Someone who had regained their composure after hearing the noise from behind shouted the possibility that someone had been caught between enemies, and we decided to leave the area immediately. However, Solomon still hadn't been put into the Bag, and considering the possibility that the enemy behind us might come charging our way, we figured it would be better to wait for the knights who had gone ahead and then return together. So we stayed at that spot until the last possible moment... but since no enemy appeared from behind, we had plenty of time to put Solomon into the Bag and wait for the knights. Once we'd regrouped, we headed toward the gate in the city wall that was farthest from where the noise had come from, but as we got close to the wall, the Imperial Guard knight who'd been leading the charge suddenly halted and signaled for the rest of us to stop as well.
"Jeanne. Lyle is calling for you. It seems to be an emergency, so let's hurry!"
I didn't know what the emergency was, but Kelly and I parted ways with the knights of the Neutral Faction and headed toward Lyle.
We had assumed that a new enemy had appeared behind us, but it turned out to be a misunderstanding. I tried asking the knight who'd come to fetch us what the noise was about, but he seemed to be in such a rush that he rode ahead of us on horseback without explaining what the emergency was. I only learned why I had been called once we were close to where Lyle was.
"Bon-chan?"
Bon-chan, the baby Behemoth — I didn't know its proper name — had grown since the last time I'd seen it, but the shape hadn't changed, so I recognized it right away. Standing next to Bon-chan were a nervous-looking Imperial Guard soldier and Lyle, wearing a grim expression.
I understood that Bon-chan was probably the reason I'd been called, but Lyle should already know about Bon-chan. So I was wondering if there might be some other reason, when—
"Jeanne, this is a letter addressed to the Ootori family. I got one too, but..."
Lyle trailed off as he handed me a letter addressed to the Ootori family and one addressed to him. His letter had no sender listed, but it said, "I came to help, so watch your backs," which immediately told me who it was from. As for the other letter... it might not have been appropriate for me to open something addressed to the Ootori family on my own, but I was the only one from the family present, so acting as their proxy, I opened it then and there. When I read its contents, I—
"Lyle, pull the front-line troops back immediately! Ah, um... something incredible is coming!"
Reading the letter had rattled me a bit, and for a moment I couldn't find the right words, which made Lyle tilt his head in confusion. But once I showed him the letter, he quickly began barking orders to those around him. The letter's contents, in short, were—
"I can't believe Namitaro is bringing the Behemoth..."
That. More precisely, it said: "Hii-chan's going to charge straight into the center of the enemy, so get your forces out of the way so nobody gets hurt."
I had no idea where or how the Behemoth was going to charge into the middle of the enemy, but if a creature said to be the largest among the Ancient Dragons made its move, that alone would probably be no different from being under attack for most living things.
So Lyle ignored the part about where and how, and ordered all front-line units to pull back. He tried to get more details from Bon-chan, but unlike Namitaro or Slarin, communicating with Bon-chan was impossible, so he gave up on that pretty quickly.
"Jeanne, where do you think the Behemoth is coming from?"
"I don't know. If this letter was a forgery pretending to be from Namitaro, then Bon-chan wouldn't be here — and if a Behemoth with such a massive body were coming, we should already be able to see it... But even Namitaro wouldn't joke around in a situation like this."
Namitaro should have a Dimension Bag too, but there's no way it's big enough to hold a creature like the Behemoth.
As I was administering medicine to Solomon, who was inside the Bag, while talking with Lyle, Kelly — who had been giving Bon-chan treats after the baby kept pestering her —
"Lyle, may I speak?"
"Go ahead. And since you're one of the acting heads of the Ootori household here, from now on you don't need to ask permission every time — just speak whenever you have something to say."
He said this less to Kelly than to everyone around us, raising his voice so all present could hear.
"Thank you. So, regarding Namitaro — could it be possible that he's coming from the sky together with the Behemoth?"
"What do you mean?"
Kelly's words caught not just me and Lyle off guard, but everyone nearby who had been eavesdropping.
"A fish flying through the sky sounds impossible, of course, but if he could use flight magic like Tenma, it would be feasible. And as for how he'd transport the Behemoth… well, we're talking about Namitaro, who could almost be called the poster child of mysterious creatures. It wouldn't be the least bit surprising if he were employing a method that goes even further beyond what we could imagine."
