"Hmm. I'm not entirely sure, but this is good training. This is what an adventure should be like."
"You've got it easy, Luke…"
The red-haired swordsman, Luke Saikol, grinned and drew a sword from his hip with practiced ease.
It was a straight sword about a meter long, easy to handle. The blade was wide, but the most notable feature of the sword was that everything from the hilt to the blade to the scabbard was made of wood. Naturally, it had no edge — it was no weapon to be used on a battlefield where lives were at stake.
Yet Luke raised the wooden sword — absurdly light precisely because of its material — with full confidence, pointing it at the sky.
The cloudless blue sky stretched overhead. Far above, a small shadow moved.
To ordinary eyes it would have been invisible, but to Luke and the others of Mourning Specter, whose five senses had been sharpened through repeated assaults on the Treasure Hall, it was clear enough.
It was — a dragon. A common Green Dragon, its body a deep green.
Of course, "common" was relative — it was still a mature specimen of one of the strongest species among all mystical beasts, with a subjugation difficulty rating of at least six.
Lucia let out an exasperated sigh as the dragon flew past without the slightest interest in them, as though something were driving it onward.
"All the same, to see this many dragons appearing… This is no ordinary situation."
"Green Dragons aren't supposed to inhabit this area, so it must have flown in from somewhere far away…"
Dragonkind, with a few exceptions, possessed outstanding flight capabilities. That was another reason dragons were considered the strongest species — and no ordinary human could hope to match the movement speed of a dragon that could exceed the speed of sound.
Liliz, who had been sitting on her brother's shoulder with her legs dangling, shrugged. Even Liliz, who loved the heat of battle, looked dumbfounded.
"How many is that now? Isn't this too many? How are they even gathering them?"
"Who knows. I don't know of any method to gather dragons… If there is one, the only possibility might be a 'Treasure Weapon,' or something like that?"
"A Treasure Weapon? That's basically saying anything goes, isn't it?"
Citry tilted her head, and Liliz rebutted her.
Despite having spotted a flying dragon, there was no tension among them whatsoever.
As had been the case the day before, they had been clearing the path for several hours, and in that time Citry's party had already encountered five dragons.
Dragons were creatures that maintained vast territories by nature. For that many dragons to cross paths with them in such a short period was far from normal. Combined with the Chil-Dra swarm from the day before, this whole affair reeked of something suspicious.
Even Citry's special potion, while capable of driving dragons mad, had no power to unconditionally lure large numbers of dragons across a wide area. If there truly existed a technique to control dragons, it would be an extremely dangerous one.
"A 'fox'… hey."
"Klye said he didn't need any more dragons…"
Ignoring her older sister's murmur, Citry looked at Luke.
They had never met face to face, but a message had been left for her at the inn's counter, along with the chocolate she'd been entrusted with.
At her words, Luke nodded emphatically.
"Come and face my swordsmanship! Oraaaaaaah! Luke-style Flying Blade — Flowing Flash!"
Luke roared, kicked up dust, and sprinted down the highway that had been packed down by passing carriages. He charged forward at a speed that would put a dragon to shame, then hurled the wooden sword from his hand.
He paid no heed to Liliz's remark about how weird it was for a swordsman to throw his sword. The blade flew straight and true.
Its trajectory was like a shooting star. It flew without slowing, chasing the high-speed Green Dragon, but before it could reach its target, it burned to a bright red cinder and disintegrated. Luke collapsed to his knees on the spot.
"Dammit! It burned up again! What am I missing?! Lucia, next sword!"
"Hmm… Maybe you don't have enough spirit?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Stop saying random things… Hailstorm."
A small whirlwind spawned in the palm of Lucia's hand. The swirling vortex, laced with glittering ice particles, grew rapidly according to her incantation, swelling into a massive tornado that reached high into the sky.
Nature-based magic tended to involve large-scale phenomena. What Lucia excelled at in particular was ice magic.
The blizzard she created spread at a pace that outstripped the dragon's flight speed, ravaging the surrounding area.
Before long, a thunderous roar shook the earth. The Green Dragon, caught in the storm and shredded by the mixture of ice particles, lost all lift and crashed into the ground.
"Easy work, huh?"
"Seems like we can't lure any really strong dragons."
Though they were all called dragons, their capabilities varied enormously. Some, like the Hot Spring Dragon or the Chil-Dra, could be subdued by even a Level 4 Hunter on its own, while others existed that even the full might of Mourning Specter could not defeat.
In this case, neither the Green Dragons nor any of the dragons that had appeared so far were particularly formidable opponents. At least, they were the sort of species that Mourning Specter could dispatch with a single blow.
