Chapter 76
Chapter 76
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: An Obvious Battle Between Dragon and Hero (6)
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“......”
After Zatasneo and Jenny flew off into the distance, the battleground fell still for a moment.
Both sides were caught off guard by the sudden development.
It was only natural.
The leaders of each side had vanished together.
Among them, the dragons were the first to regain their composure.
“Hmph! That human's as good as dead.”
“Do you even know how terrifying Lord Zatasneo is?!”
They knew it too.
That Zatasneo had been sent flying by Jenny's power.
But the idea of their mighty leader being defeated was simply unimaginable.
So they convinced themselves otherwise.
That he'd soon slaughter that human hero and return.
“We'll do our part.”
“Kill them!”
They resumed their assault.
“Lady Jenny will handle that side! The rest of you, take on the remaining dragons!”
With Rin's shout, the Hassler party sprang back into action.
“......”
Standing behind them, Jin quietly stared off in the direction Jenny and Zatasneo had gone.
‘She's facing the dragon lord all by herself. As expected...’
“Die!”
Kwaaaah—
Jin, who had narrowed his eyes to peer that way, spotted the pitch-black breath racing toward him and moved once more.
“Ngh...!”
Kwang! Kwaang!
The chaotic battlefield, where dozens of spells flew at once from the dragons' multi-chanting.
Emi felt impatience building amid it all.
‘Dragging this out is dangerous! My kin...!!’
She glanced toward Herdo Castle.
There, she saw her fellow beastkin crumbling under the dragons' magic and breath attacks.
They had their own heroes and champions too.
But there were far too few of them.
Not nearly enough to face over twenty dragons.
She had to wrap things up here quickly and go aid them.
But there were a full ten dragons here.
Each one a monster equivalent to a mid-tier demon, a calamity humanity couldn't handle.
And with near-limitless mana, they unleashed dozens of spells that could inflict fatal wounds on a mere hit.
Even approaching them was no easy task.
And if you did get close, they had sturdy defensive magic and dragon scales.
Ordinary attacks barely scratched them.
It wasn't for nothing they bore horrific epithets like ‘evil dragons,’ ‘magic dragons,’ ‘terrors of the earth.’
“Uwaaaak!”
“S-save me!”
“Kaaak! I'm dying, dying!”
The screams of her kin reached Emi's ears.
“Ngh...!”
In the end, she couldn't hold back.
“Kraaaah—!”
In her impatience, she activated beastification.
“E-Emi...! That's...!”
Hickle tried to stop her in a panic, but it was too late.
Her body fully shed its human form, transforming into a massive lion.
A gigantic lion with a golden mane like her hair, its body length nearly three meters.
“That's dangerous right now...!”
Hickle ground his teeth as he watched Emi, now a massive lion, leap toward the dragons hovering in the sky.
A trait of the beastkin race—one only those who strongly inherited that power could use.
It was, quite literally, a technique that stripped away reason, leaving only the beast's instincts behind.
Turning into a pure beast.
Physical abilities and beastkin traits skyrocketed, boosting combat power immensely, but at the cost of losing one's mind.
The beastkin equivalent of berserker mode.
Not ideal for a situation like this.
Sure, her combat prowess would rise, but coordination with the others would vanish entirely.
‘We have heroes here now, and the party's positioning is solid. Getting impatient in this setup will just make things riskier... why?’
Hickle clenched his teeth.
Of course, he didn't entirely fail to understand her impatience.
He knew how agonizing it was to watch your kin die while slowly chipping away at the enemy.
‘But right now, we need to stay calm and respond methodically. That's how we save more lives. Why can't she see that!’
Such thoughts led to talk of beastkin being dim-witted, he mused bitterly.
With a self-deprecating smile.
“Haha, is this because I'm only half-beastkin? While Emi's pure-blooded?”
He shook his head and refocused on the fight.
‘Not the time to dwell on that. Emi's gone rogue, so I need to adjust the battle plan around it...’
“Kraaaang!”
Kwajik! Jjeojik!
Regardless, Emi rampaged like a true beast with astonishing agility, assaulting one of the black dragons.
“Ngh...! You damn animal...!”
The struck black dragon snarled in irritation and fired a spell at her. She nimbly dodged.
But unfortunately, she landed right where the Hassler party was.
Arna and Rin led the offense, while Scarlett and Jerome blocked attacks from the dragons raining magic from above.
Ron wove healing spells in between, producing perfect party synergy.
Thanks to Rin's powerful magic, they were landing solid hits on the dragons.
