A Spectacular Debut
The water droplets scattered across the area sprang into motion at Elraid's gesture. A massive sphere of water hurtled forward at incredible speed, slicing through the air with a chilling whoosh. I delicately manipulated my thrusters to dodge the incoming orb while continuously firing railguns at Elraid. Heavy impacts reverberated through my arms as the projectiles screamed toward their target, but they were repeatedly blocked by curtains of water. Despite how thin those barriers looked, the rounds couldn't pierce them. Even when they did break through, the bullets would lose all momentum and merely tap against Elraid's body before falling harmlessly away.
As I performed three-dimensional maneuvers in midair and kept launching projectiles, Neon—who had been preparing magic by the lakeside—shouted out.
"I know that already!"
The knowledge I'd learned in mandatory education in my previous life wasn't just for show. I'd already understood everything Neon was explaining. There was a reason I'd kept firing those meaningless attacks.
I unleashed a barrage of railgun shots like rapid fire, emptying dozens of rounds before signaling to Ratta.
With just those two words, Ratta understood exactly what I wanted and answered energetically. Moments later, the electric current stored in the shrapnel I'd fired as projectiles discharged, linking between the fragments and transforming into an electric field that trapped Elraid inside.
The electric attack made Elraid shriek as if in agony.
Seizing the opening, Neon unleashed the ice-attribute magic he'd prepared.
"O master of bitter cold! Lend me a fragment of your power! Frost Storm!"
The meticulously prepared spell activated, and a freezing blizzard roared across the lake's surface. Elraid's strength came from its overwhelming control over water. That meant making the water it manipulated harder to control—and reshaping the battlefield to our advantage—would cancel out the terrain disadvantage. It was a judgment I'd made the moment I confirmed the lake environment and Elraid's behavioral patterns, and just as expected, we were starting to gain the upper hand.
Elraid let out a monstrous roar upon seeing the water freeze. The ice shattered into tiny pieces and hurtled forward under its command. It would have been perfect if only the creature hadn't been controlling them.
As the razor-sharp ice shards came flying, Neon—who had been dodging in a panic—protested.
"It's better at handling water than any spirit!"
"If a water spirit's mechanism is water current manipulation, then that thing's is water current domination!"
Due to the compatibility issue, even a water spirit would need to be a high-ranking one to take on Elraid. That was the result of actual experiments conducted by high-ranking spirit users, so there was no anomaly here.
Most of the ice fragments were flying straight at Neon. Whether it was because he'd frozen the lake with ice magic or because it had noticed he was a black mage, I didn't know. But thanks to Neon drawing all the aggro, I was able to dodge the attacks relatively easily.
I roughly summoned my Rune Golem in front of Neon and charged toward Elraid. My body, enhanced through fusion, was far stronger than before. A sonic boom erupted from my thrusters as I instantly closed the distance, then pulled a spear-sword from my inventory and swung it. The shrapnel fused onto the blade like a transforming robot, forming a massive cutting edge. When I layered aura on top of that, an enormous sword took shape and sliced Elraid clean in half in a single stroke.
The part connected to the lake was severed cleanly. Elraid stared at me with wide, shocked eyes. So even if its water-based body was cut in half, it didn't take any real damage?
Water began gushing from the severed cross-section, trying to reconnect. I created a platform made of Ikelos on top of the lake's surface. Adela immediately leaped onto it, bounding across the platforms before jumping straight at Elraid's face—which hadn't finished regenerating yet—and stabbing its eye with an arm sharpened into a vicious point.
Crunch!
Elraid's eye was the core that maintained its form. It panicked and tried to block with a water shield, but it couldn't completely stop the blow. The moment the core was struck, Elraid thrashed violently, expressing its pain. As it rampaged wildly, the lake water churned and the droplets floating in the air shook violently. If anyone fell into that water, they'd be torn apart in an instant—but Adela casually evaded the turbulent currents.
Wings sprouted from her back as she took to the air, using the platforms I'd placed nearby to nimbly escape the range of its rampage. Meanwhile, Elraid—having recovered from its wounds—let out a low, growling sound and glared at us.
Having realized through our previous attacks that we were no ordinary opponents, Elraid lowered its stance. It couldn't fight the way it had against the creatures that normally approached the lake. We weren't prey—we were rivals. The moment that realization dominated its mind, Elraid began drawing on its full power. The lake water churned and slowly rose into the air. Yet the volume of the lake didn't decrease. If anything, it was multiplying.
Grinning at the creature's casual disregard for the laws of physics, I drew a summoning circle in the air. You weren't the only one holding back. If you're going all out, then so will I.