The duration of the spell expired, and Hailstorm dissipated. All that remained was the frozen ground and the dragon's carcass.
"What should we do about the materials?"
"Leave them. It's a waste, but we can't exactly carry them."
"I'm having fun, so it's fine with me, but even for dragons, showing up in these numbers takes all the thrill out of it. I wish they'd come one at a time instead of all at once."
"Mm."
Every part of a dragon was a valuable material, but their purpose this time was not to make money. They had no capacity to carry anything, either — and who knew what powerful monsters or dragons might appear next.
Still, it felt like a terrible waste. As Citry gazed at the dragon's remains with a lingering sense of reluctance, Liliz called to her from atop her shoulder.
"Citty, there's a horde of monsters heading this way. What do we want to do?"
"A horde of monsters? Dragons?"
Liliz strained her eyes and confirmed the group that had appeared far in the distance. It was a mixed force of various monsters — demi-human-type monsters and magical beasts, fleeing in a panic as though the sky were falling.
"Um… Land Dragons, maybe? As for the monster horde — Orcs, Goblins, all sorts!"
Land Dragons were, for dragons, a rare wingless species. Their wings had degenerated, but in exchange their bodies were massive, and the weight of a single blow was tremendous.
The creatures being chased were probably the local wildlife. Dragons and monsters were never in a symbiotic relationship — dragons, who often stood at the apex of an ecosystem, were natural predators to all non-humans. If a dragon that normally never strayed from its territory suddenly burst out into the open, the surrounding area would descend into total chaos. Even monsters that were usually docile could cause enormous devastation if they went on a rampage.
This was, in fact, the first phenomenon to suspect when monsters went berserk.
"Alright, this time the sword'll reach! I'll… cut them down!"
Armed with a fresh wooden sword from Lucia, Luke rolled up his sleeves. The monster horde showed no sign of stopping, barreling in a straight line toward Luke's group — or more precisely, toward the Emperor's entourage behind them.
At that moment, Citry, who had been wearing a thoughtful expression, clapped her hands together and spoke.
"Luke, just cut the dragons. Don't cut the monsters."
"Huh? Why not?"
"Klye said he no longer needs the dragons, but he never said he didn't need the monsters."
Klye had gone out of his way to relay a message that he didn't need any more dragons. That meant he did want everything else.
Citry, who had known him a long time, understood.
At her cheerful words, Luke's eyes went wide, then he nodded in realization.
"…Got it. Understood. I just have to sort them, right? Only dragons. I'll only cut the dragons. Got it. No problem — just dragons. Cutting only the dragons… Yeah, good training. My arms are gonna get ripped!"
§ § § Something was wrong… The curse had definitely taken effect, so why weren't the dragons coming?
The escort journey had been nothing but peaceful. The sky was clear, without a single cloud or dragon in sight.
Yesterday's events had been unexpected for the man as well, but dragons failing to attack was an entirely new experience.
The power of the Dragon Caller Curse was to draw in nearby dragons. Depending on the circumstances, there could be a time lag before the dragons actually attacked, but this time the delay was far too great.
He could not let his unease show. The Emperor's entourage was already on edge after yesterday's incident. They were probably considering the possibility of a traitor in their midst. And fundamentally, there was no way to verify the results of the curse.
That man — Thousand Transformations — was not nearby. He had volunteered to serve as rear guard and distanced himself from the Emperor's carriage.
The man's intentions were completely baffling. As an escort, it would have been natural to stay close to the Emperor. He couldn't approach too near since the Knights surrounded the carriage, but there was absolutely no sense in deliberately falling back.
Right now, the Emperor was vulnerable. The incompetent knights around him had not realized the man was the enemy.
Without the Dragon Caller Curse, the man could still fight. He was unlikely to take such an impulsive action, but if he were desperate enough to stake his life, assassinating the Emperor was not impossible. Among the escorts, the only ones the man could not defeat in pure combat ability were Still Water and Thousand Transformations.
The only thing bothering him was the behavior of Thousand Transformations, known for his cunning schemes. Depending on the situation, it might be necessary to alter the plan.
And then, just at that moment, a loud shout suddenly rose from the front.
"Monsters! A horde of monsters is coming! There's a huge number — all personnel, on alert! Protect the carriage!"
!? Wh— What!?
Impossible. The curse was supposed to lure only dragons. This was not the work of that man.
He instinctively turned to check behind him. The figure of the man who was supposed to be serving as rear guard was nowhere to be seen.