Chapter 17

Note: Thanks to Alex for beta reading this!

My monster girls died. The dragon was hurt, but she was killing too many of them. That breath was devastating.

“Blinding brilliance hardened, let the light of Lord Shamash cut!”

Dazzling Sword flashed into existence and cut through the dragon’s right horn before slamming into her head. She snarled in pain as blood spurted. But that wasn’t good enough. I needed to deal more damage. Esclava hurt her with fire.

I had tried Flame Spurt, an Intermediate Fire Spell, but I had Expert Spells now. Third Tier. And there was one that Sulanga had used on me. I had so many new spells, but this one rose in my mind. I thrust out my hands.

“Flames erupt, let the conflagration of Lord Gibil blaze!”

A massive conflagration engulfed the dragon. She roared in pain as the fire burned across her wings and back. It blazed down to her scales. The heat danced in the air over her, buffeting Garnet and Alizee as they soared above.

“Beautiful,” Esclava cried as she whirled above me.

Snarling her fury, the dragon turned to face me for the first time since my monster girls had attacked. She breathed black flames at me. It was in that moment that I realized I hadn’t renewed Static Aura.

Flames engulfed me.

The fire gripped me and lifted me off the ground. I gasped, realizing I was in Esclava’s firewhirl. I had a glimpse of her eyes amid the inferno as she lifted me up. A suggestion of a smile on the ifrit’s fiery body at the heart of the conflagration.

“Such beautiful flames,” she cooed.

Hagane’s glasses slipped on her nose as she swung her arm-blades. An affection since the glasses held no lenses, she ignored them. She slashed against at the dragon’s front legs, leaving bleeding rents behind in the scales. Terra bashed into the other leg, crunching scales. Some shattered and revealed the flesh beneath.

The animated statue attacked with methodical motions. She thought where each strike should land to deal the maximum amount of damage to the monster. This beast had to be taken down. Leo’s fire burned over it. The dragon snarled with fury.

He will push himself too hard and get killed, Hagane thought. Every time he went into battle was illogical. He should stay on his throne directing his monster girls. He was a general, not a captain. It was not his job to lead his women but direct the battle.

But that was not Leo.

He’s too chivalrous to let women die in his place, thought Hagane. And though it shouldn’t give her this pleased thrill since she was a reusable asset that could come back time and time again, it did. She liked that he was illogical even as it frustrated her. I’m no more logical than he is, I suppose.

The dragon’s legs quivered as Hagane and Terra followed them around, dodging their attacks, and attacking. They had to bring her down. Once her legs collapsed, she would be done for. She had no room to fly in here.

Unlike Isatu in that massive room in the First Dungeon.

Maya jumped into the leg that Hagane attacked. The animated statue blinked in surprise as the undine scrambled up the dragon’s limb with ease. Half flowing and half climbing. Maya had unorthodox ways of fighting.

Hagane approved.

Movement blurred before the animated statue. She gasped, distracted by the undine. She raised her arm-blades before her at the last moment before the dragon’s foot kicked her. The force snapped Hagane’s left arm-blade and threw her into the air. She soared towards the ceiling. She almost hit it before hurtling toward the ground and the damaging impact.

Lana Fulmine caught her as the dragon’s head snapped down. Terra cursed and darted to escape, but the dragon tracked her and snapped her jaws down on the golem. A clay arm and leg tumbled through the air and vanished into motes.

“Get me on her back,” Hagane said.

“You go it,” Lana Fulmine said. The movie starlet banked to the right and dove towards the dragon. Hagane grew a replacement arm-blade like she was the T-1000. “Here we go!”

Lana Fulmine flew over the dragon. Maya had reached the creature’s shoulder as the lightning sprite dropped Hagane. The animated statue fell like a missile towards the beast, thrusting both her arm-blades before her. She struck the dragon, impaling her sharp limbs into the dragon’s back.