Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Variable (2)
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An undead dragon appeared.
Even if this was a game world, there was no way something this illogical could happen.
"Hero!"
Meanwhile, Ruin was charging straight at that monster.
This was an utterly chaotic situation.
'How strong is Ruin right now?'
I hadn't seen him fight properly yet, so I had no idea.
But one thing was certain: he wasn't anywhere near strong enough to take down an undead dragon.
His body couldn't keep up with his own holy power yet, and no matter that it was undead, a dragon was still one of this world's top predators. There was no way he could fight it.
In short, what this guy was doing right now was no different from suicide.
No matter how desperately I shouted from behind, he acted like he couldn't hear me and just kept running toward the dragon.
"Is, can the Hero handle it...?"
"No. The Hero is still too inexperienced."
"What do we do...?"
"..."
I had nothing to say.
We were being chased too, so neither Ariana nor I had any solutions.
"Shield of Faith."
"Mother, wrap us in your embrace."
Ariana and I first cast defensive holy spells.
My holy spell blocked the space in front of us, while Ariana's formed a translucent hand of holy power that enveloped us.
These were the strongest defensive holy spells we could cast, but they probably wouldn't hold against a dragon's breath.
Ruin and Ariana were both still in the middle of growing stronger.
But our foe had no intention of waiting.
⚙ DRAGON ALERT ⚙ [Firing~] -Whoosh...!
Black flames erupted from the undead dragon's maw.
A massive wave of fire dozens of times our size.
Expecting the catastrophe about to unfold, I squeezed my eyes shut.
Without even a chance for people to evacuate, the enormous flames swept over the ground.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "...?"
'Why do I feel nothing?'
The black flames had definitely burst from the dragon's mouth.
Feeling no impact or problem at all, I opened my eyes—and widened them at the astonishing sight before me.
The dragon's breath had stopped dead in midair, blocked by something before it could reach the people.
The only one with the skill to pull off a feat like that...
"You must show temperance."
"...Perantia!!"
The Holy Knight of Temperance, Perantia Temperance, had appeared.
⚙ DRAGON ALERT ⚙ [Hmm...? This has gotten quite annoying...] "Y-You crazy bastard, why the hell are you here?!"
Ruin was more shocked than facing death itself upon seeing Perantia.
"Unique star, you've been through a lot."
He was suddenly standing in front of Ariana and me.
He turned his head briefly to flash me a smile, then faced forward and shouted.
"Hero! And unique star! I lack the qualification to pass judgment on these villains before me! Please, the two of you—deliver punishment upon these wicked beings!"
"...Please look after the Saintess."
I set Ariana down as Perantia nodded.
"Is, the opponent's a dragon. Are you sure...?"
"Honestly... I have no idea. But in a situation like this, even my feeble efforts should be added to the mix, don't you think?"
If Perantia handled defense, even a weakened me could prove useful.
I was a possessor, after all.
I immediately ran toward Ruin while relaying the strategy to take down that dragon.
"Hero! Aim below the neck!"
"What?!"
"Dragons have a weakness called the 'reverse scale'! Even if it's undead, that weak point doesn't change! What's more, since it's undead, infuse it with maximum holy power and stab the reverse scale!"
"What's a reverse scale?!"
What an idiot.
"There'll be one inverted scale! It stands out with a slightly different color, so look carefully!"
"Got it! Time to show the hero's power!"
"Please be careful!"
-Boom!
Ruin kicked off the ground and flew toward the dragon.
No matter that the dragon was flying low, it was still pretty high up—but true to his title, Ruin somehow managed to cling onto its front paw.
⚙ DRAGON ALERT ⚙ [Annoying...] -Plop.
"Gaaahhh!"
'That damn fool...!'
I quickly kicked off the ground and snatched the falling Ruin midair.
"Cough! Almost got crushed!"
"Hero! Please be careful! Even if it's an undead controlled by a black mage, it's still a dragon!"
"Shut up! I can take it down alone without your damn help!"
"No, just—sigh... Hero. Can't you see even Perantia, the Holy Knight of Temperance, is struggling to hold the defense? Are you stronger than him?"
"Of course... Ahem."
Ruin averted his gaze, unable to boast confidently.
"Haa..."
-Thud!
"Ow!"