The atmosphere in the area, which had initially felt like 'surely that can't be,' took on a sudden air of reality with Kelly's final words. Lyle issued orders to push the retreating forces to move even faster, and people around us were already sprinting away before he'd even finished giving the command. All the while, the Ancient Dragon continued its slow, steady approach toward the Royal Capital.
"It's possible. That creature is a bigger bundle of absurdity than Tenma. If the Behemoth really does come crashing down from above… anyone on the city walls — grab onto something immediately so you don't get knocked off by the shockwave! Anyone in a structure that might collapse from the heavy impact — evacuate right now and move to an open area!"
"Lyle—"
A few seconds after Lyle shouted those orders, before many people had even finished bracing for the impact or fleeing—
"Aaaahhhh—!"
"Whoooaaa!"
An impact and a sound that had to be dozens — no, hundreds — of times greater than what I'd felt when Bon-chan came crashing down erupted from the direction of the approaching Ancient Dragon.
"Jeanne, are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you, Kelly. Bon-chan, thank you too."
When the shockwave hit, the knights nearby shielded Lyle, while Kelly threw herself over me to protect me.
Fortunately, nothing around us looked like it was about to collapse, but there were quite a number of people who had been standing near structures or inside buildings that were damaged, and they ended up injured.
"Hurry and assess the situation in the surrounding area! Among the wounded, those with serious injuries should be helped by the uninjured so they can be treated — the lightly injured can tend to their own wounds!"
Lyle gave the orders, his own gaze fixed toward the direction the sound and shockwave had come from — toward the Ancient Dragon — but it was too far away and the dust clouds were too thick to see what was happening over there.
"Jeanne, if you're safe, get back to the manor right away! It's too dangerous to stay here any longer!"
Kelly said that, but—
"Well, I think it'll be fine. If you leave the big one to Hii-chan, there's no problem. The small fry are heading this way, but we can handle them easy enough. Though I gotta say, there are a couple of real cocky ones mixed in."
A familiar voice came from somewhere.
"Huh!? Namiitarou!?"
"Jeanne, long time no see~ ...Anyway, Lyle, that giant red lizard is no problem if you leave it to Hii-chan, so hurry up and get your forces back in order. Even Hii-chan can't deal with the red lizard and wipe out all the little pests scurrying around at the same time, y'know."
"Well, yeah, that goes without saying... But about what you said earlier — 'a couple of real cocky ones' — what exactly do you mean by that?"
Lyle, who had the conversation suddenly thrust upon him, was asking about what had piqued his interest with a slightly strained expression, when—
"My Lord, an Earth Dragon is heading this way! If we don't do something, it'll cause casualties among the retreating forces!"
When you were with Tenma, you'd think an Earth Dragon was no big deal, but in general, subduing an Earth Dragon was considered a legendary feat worthy of being recorded in history. Even with the elites of the Royalist and Neutral Factions gathered here, in the current situation, even driving one away should have been difficult... But—
"If it's Namiitarou..."
If it was Namiitarou, who apparently rivaled Tenma in strength, then a single Earth Dragon should be a piece of cake... or so he thought, when—
"Sorry, but I'm passing on that one. Lizard number two is coming this way from up in the sky over there."
"Which direction?"
Lyle and the others all turned to look in the direction Namiitarou was pointing, and—
"A green dragon..."
"It's about the same size as the red one that passed through a little while ago..."
A massive green dragon emerged from the clouds of dust.
"I can't take that one on, so I'm leaving the Earth Dragon to you guys. It might be tough, but I'm sure you'll manage somehow."
With that, Namiitarou moved away from us, advancing to where no one else was around, and—
"Alright, transform! *Bwoom!*"
With that bizarre battle cry, she leaped into the air—and in the next instant, was engulfed in a blinding light…
"Huh?"
"What?"
"Huh?"
She had turned into something like an enormous serpent and soared off into the sky.
We stood there, dumbfounded by Namiitarou, but the report of the Earth Dragon's arrival at Lyle's position quickly snapped us back to our senses.
"Everyone who can move, form up and engage the Earth Dragon! Priority number one is buying time, not defeating it! Namiitarou says it'll be fine, but—embarrassing as it is—we might end up relying on Namiitarou in the end. Until then, hold the line!"