The wounded ones retreated, while the unhit ones blocked their path—a tactical maneuver by the dragons.
They hadn't killed any yet.
But they could at least keep them in check.
They even had a plan: endure bit by bit, wait for a lull in spells, then launch Scarlett airborne for a direct strike.
Then suddenly, a spell came from an unexpected angle.
“Th-this...!”
“Too late...!”
Jerome and Scarlett spotted it too late.
“...!! Ice Wall!”
Fortunately, Rin noticed immediately and hastily erected a massive ice barrier.
Kwajijik!!
But without proper casting time, the wall was shredded by the dark mana in an instant.
Kwaang!
The spell hit them square on.
“Ngh...”
“Kuhak!”
Arna and Rin lay sprawled on the pulverized ground.
“This is bad...!”
The core attackers were down.
With no incoming attacks on themselves, the dragons grew bolder and unleashed even more spells.
“Damn it...! Ron! Heal those two, now!”
“I'm already on it!!”
“This is risky, Scarlett. We should retreat for now... but we can't...!”
Dragons surrounded them on all sides.
No path to escape.
Emi and Hickle were supposed to draw some attention elsewhere, but something had gone wrong there too—eight dragons hemmed them in, leaving just two aside.
A hopeless situation.
And the one who could break it, Jenny, had flown off somewhere with the dragon leader.
“All we can do is wait for Jenny.”
“Only Jenny can...”
“......”
At that moment, Rin—struck directly by the spell—pushed herself up.
“Wh-what? The healing isn't even... done yet...”
“...Hoo.”
Rin let out a deep sigh, as if steadying her resolve.
And she remembered.
‘Lady Jenny isn't the only one who can do this... I can too.’
That previous incident.
#
“How long have you known Lady Jenny and Sir Kane?”
“Hm? Oh... about sixteen? Seventeen years? It was when I first entered the Harkur household at age nine.”
“Hmm...”
Sixteen years.
A gap far too wide to catch up.
What gap?
‘Affection, obviously...!’
Rin had recently realized that Jenny liked Kane too.
No, with how obvious she was about it, not noticing would be the real feat.
Of course, Jenny knew about Rin's feelings too.
They were both incredibly blatant about it.
The only one oblivious was Kane.
Though whether he was feigning ignorance or truly unaware was debatable.
‘To think my benefactor would become my rival...!’
But she had no intention of backing down.
Love was something to be won.
Even if the rival was her lifesaver.
She wouldn't yield her love.
“But their bond runs way too deep.”
Sixteen years together in the same mansion.
Growing up side by side, with him personally teaching her at the academy, forging a unique connection.
‘And Lady Jenny's talents outshine mine.’
She couldn't shake the feeling of being overshadowed in every way.
Yet despite that.
She had no plans to give up.
“I'll become a woman worthy of Sir Kane, and definitely... heh heh.”
If worst came to worst, being a concubine was fine.
As long as she could be with Kane, second place didn't matter.
She just wished she could be first.
“Anyway, whether first or second, I need to become a woman who leaves Kane in awe.”
She wanted recognition from the one she loved.
That she was strong.
That she was doing well.
That she was the best.
That's why she pushed herself.
Aiming for S-rank adventurer.
The strongest adventurer.
To one day surpass even her idol, Jenny Harkur, and become a true hero.
“......”
But what about now?
Jenny had taken the black dragon lord off alone to fight.
Why bother?
With her power, she could have wiped out all these dragons in one go.
‘She did it out of consideration.’
To give Rin a chance to shine.
She was deliberately holding back for her.
Yielding to her rival—the very idol she aspired to surpass one day.
It bruised her pride enough as it was.
‘Why am I lying here like this?’
Laid low by a single spell.
Pathetic, even by her own standards.
Unable to stand tall in the opportunity handed to her.
“I can do this too.”
She stood.
Her body screamed in agony.
“Dragons and such...”
She raised her staff.
Channeling mana through her torn-up frame.
Sruruk—
Her mana-activated body began rapid recovery.
Faster still, thanks to Ron the priest's blessing of restoration.
“...Me too, me too.”
Something within her.
Began breaking free from its shell.
Thump! Thump!
Like when she'd unleashed her fury at Mersenne.
The same sensation.
No—that time felt forced.
This time, it awakened on its own, seeping through her entire body.
Thump! Thump!
Vast mana.
Her tightly furled flower bud.
Now.
“I'm a hero too!”
Flash!
It yearned to bloom.