The moment the rift opened, the Lesser Dragon—which had already grasped the situation—unleashed its breath. An overwhelming flame, incomparable to ordinary fire, surged forward. Elraid responded by compressing the lake water and firing a high-pressure water cannon. When fire and water collided in the center, a massive cloud of steam exploded outward. As the superheated vapor spread in every direction, I shouted from where I hovered in the sky.
Fortunately, because we'd discussed it beforehand, everyone had countermeasures ready—whether through ice magic or bodily transformation. While we each endured the scorching steam in our own way, the Lesser Dragon stopped its breath, pried open the still-closing rift with its forelimbs, and pulled its massive body through. At the same time, Elraid stopped its water cannon and absorbed the surrounding water. Then it slammed a now-enormous arm down onto the lake, creating a gigantic tidal wave that rushed toward us.
But before the tidal wave could reach us, the Lesser Dragon stepped forward first and ignited flames across its entire body. The wave turned into steam and evaporated before it could even touch us. It was a clear demonstration that ordinary water could neither attack nor restrain the Lesser Dragon.
Thanks to the Lesser Dragon, we were far freer from Elraid's attacks. We quickly divided roles and charged in. The mana consumption from my thrusters was significant, but if we could take it down before I ran out, that would be enough. With that mindset, I moved behind Elraid, who was now engaged in close combat with the Lesser Dragon and its fully spread wings. The lake along my flight path erupted like geysers, but I dodged them skillfully and fired my railgun. The projectiles slammed into Elraid's body at high speed, but they didn't inflict much damage.
"KRAAARARA!!"
Instead, Elraid focused even the attention it should have given my railgun entirely on the Lesser Dragon. The fact that it considered us threatening but not as much as the dragon right in front of it actually made me smile. The more careless it became, the higher our chances of success.
"Adela!"
I attached more shrapnel to the spear-sword to increase its size while simultaneously creating platforms so Adela could approach more easily. She used her wings as well to get closer to Elraid, who instinctively moved to protect its eye. It had learned from the previous wound and adopted a defensive stance out of pure instinct.
However, despite her powerful shout, Adela stepped on the final platform and leaped backward. She retreated so smoothly it was as if the whole thing had been planned from the start. Only then did Elraid realize it had been tricked and flew into a rage. But what could it do? At our level, even a moment of carelessness came with a heavy price.
I swung the enormous spear-sword created from countless fused fragments. The aura clinging to the blade glowed brilliantly as it made contact with Elraid's body. The creature's natural resistance was torn apart by the overwhelming mass, and once again its body was split in two. Mana was being consumed at a terrifying rate to cover such a wide area, but I bit my lip and held on. The resistance I felt through the spear-sword was absurd—probably because it was also fighting with full power—but the moment I finally managed to bisect it again...
"O master of bitter cold! Allow me to manifest a portion of your world! Minor Blizzard!"
Neon, who had been secretly gathering mana from behind, unleashed his trump card. An overwhelming frost storm—making all the cold we'd experienced so far feel like child's play—surged toward the bisected Elraid. In normal condition it might have resisted, but with its body split in half and the Lesser Dragon right in front of it, its reaction was too slow.
Crack… crackle… crack!
Its body froze rapidly, movements growing sluggish. The Lesser Dragon didn't miss the opportunity and slammed its massive body into the frozen Elraid.
The frozen body shattered. Elraid screamed in pain. Realizing it would be the one to fall at this rate, its expression turned grim. The lake water began to spin slowly, forming a vortex. Using this would devastate the surrounding area and destroy the ecosystem, but it was better than dying. Just as it gathered all its strength to deliver one final blow to the enemies trying to kill it—
Whoosh!
Suddenly, an absolutely unignorable presence appeared from the right. Without thinking, it turned its head. The horrific sense of disgust it felt for the first time in its life disrupted its concentration, but before anger, curiosity arose about the source of that presence.
Finally, Elraid's gaze landed on a single person hiding behind the Rune Golem.
Neon, his entire body radiating black magic power, wore a wicked grin.
Realizing that its final trump card had failed because of Neon's trick, rage surged through Elraid's mind. Even though it hadn't completed its killing move, it was still enough to kill one person. In a final act of desperation, it turned its body and charged toward Neon.
"Where do you think you're going!"
But just before Elraid could reach him, the Lesser Dragon that had chased after it slammed down with its claws from the water's edge. I followed up with the finishing blow, thrusting my spear-sword straight toward its eye.
This marks the successful completion of my first request on the front lines.