her sword and tosses the huge body of the flying dragon she killed to the edge of the garden. Easily dismissing the threat, she then notices Kuna and the others standing by Rem's side.
Shudraks, huh. They're here to protect Rem, no doubt."
"Priscilla, you two can go...... help the injured."
"Don't let the pretty mislead you as to the true nature of the matter. What good is a wounded man on the battlefield? Who is the most valuable thing here? If not the mistress, then you."
"--tk"
With a snap, Rem choked up as he was cut off from his rebuttal. But as if to affirm Priscilla's ruthless assessment, Kuna nodded, "That's right."
"My role is to protect Rem. And Rem's role is to......"
"The only thing that will make the death toll go down is to make it as low as possible."
The quiet Kuna's words are backed up by Holly's cheerful words.
Burned by their words, and by Priscilla's gaze, Rem was deeply sorry for herself. It was only yesterday that she had been able to feel sorry for herself, that she was not in such an important position.
She can no longer take advantage of her position. Above all, Rem herself wanted it.
"I will fight my battles. Kuna, Holly, thank you for your help!"
"Oh."
"You're in charge!"
Kuna and the others nodded with reliable smiles in response to Rem's determined answer.
With their feelings saved, Rem looked at Priscilla. Priscilla was defending the mansion until an escort who could protect Rem rushed to her--,
"You're going, aren't you?"
"It seems that there are many situations in which we cannot go on without her. Zikr may know how to give up his strength, but he is not strong enough to stand up to the enemy's main force."
"The mainstay of the enemy is......"
"--Of course, it would be the 'Nine Divine Generals'."
Priscilla's answer, with one eye closed, made Rem gulp.
The existence of the "Nine Divine Generals" is a critical factor that determines the war situation of this empire. In order to secure as many of them as possible, Subaru, Abel and the others set out for the Chaos Flame.
Nevertheless, one of the "Nine Divine Generals" is going to attack this city.
"Of course, this must be one of those who gave the other side the benefit of the doubt. Abel's situation seems to be more and more unfavorable. How could they have found themselves on such loose ground?"
"I don't know much about Abel's work ethic in that regard, so I can't say anything about it. If he was spending his time like that, I'm sure it would have been difficult for people around him......"
Rem has many thoughts about Subaru, but she does not think that Abel's attitude is praiseworthy. Abel, who is known for his arrogant behavior because of his cleverness, foresight, and knowledge of the situation, is a difficult opponent for Rem, who has no memories to back her up.
If he was at the top of the country, there must have been many people around him. It is hard to imagine that all of them would have understood Abel's ideas and readily followed them.
So there was a rebellion. But--,
"That's why such terrible things get away with......!"
It should not be, Rem's gaze appealed as she piled herself up on a fragile foundation.
At the one word Rem squeezed out of her, Priscilla laughed, "Heh", as if she had no idea what she was thinking. When Rem's eyes widened at that reaction, Priscilla turned away as if that smile had never been there.
"This group of flying dragons cannot be explained by "counting dragons". It must be one of the generals that grew up without my concubine. If it is Serena, then it must be the 'flying dragon general'."
"As I recall, the 'Number Nine'...... is also, somewhere in this city......"
"--The City Hall."
"----"
"If the enemy is not stupid, we will go there. There is no reason to go to the trouble of missing the command post."
It was said as a matter of course, and for a moment, a blankness blurred in Rem's consciousness.
But as soon as the information flows into that void, she is immediately struck by the urgency of the situation. On top of that, it is Priscilla's leisurely attitude that makes Rem panicky.
"Th-, the command center is under attack! Priscilla!"
"Fool. He may be plump, but Zikr is still a 'general' of the empire. He will not die for nothing. He is not so foolish as to keep by his side those who cannot fight."
"That's...... ah. Spe-, speaking of not being able to fight, where's Schult!"
Before she and Priscilla begin bathing, the presence of a boy who has left the mansion makes Rem impatient.
Hardworking but clumsy, Schult is a frail being with no more power than those who need Rem's help.
Schult had been thrown out in this chaotic city.
Hopefully, he had joined up with someone, an adult he could count on, but if not.
"Priscilla! Quickly, quickly, please go!"
"It is your duty to at least pray for the safety of your concubine. But you don't have to be in such a hurry, Schult doesn't die so easily."
"Huh......?"
Priscilla sniffs at Rem, who waves her hand hurriedly, and Priscilla replies with a casual demeanor.
Rem raised her eyebrows, not understanding the meaning of Priscilla's words. Naturally, Kuna and Holly also looked puzzled, with the same infantile appearance on their faces, as if they had no idea what she was talking about.
What makes Schult, whose weapon of choice is her cuteness and hard work, so safe?
With such questioning glances from Rem and the others, Priscilla put her hand on the door of the mansion, trying to keep themselves away from the flying dragon's attack.
"--It was because of his loveliness and healthiness that he won the favor of the mistress."
She replied, and the door of the mansion was closed.
△▼△▼△▼△
A violent, dull thud rang out, and Flop felt his soul crushed by his own helplessness.
The tragedy is that the pain of the pebbles stopped him in his tracks and he couldn't even reach out.
He wanted to close his eyes and turn his face away, but Flop did not. He felt that to do so was to evade responsibility for his inability to do anything.
At the very least, he must see the results of what he did and what he did not do.
With such modest resolve, Flop did not turn away.
And then--,
"......What, dude?"
Madelyn swung down the flying wing blade in her hand and tried to cut her prey in two with its sharp edge.
No doubt, she tried to cut Heinkel, whom she despised, and Schult, whom she tried to protect, in half. It's not like she stopped her hand in the process.
And yet--,
"Ugh, ughh......!"
Gingerly, Schult covers Heinkel, who falls over, gritting his teeth and snarling.
His body was neither torn nor crushed. But Madelyn's blow certainly should have caught Schult in the back of the head and shattered it.
In fact, he even saw Flop hit directly and heard the dull sound of the hit with his ears.
However, it was only a dull sound that resonated.
"--?"
Madelyn curiously compares her weapon to the back of Schult's head and tilts her head. Then, keeping her head tilted, Madelyn brought her flying wing blade down on Schult again.
Once, twice, three times, four times, over and over again.
"P-, please stop! You're hurting me!"
"That's crazy! The dragon was going to kill him. Why didn't him die?"
"Maybe it's...... your desire not to kill people that makes you relax your hand just before the weapon strikes...... Gah"
"Don't make fun of the dragon!"
Madelyn's anger turned to Flop as she complained that she didn't understand why.
She kicks a stone, larger than the one that stopped Flop earlier, and flicks it backwards against Flop's chest.
There was a creaking sensation in his sternum and Flop could no longer breathe properly.
But--,
"I-, it hurts, it hurts......"
As a matter of fact, Schult, who was struck repeatedly with a sharp blade, grunted in pain but did not lose his life. The bizarre incident finally ignited Madelyn's tantrum.
Madelyn snaps her teeth and her hand grabs Schult's peach-colored hair to cause her body to move.
And then--,
"What the hell are you hiding......"
"~~~"
It was caused by force, and Schult's throat screamed in grief. But Madelyn's reaction was more than that, as she turned her angry eyes on Schult.
Madelyn's golden eyes widened and her lips quivered with a wince. He could see why she reacted the way she did, and he also saw Flop with tears in her eyes from the pain.
Schult that had been triggered, a dramatic change in their appearance.
The change is that--,
"--Schu, your eyes are burning."
Utakata, who saw the same thing, is correct in her straightforward description.
At first glance, Utakata's point made no sense, but she can't think of another way to describe it. From Flop's point of view, it was as good as said.
Perhaps it was the fact that both of Schult's red eyes were lit with flickering flames.
"Huh, huh, huh......"
However, Schult himself did not seem to be aware of this, and he blinked his eyes, unable to understand the reactions of those around him. Schult's eyes swiveled around to check his face, which caught everyone's attention, and he peeked at the blade of the flying wing blade that had been thrust at him.
Schult's face reflected in the curved blade would have been distorted, but the flames burning the twin eyes in question were apparently clearly visible.
Wh-, What is this!? Ah, it's hot! Ah! It's not hot!"
Running his hand over his own face, Schult complains about his lack of realization of the flames.
Apparently, they were not suddenly burned in the face, but the cause is too unclear. But it is only Flop who is baffled as to the meaning.
Looking into Schult's face, her cheeks hardening in astonishment, Madelyn had an idea of the flames burning the infant's twin eyes.
