NOVEL WEB Chapter 113: Dragon Hunters III
Chapter 113: Dragon Hunters III
「Frey?Dis?Gastolfo offers this prayer」
「Rauaryuna?Raua?Heures offers this prayer」
「Amou?Rutsuko offers this prayer」
Like them, I also named myself and offered a prayer.
We didn't pray only to the gods we were contracted to.
We prayed to every god we knew.
Frey recited the names of many gods.
「Ancestral spirit, Gastolfo, the god of fertility. Gamburuputi, the stone eye. Aosfern, the one who brings the setting sun. Fon, the blue throne. Shupurenden, the lord of the azure sky. Schrittel, the fathomless depths. Krasklevon, the hunter of Myriad Kings. Fleet, the name of sorrow. Digger, the monstrosity. Dyngul, the king of monstrosities. Juma, the goddess of rain. Dangle, the flame general's staff. Dungule, the flame general's sword. Dongle, the flame general's downfall. Vershteyn the extinguished. Gnacker, the grove. Thrasher, the exterminator of kings. Aple, the mocking. Banger, the three-eyed. Horowitz, the sealed name. Midras, the Suimei. Tikorenjic, the determiner. Black Grundel. Sleeping Knotty. Speltink, the small Brave. Grundrich, protector of Braves. Grumblemeyer, the founder of the Brave name. Vindoobunikuru, Houma Garving. And the god of rejection, sleep demon, Roomen」
Rana also recited the names of a myriad of gods.
「The great Ezusu. Vassar, the severed. Guldrych, the annihilator. Himbriessen, the abhorrent. Bahnwagen, the devourer. Gutenarbent, the dark. Bithe?Ein?Nuberg, the king of lords. Bratwastel, the remnant. Mitze, the devout. Ryubel, the half-dragon. Hundtoft, the phosphorescence. Moonlight Gunbelarber. Schoendanle, the incarnation of gratitude. Kalpsfleche of fallen tears. Yuta of pleasure. Mitera, the flame hero. Mitera, the fallen hero. Mitera, the king of the dead. Lyulyushka, the thunderbolt. Hautkopf?Ulm, the soul-binding enforcer of lost sins. The great flame magician Rob, the true flame. Grizunas, the abyss. And my ancestor, Heures of the fog」
Rutsuko-san followed suit.
「All the countless gods[1]」
I'll also follow their example.
To the very few gods I know.
No, to the ones not called gods and have been left behind by the times. Simply and from the bottom of my heart, I'll pray to them as if they were gods. I'll pray for a miracle, for the strength to defeat the dragon.
「Misuranika, the dark fire. Gravius the night owl. Meltouvius, the west phoenix. Ukazor, the tree spirit king. Gladvain, the stout arm. Lumidia, the hero of the hidden name. Lola, the dragon eater. The old ones. "All" the forgotten ones」
The four of us shouted in unison.
『We desire a miracle, the power to hunt dragons』
Glass-like particles came into being and danced around us.
We didn't know whose prayers had been heard.
We didn't know who the gods had wrought the miracle for.
But without a doubt.
Our prayers had been answered, and the gyroscope began to spin.
The particles gathered together.
And what was born was……
Not lightning.
Not flames.
Not ice.
Not wind.
Not earth.
Neither light nor darkness.
It was a crystalline spear of incomparable beauty.
2 meters from tip to tip, it was thin, sharp, and fragile. In it, a power beyond all imagination.
While it was as clear as freshwater, it nevertheless harbored an innocent sort of evil.
Don't get scared here.
Don't come to a stop here.
If taking hold of the unknown frightens you, you should be ashamed to call yourself a man.
I grasped the thin crystalline spear with my hand.
「Hisss」
The spear made a clear sound as I plucked it from the air. Lazarissa growled in fright at the sight of it.
It was sharp at both ends, so I couldn't nock it to the bow. That left me with only one option.
「I'll take care of the rest」
I smiled at the women.
I leaped off the city walls, and after a 15-meter fall, I landed without difficulty.
