Into the Dragon's Lair
With that single invocation, most of the mana in my body drained away. It had been ages since I'd felt this depleted.
A strange sound rippled outward from Rai, and a massive gray barrier rose up to shield everyone.
Shwaaaang.
The noise was excruciating. It was like metal scraping against metal, only deeper and far more unsettling.
In an instant, the blinding light from the dragon's breath was swallowed by a thick shadow.
The shadow came from what I assumed was Rai—an enormous shield.
With a thunderous crash, Rai had transformed into that colossal barrier.
"A shield?"
The shield was easily half the size of the dragon's body, plain and round with no patterns or ornaments whatsoever. It was simply absurdly huge.
The ugly, dull-colored shield was blocking the breath attack. Unbelievable as it seemed.
Where the breath's light met the shield's edge, white remnants of the attack leaked out. Wherever that light touched the ground, it reduced everything to fine dust without leaving a single fragment behind.
I stared in horrified awe at the sheer power of the breath, then at Rai who was somehow holding it back. Grabbing the king's wrist, I yanked him backward.
"What in the world is that...!"
"Get up!"
The king staggered to his feet after me. But Rai was being pushed back, the massive shield scraping across the floor as the force drove him farther and farther.
Kagagagak!
"What the—?"
"H-Hey, run! Get back!"
People recoiled at the sudden appearance of the enormous shield, then scattered in panic.
They probably had no idea that this crude-looking barrier—Rai—was saving their lives.
Despair faded from their faces, replaced by the faint relief of having survived. But that relief didn't last.
A dragon's breath wasn't something fired once and done.
"What the hell is that thing?!"
No wonder it was called the strongest weapon in the middle realm.
As the breath kept pouring out without pause, I shoved the king roughly toward the outer edge and sprinted toward Rai.
Cracks were already spreading across the shield Rai had become.
"Rai! Don't die!"
[M-Master... ugh...]
I wanted to live, but not at the cost of sacrificing Rai. Even if it looked like nothing more than a lump of metal to everyone else, I could see Rai desperately holding on.
No matter how heartless I could be, I couldn't abandon my own spirit and run.
Standing there felt like defying gravity itself.
As I forced my way forward through the crushing pressure, someone grabbed my arm.
It was Latshamu.
"What are you doing?! Get out of the way!"
Most of the crowd had already fled while Rai held the breath back. Watching them scatter in every direction eased my mind a little. Part of me also hoped everyone would recognize how incredible Rai was being.
The situation had flipped. Now it looked like the dragon and Rai were facing off directly.
"Latshamu!"
"I said run!"
"Forget me! Take care of His Highness!"
"What?!"
A short distance away, the king was frantically waving at me. But I couldn't leave Rai behind.
"I have to stay with Rai... with that shield!"
Crack!
The sound was ominous.
Unable to withstand the constant pressure, the outer edge of the shield began to crumble.
What would happen if Rai shattered? Would he be sent back to the spirit realm like Undine? But Rai had said that shield was his true body. He wasn't like Undine.
"Rai!"
I shook off Latshamu's hand and dashed behind the shield. My shoes had been discarded long ago; I was barefoot.
[M-Master! I... can't...!]
"Stop it! So what if it's a dragon?! How long are you planning to keep this up?! Cut it out!"
Rai was going to die!
I shouted at the top of my lungs—and miraculously, the breath stopped.
At the same moment, Rai melted into a puddle of liquid at my feet.
[You'll... praise me this time, right...?]
This little punk was making me cry!
Tears welled up before I could stop them. I carefully picked up the snake-shaped Rai that had reappeared.
His once-pure white body was gone, replaced by a broken, ugly form missing its tail. It was heartbreaking.
"Rai."
[I... tried so hard... So please, no more snake...]
He was so exhausted he was babbling nonsense. I held him gently, terrified he might crumble in my hands.
Forgetting about the dragon for even a moment had been incredibly stupid.
[...What is that? Huh? What is that thing?]
"Huh?"
The same dragon that had been raging and trying to kill everyone just moments ago was now staring at me with sparkling eyes, pushing its massive head closer. It was panting like an oversized puppy—loud enough to hurt my ears.
[What is that? Huh? It looks really sturdy!]
I'd planned to never reveal Rai's identity to anyone, but everyone else had fled and there was no one around. Besides, the one asking wasn't even human—it was a dragon. So I answered, reluctantly, like someone who didn't want to die.
"That's... a spirit."
[A spirit!]
"A metal spirit named Rai..."
[Give it to me!]
The dragon's sudden change in attitude left me no time to process my emotions. Its enormous hand snatched me up. My bones ached. For a second I thought I was being lifted—
"Aaaagh!"
In an instant, I was high above the ground, dangling from the dragon's grip.
Wait! Too high!
Why did it grab me?!
I couldn't even process what was happening. Being suddenly airborne made my stomach lurch.
Feeling like I might throw up, I looked down. The palace had shrunk to the size of a fingernail. Below me, the mountain of jewels and mithril stretched out like a galaxy being sucked into a black hole.
So this was what that much treasure looked like while still alive. Actually, forget the treasure—I was seeing a dragon! And getting grabbed by one... Wait, was this real?
Had I fallen asleep in the bath this morning? A dream would make far more sense.
[Teleport.]
Tele... port?! No no no no!
I hate this!
***
[Hey! Wake up.]
The sudden voice jolted me awake. My consciousness, which had been sinking, shot back to the surface. Against my will, my body began to move.
Why did it feel like my body wasn't my own for a moment?
Before I knew it, I was sitting upright with my eyes open.
"Ughhh..."
Everything was spinning. My head was a mess and I couldn't see straight. I didn't even have the luxury to figure out where I was.
The aftereffects of teleportation magic—something I treated like a taboo—had left me completely disoriented. Nonsensical sounds kept spilling from my mouth, and my neck wobbled like a newborn's. I couldn't control my body at all.
"What the heck? Why's she like that?"
Should I just walk around with a sign that says "No Teleporting"?
How far had we gone for me to feel this awful?
[Snap out of it!]
That voice again.
There was an undeniable force behind it that I couldn't resist. It was like every cell in my body was obeying without question—like how living things instinctively flatten themselves when they sense danger.
I moved exactly as the voice commanded, ignoring my own will.
Ah. So this was Dragon Words. That powerful, coercive language magic dragons were said to use.
"Huh?"
Just like that, my mind cleared. My dulled senses sharpened, and everything around me flooded into focus at once. My eyes darted around while I remained seated.
I was inside a cave—enormous, with no visible end. The far reaches were swallowed in darkness. The space was vast enough to fit dozens of the palace's banquet halls. The ceiling soared so high that glowing magic stones dotted it like tiny stars.
Is this... the legendary dragon's lair I've only heard about?
Then where was the dragon? Where was Rai?
The moment I realized the one who should always be at my side was missing, Rai's voice rang out.
[Master!]
"Haaah, using Dragon Words twice is exhausting. Hey, human!"
A thick, raspy voice echoed alongside it.
It had to be the dragon. I tensed and looked around frantically.