Hence, she shouts out the idea.
"You don't think you're one of those fox people, do you?"
"Fox......"
"People?"
"--?"
Madelyn is upset, and the three people who have no idea of her cries blink their eyes.
Immediately before, she was staring at Schult, struck by intense surprise and confusion, with no time to worry about the sudden breakdown in Madelyn's tone.
The hand that held Schult was released, and the boy fell forward with a "wah". Madelyn kicked the ground hard in front of the boy, who was again covered by Heinkel.
"----"
In one breath, Madelyn's figure leaps into the air above the street.
The suddenness and momentum of the event even made it seem to Flop as if she had disappeared. But the ground on which she stepped caved in violently, and the building on which she had been scaffolded to gain acceleration collapsed.
Madelyn went up into the sky and swung her flying wing blade boldly with both of her arms.
"You're in the way of the dragon again......! I'm going to make you disappear, you obstacle--!!"
A voice of rejection echoes high in the air, and the flying wing blade that is swung down furiously approaches the ground.
A flying dragon throws a rock, the mechanism is the same, but the force applied is orders of magnitude greater. Unlike a large rock, which is thrown without aiming, the blade aims to cut both sides of Schult's body.
Schult's body, which has become robust by whatever principle.
But when he was hit repeatedly, Schult said it hurt. It did not mean that his body had become invincible, that the impact was completely impenetrable.
And even if your body is sturdy, if your child cries "ouch"--,
"I have to go, or Medium will get mad at me!"
Enduring the pain in his creaking chest, Flop had rushed toward Schult in a hurry.
He doesn't know how much of a shield his body will be against that attack. But it would be a blessing if the momentum of the attack was reduced, even if only a little, and if Schult could be saved.
Without even having time to think about it, Flop exposed himself to the threat of the flying wing blade.
"--It's a big deal."
For some reason, the voice, which was not loud, was heard clearly, and a fierce light of shock and impact struck each other, burning Flop's eyes.
"----"
It was the brilliance created by a bright red treasure sword that collided right next to a flying wing blade that was spinning and falling at high speed from directly above.
The red light bursts silently, and Flop feels as if it were bathed in wind all over its body.
When it was done, what followed was the dull thud of flesh hitting flesh.
"--"
Looking up, he saw a figure glide diagonally into a building on the ground with a bitter cry. Flop realized quite late that it was Madelyn, who had so boldly collapsed the stone building with her body.
And the one who did it was a bright red beauty who landed in front of the gasping Flop--,
"Princess!"
"Priscilla-sama!!"
"Puu"
"You know that, don't you? You know that at such times, it is the praise of the mistress that should be shouted."
Priscilla was the one who said, "I'm not going to let you down", and then she leisurely paid off the hem of her dress.
Even though the city was attacked by flying dragons and even the "Nine Divine Generals" were on the way, her unchanged attitude and attitude were so dependable that nothing could replace them.
In fact, she struck Madelyn and saved Flop from the brink of death.
"But I didn't expect to be stranded in a place like this. Naturally, I thought we would go to the government building first."
"I was just wondering if I should do that. Should I go to the mansion with the princess and his wife, or to the government building where that conehead is......"
"No, that's not it. That's what the general who attacked the city wanted."
Priscilla, who had interrupted Flop's words with a chin-suck, indicated Madelyn's crash site.
In response, Flop lost his train of thought for a moment, but easily let it go, saying that it was not important at this moment, and called Priscilla "princess".
"Thank you for your help. I will evacuate with the Butler and Utakata-sama, but please tell me where to go. I have to take the redhead with me."
"Well, can you make a reasonable selection? Then, you should go to the mansion. It will be safer there than in the government building where the attacks are concentrated. And,"
Glancing around, Priscilla's gaze leaves Flop to look at Heinkel, who falls to the ground behind her. Red eyes narrowed, Priscilla lets out a small exhale, and said,
"You can leave that behind if you like. If it is of no use to you, that is the end of the story."
"I'm sorry, but that's not going to happen. The redhead will be an asset when she wakes up, and more importantly, your precious butler went through a lot of pain to protect her."
"----"
When Flop told her this, Priscilla's gaze turned to Schult.
Saved at the last minute by the arrival of his master, Schult's eyes are filled with tears as he is overcome with emotion. His eyes are still burning, so he is in a wet and burning frenzy.
But Schult didn't mention his anxiety over the mysterious situation that had befallen him; instead, he squeezed Heinkel's leg as he fell to the ground and said,
"Pr-, Priscilla-sama will take you......! Heinkel-sama."
"There are things that must be done. You know that."
"I am so glad that you are here. It is an amazing thing that only Priscilla-sama can do......!"
How does the trust of a healthy Schult resonate with Priscilla?
Priscilla, whose expression did not change, simply nodded quietly and accepted Schult's words. She continued to look toward the alley and told them,
"Avoid the main streets and take the side streets of the tall buildings. Schult, you remember the way."
"Yes, ma'am! I took a walk every day!"
"I will send him praise."
After a brief word of appreciation for Schult's efforts, Priscilla turned her back to them.
The obvious attitude is that there is no time for more talking. Flop's instinct also complains that it is not a good idea to linger.
Although being near Priscilla would protect them from the threat of the flying dragons.
"Butler, I need you to show me the way. I'll manage to carry the redhead. And, Utakata-sama, please be on the lookout for the road. I'm sure you're used to hunting, I'm counting on you!"
"U-, Understood! I'll do my best to show you around!"
"......Uu also, understands."
Utakata, who for a moment hesitated to flee, nodded her head when given a role to play.
This completes the role assignment. All that's left to do is--,
"Princess! Thanks again!"
"No need to thank me. Only words of praise for the mistress."
With her back turned, Priscilla responded to Flop's thanks. Flop laughed at her firm attitude and picked up Heinkel's body, which had collapsed.
Tall and well-trained, his body was very heavy, but it was a good thing that he had practiced carrying Medium to escape in case of an emergency. He carried it like a piece of luggage on both shoulders and somehow managed to move.
"And don't forget this."
Schult picks up Heinkel's dropped sword and grips it tightly in his thin hand.
Then they looked at each other and nodded, and Flop ran into the alley and headed for the mansion.
And so, before they can get completely away from--,
"Priscilla-sama! Thank you very much...... for this fire!"
With both of his burning eyes wide open, Schult's voice of thanks was thrown to Priscilla.
△▼△▼△▼△
--And so, after Schult and the others had noisily and hurriedly left.
"Schult and that Flop, are the ones who can use it and the ones who are in trouble. If he was in a tight spot with something useful, he was a very unlucky fellow."
Priscilla mutters quietly to herself in the empty street.
It was not Schult who lit a fire in his twin eyes, nor Flop who made up for his ineffectiveness with his tact, nor Utakata who had a degree that was too large for his stature, but the last person he was describing.
He survived in a situation that would have definitely killed him. Nothing but bad luck.
But--,
"It is doubtful that anyone who cannot die when he should can call himself lucky."
Not pity, but something close to pity is put into the words.
It melts into the wind of the battlefield, filled with the scent of blood, and disappears without being heard.
At that moment--,
"----"
With a sound, the jewelry adorning Priscilla's orange hair shattered.
The jeweled hair ornament was not just a fragile part that broke, but the entire ornament cracked and shattered in one fell swoop.
Instantly, Priscilla's gathered long hair spread out, wavy and flowing down her back.
And then--,
"--You're not going to die, either."
Slowly, a shadow appears in the street, making a sound that kicks up debris.
Priscilla's eyes narrowed at the sight of a being whose entire body was stained with dust, but whose body itself was pinned down - a figure with two black horns on its head.
"A dragon person, indeed. Where in the world did you get such an antiquity?"
"Do you underestimate the dragon? You don't think you can get away with this?"
Priscilla's words show her teeth, and the pupils of her eyes squint like dragons at the girl - Madelyn.
Priscilla gently stroked her unraveled hair with her hand, feeling the demonic energy emanating from her dwarf body like the wind.
"You don't like it so much that I'm not dead, do you?"
"I should have crushed your swollen tits. It would have been terrible if there had been many people whose heart's guts were crushed but who did not die."
"--Even if your heart's guts are crushed?"
Exhaling at Madelyn's way of saying it, Priscilla looks down at her breasts, which she points out.
Due to the specifications of the waist-squeezing dress, Priscilla's ample breasts are emphasized more than usual, but certainly Madelyn's blow reached this proud chest.
Schult would not have seen it, but the crossing in the air was a painful one.