As Lyle roared those orders,
"Understood!"
Baron Mustang was the first to respond, rallying the Neutral Faction nobles and gathering them before Lyle.
Most of the Neutral Faction nobles, including the baron, seemed to have been in the middle of treating their wounds. Some of them had moved so hastily that the bandages wrapped around their bodies were already seeping blood.
"The Neutral Faction will take the lead! Everyone, follow me!"
Watching the baron and the others charge forward like that, I couldn't help but clasp my hands together in prayer—when suddenly, a multitude of balls of light appeared before the baron's group.
At first, a wave of confusion swept through as everyone assumed a new enemy had appeared out of nowhere. But the Neutral Faction nobles closest to Baron Mustang quickly moved to calm those around them. Baron Mustang then turned to look our way, spotted me, and shifted a few steps to the side. And then—
"Father?"
There, at the edge of my gaze, was my father—armored and astride a horse.
I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen him in armor, but the gentle smile on his face left no room for doubt. It was unmistakably my father.
Still smiling, my father gave a single nod, then drew a slender sword, raised it toward the sky, and brought it crashing down. The balls of light that had appeared alongside him transformed into knights and charged the Earth Dragon all at once. Their speed was so tremendous that within seconds they had far outpaced Baron Mustang and the others following behind. They surged onward with that same momentum, crashing straight into the Earth Dragon and the zombies behind it. Strangely, the knights of light passed cleanly through our allies running ahead of the Earth Dragon as though nothing was there, yet even the lightest touch inflicted damage on the Earth Dragon and the zombies.
Still, while the knights of light inflicted considerable damage on the Earth Dragon, they couldn't finish it off. Each time they made contact, their glow dimmed a little more, until finally they dissolved into the scenery and vanished. And my father, too—his body grew fainter with each knight that disappeared, until the last knight faded away. In its place, only the slender sword he had held remained before he vanished completely.
Right after Father and the others vanished, Baron Mustang and his forces reached the Earth Dragon, weakened by the knights' charge,
"They're pushing hard. You'd never guess they're fighting an Earth Dragon with that kind of momentum."
Under the barons' relentless assault, the Earth Dragon's legs came to a complete halt, and shortly after, it stopped moving entirely.
Lyle gazed at the fallen Earth Dragon in the distance as he walked to where Father had been standing. He picked up the slender sword that had fallen there, wiped away the grime with his own mantle, and handed it to me.
"Jeanne. Given the circumstances, there's no doubt those men of light contributed greatly to slaying the Earth Dragon. But officially, the credit may go to Baron Mustang and the others who actually finished it off. I'll include as much as I can in the report, but you should be prepared for the possibility that nothing beyond that can be done."
Why Father, who should have been dead, appeared here remained unclear. Moreover, since this was thought to be something utterly unprecedented in the kingdom's history, Lyle said it would be difficult for him alone to officially recognize Father's role in slaying the Earth Dragon.
"I understand. I'm... I'm satisfied just having seen Father's face one more time."
That was no lie—I was genuinely content at having been able to see Father again. It was just that I felt a small pang of regret that Father's name wouldn't remain in the tale of the Earth Dragon's defeat.
Jeanne's Side — End
Namitarou's Side
"Yep, Jeanne turned out just fine like I figured. Well, I bet she and the others are still pretty stunned, though."
I could've gone after that green codger who'd been heading this way after we took down the Earth Dragon, but if I had, there was no guarantee that green codger wouldn't have attacked Jeanne and the others while I was busy with the Earth Dragon. Besides, I had a feeling they'd manage somehow, and in the worst case—even if I was wrong and Lyle's group couldn't handle the Earth Dragon—the green codger would at least serve as a meat shield to buy Jeanne enough time to escape. And by then, I'd have already taken out that green lizard.
"And here I am, letting my thoughts run wild while it's already right in front of me."
The codger lizard seemed wary of me—it had clearly slowed down and was sizing me up. Well, the moment running away wasn't an option anymore, the codger lizard's fate of being ground into mincemeat was already sealed! ...Though it probably wouldn't taste very good.
"So you're the 'Wind Dragon King,' huh? I'll let you have the first move—come at me."
