Twenty-five: That’s what it was like—having companions made it possible.

The dragon’s ability nullifies magic.

That’s almost certain.

No matter how much mana I’m gathering right now, slamming it straight at it would be pointless.

But that power has a big weakness.

Its range!

That kind of strength—surely it doesn’t cover the whole area.

Proof enough: support spells aren’t affected at all.

Then!

I channel the gathered mana into the foundational spell formula for earth magic.

Magic is universal. If you wanted, you could probably summon any natural phenomenon.

But that’s too wasteful.

That’s why fixed spells exist—why there are specialized formulas for specific effects.

What I’m doing right now is casting an earth manipulation spell.

But it’s not a unique spell. It doesn’t exist as a distinct one.

So I’m just building the basics of earth magic—then winging it with raw mana from there.

My brain felt like it was burning through.

“Shit! Gravel’s coming!”

The dragon raised its front leg, of course.

Not close enough for a direct hit, but its aim was...

“Gahh—!”

“Please, Moda!”

Moda braced her shield, taking the surge of dirt head-on.

“Gahh—!”

I thought she’d blocked it all—until the final boulder overwhelmed her. She tumbled, flipped, and was sent flying.

“Moda-san!”

“Don’t come near, Bepp! I’ll handle the healing! That lizard bastard’s fully locked onto Craft now!”

Ignoring attacks from both sides, the dragon charged forward—straight at us, its bulk pressing in.

“Damn it! Look this way, you bastard!”

"Missile arrows! Fire the mithril arrows and sword techniques!"

The adventurers on both sides attacked desperately, but the dragon didn’t even glance their way.

Then, finally, the dragon drove its claws deep into the ground.

"Here it comes! Breath attack! We’ll survive it, no matter what! Moda!"

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

Raidock and Persia ducked behind Moda, who had raised her great shield, and both of them braced Moda’s body with their own.

They also each held a water pouch filled with Healing Potion.

"Fire Resistance! Heat Resistance!"

"Earth Bulwark!"

Bep cast a support spell, and Bardeck summoned a small earth wall.

Instantly, the world turned white.

The breath attack engulfed us.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

"Hold on! Moda!"

Moda thrust her shield forward, bracing it against the earth wall.

But this was a vicious breath attack, barely held at bay by my superior earth magic.

The earth wall Bardack threw up was shaved down in an instant.

But the gap between the earth wall and Moda—created by Moda—was just enough to shield us.

Hot wind sears the skin. Pain rips through every muscle. I grind my teeth so hard they could shatter.

“Moda!”

“Craft-san!”

Priest Bepp throws a Healing Potion at me without a second glance at his own wounds.

Raidock and Persia pour Healing Potions over Moda like water, then brace Moda’s body with sheer will.

Utterly broken.

But!

I held on. I held it through, you bastard!

There was a reason we endured.

The breath attack—clearly—had lost power compared to the first one.

Every attack so far hadn’t been wasted. Even a dragon gets tired.

The dragon exhaled its breath, then grumbled through its teeth.

Its face was unmistakably furious.

Fueled by rage, it started to gather breath for another blast.

But! Too slow!

The lizard bastard hadn’t noticed. The massive head was already unnaturally shadowed.

Thanks to my comrades’ desperate defense and attack, the lizard hadn’t seen it.

The giant rock—formed from magic-fueled stones I’d gathered—was already moving above it.

THUD!

With a roar that shook the ground, the massive rock crashed down onto the dragon’s head.

GAAAAAARGH!?

The sheer mass of the giant rock hit the dragon so hard, even it had no choice but to slam its head into the ground.

If magic’s useless, just hit it with brute force!!

"Got you!!"

Of course it was Persia who shot forward.

Climbing up the dragon’s massive head, she lunged straight for the thick horn, like a tree trunk.

"Take this!! Cyclone Phoenix Slash! Thunderstrike Assault Cut! One Flash, One Light! Shadowless Barrage!!"

She unleashed her terrifying technique in one seamless combo.

But the target was a dragon—the strongest in the world—and the horn was her goal.

Could she break it with one strike?

But my doubt was pointless.

The dragon’s horn, one of the toughest substances on Earth, snapped clean in half. No, the break was so smooth it glittered like a mirror.

"What!?"

I couldn’t help but yell out.

Hard mithril and sharpness oil. Combined with Persia’s skill… that’s how devastating it gets?!!

"Opportunity! Hit it with everything we’ve got! Frontline charge in! Don’t worry about collateral damage!"

"“““Uuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!”””"

Matching Persia’s resolve, Raidock lunged forward, unleashing every technique he had.

Explosive arrows shot from both sides. The frontline charged forward with death in their eyes.

Explosions rippled through the dragon’s body. Once in a while, a frontliner got caught in the blast, tossed aside—but as long as they weren’t dead, everyone kept hammering away with everything they had.

Hurtled through the air by the dragon’s thrashing front leg, Persia was flung aside.

Skidding across the ground, blood spraying from every pore.

"Persia!!!"

—Don’t you dare stop! Finish it! Stab it!!!

I bit down hard on my molars, then downed the mana potion in one gulp.

For a split second, I thought about holding back—walls of earth were still standing—but no. Now was the time to strike. I raised my staff.

Die! You scaly bastard! “Thunder God’s Lightning Mallet Strike”!!!

One of the deadliest spells I could cast. A massive lightning bolt tore through the sky.

The blinding flash lit up the whole battlefield. The lightning pierced the dragon’s body from above.

Lightning surged through every wound, searing the dragon’s organs raw.

GAAARRRGGHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

That scream—shattering the heavens—was the dragon’s final death cry.

Its massive body slowly tilted. Crashed down. Shook the ground.

For a long moment, the adventurers couldn’t move.

Then, slowly… they understood.

We won.

"………AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

That was a soul-shattering scream.

Zero dead, fighting a legendary dragon.

A true miracle.

It echoed, forever, the victory cry.

◆

"So, I can take every last one of these Ambrosia flowers, right?"

"Yeah. Checked it a dozen times. This flower won't grow without the dragon. Leaving it here? It'll just wither."

"Huh… would've been nice if we could've grown it here."

"Now I get why it's called a legendary plant."

"What? There are plenty of flowers left untrampled. Should be enough for what we need."

"Probably."

"Then there's the dragon's materials…"

"Per the contract, the hide, flesh, and scales go to the Adventurer's Guild. Everything else goes to Kyle."

Got it. I'm tearing it apart right now, so stash it for me, yeah?

Yeah... but can you even fit something this big in storage?

You think I know something you don't?

Fair point. If it doesn’t fit, we’ll just have the adventurers guard it and make a round trip.

Yeah.

The agreement with the Adventurer's Guild is simple— we hand over the reward we already gave, plus the dragon’s meat, hide, and scales.

The Guild takes those and splits the profit—or equivalent materials—among the adventurers who took part.

I didn’t feel like dealing with the hassle, so I handed it all off.

Just so you know, even though I’m not in the Guild, neither is Jitarou, and Persia’s getting paid too.

"Uuuuuhhhhh!! Damn! Check this out!!"

An adventurer working on the dissection shouted.

The massive gemstone held high in the air was as big as a human body.

"Damn. This’ll make a nice souvenir for Kyle."

"More like trouble waiting to happen, don’t you think?"

...Raidock. Even you’re setting up a flag now?

And so, our dragon extermination went off perfectly.

Next one. Or the one after that. Chapter ends.

...Didn’t think of a title. What the hell do I do now...