Just as Priscilla's blow had popped Madelyn, Madelyn's counterattack had also struck Priscilla hard in the chest.
At this point, if Priscilla is looking like nothing is going on, it's because--,
"Apparently, even the vessels are reluctant to lose their mistress to the world."
"--'Soul Marriage Technique'."
Unexpectedly, Priscilla's eyebrows move as the word pops out of Madelyn's mouth.
Madelyn kept glaring at Priscilla, pointing at the building on the street - no, far, far, far beyond it, to the southeast.
"I'm the same as that fox man. Do you know him?"
"I don't know. If you have any idea of what I have in common with this, then you must be my 'rip-off'. The Mistress is the 'Orijinaru'." (TL's note: Priscilla's mispronunciation of the English word "Original")
"--?"
"Don't you see?"
Confusion forms on Madelyn's face as she is thrown a word she does not recognize. Therefore, Priscilla decided to make things easy for her, in an attempt to clear up the confusion.
In other words--,
"As with any opponent you are not good at, you are no match for her."
"--, You're mocking the dragon!?"
"Fool. I don't choose who I am. --The concubine is the top and everyone else is the bottom."
The moment she replied with a smile, Madelyn's anger reached a critical point.
The dragon man, his face red and his golden eyes shining, roars, and the threat looms before his eyes.
With it in front of her, Priscilla glanced at the sky.
The sky - no, the sky as its sheath, looking for the hilt of the crimson treasure sword.
"The sun is shining. It's going to be a bit tricky."
△▼△▼△▼△
--The shock and destruction begins in one corner of the fortress city and does not end in one corner.
"----"
At first, the fierce battle that began in the south of the city seemed to show the enormity of the disaster caused by the flying dragon as it caused a chain of densely packed buildings to collapse, sending up a plume of smoke.
However, it was not a flying dragon disaster that plunged the southern part of the fortified city into a state of devastation.
Of course, the hunting of flying dragons, which throw down large rocks from the sky and lay waste to the ground, is a disaster itself.
When people flee in fear of the raining rocks, the claws and fangs of the gliding flying dragons tear and chew them to pieces, mass producing corpses on the streets.
Some people resist. Some strike back by putting a bow on the flying dragon and dropping it to the ground.
However, most people were exposed to the one-sided attacks of the flying dragons and only sought salvation.
That is how immense and tremendous the damage caused by the flying dragons is.
But the fierce battle was so destructive that even those flying dragons avoided approaching.
"Jyaaaaahhhh--!!"
The dwarf body, leaping with a howl, clutches a mighty flying wing blade in both arms.
The refracted blade skillfully slices through wind and air resistance, spinning back to its original position as it is thrown. The master is a throwing tool that can even hunt the heads of distant prey, but it was thrown with great ferocity, flying about, cleaving everything in its path.
Both its weight, sharpness, and destructive power are incomparable to the original small flying wing blade.
If the conventional flying wing blade is about the size of a one-handed sword, it is as large as two large swords joined together, and even heavier than ten large swords casted and melted together.
Ten sacred and magical swords of a kind with special powers that were once created in this world.
Its armament, made of the metal that was reportedly used to strike them, demonstrated its power without regret as a weapon that was far more deadly than it appeared.
With each shot, the target is swept away in a few dozen meter radius, devouring whatever is in its path, whether it is a building or a living creature.
The dragon people's out-of-the-ordinary physical strength and their mentality of not caring about the damage to their surroundings were the reason for their devastating tactics, which would only have been possible if they had been able to destroy the south of the fortress city.
Those in various parts of the city who resist the flying dragon and do not have time to look at the ground are oblivious to it.
Of course, the roar and earthquake had reached them below, but they were too busy looking up at the sky and exchanging words with someone beside them to pay attention to the damage.
And that's unfortunate.
If they had witnessed the overwhelming destruction, they would have forgotten even to cling to the slender threads of survival and would have bent the knee.
To that extent, the existence of rampaging dragon people was a disaster of a different kind from the disasters brought by flying dragons.
To be struck by two natural disasters at the same time in one city is nothing short of a nightmare.
And moreover, one side of that natural disaster is being caused to destroy just one person, etc.
"----"
Priscilla kicked the ground as if she were dancing and continued to dodge Madelyn's rampaging attacks.
The physical abilities of the dragon people are not to be underestimated, but Madelyn's fighting style lacks subtlety. She has not learned any kind of martial arts. Perhaps, it is because she underestimates humans as lowly.
"But I have never studied martial arts, either."
The only thing that Priscilla remembers is that she has seen the movements of those that use swords well. The rest of the time, she has a perfect grasp of what her body is and how it moves.
If there is a reason why she can handle a yang sword like a master, it is precisely because of this.
However, at this point in time, when she was not able to pull out her yang sword, each blow of that Madelyn was a threat.
"----"
The daylight ends and the sun rings in the shade.
There were certain rules for handling the "Yang Sword". The sun does not always shine. Half of the day is shared with the moon, and there is also time for the moon to save its power.
If there is a sun that always shines, it is none other than Priscilla herself.
Although--,
"The longer it takes, the deeper the wound."
Priscilla is cautiously responding to Madelyn's attack. Of course, the lack of a decisive yang sword is one reason why she cannot push through, but the high vitality of the dragon people is also a concern.
If not killed once, Madelyn's counterattack will likely reach Priscilla.
The same pain-drawing as the first time could not be repeated over and over again.
If the settlement is postponed in this way, the damage to the castle city will only spread.
Just as the direct destruction of Madelyn decimated the southern part of the city, elsewhere the casualties continue to mount as attack after attack by flying dragons continues to pour in.
Besides--,
"--"
Madelyn's will to fight, as she catches the flying wing blades flying back, her two feet on the ground. The dragon's high spirits, which are on the rise, are transmitted through the air, inspiring the flying dragons in the city's skies.
For humans, it would be a morale-boosting phenomenon, but it had the effect of arousing the instincts of a ferocious race living in the wild, an effect that should have been called frantic.
As the flying dragons become more ferocious and more aggressive, they literally become untouchable.
She wants to get things moving before that happens. That's why--,
"I need, one more move."
Some great move to get this situation moving.
"----"
Priscilla stands in the collapsed cityscape, having taken a large leap backwards to avoid Madelyn's attack.
The city, which was once known as a fortress city and whose solidity was the pride of its residents and a pillar of peace and tranquility, is now a shadow of its former self, and even after this disaster, reconstruction will not be easy.
But all of those things are also a problem after the great disaster in front of them has been repelled.
"Next, hit......"
Madelyn snarls like a beast as she repeatedly attacks in a big way and continues to evade.
But she is also slowly modifying her tactics by continuing to attack without hitting. It is good if the enemy has little will to learn, but if not, the opponent will stretch during the fight.
Madelyn let out a white breath in front of Priscilla, who wanted to avoid further growth.
The dragon's blood circulates throughout her body, and the rise in body temperature causes steam to rise from the girl's petite frame.
Combined with her white breath, her figure even looked like she was surrounded by white smoke.
"--No."
Funny, Priscilla closed one eye and stared at Madelyn.
No wonder the battle has dragged on and the dragon's blood is active. It is also clear that the budding emotions of Madelyn, a dragoness, are causing the flying dragons to become frantic.
But in this climate of the Vollachian Empire, the breath is white and cloudy, etc.
And, moreover, it's--,
"It's never going to snow."
Glancing around, Priscilla mentions a white piece of debris falling loosely off the edge of her vision.
It is snow falling on a fortress city that is slowly but surely growing in numbers and losing most of the shelter that protects its people.
Rare is not the right word to describe this event, but it is a kind of natural disaster.
In Vollachia, there are not a few people who have never seen snow.
She stated that it would be a nightmare to be struck by two natural disasters at the same time in one city.
But what if there is a new natural catastrophe, a third one, that overlaps with it?
It's either a nightmare, or--,
"--That's it."
A cold drop from the heavens, a voice echoed in the land where they were slowly falling.
A beautiful yet core sound, like a silver bell ringing.
--The third natural catastrophe, if it coincides, is it a nightmare?
--Or could it be a great move?
"I'm in a great hurry, but I can't miss it. --I'm very angry."
In that place where everything has suffered a great disaster, a silver-haired girl sounds her shoes.
In search of her missing knight, a "witch" with snow in tow had come to the fortress city.
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--An alarm bell went off in Flop's head the moment he saw the girl standing in the plume of smoke.
