Claws came from the right. I dodged. Spear punch. Through the scale. Now a stomp. I pressed forward and sideways. Ducked and covered. Word, response, negation. Claws swung. Tail swung. I dodged. Spear—
“GRAH!!”
The red insides of his mouth closed in, fangs bared. Valacirca had used a bite for the first time. My body had gotten used to the cycle of claws, tail, stomp, and couldn’t react immediately. But I reacted still, although a little late, forcibly shielding my body with Pale Moon. I was knocked flying, the dragon’s fangs just grazing me. I stood up again, went to hold my spear at the ready, and realized that it felt strangely light. My breath caught at the back of my throat.
Pale Moon was broken. My favorite weapon, which I’d been using for so long— its shaft was bent, its blade shattered; no one could fix it now.
In an attempt to fire up the fighting spirit that had broken along with my spear, I yelled another mad war cry and pulled out Overeater. Valacirca had several wounds across his body. If I could drive it into him and recover my energy, I’d still have—
“I’m afraid—”
The moment I stepped forward, my foot was blown off. I yelled out in pain.
Several destructive Signs had been engraved into the ground on the spot where I had placed my foot. When had he set those up? Sometime during this battle?
Sometime before?
“I know that demonblade.”
Of course. Valacirca had been part of the High King’s forces.
“It is a fearsome blade, isn’t it? It has an interesting history. It was tempered by a King-ranked demon to face off against and kill the High King, who was always crazy for swords. But once you know the trick, there
are ways to defeat it. For example…”
Even as I withstood the intense pain to pray and heal my foot, many flame arrows floated around the foul-dragon. He spread his wings with a heavy flap and distanced himself far from me. Apparently, he didn’t even intend to entertain close-range battles anymore. From his posture, I could tell he was planning to finish me off with breath and long-range Words.
“Though I was toying with you, I never expected a mere human to cause
me so much trouble. Faraway Paladin, William G. Maryblood, I shall praise
you for inflicting so many wounds upon me.”
My mind was hazy. I couldn’t focus.
“If this had been a test of each other’s skills, I may have handed you the
garland of victory and commended you on a battle well fought. Your power
is no less than the heroes of the age of the gods. You are truly powerful, a champion of the modern age.”
The strength had left my arms. My voice shook, and I couldn’t utter Words properly. The dragon was as alive as ever.
“But this is a battle to the death.”
The dragon headed towards me to take my life. I had to defeat the dragon. I’d promised my god. I had to fight.
I summoned the last reserves of my strength, using my sword to help me stand. I started gathering mana. I desperately focused my concentration, healing my wounds as if it would make a difference.
“I will not make you suffer. Die.”
The dragon inhaled, then unleashed hellish breath that would surely incinerate me to nothing.
It was hopeless. There was nothing I could do about this.
Even as those thoughts went through my head, I somehow held up my sword and tried to utter a Word. I had been given life. I had to live it until the end. That was my thinking.
The scorching miasmic breath engulfed me. But the end never came.
“Oh…”
I realized that a warm flame was floating in front of me. Around the flame, a transparent barrier of some kind was being generated.
“God…?”
It was as if it was protecting me from the dragon’s breath.
“A Herald? Heh. Not enough power to manifest an Echo? Goddess of the
flame, you waste your time.”
Dragonbreath struck the barrier. It struck it over and over. The flame wavered. Fissures ran along the barrier. But still she protected me.
“Are you that keen to keep your hero? But support from the Herald of a
single god will change nothing.”
Against the violence of a dragon, even that was nothing more than a play for time. But still she didn’t give up. She kept on blocking the dragonbreath, over and over.
— I will strengthen thee; I will help thee; I will keep thee with my flame.
I understood. She was trying to keep her promise.
“God…”
The flame said nothing. As always, she remained silent and simply continued to protect me. But like all things, that too had to come to an end.
“!”
The dragon spoke a raspy Word. An unknown pulse burst towards us, and the barrier shattered without a trace. Already, the foul-dragon had enough breath stored in his mouth to kill me.
“Paladin! You were a foe well deserved of my breath! I will burn your figure into my memory, and your soul and bones from the face of
existence!”
This roar of Valacirca’s resounded around the Great Cavern. It was probably his way of offering me a final tribute.
“I’m afraid I have an issue with that.”
A new voice with an easygoing attitude suddenly came from the side.
“What?!”
The dragon immediately breathed in that direction, but the owner of the voice took an incredible arc through the air and evaded it.
“This hero is my catch, my foe, and I do not appreciate him being taken.”
With wings blacker than the night and ominously shining red eyes, the thing gliding back down towards me was—
“Stagnate, god of undeath?!”
The foul-dragon groaned.
Valacirca couldn’t hide his surprise. Beside me, the god of undeath faced the foul-dragon and spoke volubly.
“So let me see, foul-dragon Valacirca. You said that support from the Herald of a single god will change nothing. Hahah. Precisely! I myself predicted as much. These heroes are insufficient; they and the god of the flame, still insufficient! I said that killing the wicked Calamity’s Sickle was beyond them! However—”
The Herald-raven clicked its beak. It sounded like he was taking great pleasure in this.
“Come to think of it, I never considered what might happen if two gods
were present. I wonder? Perhaps these heroes would stand a chance of victory? Personally, I have a feeling that they might, but what say you, Valacirca?”
“You’re as talkative as ever, god of undeath.”
“Why is it that we don’t get along, Valacirca? You and I are cut from the
same cloth. I’d say we share similar pleasures.”
“Mine are nothing as distasteful as yours. My life and soul exist to incinerate and shine with glory. What good is it to make things last forever?
Materialist.”