Along the roofs of the buildings, I sprinted forward.
I only had one shot at this and I couldn't afford to miss, so my only option was to get up close.
Of the adventurers fighting the dragon, there were only two left.
They were Otou-san and Barfuru-sama.
The adventurers who were no longer able to fight had been rescued and patched up by the Guild employees. Nearly all of the vanguards had been wiped out, and the rearguards had either exhausted their magic power or had fallen to their knees after losing their will to fight.
The fight had moved to the city's main street.
Behind the two adventurers, the dungeon that was the same white color as the dragon loomed over them.
I approached from the flank.
The dragon swung its serpentine tail around in a horizontal sweep. The blow that broke Gunmerry struck Barfuru-sama squarely. No, he had not dodged it on purpose.
Buildings collapsed like houses of cards, plumes of dust billowed, and cobblestones sailed through the air.
It was a tyrant's blow that mowed down everything in its way.
However, Barfuru-sama had stopped its tail with his great-sword.
The wolf howled at the midday moon.
The rampaging white dragon had been brought to a standstill for the moment.
Otou-san gave me a quick glance, then……
「Barfuru! I'll go to the right. You take the left!」
「Yeah!」
……he shouted, and Barfuru-sama responded in kind.
Regardless of whatever it was that they were going to do, I put my trust in them and dashed forward.
Straight at the dragon.
To get there even a second faster.
In order to drive this spear into the dragon.
Naturally, the dragon noticed me.
However, the dragon's attention was drawn away from me by an intense killing intent.
Otou-san was standing on the dragon's shoulder. There, he set himself in an iai stance, relaxed, and then spun around, drawing his katana with explosive speed.
The swelled-up killing intent burst forth.
In that one instant, time and sound stopped, and even colors faded away.
A slash that would sever even dimensions.
No being could hope to see the path of that slash.
The katana slid back into its scabbard with a click, and time started moving again.
The dragon shrieked in pain.
I saw the dragon's blood for the first time.
The blood spurting out from its wing drenched Otou-san in red.
Otou-san had aimed for the joint of its wing. Indeed, a certain corner of the dragon's wing didn't have any scales covering it. It was a small spot that could hardly be seen with the naked eye, but that was where he had driven his blade through.
It was a feat akin to threading the eye of a needle with an iai-draw.
「UUUWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooo!」
Barfuru-sama followed that up with a feat that was the exact opposite.
Like Otou-san, he aimed for its wing. But it was a wild blow, almost like it was the culmination of all the violence in this world.
It didn’t cut through the wing. However, it broke it. The wing was bent in the wrong direction at the joint.
The dragon screamed out loud.
The two of them had wounded the dragon.
That drew its ire. However, the dragon losing its wings by no means made it any less dangerous.
That’s right, beasts show their true colors when they’re wounded.
I saw a living and breathing tempest.
The dragon's true colors were so violent that it deserved to be described as such.
Barfuru-sama was kicked high up into the air, and Otou-san was sent rolling across the ground after also being struck.
『Hey, over here. You lizard bastard』
But it’s ultimately just a beast.
Whether it’s showing its true colors or not, there’s nothing easier to kill than a creature lacking the ability to reason.
The dragon swung its arm to strike the me on the roof.
Its claws sliced through the air without hitting anything. Unsurprisingly, that was an image created by Yukikaze.
After a short run-up, I put all my weight into the swing of my arm.
「Don't fall for it twice, you idiot」
The real me had dropped to the ground and was directly in front of the dragon. Those words were uttered after I had thrown the spear.
I had aimed the crystalline spear right in the middle of the dragon’s body.
No matter what kind of creature this thing is, it has no way to avoid it now that its wings have been mangled.
Leaving a trail of light in its wake, the spear hit the dragon.
The dragon had not tried to dodge.
Instead, it blocked it.
Dexterously, with the tip of its tail that it had whipped around.
To be precise, it was with the hidden spines that extended from the tip.