I dropped Ruin to the ground, and he shot me a resentful glare like what the hell.
"Hero. Does this situation feel like a game to you? If Perantia hadn't come, you, me, the Saintess, and everyone here would all be on our way to the Goddess's side. Got it? Even the fact that we're talking right now is thanks to him, not your power."
"...Fuck."
"Cursing won't change anything. You absolutely can't beat that dragon alone, and what we need right now is teamwork."
I converted the holy power enveloping my body into the form of flames.
"!! What... what the hell is that holy power?"
"I'm burning the holy power I got from you. The backlash will be insane, but what choice do I have? This is my resolve. What about you, Hero? Even a pathetic weakling like me is staking his life to protect people—gonna throw another adolescent tantrum and charge off alone?"
"...You're really fucking annoying, you know that?"
-Whoosh!
A massive surge of holy power erupted from Ruin.
His expression was still sullen, but it meant he'd come around to my words, at least somewhat.
"Fifty percent. Any more and my body might explode."
"Is that about your puke-out limit?"
"Yeah. The backlash fucks me up just like you."
"Good. Fair and square now—you're ready to cooperate."
"What bullshit? You're dogshit, so you follow my lead."
"Haha, under stood."
I gripped my shotel tight, and Ruin gripped his sword.
"Just this once, I'm going along with your plan. Because of Ariana and Carmen."
"Being obsessed with women isn't healthy... but I appreciate the mindset."
"Shut up and let's go."
"As you command."
I silently angled the Shield of Faith upward, and Ruin immediately leaped onto me from above.
"Holy Power Detonation!!"
"Hup!!"
-KABOOM!
I pushed the shield with all my strength while Ruin detonated holy power at his feet.
With the explosive propulsion, Ruin rocketed up to the dragon's back in the blink of an eye.
He landed atop the dragon's body.
Now it was time for the protagonist to shine.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Ha!"
Ruin landed atop the dragon's body.
To keep from falling, he jammed his sword between the dragon's scales to anchor himself.
'Annoying bastard.'
He still couldn't stand Is, but that didn't mean he'd ignore the dragon's weakness that Is had pointed out.
'How do I reach below the neck?'
Ruin pondered for a moment.
Then he came up with an answer in an instant.
"Just slice off the whole damn neck!"
It was a simple, brutish method.
"Hup!"
-Crunch!
He yanked his sword free and plunged it straight into the base of the dragon's neck—but it barely sank in halfway before grinding to a halt.
"Not this?"
No effect at all, so Ruin scratched his head.
From behind him, some shadowy figure sneaked closer.
A hand reached out toward Ruin's neck.
Off guard, Ruin—
"You ignoring me too?"
—whipped around and grabbed the hand.
Ruin yanked the arm, dragging the sneaking figure right to him—and his eyes went wide when he saw who it was.
"What the...? You..."
Because its identity was...
"Totally my type!"
...a beautiful woman.
"Oh? You caught me?"
"I've got a painful memory of falling for a cheap trick like that."
He was referring to his fight with Is.
The woman gave a small smile at Ruin's words, then introduced herself.
"Nice to meet you. I'm 'Swimming Nightmare'."
"I'm Ruin. The Hero."
"Hehe, I know?"
After introducing herself as Swimming Nightmare, she flashed a soft smile and made a request of Ruin.
"If it's not too much trouble, could you let go of my wrist? My delicate little wrist is turning all red."
"Haha! As if I'd do anything to a beauty like you! Releasing right now!"
Ruin grinned innocently as he said he'd let go.
Watching him, Swimming Nightmare sneered inwardly.
'What a moron. I tensed up a tiny bit since he's the Hero, but he's nothing special.'
Her ability was 'hypnosis', a mental attack.
A comrade with a similar power had told her the Hero Ruin might be physically strong but was ridiculously vulnerable mentally—and it was true.
'Even Raising Death—what the hell was he doing until it showed up?'
I'm busy keeping tabs on the Northern Duke too.
Sneering at Raising Death inwardly, Swimming Nightmare waited for Ruin to release her hand.
"Hm? When are you gonna let go?"
But Ruin didn't let go of her hand.
She tilted her head at his actions, which didn't match his words, and Ruin said to her while keeping his smile.
"Fuck off, bitch. My heart's been full with just two women for a long time."
-Stab!