The Sealed Blue Dragon
I watched how the war was unfolding.
The fortified Cobalt Royal Castle was so solidly built for defense that even after two hours, we still hadn't breached it.
Whenever a siege tower approached the walls, magic came flying out to set it ablaze. The siege engines pounded the walls without rest, but to little effect.
Corpses of our own soldiers had begun to pile up at the base of the walls. If the walls had been of moderate height, we might have stacked our dead into a staircase and climbed up—but the Cobalt Royal Castle's walls stood a full twenty meters high. Building a ramp of corpses would take an absurd number of bodies.
More than anything, the biggest problem was that the soldiers were starting to lose their nerve. Being slaughtered one-sidedly without ever making it over the walls—of course they were afraid.
Some of the soldiers charging the Cobalt Royal Castle began to turn and flee. Most of them were slave soldiers. Loyalty meant nothing to them.
What greeted the fleeing slave soldiers were our own elite troops. Soldiers gripping axes cut down the relatively poorly armed slave soldiers without mercy.
"You bastards! Can't you even tell which way is which, you worthless pieces of shit?! The place you're supposed to go is that castle, not back here! Charge!!"
The soldiers desperately managed the slave troops.
They knew that only if the slave soldiers broke through the enemy walls would they themselves be safe.
The slave soldiers had only two choices: die by their own side's hand, or die by the enemy's.
"How long are you going to keep up this meaningless war of attrition?!"
Sharnell came up beside me and shouted. Her trademark twin red pigtails swayed, and her enormous breasts bounced just as much as her hair.
"We're at war. It's not meaningless at all."
"…If you ask me, I could throw a Hellfire for you."
"I appreciate the offer, but you need to conserve your strength. Our real objective isn't winning this war. We came here to save Priscilla."
"Master…. So when are we going into the royal castle? You're not planning to wait until the walls fall, are you?"
"We'll go in when the castle is at its most chaotic and vulnerable—before the walls are breached. Don't worry about it. Just save your mana. I've already put all the pieces in place."
Sharnell narrowed her eyes at me. She clearly didn't believe a word and was openly suspicious.
"We don't know Priscilla's exact location, do we? In the worst case, there could be a trap waiting instead of Priscilla. That's why we used the war to draw Dulibard's attention and snuck a scout inside."
"What can a single scout even do…"
Sharnell muttered irritably, then her expression suddenly shifted to shock.
"Don't tell me that maid is the scout?"
"That's right. You know how incredible Yuria is."
"…I can see why you're so confident. If that woman is on the job, she'll handle just about anything. But is she really going to be okay alone? That's the heart of enemy territory. The Red Dragon Leocio might be there."
"It's fine. Leocio might be there, but the Demon King won't be. And I told Yuria to prioritize Priscilla's rescue above everything else."
Yuria was an assassin. Infiltration was her specialty. If she went all out to conceal her presence, no one would detect her.
BOOM!
A thunderous crash rang out. That was the sound of a siege engine finally doing its job. A hole had opened in part of the wall. The fortress's demon immediately began repairing it, but once a crack had formed, it wouldn't be long before it collapsed.
Well, looks like about thirty thousand are already dead.
I checked how the rebel forces were doing. They were fighting, but something about it felt half-hearted. Melissa was conserving her subordinates.
I'd prefer they fought harder, but that's just Melissa's nature. Nothing I can do about it.
Static crackled.
A call came through on the radio hanging at my waist. I picked it up immediately. Only one person would contact me through this radio.
"Yuria. Did you find Priscilla?"
"Yes, Master. I found her. They had converted a royal vault and sealed her inside for imprisonment. …Perhaps 'storage' would be a more fitting word."
"You found Master?! Is Master all right?! She's not hurt, is she?!"
Sharnell's eyes lit up as she lunged at me. She threw her arms around me while shouting questions at the radio. I spoke while groping her excessively large breasts.
"Whoa, whoa, calm down. I'm talking to Yuria right now. Yuria. How's it looking over there? Any dangerous types around?"
"There were two demon contractors guarding the entrance, but I dealt with them the moment I saw them. The enemy still doesn't seem to have noticed my intrusion."
"What's Priscilla's condition?"
"She's in her dragon form rather than human, so it's difficult to judge based on appearance alone."
"The seal? Can you break it?"
"It appears to be a seal of Libre, the Dream Demon. To break the seal, one must enter the dream world, but I have little connection with Priscilla, so it would be difficult. The seal's release will likely have to be left to Sharnell."
Libre, the Dream Demon.
The moment I heard that name, my face twisted.
Libre was the most troublesome demon in Panteum. Not that that meant she was strong.
I got trapped in the dream world with Priscilla before. So this time Priscilla is trapped alone without me?
Either way, things were going well. We'd found Priscilla, the most important piece. This operation was as good as a success.
"Yuria. We're coming your way. Get ready."
"Preparations are already complete. You may come whenever you wish."
"Of course."
I hung up the radio with a note of admiration. Sharnell was looking at me with an uncomfortable expression, while Starlight calmly watched the battlefield.
"Starlight. I'm leaving the battlefield to you. That all right?"