It is not a real alarm bell that echoes throughout Guaral, but rather an alarm bell that is set off by his own survival instincts as a living creature. It rings so loudly that his head aches.
To be clear, Flop is not someone who can fight, unlike Medium.
He was frustrated when he tried to work out a bit, and he didn't want to deprive his sister of the role she had chosen, in her own way, when she realized that she was actually causing pain by stroking her brother's wounds.
Therefore, he has no warrior's intuition or warrior's eye.
And yet--,
"She's not good."
And swallowed a bitter spit as the girl pulled her foot out of the hole made by the impact of the fall.
"----"
A short girl of short stature glaring at Flop and the others, the pupils of her golden eyes narrowed.
She looks two or three years older than Schult and Utakata, but the atmosphere she wears is comparable to that of Medium or Mizelda - or even more dangerous.
That is so close to the threat of the "Nine Divine Generals" who took Mizelda's leg that it feels like a threat.
"......Redhead, can you manage to create a gap? Somehow, I want to get both the Butler and Utakata-sama out of there."
The only other person whom Flop suggested in a whisper was Heinkel, who could be a force to be reckoned with here.
He would be able to help protect Utakata and the others much better than Flop could as a meat shield, as he had demonstrated his swordsmanship by slaying a flying dragon.
Ideally, it would be great if Heinkel were strong enough to defeat that girl.
"--tsk"
"Redhead?"
Leaving his guard up for the girl, Flop wonders about Heinkel's lack of response.
He was hesitant to take his eyes off the threat before him, but working with Heinkel was a matter of the highest priority. Determined, Flop glanced at Heinkel.
--Heinkel's eyes were wide open and his pale face was covered in a thick greasy sweat.
"H-, Heinkel-sama? Are you all right?"
"Uh, ah......"
Flop noticed Heinkel's unusual behavior at about the same time that Schult did.
The red-haired swordsman's cheeks tightened and his inarticulate voice escaped from his throat at the youngster's words.
It is hard to tell from the side whether the response is that they know the girl's identity. However, regardless of the pros and cons, there is one fact that is clear.
That is--,
"What the hell, dude? Are you frightened?"
The squinting girl's gaze, she looked at Heinkel's feet as he stood there. His legs, which were shaking on both knees, so much so that he felt uneasy even standing.
What is there is enough fright and fear, i.e., despair, to be obvious to anyone.
"Hey, hey! First time seeing you, young lady, can I have a few words with you!"
At a glance at Heinkel's despair, Flop immediately shouted it out.
Immediately, Heinkel and Schult's shoulders jump, and the girl in front of them turns her eyes toward them. The gaze doesn't kill them, but it's an oppressive feeling that we're not surprised that it does.
But Flop roused his heart, loosened his cheeks, and spread his hands to make a smile.
"I am Flop O'Connell, a humble peddler. I'm a poor peddler, and I'm in the middle of a very difficult situation, and I'm confused. You seem to know more about it than I do."
"--. Collateral damage? Then you're out of luck."
"Well, I am not used to being called unlucky. I am proud to say that I have a lot of things that I lack, but luck is the only thing that I have. How can I be unlucky?"
"You can kill everyone in this city. So says the old man."
"All of the city."
Flop chuckles at the girl who responds with a small jaw squawk, indicating her surroundings. But inwardly, he was more than laughing, he was very upset.
Where is the room for negotiation when the goal is to annihilate the city's inhabitants?
He wishes he could talk to the 'old man' who ordered her to do something.
"As far as I've heard, the old man said that the city's annihilation was a mistake. I suggest you ask your friends and colleagues who are with you again."
"No friends, no companions. There are no friends or comrades, only compatriots and enemies. --You are making fun of the dragon. You seem to know no fear."
"It's outrageous to make fun of him! I'm just trying to get to know you. I'd even like to hear your name, for starters. Wouldn't you agree?"
"Y-, yes! I want to know your name! My name is Schult!"
The girl is about to get into a bad mood, and Flop, clapping his hands, asks his allies to agree. Then Schult got in on the act and said her name as she raised her hand.
The girl, who has now been introduced by two people, Flop and Schult, wrinkles the brow of her pretty face and introduced herself,
"--Madelyn Eschart. The dragon is the 'Nine Divine Generals'."
"Squeal......"
Heinkel was immensely impressed by the title of the girl - Madelyn - who came back to him with her name, without hesitation.
His knees, which had been shaking even when just meeting her, were getting even worse when he heard her title, which confirmed her ability. It was a miracle that she did not fall on her buttocks.
Flop was no laughing matter for Heinkel. Heinkel's opponent, whom he thought was as dangerous as the "Nine Divine Generals", was the "Nine Divine Generals" as it were.
And--,
"--Utakata-sama."
Quietly, Flop sees a change in the situation and calls the name of the opponent who made the change.
Utakata, the girl called to Flop, was moving, her eyes fixed on Madelyn in front of her. She lowers the bow on her back and aims an arrow at Madelyn.
The distance between them is seven or eight meters, a distance that even her arm would not miss.
However, then, it is not at all true that they are standing on an advantageous footing.
"That enemy, the flying dragon, is at the top of the herd. It's the same as the previous Me, and the same as the current Ta. If we defeat that enemy, we'll be done fighting."
"I-, Is that so!?"
"Perhaps Utakata-sama is right. Unless, of course, there are other 'Nine Divine Generals' besides her."
When Flop glances at her, Madelyn doesn't interrupt her to talk about it.
With her attitude so far, she is a child who responds to our words in a certain way. If we say something obviously wrong, it should be more natural for her to react in some way.
In other words, Madelyn is leading the attack on this fortress city. If she is defeated, Utakata's view that she can make the flying dragon pull back will be correct.
The only problem is that they don't think it is very possible.
"You're a warrior, you're also a warrior, you...... don't run away. You are a warrior."
"Huh...... you mean, me?"
"Yes. You're a warrior, too."
Schult rolls his eyes at being pointed at so abruptly and evaluated as such.
Surprising Schult, Madelyn pointed to Utakata, Flop, and Schult with her small hand and described them as 'warriors'.
As it was, Madelyn's finger pointed to the last one, Heinkel.
"You are no warrior. You slayed a dragon and you are a coward."
"Guh......"
"Draw your swords. The dragon will strike you. For every ounce of blood you shed."
As she said this, Madelyn slowly took a step toward them.
And so, slowly, Madelyn's feet close the distance and head toward Heinkel, who has killed the flying dragon, not caring that he is being targeted by Utakata's arrows.
"--Hit me!"
At the same time as her enthusiasm, Utakata's arrow was released, aiming at Madelyn's chest. It flew straight up and was caught between two fingers of Madelyn's lifted hand.
Madelyn did not even look at Utakata. Her gaze was fixed on Heinkel.
"Redhead!"
"Heinkel-sama!"
Realizing the danger, Flop shouted, and Schult tried to pull Heinkel's arm. Heinkel was not intimidated by Schult's ineffectiveness.
Rather, Heinkel cleared his throat at the approaching Madelyn and shook off Schult's arm to pull him away.
Schult falls on his butt and Heinkel bites his back teeth.
"Oh, ohhhh......!"
Heinkel's hand gripped the sword with a strong, strong force. His cheeks turned red as he clenched his teeth, and the blood that was pumping through his veins tried to crush the cowardice that shook his legs from the front.
Again, Madelyn kept her feet and closed the distance to Heinkel.
Compared to the flying dragon, this little girl is incomparably smaller in size.
Heinkel struck a blow with his sword against the approaching girl.
"--oh"
With a high pitched clang, the sword rolled out of Heinkel's trembling hands.
At the moment when the full force of his sword technique was released, his arm was not raised and he had taken down his sword.
And then--,
"I knew it. You're no warrior."
Madelyn's disdainful words are slammed into Heinkel's side with a fist.
The blow struck Heinkel's strong, tall body, and with tremendous force, the red-haired swordsman was blasted sideways. His entire body slammed into a stone building, cracking the stone wall into his human form.
A blow with a powerful wind, which causes Heinkel to go white-eyed with a single blow.
The flying dragon's repeated stone throws at the city, and the impact and roar that they bring, were no less than a blow thrown with a fist, but Madelyn's anger was not appeased.
"Kah"
Madelyn's opposite fist smashes through Heinkel's nose as he falls forward. He was slammed into the wall from the back of his head, and the girl's kick pierced his torso as he recoiled.
