"ALFIA!!!! Get it together!!!"
"A... Akumo..."
Alfia was unable to regain her composure, staring vacantly at the carnage unfolding before her eyes. The great man who had seemed so invincible—Maxim—now retreated from the One-Eyed Black Dragon with a severed arm and a look of extreme caution. The Empress fared no better.
Most of the comrades she once deemed unstoppable had lost their fighting spirit; they trembled in terror at the monster's slightest movement, their bodies refusing to obey.
"Alfia, can you stand!?"
"Behind you...!"
The Dragon's indifferent claw descended toward them. In that moment, Alfia felt the cold breath of certain death.
CLANG—!!!!!
"Alfia! Run! Now!!!"
"Akumo..! You..."
"I said go!!!!"
In a flash, Akumo had drawn his blade and parried the colossal claw, forcing its trajectory to slide harmlessly away. How he had managed such a feat of physics was a mystery to both him and Alfia.
'How I did it doesn't matter! The only thing that matters is that it must be done...!'
—Grrrrr....
The One-Eyed Black Dragon seemed surprised by Akumo's defiance. Its remaining eye fixed on him, scrutinizing the small creature. Seeing Alfia still slumped on the ground, the beast raised its claw once more.
'I can't parry this one... In that case!!'
"[O my experiences, O my adventures, bloom according to my will]!!!"
WHOOSH—!!!!!!!!!
Akumo desperately replicated the incomplete magic he had used to mitigate the Leviathan's breath. He launched a projected shaft of energy at the Dragon's torso, but the monster didn't even flinch. With a casual swing of its leg, it sent Akumo hurtling through the air.
"Cough... Ghu—!!?"
"AKUMO!!!"
"Zard... Hurry!!!!"
Grip—!!
Zard, who had been analyzing the battlefield to prepare for a retreat, grabbed Alfia and began to bolt away from the strike zone.
"Zard!? What are you doing!!"
"Alfia, think only of the retreat right now!!"
"What about Akumo!!"
"Snap out of it!! Even the Captains have been taken down. There is nothing we can do!!"
BOOM—!!!
CRASH—!!!
Alfia stared back, her mouth agape. Akumo was scavenging weapons from fallen members, charging repeatedly. He unleashed slashes so powerful his blades shattered upon impact, yet the Black Dragon remained unscathed.
When swords failed, he used spears. When spears broke, he used axes, hammers, bows, and finally his bare fists. He struck with lethal precision, and though the Dragon sought to brush him away like a gnat, Akumo continued to evade or endure, tethering the beast's attention to himself.
'I knew it, but this thing is on a different level compared to the avatar!!!!'
"[O my experiences, O my adventures, bloom according to my will]!!"
The situation was far worse than the Leviathan raid. There was no time for proper incantations. He could only visualize his past lives and pour out his mana in raw, experiential bursts.
CRACKLE—!!!
Recalling Riveria's magic, he activated a skill that summoned a tidal wave of ice. Though the Dragon shattered it effortlessly, Akumo focused solely on buying a single second of time. He didn't stop.
"[O my experiences, O my adventures, bloom according to my will]!"
CLANG—!!!!!!
"[O my experiences, O my adventures, bloom according to my will]!!"
SHATTER—!!!
"[O my experiences, O my adventures, bloom according to my will]!!!"
Gripping a spear, Akumo imbued the weapon with his own spilled blood and lunged at the Dragon's eye with bone-breaking force. The beast snapped its jaws shut, the spear splintering against its fangs instantly.
Without hesitation, Akumo swung an axe at the Dragon's claws with enough force to crater the earth. The blow succeeded only in nudging the monster back a few inches before the axe disintegrated.
Akumo tried to visualize Alfia and Zard's specific skills, but his intuition told him that even their legendary powers wouldn't be enough to truly wound this creature.
"Damn it...!!!"
THOOM—!!!!
The Empress and Maxim combined their remaining strength to launch their ultimate attacks, but the Dragon's Breath negated them effortlessly. The resulting shockwave only increased the casualties among the retreating forces.
—⬛⬛!!!!!!!!!!!
Finally irritated by the persistent nuisance in front of it, the Black Dragon spread its wings and let out a roar that shook the very foundations of reality.
—RUN!!!!!!!
—PLEASE!!!!!
That roar broke the remaining spirits of the warriors. As the survivors scrambled in blind panic, the Dragon began to inhale, preparing a Breath attack to wipe the field clean.
"...I'll hit you."
'I will... without fail!!'
The roar, instead of inducing fear, forced Akumo into a state of hyper-compression. His concentration reached a zenith where only one thought remained.
'The thing in front of me... I will [Pioneer] a path through it!'
"[O lush trees, O sacred nature. I seek your grace in this place; grant me the flash that pierces the enemy!]"
A verdant aura began to shimmer around Akumo's body as his chant resonated across the wasteland.