"Have I ever not handled it? No problem. My lord should do what my lord must do."
Starlight would manage fine without me. She had never once disappointed me.
"Sharnell. You're coming with me. Follow."
"You're going to where Master is, right? How are we getting there? Just so you know, teleportation won't work. The wavelengths flowing from the royal castle are interfering with spatial magic."
"I already know that, so no need to explain. Follow me."
I took Sharnell into the tent. From my inventory I pulled out a mirror and set it upright in the center.
"…A mirror?"
"Not an ordinary mirror. It's a special mirror called a Mirror Tunnel. Splash hot water on the surface."
Sharnell looked at me half-doubting, then used magic to create hot water and sprayed it on the mirror's surface. Steam billowed thickly around the mirror. The Mirror Tunnel activated, reflecting not us but Yuria.
Yuria in her maid uniform smiled faintly at me. Wearing the maid uniform was her own preference. According to her, it was the most comfortable thing to wear.
Without hesitation, I walked into the mirror's surface. My body slid right through.
"You've arrived. For a royal vault, it was rather shabby, so I cleaned it up roughly before Master arrived. The dust shouldn't bother you."
"Nah. You didn't have to do that."
I let out a wry laugh and looked behind me. Sharnell came through the Mirror Tunnel with a tense face. She nearly lost her balance and fell, but managed to steady herself and stand upright.
"Spatial transfer that ignores interference wavelengths…. You had an incredible artifact. The more I see, the more amazing you are."
It wasn't an artifact but something brought from another world, but I didn't bother correcting her. Explaining was a hassle.
Leaving Sharnell behind, I looked around.
Yuria had called it shabby, but to my eyes it was a fairly elegant space. The ceiling was about five meters high, and the walls were lined with shelves.
"For a kingdom's vault, there's nothing here."
"I've already collected everything. Most of it was art pieces, along with a few artifacts and dwarf-made armor and weapons. Shall I show you?"
"No, later. We'll settle accounts afterward. Where's Priscilla?"
"Further inside. Given a dragon's bulk, they created a new chamber."
Sharnell and I followed Yuria to where Priscilla was.
The moment I stepped into the vast cavern, my mouth fell open. There, filling the enormous hollow, a massive Blue Dragon lay curled up in sleep. Roughly estimating, she approached fifty meters in size.
Four horns grew from her head. Naturally, her eyelids were closed in sleep. Without thinking, I reached out toward the dragon. Her scales were surprisingly not rough—they were soft as silk.
"Master…!"
Sharnell approached Priscilla, her breasts bouncing. She wrapped her arms around part of Priscilla's head and kept calling her name.
"Master…! Master! I'm here!!"
It was a touching reunion between disciple and master.
"Yuria. What do you think of Sharnell? Doesn't she seem a bit dumb? Priscilla is still sealed—there's no way she can hear her."
"Certainly… I hesitate to say this, but she does seem a bit lacking. It's remarkable that she's an Archmage."
"……"
Perhaps she'd heard us. Sharnell, who had been nuzzling against Priscilla's head and showing off her enlarged chest, awkwardly stepped back.
She cleared her throat a couple of times, then used magic to check Priscilla's condition.
"…A seal of the dream world…. Her mind is sealed in a kind of mental realm. I can't believe it. Master is an ancient dragon who's lived for thousands of years. She's lived long enough to possess a formidable mental strength. And yet she can't wake from a mere seal like this…."
"This is no ordinary mental seal. It's the kind that continuously torments and tests the mind. Had she been an ordinary human, her mind would have collapsed within minutes."
Sharnell nodded at Yuria's words.
"I don't know much about this kind of thing. What do I need to do to save Master? Tell me."
"I will open the dream world where Priscilla's mind is trapped with magic. Sharnell, enter the dream world and rescue Priscilla."
"…Is there a reason it has to be me?"
"As I said earlier, I have no connection with Priscilla. Her unconscious will reject me. But as her disciple, you will be readily accepted."
"How do I break Master's seal?"
"You need to awaken Priscilla's mind. I'll leave the method up to you."
Sharnell's expression hardened with resolve.
"Got it. Start right away."
"Please wait about five minutes."
Five minutes passed.
Thirteen magic circles enveloped the massive Blue Dragon and resonated. I looked at the circles Yuria had drawn and shook my head. I had no idea what any of it meant. Judging by how Sharnell went from admiration to outright shock, it was one hell of a spell.
"This is insane…. Each and every one of these magic circles is a large-scale ritual-grade spell. How did you do this in five minutes…."
"I've been studying these on and off ever since I had a run-in with the Dream Demon. Once you're familiar with them, it's easy. Now, I'll open the entrance to the dream world."
Yuria pointed at Priscilla's brow. Space warped, and something like a portal formed. Nothing was visible beyond the portal. Apparently it was structured so you couldn't see from the outside.
Sharnell swallowed dryly and stepped into the portal. I looked at the portal, then stepped forward.
"Yuria. I don't think this will work. I'm going in too. Sharnell alone makes me uneasy."
"…Yes. Please be careful."
"It's not my first time going in. No problem."