The impact penetrates and the house exposed to destruction behind Heinkel collapses noisily. Grabbing Heinkel's leg as it was engulfed in a plume of smoke, Madelyn forcefully threw him the other way.
He fell back onto the street ground, Heinkel's body rumbling and rolling vigorously. The building across the street from the house that had just collapsed, this time it caught him hard.
The window shatters with the impact, and the scattered fragments pour down on Heinkel like rain. Heinkel, who had fallen down, did not even twitch as his entire body was covered in fine cuts.
"----"
If it was Flop involved, it would have been a deadly attack.
Besides Flop, this is an attack that would kill most people. Heinkel's life or death becomes uncertain after being hit with a barrage of attacks that even Medium is not sure he can withstand.
But Madelyn, who makes her living fighting, would never allow such a half-baked settlement.
"Suckers."
Muttering in a voice that did not hide her contempt, Madelyn's hand reached behind her back. The bag on her back was unbuttoned, and immediately afterward, the items that had been stored in it were opened with a sound.
It is a folded, sharp blade, a long weapon shaped like a wide open pair of scissors. Flop has a memory of seeing something similar in the nomadic hunts of the nomadic tribes that travel across the wide, majestic steppes.
It is called a "flying wing blade", and if thrown by a good thrower, it can circle for tens of meters, spinning back to the user.
However, the weapon on Madelyn's back was as large as she was petite, and it was an advanced weapon with a handle for use other than throwing.
She turns it mercilessly on Heinkel, who is lying on the ground. Heinkel was in such a state after being hit by a barehanded blow. If she were to be hit with a weapon, there would probably be no prototype left.
"Why don't you stop, Madelyn-sama? I understand your anger, and I know you must be burning with rage after your friends were killed. But when you are attacked, the attacker has no choice but to fight back."
Biting her lip tightly to keep her attention, Flop said this to Madelyn's back. With the flying wing blade in her hand, she turned away and responded to Flop, "Don't get me wrong."
"The dragon is the greatest creature on earth. If you bite that dragon, you deserve to be exterminated. That too."
"That too?"
"I will not allow this scumbag to get away with this."
Madelyn's golden eyes flashed with anger, and Flop realized the reason for her irritation.
Naturally, he is angry about the killing of the flying dragon on his side, but bigger is the fact that Heinkel, who did it, took down his sword and couldn't fight.
She is angry that her friends were killed by someone so insignificant.
It was an insult not only to Heinkel, but to the lives of the flying dragons he had slain.
"Woah!"
"Ugh!"
A moment later, Madelyn kicked a pebble from the ground before Flop could move in an attempt to stop Madelyn's movements. It struck Flop, who was about to move, and Utakata's leg and arm, which were about to nock the next arrow, respectively, impeding their actions.
Meanwhile, Madelyn raised her flying wing blade and tried to smash Heinkel below.
But--,
"N-, No, you can't--!"
Unlike the two who were hit by pebbles, Schult, who was on the outside of the alert, rushed in with a broken heart. The young boy held out his hands and broke between Madelyn and Heinkel.
Schult's small body covers Heinkel, too fragile a shelter to resist the storm.
But Madelyn was not so kind as to hold back when she saw the boy's recklessness.
"No one would have let him live anyway."
Madelyn's eyes narrowed and a flying wing blade was launched down into Schult's head.
△▼△▼△▼△
"--Rem! Are you all right!?"
A slender woman opens the large door and jumps into the mansion, her voice rising.
Rem, who had been scrambling down the hall, looked up at the familiar voice and replied, "Yes!"
"Kuna! Holly, too!"
"Thank God you're okay! Geez, it's already a big mess all over the city!"
In front of Rem, whose eyes widened, two pairs of footsteps, one light and the other heavy, run up to her: Kuna and Holly, two members of the "People of the Shudrak" stationed in the city.
Hearing their voices, Rem's eyes relaxed with slight relief.
"I'm glad you two are okay. Are you hurt?"
"We're fine, for now. But....."
"......Everyone is falling into pieces."
They dropped the tone of their voices and spilled out, looking around the hall where Rem was running around.
Around the three of them, residents who had been damaged or injured in the chaos that had begun in the city were being brought in one after another, and it looked like a sanitarium where volunteers were helping to patch them up.
If the wound is shallow, it can be treated with stitches and bandages. However, if the wound is life-threatening--,
"I, have to answer......"
Biting her lip tightly, Rem clutches her hand.
On her right hand, which is opposite to the one that holds the staff, there is already blood that does not belong to Rem himself. Blood that cannot be wiped away, no matter how many times you wipe it off.
Soon after Rem and Priscilla observed the herd of flying dragons from the bathhouse's dew platform, the black spots approaching from afar quickly became a threat and launched their attack on the city.
Some flying dragons throw down large rocks from the sky, and some hunt cruelly, snatching fleeing people from the ground and throwing them down, also from great heights.
Citizens who do not have the strength to fight either attack are easy prey.
People who have been exposed to such damage have rushed to the house as a shelter and treatment center, which is the reason for the current devastation of the house.
She thought Priscilla would be very angry with her if this happened, but--,
"The house was confiscated in order to keep the location of the valuable healers clear and secure. I have also ordered Zikr and others to send the wounded to us."
"I-, is that so......!?"
"What, you didn't really think that I took the house for the hot spring? The correct answer is that we took it for the bathhouse and the size of the house."
Adding the fact that such an exchange occurred.
Anyway, Priscilla is allowing the wounded to enter the mansion. Apparently, she had informed Zikr, Mizelda, and other key officials in the city.
"So I don't know why you won't tell me the bottom line, but......!"
As far as she was concerned, Rem didn't pursue that because she didn't feel she would get a good answer.
Above all, Rem has no time for Priscilla's childishness and mischievousness. At any rate, one after another, injured people who need Rem's help are brought in one after another without a break.
"Both Kuna and Holly are......"
"The Chieftain...... Ah! Not anymore! I was told by the Former Chief Mizelda!"
"More dead people means lower morale. The more people die, the lower the morale, and we don't want fewer people to be able to fight, so we have to play the role of Rem's babysitters. That's why......"
Then Kuna breaks off and narrows her slitted eyes. When Rem stiffens slightly at the sharpness of the look, Kuna scoffs at the mansion full of wounded people and said,
"Who's the princess taking care of you? Surely you're not relaxing in your room with all the commotion going on?"
"If you were, you would be a very sleepy person. If it were me, I'd wake up even if I was full to the brim and asleep."
Asked by slightly different standards of urgency, Rem shook his head at their questions.
Certainly, Priscilla has an arrogant, self-centered personality, and she can understand why the two of them would be concerned about her quirkiness.
"Surprisingly, Priscilla is a very dependable person."
Yes, right after Rem's comment about the unseen Priscilla.
"--!!"
A high pitched sound, like a strong wind passing between buildings, falls headlong into the front yard of the mansion.
It was a huge winged dragon that had failed to land from the sky. With its wings spread out, the flying dragon was roughly four meters long, and it landed awkwardly, as if it had just flown for the first time.
But not unreasonably.
The basics of landing, which he would normally have judged by rule of thumb or instinct, would not have been satisfactorily powerful with that head smashed in.
Then, right next to the crashed corpse of the flying dragon, a figure from the sky landed. It was Priscilla, a beautiful woman with a fluttering red dress and a crimson treasure sword in her hand.
"I am surprised you used a concubine to get rid of the dew. This loan is going to cost you, Rem."
"Thank you very much. I wash your hair with all my heart and gratitude."
"What audacity to get away with it. I forgive you. I like it."
Priscilla accepts Rem's answer in a hawkish response through the open door.
Ah from earlier, Priscilla has been using her unorthodox physical abilities to slash down and return fire on flying dragons that come flying at the mansion.
Witnessing this firsthand, Kuna and his colleagues could not hide their astonishment.
For some reason, Rem feels a little proud of their reaction. However, Priscilla, relative to the flying dragon, is not entirely without concerns.
The main reason for this is the beautiful red treasure sword she holds in her hand--,
"Priscilla, how's your yang sword doing......"
"As you can see, the sun has set. For the time being, this is not a sword, it is a namakura. More than likely."
She reveals some kind of malfunction in "The Yang Sword," at which point Priscilla turns back around.
A moment later, a flapping flying dragon aimed at Priscilla's back and opened its mouth to furiously thrust its fangs. Priscilla relentlessly thrust her yangshen, which had lost its sharpness, into the oral cavity of that ground dragon.
The fangs snap, the tip of the yang-sword pierces the back of the flying dragon's throat, and the dragon dies from the momentum.