When I provocatively showed my neck, the codger lizard realized it was being mocked and lunged at me with a thunderous roar, sinking its jaws down—
"Yeah, just as I thought. For all that you've lived close to a thousand years, you're nothing but a dropout who couldn't even become an 'Ancient Dragon.' I gave you a free shot with zero defense—the least you could do is make me bleed!"
I shook off the 'Green Dragon King'—the one that couldn't so much as wound me beyond a minor ache—with a single shudder. But then,
"Hm? Wait, you actually managed to wound me? There's a little blood, even. My bad... Well, it was barely a scratch that stopped bleeding right away, but still."
Looking more carefully, I noticed the faintest trickle of blood from where I'd been bitten. I considered bumping the codger lizard's evaluation back up from "codger lizard" level, then glared at it—but it still seemed ready to fight, staring me down with pointless intimidation.
"Now that's some guts! You're the 'Green Dragon King,' after all — you'd better have that much spirit in you! If you could actually manage to eat and kill me, you might just become an Ancient Dragon! Come on, come at me one more time!"
When I roared back at its intimidation, that became the signal, and we slammed our bodies into each other. In terms of length I had the advantage, but it was bigger, so I figured a straightforward body check might put me at a slight disadvantage — yet the gap between an 'Ancient Dragon' and a 'Dragon King' turned out to be even greater than I'd imagined, because after weathering the first collision, it was completely my pace from then on.
"Come on, come on — you'll never become an Ancient Dragon if you don't try harder~"
The 'Green Dragon King' — a.k.a. Old Lizard — took my headbutts, claw strikes, and tail clubs one after another, gradually losing the will to fight, yet it seemed unable to take the option of fleeing. Half-baked pride was getting in its way, it seemed…
"If you're gonna sit there hoping the 'Red Ancient Dragon' will come save you, then don't show up in front of me in the first place!"
Despite not trying to escape, it had apparently started hoping the 'Red Dragon King' fighting Hi-chan in the background would come over, and it began occasionally glancing behind itself.
That behavior set my blood boiling…
"Enough… just disappear already."
I coiled my long body around its frame and crushed its bones… and then —
"Gueh! …Gobh."
I bit down on Old Lizard's neck, tearing through its flesh and bone in one chomp.
"Disgusting… just as awful as I figured. No way you could make this taste good, even with Tenma. Absolutely no way."
I chewed the bit of Old Lizard meat left in my mouth a little — but aside from being so hard even I could barely cut through it, what spread across my palate was an indescribable stench and bitterness… To put it bluntly, I could proudly say that in over a thousand years of living, I'd never put anything more revolting in my mouth. At this point, I almost regretted trying to look cool by biting it to death instead of just squeezing it to death like I'd been doing.
"Even at the very end, you just had to make me suffer… pretty impressive, I'll give you that."
I spat out the lingering scraps of flesh with a ptoo, and turned my gaze toward Hi-chan…
"That side should be wrapping up soon too… As expected of a fight between Ancient Dragons. The scale's completely different from me versus Old Lizard."
Over there as well, it was just about reaching its conclusion.
— Namitaro's Side, End —
Lyle's Side
"This… this can't be a dream, right?"
After Namitaro flew off for a bit, the dust cloud kicked up where Behemoth had fallen began to clear, revealing the sight of two massive dragons locked in combat. There, we could see what we assumed was the ancient dragon that had come to bring us despair, now flipped upside down after taking a headbutt from Behemoth.
"Let's get a closer look!"
Even though they were quite far away, the two dragons were large enough that we could see them from near the city wall. Still, I decided to move to a better vantage point to observe their fight more closely. Fortunately, thanks to the efforts of Namitaro and Baron Almeria's forces, the area extending a considerable distance from the wall was largely secured as safe.
I informed my subordinates of my intention, but was met with strong opposition. I argued that an opportunity like this wouldn't come again, and more importantly, I needed to compile detailed information to report to His Majesty. In the end, their curiosity won out, and they reluctantly decided to follow me. However, just then—
"Lyle! A wyvern is heading this way!"
One wyvern was approaching with terrifying speed. It was probably one of the units that had been obscured by the dust cloud, but since we spotted it early, we had ample time to prepare our defenses. Yet—
"KYEOOO!"
From behind us, where we had our weapons raised, a black-and-white winged dragon slammed into the wyvern with immense force. The wyvern's neck bones shattered with ease, and it plummeted to the ground.