When the spear came into contact with the spines, it eroded and blossomed them into flowers. Large and beautiful crystalline flowers. Even diamonds and crystals paled in their stunning radiance.
I’m sure of it.
This magic is more than capable of slaying a dragon.
This spear bears the seeds of a flower that causes death to bloom. When the flowers bloom fully and then fall, they return all that they have consumed to dust.
The spines that the dragon had "shed" crumbled into the dust along with the flowers, leaving only tiny fragments behind.
A giant hand scooped me up.
「Gargh」
Every bone in my body creaked, and I almost vomited my guts out.
It should have been easy for it to crush me to death. Apparently, that wasn't enough to appease its rage.
The dragon opened its mouth wide.
I saw rows of terrifying teeth, and then red hot air washed over me.
Dear! came Rana's voice from afar. I was relieved to realize that she would definitely not make it here in time. Because that meant there was no risk of her getting caught up in this.
The dragon's flames enveloped my whole body.
There was no time to resist or call for the magic sword.
My world went completely red, and my breath caught. I fell into a strangely calm reverie.
Ever since arriving in the alternate world, I've always been prepared for death. The reason why I disposed of the guns was because I was taking my death rather than my survival into consideration.
In the adventures that followed, I was even more prepared for all sorts of death.
Killed and devoured by a pig, stabbed all over by a skeleton, flattened by a huge monster, cut in two by a crazy knight, stabbed to death by a magic sword, slaughtered by an ugly beast, riddled with holes by Rana's cooking, and dying alone after wandering around the dungeon in pursuit of the invisible monster that abducted her.
So, my life will end with me being burned alive by a dragon's flames, huh?
I've heard that people don't really die that easily from being burned alive, so they're usually killed before being burned at the stake.
It's a death that's no more than a farce.
In a sense, that's just like me, I suppose.
Regardless, I have to accept it.
I’m sorry everyone, this is goodbye.
「………………」
Huh………………it doesn't feel hot.
「Huh?」
It wasn't hot.
I was right in the midst of being bathed in flames. The dragon was breathing fire on me at point-blank range, but none of the heat was reaching me. The flames had been completely blocked. By a film of water that had appeared around me.
It was so sudden that I couldn't wrap my head around it.
「Ah」
My questions were put to rest when I looked down at it.
Around my neck hung a necklace of strung-together coral. It was a symbol of trust given to me by a fishman. It was the first item I had acquired in the alternate world. And it was glowing faintly.
I had no doubt about it.
This was what had created the film of water that protected me from the flames.
I was so deeply moved that tears came to my eyes.
Not a single encounter between people had been for nothing.
I'm really so glad to have met him.
I can't lose.
I definitely can't lose.
「Tch―――――Agathion!」
I called the magic sword.
Faster than the speed of sound, the magic sword stabbed into the dragon's mouth.
The dragon recoiled back, and the flames stopped. The film of water burst and the coral necklace shattered into pieces.
Freed from its grip, I landed on the ground and pulled out my demonic katana.
「Come back!」
The magic sword flew out of the dragon's mouth and back to me. There was a hint of blood on it.
The parts without scales can be cut with the magic sword. They can be cut with the demonic katana. Otou-san had done the same. There's no reason why I can't do it.
If I can't do it, then all I have to do is to become able to do it right now.
It's simple when I think about it. If it bleeds, I can kill it. Eventually, I'll kill it.
I'm coming to kill you.
I have fought an ugly beast. I have fought a great white wolf. I don't think this lizard bastard is a match for either of those two.
One katana, one longsword, and one magic great-sword.
With these three blades, I will defeat you.
「ROOAAAAAARRRRRRRrrrrr!」
「UWWOOOOOOooooooooo!」
The dragon let loose a bloody roar.
I roared back at it.
In a louder voice than the dragon.
Not having learned its lesson, the dragon swiped at me with its arm, and I dodged it, then set my sights on the wound on its wing.
「Agathion, go!」
The flying magic sword gouged at the wound made by Otou-san. Using the dragon's knee and shoulder as footholds, I ran up to its face.