"With me, a pterosaur is nothing, even if it is an unsliceable catfish."
Priscilla swings her sword and tosses the huge body of the flying dragon she killed to the edge of the garden. Easily dismissing the threat, she then notices Kuna and the others standing by Rem's side.
Shudraks, huh. They're here to protect Rem, no doubt."
"Priscilla, you two can go...... help the injured."
"Don't let the pretty mislead you as to the true nature of the matter. What good is a wounded man on the battlefield? Who is the most valuable thing here? If not the mistress, then you."
"--tk"
With a snap, Rem choked up as he was cut off from his rebuttal. But as if to affirm Priscilla's ruthless assessment, Kuna nodded, "That's right."
"My role is to protect Rem. And Rem's role is to......"
"The only thing that will make the death toll go down is to make it as low as possible."
The quiet Kuna's words are backed up by Holly's cheerful words.
Burned by their words, and by Priscilla's gaze, Rem was deeply sorry for herself. It was only yesterday that she had been able to feel sorry for herself, that she was not in such an important position.
She can no longer take advantage of her position. Above all, Rem herself wanted it.
"I will fight my battles. Kuna, Holly, thank you for your help!"
"Oh."
"You're in charge!"
Kuna and the others nodded with reliable smiles in response to Rem's determined answer.
With their feelings saved, Rem looked at Priscilla. Priscilla was defending the mansion until an escort who could protect Rem rushed to her--,
"You're going, aren't you?"
"It seems that there are many situations in which we cannot go on without her. Zikr may know how to give up his strength, but he is not strong enough to stand up to the enemy's main force."
"The mainstay of the enemy is......"
"--Of course, it would be the 'Nine Divine Generals'."
Priscilla's answer, with one eye closed, made Rem gulp.
The existence of the "Nine Divine Generals" is a critical factor that determines the war situation of this empire. In order to secure as many of them as possible, Subaru, Abel and the others set out for the Chaos Flame.
Nevertheless, one of the "Nine Divine Generals" is going to attack this city.
"Of course, this must be one of those who gave the other side the benefit of the doubt. Abel's situation seems to be more and more unfavorable. How could they have found themselves on such loose ground?"
"I don't know much about Abel's work ethic in that regard, so I can't say anything about it. If he was spending his time like that, I'm sure it would have been difficult for people around him......"
Rem has many thoughts about Subaru, but she does not think that Abel's attitude is praiseworthy. Abel, who is known for his arrogant behavior because of his cleverness, foresight, and knowledge of the situation, is a difficult opponent for Rem, who has no memories to back her up.
If he was at the top of the country, there must have been many people around him. It is hard to imagine that all of them would have understood Abel's ideas and readily followed them.
So there was a rebellion. But--,
"That's why such terrible things get away with......!"
It should not be, Rem's gaze appealed as she piled herself up on a fragile foundation.
At the one word Rem squeezed out of her, Priscilla laughed, "Heh", as if she had no idea what she was thinking. When Rem's eyes widened at that reaction, Priscilla turned away as if that smile had never been there.
"This group of flying dragons cannot be explained by "counting dragons". It must be one of the generals that grew up without my concubine. If it is Serena, then it must be the 'flying dragon general'."
"As I recall, the 'Number Nine'...... is also, somewhere in this city......"
"--The City Hall."
"----"
"If the enemy is not stupid, we will go there. There is no reason to go to the trouble of missing the command post."
It was said as a matter of course, and for a moment, a blankness blurred in Rem's consciousness.
But as soon as the information flows into that void, she is immediately struck by the urgency of the situation. On top of that, it is Priscilla's leisurely attitude that makes Rem panicky.
"Th-, the command center is under attack! Priscilla!"
"Fool. He may be plump, but Zikr is still a 'general' of the empire. He will not die for nothing. He is not so foolish as to keep by his side those who cannot fight."
"That's...... ah. Spe-, speaking of not being able to fight, where's Schult!"
Before she and Priscilla begin bathing, the presence of a boy who has left the mansion makes Rem impatient.
Hardworking but clumsy, Schult is a frail being with no more power than those who need Rem's help.
Schult had been thrown out in this chaotic city.
Hopefully, he had joined up with someone, an adult he could count on, but if not.
"Priscilla! Quickly, quickly, please go!"
"It is your duty to at least pray for the safety of your concubine. But you don't have to be in such a hurry, Schult doesn't die so easily."
"Huh......?"
Priscilla sniffs at Rem, who waves her hand hurriedly, and Priscilla replies with a casual demeanor.
Rem raised her eyebrows, not understanding the meaning of Priscilla's words. Naturally, Kuna and Holly also looked puzzled, with the same infantile appearance on their faces, as if they had no idea what she was talking about.
What makes Schult, whose weapon of choice is her cuteness and hard work, so safe?
With such questioning glances from Rem and the others, Priscilla put her hand on the door of the mansion, trying to keep themselves away from the flying dragon's attack.
"--It was because of his loveliness and healthiness that he won the favor of the mistress."
She replied, and the door of the mansion was closed.
△▼△▼△▼△
A violent, dull thud rang out, and Flop felt his soul crushed by his own helplessness.
The tragedy is that the pain of the pebbles stopped him in his tracks and he couldn't even reach out.
He wanted to close his eyes and turn his face away, but Flop did not. He felt that to do so was to evade responsibility for his inability to do anything.
At the very least, he must see the results of what he did and what he did not do.
With such modest resolve, Flop did not turn away.
And then--,
"......What, dude?"
Madelyn swung down the flying wing blade in her hand and tried to cut her prey in two with its sharp edge.
No doubt, she tried to cut Heinkel, whom she despised, and Schult, whom she tried to protect, in half. It's not like she stopped her hand in the process.
And yet--,
"Ugh, ughh......!"
Gingerly, Schult covers Heinkel, who falls over, gritting his teeth and snarling.
His body was neither torn nor crushed. But Madelyn's blow certainly should have caught Schult in the back of the head and shattered it.
In fact, he even saw Flop hit directly and heard the dull sound of the hit with his ears.
However, it was only a dull sound that resonated.
"--?"
Madelyn curiously compares her weapon to the back of Schult's head and tilts her head. Then, keeping her head tilted, Madelyn brought her flying wing blade down on Schult again.
Once, twice, three times, four times, over and over again.
"P-, please stop! You're hurting me!"
"That's crazy! The dragon was going to kill him. Why didn't him die?"
"Maybe it's...... your desire not to kill people that makes you relax your hand just before the weapon strikes...... Gah"
"Don't make fun of the dragon!"
Madelyn's anger turned to Flop as she complained that she didn't understand why.
She kicks a stone, larger than the one that stopped Flop earlier, and flicks it backwards against Flop's chest.
There was a creaking sensation in his sternum and Flop could no longer breathe properly.
But--,
"I-, it hurts, it hurts......"
As a matter of fact, Schult, who was struck repeatedly with a sharp blade, grunted in pain but did not lose his life. The bizarre incident finally ignited Madelyn's tantrum.
Madelyn snaps her teeth and her hand grabs Schult's peach-colored hair to cause her body to move.
And then--,
"What the hell are you hiding......"
"~~~"
It was caused by force, and Schult's throat screamed in grief. But Madelyn's reaction was more than that, as she turned her angry eyes on Schult.
Madelyn's golden eyes widened and her lips quivered with a wince. He could see why she reacted the way she did, and he also saw Flop with tears in her eyes from the pain.
Schult that had been triggered, a dramatic change in their appearance.
The change is that--,
"--Schu, your eyes are burning."
Utakata, who saw the same thing, is correct in her straightforward description.
At first glance, Utakata's point made no sense, but she can't think of another way to describe it. From Flop's point of view, it was as good as said.
Perhaps it was the fact that both of Schult's red eyes were lit with flickering flames.
"Huh, huh, huh......"
However, Schult himself did not seem to be aware of this, and he blinked his eyes, unable to understand the reactions of those around him. Schult's eyes swiveled around to check his face, which caught everyone's attention, and he peeked at the blade of the flying wing blade that had been thrust at him.
Schult's face reflected in the curved blade would have been distorted, but the flames burning the twin eyes in question were apparently clearly visible.
Wh-, What is this!? Ah, it's hot! Ah! It's not hot!"
Running his hand over his own face, Schult complains about his lack of realization of the flames.
Apparently, they were not suddenly burned in the face, but the cause is too unclear. But it is only Flop who is baffled as to the meaning.
