Volume 5 Chapter 52 Dragon Slayer Vs Devouring Serpent Showdown
Intense heat emanated from the Stigma in my left hand, and it's starting to emit light.
"Mikage, can you still move?"
"No problem. ──Good luck to you."
Despite grimacing in pain, Mikage somehow managed to stand up, dragging one leg as she moved away. Watching until a safe distance, I turned towards Reed.
"You waited for me. That's quite kind of you."
"I get it... My left eye's Stigma has been heating up since earlier. You're finally getting serious, huh?"
Reed let the blood flowing from his nose go unchecked. He wore a childlike smile, eagerly anticipating the opening of the best present.
"Hurry up and show it, that you've killed the evil dragon. I can't wait any longer here!"
"If you want to see it that badly, I'll grant your wish. But──"
Thanks to Mikage, I remembered something important.
The reason I get serious is always the same.
If I lose, there are people who will be sad. There are people who will be taken away.
That's why I can't lose. I won't let them be taken away.
So──.
"You started this first. From here on, there's no turning back. Don't hold a grudge even if I kill you!"
I point my black spear forward, further fueling the heat of Stigma. I unleash the true name of the black spear, Gram, overflowing with passion from the depths of my chest.
"Come forth──The Great Magic Blade of Dragon Slayer (Balmung)!!"
The light released from Stigma gathers at the tip, manifesting into a massive blade.
At this moment, the black spear transforms into a jet-black super greatsword.
"Let's goooooo!!"
I raise Balmung and dash forward. The tremendous weight from the super greatsword presses down on my both legs, cracking the ground with each step.
"Awesome! You're the best, Black Blade! I'm itching for it more and more, dammit!!"
In response to my shout, Reed's motivation reaches its peak. With a hearty laugh, he unleashes all eight snake bellies towards me.
I couldn't deal with it with just the black spear, but...
"You're in the way!"
I stood my ground, making a resounding noise, and swung Balmung. The wide-ranging slash of the super greatsword shattered the approaching eight serpent bellies. Although only the tip of the serpent bellies was crushed, Reed's face, which had been filled with joy, twisted for the first time here.
"Tchhh!"
Reed, now showing his anxiety, attacked me from various angles, but all were intercepted by the wide-ranging slashes. Once it came to this, sporadic attacks were meaningless. Everything could be blown away with the Great Magic Blade.
'Yeah! There's no one who can beat my partner like this head-on! Let's push forward all at once!'
It goes without saying. Ever since manifesting Balmung, my whole body has been screaming. Moreover, the wound on my side that was sealed by the recent sweep has reopened. If left alone like this, it feels like my insides are about to spill out.
Just as he was about to enter the greatsword's range with only a little distance left, Reed, who should have been feeling anxious, once again curled up the corners of his mouth.
Before I could even interject with a question of whether there was still something else, my feet were forcibly stopped. To put it accurately, Balmung seemed to have become fixed and wouldn't move.
'Gyaaaaahahahahaha! There's no way I'll let you do that, you idiot!!'
Annoying laughter from Slay echoed in my ears. When I turned around, the massive serpent belly of Yamata-no-Orochi the Devouring Serpent (Dáinsleif) was entwined multiple times around The Great Magic Blade of Dragon Slayer (Balmung).
'Partner, get down!'
Startled, I looked directly under the Great Magic Blade, and saw that all the snake bellies were rooted in the ground. As I turned back to face Reed, among the eight snake bellies extending from his back, seven were pierced into the ground.
"Damn it."
"It's useless! They've spread all over the underground in this area! No matter how strong you are, it's impossible!"
I tried to lift the Great Magic Blade with all my strength, but it was firmly fixed by the serpent bellies extending from the ground, not budging at all. The momentary look of panic on my face was just a bluff to bring about this situation.
"...You did well too. I never thought you would make me spend all seven of Dáinsleif heads and you're not be able to hold it down without some trickery. Thanks to that, just moving the last one is a struggle."
Blood tears flowed from Reed's left eye as he spoke. Furthermore, his body was experiencing unnatural spasms. Reed seemed to be reaching his limit, but he lifted one of the snake's belly while half of his face turned bright red.
"It ends with this Black Blade!!"
Reed, convinced of his victory, unleashed the final snake belly towards me.
──Creak.
"...?"
However, just as the tip reached my forehead, it stopped moving. For a moment, Reed wore a bewildered expression, not understanding what had happened.
──Creak.
"What!?"
Reed noticed that the seven large snake bellies connected to his back, which were buried in the ground, were starting to creak. At the same time, he heard the same creaking sound coming from the ground around him.
──Creak, creak, creak!!
Even in the midst of Reed's confident victory, I kept pouring my strength into the Great Magic Blade without pause. The reason the snake bellies stopped just before piercing me was that the control resources to move the last one, which was restraining the Great Magic Blade, were nearing their limit.
It seemed that even that was reaching its breaking point. Reed hurriedly focused on restraining the snake bellies, but it was already beyond the point of no return.
'Ever since coming to this city, Eubarest, it's been nothing but weird stuff.'
After Gram muttered a resigned complaint, I exclaimed,
"You're annoyiiiiinnnng!!"
──Sccccrrrrrrrraaaappppe!!
With all my might, I lifted Balmung and pulled out the coiling snake's belly, causing a thunderous roar as the surrounding ground shook.
My flesh and bones screamed in agony, but the liberating feeling of breaking free from the cumbersome restraint overshadowed it. Stepping forward boldly, I closed the distance with the blade.
"What kind of crappy power is this!?"
Reed, cursing under his breath, pulled all the snake bellies towards him, wrapping them around himself to take a defensive stance. Though a net of overlapping snake belly blades formed, it was clear that it wouldn't be enough to stop me.
"Oooorrrraaaahhh!!"
'What the heck!? Partner, hold on tight!!'
I was supposed to be on vacation, but somehow got dragged into trouble. With a mix of emotions, including frustration, I swung Balmung while hearing Gram's scream in my mind.
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