I was trying to get at its eyes, but I couldn't reach them, so I slashed at the tongue in the mouth it had sloppily left open.
Through the blade, I felt the sensation of flesh being sliced through.
The loudness of its shrieking and the displeasure that filled it was beyond comical. Despite its huge size, it was wailing like a child.
Claws closed in on me. I kicked the dragon in the face to move myself out of their way.
In a moment of pure stupidity, the dragon hit itself in the face with its own hand and lost its balance.
I ran up onto the roofs of the buildings.
Slow.
Not me, but the dragon.
Its movements were getting sluggish. It appeared that the wounds on its wings were having an effect on it.
I deliberately took some distance from it, then circled around to its back to goad it into attacking.
It fell for it so easily that it was laughable.
As expected, it tried to attack me with its tail.
Ultimately, it's just a beast.
I had seen it enough times that I could react comfortably to it.
On my katana, I had sprinkled my sister's specially-made brutally-spicy spice mix.
After gauging the distance, I matched its speed and jumped backward. I dodged it by a hair's breadth. When the tip of its tail passed right in front of me, I countered with a thrust of my katana.
I stabbed it where the spines used to be, which I presumed was similar to stabbing a human where a fingernail had been torn off.
The katana was ripped out of my hands.
After plunging all the way to the hilt into the dragon's tail.
「QWEAAAAAAARRRRRrrrrAAARRGGGHHHHH!!」
It let out the loudest scream of the day.
The windowpanes around me shattered, and my body was pushed back by the shock wave.
「Ea, what the heck is in that spice mix of yours?」
The dragon was flailing its tail about in absolute agony.
It was probably trying to dislodge the katana through centrifugal force, but something like that wasn't going to work on a blade driven in so deep.
To add to its misery, Agathion dug into the wound on its wing and burrowed deep into its flesh, causing it great pain. As the dragon reached its arm around to try and pull it out, I leaped forward and slashed at it with Zamonglass' sword.
A sound like a sledgehammer hitting something reverberated through the air.
This is the last of my fine swords.
This sword is the one that feels the most comfortable in my hand and also the one I trust most. As a weapon, it's rugged, sturdy, and unpretentious, much like its original owner.
It has a thicker blade than the average longsword. Although it is a heavy weapon, it would be twice as heavy if it were forged by an ordinary blacksmith.
Silver had been mixed in with its steel, along with impurities that cannot be identified. It's a sword that had remained unnamed. A masterpiece forged by an unknown blacksmith. To those who can appreciate its worth, it is a gem among nameless swords.
However, this sword cannot cut through the dragon's scales.
However, this sword will not be broken by the likes of a dragon.
「Bring it on! I'll beat you to a pulp and stir-fry you in curry powder!」
I took the fight to the dragon.
I rained countless blows on the dragon.
A sword fight ensued.
It was a captivating and mesmerizing experience.
Colors faded, time grew viscous, and I danced on the cusp of a monstrous death.
I crawled along the ground like a rat. Ran across the rooftops like a cat. Hounded it like a wolf.
My blood boiled, and my soul was aflame.
I could really feel that this was the very essence of being alive. Every time I swung my sword, I lost a bit of my regeneration point. Every time I struck the dragon with my sword, every time I parried the dragon's claws, every time I dodged, every time I moved my inflamed body that had steam rising from it, I shaved away at my life.
In all likelihood, a direct hit would empty my regeneration point and cause my body to tear apart.
But what of it?
That will simply be one in a countless number of deaths.
Don't underestimate adventurers. Don't underestimate those who challenge death.
I swung my sword.
A cacophony of metallic sounds rang out. The ringing canceled out the echoes of the previous blows and created more echoes. My sword played a melody that sounded like the forging of metal.
I parried and dodged all the attacks.
The number of slashes I had landed exceeded eighty.
It was only a short amount of time, but perhaps because of how strained my nerves were, it felt awfully slow, yet also fast to me.