"[O bountiful sea, let your vast blue become my wings.]"
Though he held no physical bow, a luminous arc of green light manifested in his hands. Akumo notched a broken sword onto the shimmering string; the blade was instantly enveloped in emerald energy, transforming into a grand arrow.
VROOM—!!!!!!!!
Just like during the Leviathan battle, the crystalline blue wings on his back shattered into motes of light, condensing into the arrow. It shone with the cold, hard brilliance of a diamond.
"[SYLPHID TRIDENT]!!!!!!!!"
BOOM—!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
**
"Hah...! Hah...!"
"Zard...."
"Say no more, Alfia...!"
Zard gritted his teeth as he hauled the few survivors away from the epicenter of the massacre. He looked at the mangled remains of the Zeus and Hera Familias—the strongest factions in history—and felt his heart break.
Then.
THOOM—!!!!!!!!!!!!
"What was that...!?"
"Akumo..."
Even with their eyes closed, they could feel the massive impact. It was proof that Akumo was still holding the line. Yet, seeing the Black Dragon virtually untouched despite the explosion made their resolve waver once more.
The sounds of battle did not cease. The Dragon repeatedly slammed into the earth, intent on crushing the single soul that refused to die.
CRASH—!!!
THUD—!!!!
"Zard! Let me go, I have to help Akumo—"
"ALFIA!!! We would only be in his way... We... No, this entire era... cannot defeat that monster!!"
"Then what is Akumo doing!!!!"
Zard's pride as a warrior had been shattered by the mere presence of the Black Dragon. He couldn't even fathom challenging it again. And yet, there stood Akumo—undeniably clear in their vision—clinging to the monster like a demon of persistence.
"I'll go back alone if I have to...!"
"Stop it! Your legs are shaking, what do you think you can accomplish!"
"....I'm going."
As Alfia tried to move despite Zard's shouts, a silhouette was blasted toward them, crashing into the ground nearby.
KABOOM—!!!!
"Gah... Damn it...! After all that, just one drop of blood!?"
"Akumo!!"
"Alfia!? I told you to run!"
"To be precise, you were the one who just flew over here...."
"Is that so? Regardless, Zard-san... gather the survivors and leave this place immediately!"
"Akumo, you can't do this alone. We'll fight together!"
"....Alfia."
Akumo stood silently before her. The One-Eyed Black Dragon peered down from the sky with a gaze that seemed to say it only needed to eliminate him to finish the job. Akumo turned his back on the beast and faced Alfia.
"I heard you're not in good health."
"....That is my concern alone, it has nothing to do with you!"
"Phew....."
"I can still figh—"
"[O darkness that shrouds the night and the world, grant me your embrace. O light that illuminates the world and life, grant your blessing to those who live by your dawn.]"
Having reached a decision, Akumo began another chant. Without warning, a stabilizing energy washed over them. Zard felt the Behemoth's terminal poison—which had been ravaging his blood since that fateful battle—suddenly freeze, as if its malignant activity had been suspended.
"Akumo!? What are you...!"
'Recovery magic...!?'
"You should feel a bit better now, Zard-san."
"....."
Within the duality of light and shadow emanating from the magic, Zard felt Akumo's resolve. He lowered his head, his face hardening into a mask of grim duty.
Alfia, who had suffered from a terminal illness her entire life, felt the same stabilization. She looked up at Akumo with trembling eyes.
"No..!! Akumo!"
Grab—!
"Let me go!! Zard, please!!"
Zard hoisted Alfia over his shoulder once more. He had felt the crushing weight of Akumo's ⬛⬛ through that magic—and his iron will was unmistakable.
"Zard-san, I'm counting on you."
"Please.... No, please...!!!"
"Alfia, you have to stay alive. You have to take care of your sister."
"Akum—"
Leaving them with those final words, Akumo charged back toward the Dragon. Zard gritted his teeth and moved at full tilt, gathering every survivor he could reach.
BOOM—!!!!!
CRASH—!!!!!
SPLASH—!!!!!
'A Hero..... a godforsaken Hero....!!'
Zard had no choice but to block out the sounds of the life-and-death struggle happening behind him. He loathed his own cowardice. His heart felt like it would explode from a mixture of rage and terror, but he repeated the last words of the hero 'Akumo' as a mantra while fleeing the Dragon's reach.
How long had they run...?
"....."
"Alfia."
"....."
Zard had fled until the sounds of impact died away. He stood with the broken remnants of the expedition force, staring at a pale, silent Alfia.
'It's not just Alfia.... the Captain, the Empress, the members... everyone...'
They had lost their will to fight. They had run like pathetic cowards. The One-Eyed Black Dragon was the ultimate monster, and they had been utterly crushed. That was the only truth they carried home.
Zard slowly gathered the broken, the trembling, and the despairing survivors. They began the long, silent march back to Orario.