Not even the greenery, even the stone was melting, became sands and red hot stone, and magma was flowing like a river.
Shhhhh….
Once again she heard the sound.
Together with a smell that wrecks the nasal and makes people feel sick.
“….Ugh…”
Aisha holds her mouth and crouches.
That was the sound of human flesh burning. The land was charred, hot air floating around, flesh, lung, internal organs were burning, and become ash.
Screams pierced her ears.
Scream, shriek, shout, despair–that was the only thing she heard.
Someone’s scream, lament, filled the battlefield.
The flame dragon breath was aimed at Aisha.
But the victim was not Aisha, but everyone else around her.
Charred, burned, as time passed more and more lives were put off, on that battlefield.
The only one that barely survive was a few high-rank adventurers around Crysta and a group of magic knights. Humans and monsters, none were spared and burned to death.
“Ww, wh, why…this…is…”
“I am sorry, contractor, this is the limit of my split–”
Aisha was completely unharmed.
That was due to the defensive equipment that Nacht gave her. The magic resistance and elemental resistance were enough to half the effect of the breath.
The other half was taken care of by the Udine water barrier.
The paid item in her right hand, the substitution bracelet, has not yet taken effect.
“Wow, weird, it is not dead. Am I holding back too much–”
“But what a letdown. My older sister said to let her go, so I wonder what kind of irregular was it, but it was puny. I thought it was a nice chance to get back at my older sister. Ah, but since she survives my breath, she is indeed an irregular–well, please die–”
It was an irritatingly carefree voice.
It truly made Aisha angry.
Everyone was fighting with pride in line. Betting their life, and holding in their conviction.
And yet, an external being appeared and smash it to smitten, reaping the lives that shouldn’t have to be lost.
What a joke!
Aisha’s anger moved her mana, it circulated deeper in her body, deeper, thicker, and the color turned into shades of night.
That color was almost similar to Nacht’s, and Aisha could not control it.
“Why…did you—do such cruel thing….”
“Hm? What are you saying? Cruel? What cruel?”
In that words, no malice could be felt. It was pure doubt, but that made Aisha even more irritated.
“Why did you involve everyone else!? If you want to kill me, you should only aim at me! Why! Why has it become like this!”
“I aimed you know? I aimed only for you. The others were only collateral. Well, puny humans died easily. But they would quickly multiply. What important is the balance. As the dragon who observe and mediate balance, to perform our duties, it doesn’t matter even if hundreds thousand or two hundred thousand people died. I don’t care. Monsters too. If they want to curse, they should curse their luck.”
It was the words of a dragon, which was revered as a God.
Aisha did not know whether it was correct or not.
But she could not hold her anger.
That kind of action, an action that created a despairing scene like that, Aisha would never admit it was right.
Aisha’s master also has enormous power, but she only wields those power against her enemy. She gave power to the weak, and sometimes help others at her whim. She would never regard their lives as puny or doesn’t matter. She saw the lives of humans and monsters as equal. And value them. Even Aisha’s puny existence, she holds her dear.
Perhaps because of that.
She could not forgive the unreasonable violence the flame dragon brought.
“Don’t joke with me! There is no way they should die for that kind of absurd reason! It’s not lives that should have been lost! This battle should not be stained! Nacht-sama put them in high regard, there is no way their lives are so cheap you could take!”
Aisha has grown a lot, she who once revered the dragons as a god, now dares to rebuke them. Half of the reason was due to the flow. However, the other half was because Nacht has replaced them as an absolute existence in her heart.
“I don’t understand your point–anyway, please die for me–!”
The flame dragon swung her arm–if it could be called an arm.
“Pum–Pumpkin, Pumpkin!”
The arm of the flame dragon which almost crushes Aisha was repelled by two spears.
“”Gihihihihi, Trick or Treat?””
Flying beside Aisha were two pumpkins devils, who positioned themselves to protect her. It has a Jack O Lantern style head and wore a black mantle. Their limbs were crafted from wood, on their hands were a lamp and three-pronged spear.
It was the special power of Aisha’s equipment, Pumpkin Panties.