"Is that Solomon? But if it is, those wings..."
Solomon was supposed to be critically injured, and moreover, I thought I might be mistaken because one of its wings was black. But when I turned back, I saw Jeanne standing there, bag open and staring blankly. So it had to be Solomon.
"Jeanne, what happened?!"
"I'm not entirely sure. Suddenly, light overflowed from inside the bag, and then... Solomon, with his wing color changed, burst out of the bag with tremendous force."
Jeanne didn't know why Solomon, who had barely been able to enter the bag, had suddenly recovered, nor did she understand why one wing had turned black. Still, we should probably be celebrating his recovery. Compared to a deceased comrade suddenly appearing to aid us, Solomon's recovery and the wing change seemed trivial by comparison.
While we stood there stunned, Solomon flew back with a wyvern clamped in his jaws... though, on second glance, he did seem a bit larger than before he entered the bag. He must have hit a sudden growth spurt. Probably.
"Ah, um... Welcome back, Solomon. You're feeling better, huh?"
"Kui!"
Our attention had been stolen by the rejuvenated Solomon, but another loud noise drew our eyes back to Behemoth. The red ancient dragon had collapsed to the ground.
"What happened?!"
I was about to ask someone nearby what had occurred—
"Ah~ Hi-chan bit the red lizard's tail and slammed it into the ground. Take a good look. See the tip of the red lizard's tail? It's torn clean off."
Suddenly, Nanitaro's voice came from right behind me. Wasn't he supposed to be up in the sky just moments ago? I turned to confirm with those around me—
"I thought it'd be fun to surprise you, so I quietly slipped down!"
He confessed freely that he had landed without me noticing.
Instinctively, I glanced behind me and saw Jeanne and the others nearby wearing awkward, guilty expressions.
"Forget all that—it's about time this is wrapping up, don't ya think?"
Snapping to attention at Nanitaro's words, I looked toward Behemoth. The Earth Dragon had fallen to the ground, unable to move, and Behemoth approached it slowly, raising one forepaw… and stomped down. Repeatedly.
"Well, this was bound to happen. Even among Ancient Dragons, he's on a whole different level from Hi-chan. And on top of that, Hi-chan isn't even in peak condition right now. The moment Hi-chan showed up, that thing's fate was sealed. Game over, ya know?"
Shocked that Behemoth wasn't even at full strength with that level of power, I watched as Behemoth seized the now-motionless red Ancient Dragon's neck in its jaws… and crushed it.
"Whoa! Hi-chan, *blech*! …Well, I heard there was one time he thought he'd finished one off ages ago and let his guard down, only for it to escape. So he's just being extra careful. If that thing were somehow still alive and got away again, Bon could become a target."
"So we absolutely must never do anything stupid," Nanitaro said, and I had to agree completely. If some fool pulled something reckless, that kind of existence would become an enemy. Even that red Ancient Dragon had been a hopeless threat for us—if Behemoth turned hostile in earnest, the kingdom would be annihilated in the blink of an eye.
"The only one who might stand a chance against Hi-chan at full strength… would probably be Tenma. Of course, that's with all sorts of conditions attached."
"I have zero intention of ever making an enemy of Behemoth, but would it be alright to hear those conditions?"
Driven by just a sliver of curiosity (wanting to know Behemoth's defeat conditions and just how monstrous Tenma really was) and to steady my nerves, I asked Nanitaro—
"Well, Tenma's a bad matchup for Hi-chan, when ya think about it. Picture this: something the size of a fly, but it has techniques that can actually deal damage to him. And on top of that, it's faster and smarter than he is. Even if there's a gap in stamina and durability, Hi-chan still has his weak spots. If those get targeted, he's in trouble, right? For the record, his weak spots are his brain and his heart."
I now understood why most people couldn't hope to slay Behemoth.
"So keeping Behemoth from getting angry is the kingdom's best chance of survival…"
"Hi-chan's a pretty mild-mannered creature, so as long as nobody does anything to tick him off, we'll be fine! It's way easier to deal with than some unpredictable disaster, isn't it? And if there's ever any misunderstanding, I can always step in as a middleman through Tenma."
That said, what would happen once Tenma was gone… but by then I'd probably be dead too, and whatever happened several hundred years down the line would have to be left to my descendants. For now, I'd make sure to write all of this into my report, consult with my older brothers about it later, and decide whether to preserve it as an official historical record for posterity.
