LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 105
105. We Too, By Your Side
The soft, melting sensation still lingered on my lips.
I wanted to savor the aftertaste of the kiss with Sarome a little longer, but now wasn’t the time for that.
Standing before me was the golden ancient dragon, the epitome of strength.
“Let’s go, boy.”
“…Yeah.”
──The battle between me and the original body of Greed resumed with that brief exchange.
Breath attacks from seven mouths dyed the surroundings with colorful explosions.
I used the [Kaleidoscope Shift], the same strategy I used in the alternate dimension fight, to deflect the breath back at him.
But this time, it wasn’t going to be that easy.
Even after taking dozens of reflected breath attacks, Greed didn’t flinch.
He was probably taking some damage, but it didn’t stop him from launching one attack after another.
The surrounding walls and ceiling exploded in an instant, and countless pieces of rubble rained down.
If I hadn’t put up defensive skills, Luca, Sarome, and I would’ve been crushed to death by now.
Greed continued to unleash breath attacks, and I kept deflecting them──this back-and-forth repeated itself.
Each time one of the seven breath attacks was fired, I deflected it.
The reflected breath swept across the area.
“Keep reflecting all you want! Eventually, there will be a gap in your defense──until then, I’ll keep firing. A thousand, ten thousand, a billion times if I have to!”
No matter how much damage he took──no, the more he was hurt, the fiercer Greed’s will to fight became, unleashing breath attacks wildly.
“Is it impossible to beat him just by reflecting his attacks…?”
But, can we win by only defending?
Greed had originally said he couldn’t fight in this world.
Now, he was fighting me thanks to the power of Dragon’s Roar, a dragon magic that could only be used during the new moon.
So, could we just buy time until the effect wore off?
No, if he teleported the other two again before that, we wouldn’t be able to stop him.
In the battle in that alternate dimension earlier, I learned how to control multiple skills.
But I could only activate them one at a time.
I couldn’t use multiple skills ‘simultaneously.’
Unless I figure out a way to eliminate that time lag, it’s going to be tough to fight Greed.
“…What should I do?”
I groaned.
We had to show him our strength and make him acknowledge defeat──.
That was probably the only way to end this battle.
Even if we surrendered, he didn’t seem like the type to accept it.
If we weren’t careful, we might provoke his literal wrath, and the two of them could end up dead.
Greed’s fighting spirit radiated that kind of ominous threat.
“Show him your strength.”
I made up my mind.
“I’m going to make him submit──”
“If that’s your plan, then we’re with you.”
Luca stood beside me.
On the other side, Sarome smiled.
“Exactly, Haruto, don’t take it all on yourself.”
“We’re happy that you want to protect us, Haruto.”
Luca readied her sword.
“But please don’t try to shoulder everything alone. We’ll be by your side too.”
She gazed at me with a gentle smile.
“Let us protect you.”
“Exactly! We care about you, Haruto, just as much as you care about us!”
Sarome drew her knife.
“…Otherwise, I wouldn’t have given you my precious first kiss.”
She glanced at me, blushing as she muttered.
──Yeah, both of you are right.
The weight I’d been carrying started to feel unexpectedly lighter.
We began our strategy meeting.
“Haruto, your defense magic can cover multiple spots, right? How about you protect everyone, and Luca and I attack Greed?”
“But earlier, I deflected Greed’s dragon breath, and it didn’t even faze him. Half-hearted attacks won’t work against him──”
As I was saying that, something struck me.
I had seven spheres of light floating around me, ready to release defensive skills at any moment.
They were flickering strangely.
Huh? Wait──.
Suddenly, an idea hit me.
It wasn’t logical, but I could feel it.
This might work on the ancient dragon──.
At the very least, if there was no other effective strategy, it was worth trying.
“What’s wrong, Haruto?”
Luca asked, puzzled.
I brought my face closer to the two of them and shared the idea that had just come to mind.
──And then, a few minutes later.
“Is your strategy meeting over?”
Greed looked down on us.
It seemed he had purposely held off on attacking, waiting for us to finish discussing our plan.
Was it confidence, or was he underestimating us?
No, he was probably just enjoying the fight.
“Yeah, we’ve come up with a plan to take you down.”
I nodded and moved to the back.
Luca stood at the front, with Sarome positioned diagonally behind her.
“I’ll make the first move. Sarome, wait for an opening. Haruto, get ‘ready’ in the meantime.”
“…Don’t push yourself.”
Even though this was the plan we discussed, I couldn’t help but worry.
“The opponent is the strongest dragon species. Even Luca can’t face him head-on──”
“It’ll be fine.”
Luca smiled as she turned to look at me.
“I’ve only done it once before. I’m not sure if I can pull it off again, though.”
She raised her longsword.
“Unleash your power──its other form.”
She spoke to her sword.
With a clanking sound, the longsword split apart.
“What the──”
I knew the Force Greed could transform into twin blades.
But this transformation was different.
The divided blades combined, forming a much wider blade.
Now, the sword looked less like a longsword and more like a greatsword.
“Force Greed, ──Blazing Form.”
Luca lowered the large, glowing red sword and spoke.
“Be careful, Luca.”
“It’s alright. Just like you have your reason to fight, I have mine.”
Luca took a step forward.
“That’s why I’ll fight──for my own reasons.”
She was smiling.
Even in this dire situation.
Even in the face of what seemed like certain death.
So innocently.
So joyfully.
She lived for battle, feeling alive only on the battlefield──
That kind of smile.
“You’re going to use the power of the War God Vim Force, just like in that alternate dimension fight──very well, show me if you can master it, Luca!”
“Yes, with the power you taught me──I’ll defeat you.”
Luca kicked off the ground and swung her sword cloaked in red light.
The shockwaves from the blade deflected and scattered the dragon breath.
“Oh, impressive power. Even stronger than before──”
Greed grunted.
“But how long can you keep up?”
The seven heads fired breath attacks one after another.
There were just too many.
Luca, with her ‘factor’ fully unleashed, was moving at incredible speed, but she still couldn’t dodge them all.
Her speed was probably not as high as it had been in her previous form.
Back then, she was so fast that she left afterimages as she moved.
But while her speed had decreased, something else had surely been enhanced.
Most likely──the power of her attacks.
The slashes were strong enough to deflect dragon breath.
Luca dodged as much as she could, and for the rest, she blocked with her greatsword, slowly closing the distance to Greed.
To get within range for the killing blow.
“You made it into my range──impressive!”
“Faster──no.”
Luca bit her lip and groaned.
Her movements were gradually slowing down.
There was a time limit on how long she could maintain her enhanced abilities through the ‘factor.’
A human body couldn’t withstand superhuman strength for long.
She must have been approaching her limit.
Despite the pain, Luca continued advancing toward the ancient dragon,
“Please, Force Greed. Stronger──and heavier!”
The raised sword emitted an even brighter red light.
“What is this!? This is different from earlier──”
The ancient dragon’s voice was filled with shock.
“Final Technique, [Force Break]!”
The red slash Luca unleashed tore deeply into Greed’s body.