“Fue…It’s kind of chilly…”
In exchange for losing all its defensive capabilities, with a cooldown time of twenty-four hours, it could summon two guardians, the pumpkin devils. Their levels were at the fifty–they have strong vitality and fire resistance. For unique equipment, it has very strong abilities since it could summon two high-class summon. However, due to its extreme limitation, most players would not use it in PVP.
“”Gihihihihi, Trick or Treat?””
“Wha-what are they–?”
When the flame dragon answered the two summoned being like that, suddenly the pumpkin’s expression become distorted and fire appeared around its mouth.
“”Trick!!””
Actually, this summoned being was faulty, if, during the question they were given food type item, they become docile and unable to attack.
It was written in the event information and thus well known among players and make the summon become top of most useless summon. Of course, they could be used against monsters, but even among monsters, there were some that has pretty high intelligence and were able to buy them off.
But in this other world, it should not be common sense since there might be no Halloween. Even Aisha did not know. And thus the two summoned pumpkin devils attacked the flame dragon.
Using that chance, Aisha gathered her night-colored mana.
""
“I’m sorry for asking something unreasonable but please lend me your power once more, Undine!”
Aisha’s using all her power to call her, but–
“Ah–sorry but it’s impossible–”
The answer was unexpected and made Aisha dumbfounded.
“He…?”
“Look, we spirit always choose the mana we received, and actually, your distorted mana–we can’t handle it, yep..”
Currently, Aisha’s mana was affected by the Dragon’s Servant status and become the same as Nacht’s.
That’s why it was outside the power of the spirits.
“The-then, what should I do–”
“Dunno? Runaway I guess. Even the main body, facing a dragon is still a stretch. Ah, sorry contractor, my time is up–”
After saying that, she disappeared and the water fell to the ground.
“Fuuuuuuuueeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!! Then what should I do—!?”
Crysta, Guild master–when she was about to shout to them, she clamped.
The target of the flame dragon was her. That’s why if she called for help, they would just become another victim, and she didn’t want that.
When she was in dilemma, she heard.
“Ah, damn, that was hurt. The spear stick between my fingers! But well, is that all?”
The dragon fang tear one of the devils, while the other one was smashed in the head.
The precious time she got was no more. That was the worst.
Is, is there nothing else?
A way for Aisha to fight.
A way to survive.
But no matter where she look she could not find it.
Even if she had a lot of mana, she has no way to utilize it.
“No more trick heh. Then die–!”
Aisha would certainly die if its fang pierce her. That giant dragon opened its mouth and was ready to bite Aisha to death.
What appeared in her head was her life revolving lantern.
The lives with her father.
The memories of the twenty years she had lived.
And the most vivid was the memory of less than one month with Nacht.
No.
Since the day she was saved when wandered into the forest, she has strongly rejected death.
She wanted to live longer, besides Nacht.
She did not have any memory after that.
She might have moved unconsciously. Like out of body experience, her mind was left to fly away, but her body was moved by something else. That kind of feeling.
She could see something that she normally couldn’t. She could even count the number of dragons’ fangs that were about to tear her body, that was how slow she felt it has become.
Aisha did not notice the golden circle that appeared in her eyes.
Just unconsciously–she throws the jet black mana she gathered in her right hand, toward the dragon.
“NGGGYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”
Flash of light and explosion.
Although it was an explosion it was not like something was ignited. More like a wave of darkness spread around. The impact was so great, and even though it occurred in the sky, the ground was gouged and a red hot crater was created.
Perhaps pushed by the force, the giant body of the dragon was repelled back.
“Oww, it hurts! Damn kid! Now you have done it! I am angry now! I won’t hold back anymore!”
This was the first time the dragon screamed.
The dragon did receive damage.
But it made it angrier.
The angry flame dragon opened its mouth and was about to unleash another breath on the land.
“What…did…I just…but, it’s the limit…”
Aisha could not move her body. She lost the mana inside her body, become dizzy, and her consciousness was fading. She could not move an inch.
I am sorry Nacht-sama.
Goodbye.
A drop of tears flowed on Aisha’s cheek…
However when the world should have been engulfed by a flame as hot as the sun…
“Put it out, Darkness!”
She could hear an angry shout.
That sound was,
Aisha’s beloved person voice.
–before the drop of tears fall to the ground, that voice reached her ears.