Looking into Schult's face, her cheeks hardening in astonishment, Madelyn had an idea of the flames burning the infant's twin eyes.
Hence, she shouts out the idea.
"You don't think you're one of those fox people, do you?"
"Fox......"
"People?"
"--?"
Madelyn is upset, and the three people who have no idea of her cries blink their eyes.
Immediately before, she was staring at Schult, struck by intense surprise and confusion, with no time to worry about the sudden breakdown in Madelyn's tone.
The hand that held Schult was released, and the boy fell forward with a "wah". Madelyn kicked the ground hard in front of the boy, who was again covered by Heinkel.
"----"
In one breath, Madelyn's figure leaps into the air above the street.
The suddenness and momentum of the event even made it seem to Flop as if she had disappeared. But the ground on which she stepped caved in violently, and the building on which she had been scaffolded to gain acceleration collapsed.
Madelyn went up into the sky and swung her flying wing blade boldly with both of her arms.
"You're in the way of the dragon again......! I'm going to make you disappear, you obstacle--!!"
A voice of rejection echoes high in the air, and the flying wing blade that is swung down furiously approaches the ground.
A flying dragon throws a rock, the mechanism is the same, but the force applied is orders of magnitude greater. Unlike a large rock, which is thrown without aiming, the blade aims to cut both sides of Schult's body.
Schult's body, which has become robust by whatever principle.
But when he was hit repeatedly, Schult said it hurt. It did not mean that his body had become invincible, that the impact was completely impenetrable.
And even if your body is sturdy, if your child cries "ouch"--,
"I have to go, or Medium will get mad at me!"
Enduring the pain in his creaking chest, Flop had rushed toward Schult in a hurry.
He doesn't know how much of a shield his body will be against that attack. But it would be a blessing if the momentum of the attack was reduced, even if only a little, and if Schult could be saved.
Without even having time to think about it, Flop exposed himself to the threat of the flying wing blade.
"--It's a big deal."
For some reason, the voice, which was not loud, was heard clearly, and a fierce light of shock and impact struck each other, burning Flop's eyes.
"----"
It was the brilliance created by a bright red treasure sword that collided right next to a flying wing blade that was spinning and falling at high speed from directly above.
The red light bursts silently, and Flop feels as if it were bathed in wind all over its body.
When it was done, what followed was the dull thud of flesh hitting flesh.
"--"
Looking up, he saw a figure glide diagonally into a building on the ground with a bitter cry. Flop realized quite late that it was Madelyn, who had so boldly collapsed the stone building with her body.
And the one who did it was a bright red beauty who landed in front of the gasping Flop--,
"Princess!"
"Priscilla-sama!!"
"Puu"
"You know that, don't you? You know that at such times, it is the praise of the mistress that should be shouted."
Priscilla was the one who said, "I'm not going to let you down", and then she leisurely paid off the hem of her dress.
Even though the city was attacked by flying dragons and even the "Nine Divine Generals" were on the way, her unchanged attitude and attitude were so dependable that nothing could replace them.
In fact, she struck Madelyn and saved Flop from the brink of death.
"But I didn't expect to be stranded in a place like this. Naturally, I thought we would go to the government building first."
"I was just wondering if I should do that. Should I go to the mansion with the princess and his wife, or to the government building where that conehead is......"
"No, that's not it. That's what the general who attacked the city wanted."
Priscilla, who had interrupted Flop's words with a chin-suck, indicated Madelyn's crash site.
In response, Flop lost his train of thought for a moment, but easily let it go, saying that it was not important at this moment, and called Priscilla "princess".
"Thank you for your help. I will evacuate with the Butler and Utakata-sama, but please tell me where to go. I have to take the redhead with me."
"Well, can you make a reasonable selection? Then, you should go to the mansion. It will be safer there than in the government building where the attacks are concentrated. And,"
Glancing around, Priscilla's gaze leaves Flop to look at Heinkel, who falls to the ground behind her. Red eyes narrowed, Priscilla lets out a small exhale, and said,
"You can leave that behind if you like. If it is of no use to you, that is the end of the story."
"I'm sorry, but that's not going to happen. The redhead will be an asset when she wakes up, and more importantly, your precious butler went through a lot of pain to protect her."
"----"
When Flop told her this, Priscilla's gaze turned to Schult.
Saved at the last minute by the arrival of his master, Schult's eyes are filled with tears as he is overcome with emotion. His eyes are still burning, so he is in a wet and burning frenzy.
But Schult didn't mention his anxiety over the mysterious situation that had befallen him; instead, he squeezed Heinkel's leg as he fell to the ground and said,
"Pr-, Priscilla-sama will take you......! Heinkel-sama."
"There are things that must be done. You know that."
"I am so glad that you are here. It is an amazing thing that only Priscilla-sama can do......!"
How does the trust of a healthy Schult resonate with Priscilla?
Priscilla, whose expression did not change, simply nodded quietly and accepted Schult's words. She continued to look toward the alley and told them,
"Avoid the main streets and take the side streets of the tall buildings. Schult, you remember the way."
"Yes, ma'am! I took a walk every day!"
"I will send him praise."
After a brief word of appreciation for Schult's efforts, Priscilla turned her back to them.
The obvious attitude is that there is no time for more talking. Flop's instinct also complains that it is not a good idea to linger.
Although being near Priscilla would protect them from the threat of the flying dragons.
"Butler, I need you to show me the way. I'll manage to carry the redhead. And, Utakata-sama, please be on the lookout for the road. I'm sure you're used to hunting, I'm counting on you!"
"U-, Understood! I'll do my best to show you around!"
"......Uu also, understands."
Utakata, who for a moment hesitated to flee, nodded her head when given a role to play.
This completes the role assignment. All that's left to do is--,
"Princess! Thanks again!"
"No need to thank me. Only words of praise for the mistress."
With her back turned, Priscilla responded to Flop's thanks. Flop laughed at her firm attitude and picked up Heinkel's body, which had collapsed.
Tall and well-trained, his body was very heavy, but it was a good thing that he had practiced carrying Medium to escape in case of an emergency. He carried it like a piece of luggage on both shoulders and somehow managed to move.
"And don't forget this."
Schult picks up Heinkel's dropped sword and grips it tightly in his thin hand.
Then they looked at each other and nodded, and Flop ran into the alley and headed for the mansion.
And so, before they can get completely away from--,
"Priscilla-sama! Thank you very much...... for this fire!"
With both of his burning eyes wide open, Schult's voice of thanks was thrown to Priscilla.
△▼△▼△▼△
--And so, after Schult and the others had noisily and hurriedly left.
"Schult and that Flop, are the ones who can use it and the ones who are in trouble. If he was in a tight spot with something useful, he was a very unlucky fellow."
Priscilla mutters quietly to herself in the empty street.
It was not Schult who lit a fire in his twin eyes, nor Flop who made up for his ineffectiveness with his tact, nor Utakata who had a degree that was too large for his stature, but the last person he was describing.
He survived in a situation that would have definitely killed him. Nothing but bad luck.
But--,
"It is doubtful that anyone who cannot die when he should can call himself lucky."
Not pity, but something close to pity is put into the words.
It melts into the wind of the battlefield, filled with the scent of blood, and disappears without being heard.
At that moment--,
"----"
With a sound, the jewelry adorning Priscilla's orange hair shattered.
The jeweled hair ornament was not just a fragile part that broke, but the entire ornament cracked and shattered in one fell swoop.
Instantly, Priscilla's gathered long hair spread out, wavy and flowing down her back.
And then--,
"--You're not going to die, either."
Slowly, a shadow appears in the street, making a sound that kicks up debris.
Priscilla's eyes narrowed at the sight of a being whose entire body was stained with dust, but whose body itself was pinned down - a figure with two black horns on its head.
"A dragon person, indeed. Where in the world did you get such an antiquity?"
"Do you underestimate the dragon? You don't think you can get away with this?"
Priscilla's words show her teeth, and the pupils of her eyes squint like dragons at the girl - Madelyn.
Priscilla gently stroked her unraveled hair with her hand, feeling the demonic energy emanating from her dwarf body like the wind.
"You don't like it so much that I'm not dead, do you?"
"I should have crushed your swollen tits. It would have been terrible if there had been many people whose heart's guts were crushed but who did not die."
"--Even if your heart's guts are crushed?"
Exhaling at Madelyn's way of saying it, Priscilla looks down at her breasts, which she points out.