The wound on the dragon's wing sprayed blood everywhere, soaking heavily into my poncho.
It was unfortunate, but……
「―――――――Tch」
……I had inflicted no mortal wounds. I had not gotten through.
The dragon's scales aren’t as resistant to blows as they are to slashes. If I hit it about 200 more times, I'd be able to mangle its flesh and break its bones. But, well, it's a shame. One more attack and my regeneration point will be exhausted.
This is the limit. Time always flies when you're having fun.
In true adventurer fashion, I'm going to take another shot at it even if it's a risky gamble. I'll drive my sword through its brain. The dragon must also be wary. Of dangerous actions like people jumping into its mouth on their own.
But so what?
I'll take up the challenge.
My sword got snagged on its scales, making a lively jangle.
I landed on the roof of a completely collapsed building and widened the distance between us.
We were 40 meters apart.
In a showy manner, I held up my sword.
I gripped the handle tightly with my left hand and placed my right hand on the pommel.
It was an obvious thrusting stance.
I lined up the tip of my blade with the dragon's eye.
No need to use strange tricks anymore. I'll simply pierce it with speed and sharpness.
It's a technique that does only that.
And for that reason, it is perfection.
「With this, I’ll kill you」
I honed my killing intent.
I'll focus my entire body on just this one thing.
This is the last attack.
Stab it through. Stab it to death! I don't need anything else!
Both to intimidate and as a preparatory move, I took a step forward.
The dragon took a step back.
「Ku, ha」
A laugh escaped me.
This guy, it's scared.
Come on, that's not right. You can't do that. With a body that big and scales that amazing, you shouldn't be intimidated by a human like this.
「Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!」
It was so funny that I burst out laughing.
But my blade won't waver even one iota. I won't hesitate to kill you. You’re going to die. I'm definitely going to kill you here and now.
At the very least, you'll die with me. At the very worst, you'll die with me.
Other than killing you, I don't need anything else.
What about you?
I can picture the thrust of the blade with clarity. This one attack is the pinnacle of selflessness. I have poured my entire existence into it. It's only a small existence, but it being small doesn't mean that it can't kill a dragon.
Now, time for us to die.
Die.
「Huh?」
The roar of a fist exploded through the air.
From the side, it knocked the dragon down to the ground.
Suffering a concussion, the dragon lost consciousness. Its head slumped onto the main street. Without waiting for a three count, the wielder of that fist landed on the ground and delivered another punch to the dragon's jaw.
Its huge body was launched up into the air. This must be the first time a dragon had ever flown through the sky like this. Round and round its body spun before it landed on the back of its head.
I heard a loud crunch of bones.
「UU, UWWOOOOoooo」
Even her shout is cute.
It's cute, but the fist that had struck the dragon's forehead was so powerful that a human would be completely obliterated if they were hit by it.
I’ve always known that she has strong arm strength, but this is abnormal.
It's hard to believe that such a slender arm and a small fist can generate enough destructive power to produce a shock wave. How can her punch have so much power that it can cause damage through the dragon's scales?
………………Oh.
No, it’s possible.
It's really simple.
There is a woman who defeated a dragon with her bare hands. She has that woman's blood running in her veins.
The most important duty of a person who has made a contract with a god is to reenact the legends of that god. If so, it would not be strange for a person who has inherited the blood of a god to reproduce that god's legend.
Gladvain, the stout arm.
The scene of Rana punching the dragon was the very image of her legend.
「How should I put it……」
Umm, dear wife.
「Rana, that's really a bit too……」
Rana took a deep breath, then held her breath and delivered a barrage of rapid-fire blows to the dragon’s belly.
Bam bam bam bam bam bam, the sounds of the impacts cascaded like a great waterfall.
She had punched a bowl-shaped indentation into the dragon’s belly.
Next, she went to town on its face.
Pow! Wham! Crunch, thump! Creak, snap! could be heard as she attacked the vital points of the face maliciously with her knees and elbows. One of the horns now had a crack running across it.
Her white robe had turned completely red from the blood that had splashed back onto her.
