Final Battle ⑤

—Ten minutes late… should still be safe…

Shun's perspective

Intermittent tremors. The accompanying sound.

I instinctively raise my face and look upward.

"Have no fear. Even if the upper levels collapse, we will protect you."

Guen, noticing how often I glance upward, speaks reassuringly.

"I—I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize. It is natural for a human to fear a battle of this scale."

Guen speaks gently, as I stammer an apology.

I am not the only one looking up.

Katia, Sū, and Lord Ronant also cast upward glances at intervals, their expressions grim.

It is not just the tremors and sound.

The overwhelming force of the two combatants is palpable.

The battle between Water Dragon Iena and Sophia has begun.

In this mid-level, the upper level above it.

The size of the Elro Great Labyrinth is something I’ve experienced firsthand while traveling to the Elven village.

The idea of flooding the entire vast labyrinth, or freezing all the water rushing in to prevent it—these scale and magnitude are beyond realism.

Yet, this is the battle.

Reinforced once more: my power is utterly incapable of contributing meaningfully to this conflict.

My role is simply this—protected by Mr. Gen and his companions, advancing toward the deepest, most innermost chamber.

Currently, we are moving through the mid-level atop Gen’s dragon form.

After creating an opening from the ocean floor into the upper level, and channeling seawater through it.

Exploiting the resulting chaos, we were transported via Lord Ronant’s teleportation directly to the vicinity of the mid-level entrance, then ascended onto Gen’s back and proceeded forward.

Using Miss Iena as bait.

Iena’s assault on the upper levels was a spectacle too extravagant to be anything but a distraction.

The true objective lies here.

"Is Iena-sama safe?"

Activated the Ten Thousand Mile Vision. Observing the clash between Iena and Sophia.

The exchange of attacks is too intense. I cannot discern what is happening.

Their speed exceeds visual tracking. Each strike is massive in scale. I cannot distinguish feints from genuine attacks.

Even with slow-motion playback, comprehension would require commentary.

The level of sophistication was extreme.

I cannot tell which side is gaining advantage.

"She will lose."

"Wha—?"

The statement was delivered with casual indifference.

Dark Dragon Rayse smiled faintly, as if foreseeing the defeat of a comrade.

There was an air of ease in that expression.

That would mean, even if we lose, there must be some strategy to survive.

A strategy that ensures survival.

But.

"Still, Yena is the most reliable among us here. She understands her role clearly. She’ll surely buy us considerable time before she dies."

Rayse dismisses my thoughts with casual ease.

I stare in disbelief at Rayse’s attitude.

Is it not too light a matter to speak of a comrade’s death?

"Rayse."

Guene calls Rayse’s name, reprimanding him as if he too felt the same.

"Guene. Yena will fulfill her duty and die. Then we, who remain, should regard her with pride and smile, saying well done, shouldn’t we?"

"Um..."

Guene falls silent at Rayse’s words.

I, too, feel shame for having judged Rayse as indifferent.

It’s the opposite.

There is something predatory in the way this person carries themselves, yet beneath that surface lies a resolve of absolute clarity.

"Then our duty—fulfilling our roles to the utmost—is the greatest farewell we can offer to Iena."

Such words would not come so easily otherwise.

"Indeed. Exactly so."

I met the ancient dragons only a few days ago.

Even in that brief time, I recognized that every one of them approaches this conflict with unwavering resolve.

A stark contrast to myself.

That is precisely why they are reliable.

"Ugh... It's hot. Painful. I want to go back."

Correction.

Only one—Ice Dragon Nia—might be a little unreliable...

No, actually, it is Nia who is holding back the heat from the mid-layer.

In this mid-layer, where magma overflows, merely standing here drains our stamina.

Katia is particularly notable, having sacrificed nearly all her skills to achieve purity.

Merely standing in the mid-layer risks death.

Nia is alleviating this.

Thanks to Nia, the Ice Dragon, who emits cold to neutralize the mid-layer's heat, we are enduring without taking damage.

Grateful, yes—but Nia herself appears strained by the heat, and one wonders if she is truly alright.

“Nia. Pull yourself together. We’ll reach the objective point soon.”

Gwen speaks with mild exasperation, eyes fixed ahead.

The objective point—there, we plan to open a passage to the lower layer.

Rather than proceed blindly through the mid-layer, we’re creating a shortcut at the point where mid-layer and lower-layer passages align vertically.

There are vertical shafts connecting the upper layer directly to the lower layer, but the Pope speculated that nine out of ten such shafts likely harbor traps.

It was suggested that the remaining Queen might be waiting there.

If so, then avoiding that location would be the solution.

I had vaguely assumed that the walls of the Great Labyrinth could not be broken.

A fixed game convention.

Yet, once that convention is discarded, alternative methods become viable.

Of course, such a method would only be feasible if ancient dragons with sufficient strength existed.

"Good. Here it is."

"Indeed. The battle above appears to have concluded for now. I shall go retrieve them."

With that, Lord Ronant vanished through teleportation.

That implies the battle above has ended — the Wind Dragon Hyuban and the Thunder Dragon Goka have defeated the Queen.

If Ronant can teleport, he could bring the two here immediately.

Teleportation is pretty much cheating, though.

"Then I'll dig a hole before they arrive—don't you dare!"?

At that moment, I did not understand what had happened.

Only that a searing flame burst forth, blinding me—my eyes snapped shut, and when I opened them again, I was falling from Guen's back, slammed into the mid-level ground.

"Ugh!"

Groaning, I still tried to assess the situation, rising to my feet and scanning my surroundings.

That was when I noticed the man facing Guen.

"Kyoya!"

It was Kyoya.