Due to the specifications of the waist-squeezing dress, Priscilla's ample breasts are emphasized more than usual, but certainly Madelyn's blow reached this proud chest.
Schult would not have seen it, but the crossing in the air was a painful one.
Just as Priscilla's blow had popped Madelyn, Madelyn's counterattack had also struck Priscilla hard in the chest.
At this point, if Priscilla is looking like nothing is going on, it's because--,
"Apparently, even the vessels are reluctant to lose their mistress to the world."
"--'Soul Marriage Technique'."
Unexpectedly, Priscilla's eyebrows move as the word pops out of Madelyn's mouth.
Madelyn kept glaring at Priscilla, pointing at the building on the street - no, far, far, far beyond it, to the southeast.
"I'm the same as that fox man. Do you know him?"
"I don't know. If you have any idea of what I have in common with this, then you must be my 'rip-off'. The Mistress is the 'Orijinaru'." (TL's note: Priscilla's mispronunciation of the English word "Original")
"--?"
"Don't you see?"
Confusion forms on Madelyn's face as she is thrown a word she does not recognize. Therefore, Priscilla decided to make things easy for her, in an attempt to clear up the confusion.
In other words--,
"As with any opponent you are not good at, you are no match for her."
"--, You're mocking the dragon!?"
"Fool. I don't choose who I am. --The concubine is the top and everyone else is the bottom."
The moment she replied with a smile, Madelyn's anger reached a critical point.
The dragon man, his face red and his golden eyes shining, roars, and the threat looms before his eyes.
With it in front of her, Priscilla glanced at the sky.
The sky - no, the sky as its sheath, looking for the hilt of the crimson treasure sword.
"The sun is shining. It's going to be a bit tricky."
△▼△▼△▼△
--The shock and destruction begins in one corner of the fortress city and does not end in one corner.
"----"
At first, the fierce battle that began in the south of the city seemed to show the enormity of the disaster caused by the flying dragon as it caused a chain of densely packed buildings to collapse, sending up a plume of smoke.
However, it was not a flying dragon disaster that plunged the southern part of the fortified city into a state of devastation.
Of course, the hunting of flying dragons, which throw down large rocks from the sky and lay waste to the ground, is a disaster itself.
When people flee in fear of the raining rocks, the claws and fangs of the gliding flying dragons tear and chew them to pieces, mass producing corpses on the streets.
Some people resist. Some strike back by putting a bow on the flying dragon and dropping it to the ground.
However, most people were exposed to the one-sided attacks of the flying dragons and only sought salvation.
That is how immense and tremendous the damage caused by the flying dragons is.
But the fierce battle was so destructive that even those flying dragons avoided approaching.
"Jyaaaaahhhh--!!"
The dwarf body, leaping with a howl, clutches a mighty flying wing blade in both arms.
The refracted blade skillfully slices through wind and air resistance, spinning back to its original position as it is thrown. The master is a throwing tool that can even hunt the heads of distant prey, but it was thrown with great ferocity, flying about, cleaving everything in its path.
Both its weight, sharpness, and destructive power are incomparable to the original small flying wing blade.
If the conventional flying wing blade is about the size of a one-handed sword, it is as large as two large swords joined together, and even heavier than ten large swords casted and melted together.
Ten sacred and magical swords of a kind with special powers that were once created in this world.
Its armament, made of the metal that was reportedly used to strike them, demonstrated its power without regret as a weapon that was far more deadly than it appeared.
With each shot, the target is swept away in a few dozen meter radius, devouring whatever is in its path, whether it is a building or a living creature.
The dragon people's out-of-the-ordinary physical strength and their mentality of not caring about the damage to their surroundings were the reason for their devastating tactics, which would only have been possible if they had been able to destroy the south of the fortress city.
Those in various parts of the city who resist the flying dragon and do not have time to look at the ground are oblivious to it.
Of course, the roar and earthquake had reached them below, but they were too busy looking up at the sky and exchanging words with someone beside them to pay attention to the damage.
And that's unfortunate.
If they had witnessed the overwhelming destruction, they would have forgotten even to cling to the slender threads of survival and would have bent the knee.
To that extent, the existence of rampaging dragon people was a disaster of a different kind from the disasters brought by flying dragons.
To be struck by two natural disasters at the same time in one city is nothing short of a nightmare.
And moreover, one side of that natural disaster is being caused to destroy just one person, etc.
"----"
Priscilla kicked the ground as if she were dancing and continued to dodge Madelyn's rampaging attacks.
The physical abilities of the dragon people are not to be underestimated, but Madelyn's fighting style lacks subtlety. She has not learned any kind of martial arts. Perhaps, it is because she underestimates humans as lowly.
"But I have never studied martial arts, either."
The only thing that Priscilla remembers is that she has seen the movements of those that use swords well. The rest of the time, she has a perfect grasp of what her body is and how it moves.
If there is a reason why she can handle a yang sword like a master, it is precisely because of this.
However, at this point in time, when she was not able to pull out her yang sword, each blow of that Madelyn was a threat.
"----"
The daylight ends and the sun rings in the shade.
There were certain rules for handling the "Yang Sword". The sun does not always shine. Half of the day is shared with the moon, and there is also time for the moon to save its power.
If there is a sun that always shines, it is none other than Priscilla herself.
Although--,
"The longer it takes, the deeper the wound."
Priscilla is cautiously responding to Madelyn's attack. Of course, the lack of a decisive yang sword is one reason why she cannot push through, but the high vitality of the dragon people is also a concern.
If not killed once, Madelyn's counterattack will likely reach Priscilla.
The same pain-drawing as the first time could not be repeated over and over again.
If the settlement is postponed in this way, the damage to the castle city will only spread.
Just as the direct destruction of Madelyn decimated the southern part of the city, elsewhere the casualties continue to mount as attack after attack by flying dragons continues to pour in.
Besides--,
"--"
Madelyn's will to fight, as she catches the flying wing blades flying back, her two feet on the ground. The dragon's high spirits, which are on the rise, are transmitted through the air, inspiring the flying dragons in the city's skies.
For humans, it would be a morale-boosting phenomenon, but it had the effect of arousing the instincts of a ferocious race living in the wild, an effect that should have been called frantic.
As the flying dragons become more ferocious and more aggressive, they literally become untouchable.
She wants to get things moving before that happens. That's why--,
"I need, one more move."
Some great move to get this situation moving.
"----"
Priscilla stands in the collapsed cityscape, having taken a large leap backwards to avoid Madelyn's attack.
The city, which was once known as a fortress city and whose solidity was the pride of its residents and a pillar of peace and tranquility, is now a shadow of its former self, and even after this disaster, reconstruction will not be easy.
But all of those things are also a problem after the great disaster in front of them has been repelled.
"Next, hit......"
Madelyn snarls like a beast as she repeatedly attacks in a big way and continues to evade.
But she is also slowly modifying her tactics by continuing to attack without hitting. It is good if the enemy has little will to learn, but if not, the opponent will stretch during the fight.
Madelyn let out a white breath in front of Priscilla, who wanted to avoid further growth.
The dragon's blood circulates throughout her body, and the rise in body temperature causes steam to rise from the girl's petite frame.
Combined with her white breath, her figure even looked like she was surrounded by white smoke.
"--No."
Funny, Priscilla closed one eye and stared at Madelyn.
No wonder the battle has dragged on and the dragon's blood is active. It is also clear that the budding emotions of Madelyn, a dragoness, are causing the flying dragons to become frantic.
But in this climate of the Vollachian Empire, the breath is white and cloudy, etc.
And, moreover, it's--,
"It's never going to snow."
Glancing around, Priscilla mentions a white piece of debris falling loosely off the edge of her vision.
It is snow falling on a fortress city that is slowly but surely growing in numbers and losing most of the shelter that protects its people.
Rare is not the right word to describe this event, but it is a kind of natural disaster.
In Vollachia, there are not a few people who have never seen snow.
She stated that it would be a nightmare to be struck by two natural disasters at the same time in one city.
But what if there is a new natural catastrophe, a third one, that overlaps with it?
It's either a nightmare, or--,
"--That's it."
A cold drop from the heavens, a voice echoed in the land where they were slowly falling.
A beautiful yet core sound, like a silver bell ringing.
--The third natural catastrophe, if it coincides, is it a nightmare?
--Or could it be a great move?
"I'm in a great hurry, but I can't miss it. --I'm very angry."
In that place where everything has suffered a great disaster, a silver-haired girl sounds her shoes.
In search of her missing knight, a "witch" with snow in tow had come to the fortress city.