"Hm? Is that thing dragging an Ancient Dragon corpse over here?"
"Looks like it… What's that about? I'll go ask— Whoa!"
Namitarou transformed back into his serpent form, took to the sky, and flew off. After exchanging words with Behemoth, he returned our way. On the trip back, he crushed any remaining zombies he came across, so our side's victory was practically a foregone conclusion at this point.
"So, apparently, Hii-chan wants to feed Bon an Ancient Dragon. Says that if he eats a strong one, his growth will speed up accordingly, and he doesn't want to miss this chance."
"I understand the reasoning, but could you pass along a request? If that corpse ends up in the Royal Capital, it could cause a panic. I'd appreciate it if they didn't bring it anywhere near us."
"Already figured you'd say that, so I told him I'd take Bon over there and that you'd wait at that spot. Oh, and he says he'll split some of the scales and bones between the Otori family and the royal family."
That was fantastic news. The royal family had spent a considerable sum on this battle, and there had been the question of how much reward gold to distribute to the nobles who had participated in the war. But if they could get their hands on even a portion of Ancient Dragon materials, the royal family's finances would ease up considerably.
"Tell Behemoth I'm grateful. If there's ever anything I can do, I'll do whatever's in my power."
I wasn't sure what that might be, but after everything he'd done for us, it was out of the question to give nothing in return.
"Sure, I'll pass that along."
With that, Namitarou placed Bon inside his Dimension Bag and flew off toward Behemoth.
"All right, listen up! Reform the formation immediately—leave a minimal garrison and send troops to the north and west sides!"
"Yessir!"
"Lyle, we'll be heading back to the mansion."
While I was rallying the troops around me to hurry the reorganization, Jeanne—guided by one of the knights I'd brought along—spoke up hesitantly.
"Jeanne, the Otori family saved us. I owe them my gratitude. Without the Otori family, the Royal Capital would have been ravaged by the Ancient Dragon and the zombies by now. I'll have the royal family arrange a proper audience later, but for now, please convey to the Otori family that everyone present here is grateful for what they did."
It was because the Otori family existed that Namitarou and Behemoth had taken action. Whether they were on this battlefield or not, there would undoubtedly be those who resented the Otori family's accomplishments. But regardless of how anyone felt about them, being saved meant gratitude was only natural. And at the very least, everyone around me surely felt genuine thankfulness that the Otori family had been there.
With that, Jeanne climbed aboard Solomon alongside Kelly, and they headed back to the mansion. But then—
"I wonder what Namitarou is going to do?"
I looked over toward Namitarou, who still hadn't returned from Behemoth's location, but—
"Well, with Behemoth around, it'd put my mind at ease if he stayed here. You! For the troops remaining behind—make sure they manage the wyvern Solomon took down and the green dragon Namitarou took down, and drill into them that they are not to approach Behemoth carelessly!"
After watching Namitarou and Behemoth fight, I doubted anyone was foolish enough to get any ideas. But with treasure right in front of their eyes, a moment of madness wasn't entirely out of the question.
Lyle Side — End
"Listen up! Under no circumstances are you to commit any offense against the Ootori family, Namitarou, or Behemoth — don't do it yourselves, don't let others do it, and don't allow it to happen!"
If even one thing went wrong, it was entirely possible that the kingdom would be destroyed not by the red Ancient Dragon, but by Behemoth. Better to be overly vigilant than to not be vigilant at all.
"All that remains is the rebel army centered on Duke Daraam's forces..."
With Namitarou and the others around, it probably wouldn't matter if the rebel army numbered in the hundreds of thousands... but relying on them would defeat the purpose of the kingdom's existence. From here on, the people of the kingdom had to resolve this themselves.
"My lord Lyle, the reorganization of everyone who can still fight is complete!"
"Yori! I'll lead the western division myself! Everyone, follow me!"
He would have liked to push the horses to full speed, but cutting through the Royal Capital meant he couldn't build up much pace, and he couldn't very well leave the foot soldiers behind — the march was slower than he had expected, but...
"To the west, there's also the guard unit led by my uncle. We should be able to reach them before the capital is invaded."
That was how he steadied his increasingly impatient heart.