As could be expected, I found myself pitying the dragon.
「Alright! That's enough! Stop!」
A loud voice filled the air. I wondered where it came from, but it turned out to have come from the dragon's mouth.
Huh, no way.
「Rana, please stop」
I put my arms around Rana, who had lost herself in tormenting the dragon, from behind and held her back. I was prepared to have a few bones broken, but I was able to stop her easier than I had expected.
「Huh, dear? ………………You’re okay!」
「I'm okay, but as for you, uwaa」
Her regeneration point had run out. The skin on her knuckles had peeled off. I couldn't see any bones poking out, but they weren't shallow wounds.
Considering the damage she had inflicted on the dragon, those wounds were probably a small price to pay, but they were too deep for a woman. Hopefully, they wouldn't leave any scars.
「Ow, it hurts. Owww」
It seemed that she was starting to feel the pain now that she had come to her senses.
Praying that she wouldn't get an infection from the dragon's blood, I tore strips off my poncho and wrapped Rana's fists with them for now.
We were both completely red.
The dragon lifted itself up gingerly. Upon taking a closer look, I noticed intelligence in its eyes.
It looked down at us and spoke.
[1] What Rutsuko-san prays to is the “八百万の神”. "八百万" literally means eight million, but idiomatically, it means "an uncountable many/countless". In Shinto beliefs, the definition of a god(神, kami) is really broad, hence it encompasses many things, and there is no set or defined list. Hence this term is used as a catch-all as it’s impossible to list everything. In short, Rutsuko-san just prayed to every Shinto god there is.
[2] The term “痛み分け”, which I translated as “a draw due to injury”, is a sumo and judo term used to declare a match a draw due to an injury to one of the competitors. It does have a figurative meaning of “a mutually painful compromise“ as well.
Those blocks of gods’ names… By the way, there are some interesting points in there in case you skipped the entire wall of text(as I did) when reading. First, in Frey’s chant, the flame general’s staff, sword and downfall are called Dangle, Dungule, and Dongle respectively. XD What names. And then, in Rana’s chant, there’s a mini-story lol. She prayed to Mitera three times, first as the flame hero, then as the fallen hero, and finally as the king of the dead. Btw, all of this is absolutely unimportant lol. But it’s the small things. =)
So, we finally know the real reason behind Souya’s inexplicable reason to dispose of the guns. He always thought he was going to die, and doing so would leave less loose ends. Even now, his suicidal tendencies are still pretty strong, but it was much worse then, which is why he chose the less troublesome route rather than the one that increased the chances of his survival.
Many a time, Souya has commented in one way or another that he was glad to have met Geto-san. Do you still remember the other times? Unsurprisingly, they all happen when Souya is in great need and Geto shows up with exactly what he needs.
By the way, remember how Souya was refused entry into the flame religion’s temple because of the necklace? Remember the priest asking him if he could take responsibility if the necklace puts out their fire? Yeah, this entire scene where Souya’s life is saved by the very first item he acquired in this world has been set up since volume 1. Since we’re on the topic, Souya was rejected by many gods back then, but three of those rejections were written out in detail instead of being skipped over like the rest. They seemed to be just flavor back then, just empty details to make the readers chuckle a bit, didn’t they? Needless to say, those three are choke full of set-ups and foreshadowing, which really shows how well the author had planned everything from the start. It’s also why the start is so slow haha.
Also, remember Souya saying he kept a bottle of Ea’s killer spice mix on him for blinding enemies back in vol 3? Haha, I love this call-back so much.
Notice how at the end when Souya was completely absorbed in the fight that his suicidal tendencies came back full force? He uses very similar lines to the ones he used in the Lola fight too.
Oh, and I’m pretty sure Rana’s first punch was at least Mach 1. Hence the shock wave. O.O I bet you didn’t see this twist coming though. It’s been set up for a while now and is also a set-up for something else, but I won’t elaborate as I’ve said so much already.
And so, stay tuned for the final chapter of this arc!