Strange Combination of Travelers (9)
"Ah, yes... snacks... yes..."
The moment the snacks appeared, the woman lit up with delight, popping two at a time into her mouth.
"Delicious. Why not ditch magic and become a chef instead?"
"Switching careers on a whim like that wouldn't be easy."
"Magic's just a hobby anyway, not a real job."
"Y-yeah..."
If anyone else had said that to her face, they'd probably be scampering across the floor as a mouse by now. But Mideronde instinctively knew her magic wouldn't work on this woman. And most importantly, it didn't bother her much at all. The woman was rude, sure, but there was no real malice behind it. It felt like some sheltered noble lady, raised in her father's shadow with no clue about the world, blithely advising the poor to "just eat cake if there's no bread."
"But isn't spatial distortion magic pretty powerful?"
"No monster, no matter how strong, could ever break it. Don't worry."
"Hmm. Really? Well, if you say so, I guess it is. But if it does break, teleport them straight to the inn."
"Teleport?"
But the woman said no more, her eyes glued to the vivid screen floating in midair. Inside it, a massive black dragon's bulk was clashing head-on with Bertrand.
From an absurd height, a pitch-black head glared down at me. Its body was covered in glossy obsidian scales, crowned with savage horns. Unknown vapors rose from between its teeth—inhaling that would probably cause some seriously bad shit. And those wings... six of them? Each pair thrummed with the raw power of a mantis claw snatching unlucky prey. Steam leaked from gaps in the wings too, likely tied to its breath attack. Aterugar spewed fire, Lurtjog lightning, after all.
Three tails, each one thick enough to flatten a village into flatland. Compared to this overwhelming behemoth, Lurtjog seemed like a mere iguana or salamander. And this thing could breathe and cast spells? What the hell was the Goddess thinking, creating monsters like that? Or maybe, being monsters, they came from another dimension?
Staring up at the black dragon, I felt no fear. Just a familiar thrill, almost welcoming—like stepping back ten years. Back before large carnivorous beasts were nearly wiped out. Earth-shaking behemoths roamed freely then, and hunting them down was my main gig. Sure, no Holy Sword this time, but that only hyped me up more. Facing the world's apex predator with nothing but my own body, no divine crutches. My long-dormant battle instincts roared to life from all that innkeeping drudgery. That fighting spirit coalesced into aura, cracking the ground beneath my feet.
In response, an indescribable glow flickered across the dragon's body. A barrier? Shield?
"Let's do this for real now, Innkeeper."
The black dragon Ergaduk boomed a true word that rattled my skull. I fired back with one of my own.
"Music to my ears, Ergaduk."
The dragon's massive frame twitched slightly—a human uttering a true word? I exploded forward, shattering the earth. Predicting my path, Ergaduk slammed a forelimb into the ground, unleashing a tsunami of blue mana that crashed into me. Aura and mana collided head-on, sending shockwaves rippling through the dirt.
I tore through the mana barrier and plunged into Ergaduk's flank. Its six wings twisted at grotesque angles with a deafening roar, then it shot upward like a hummingbird, dodging my strike. Grazing its underbelly, I latched onto one of those three tails.
Ergaduk halted its ascent and whipped its jaws toward me, steam surging from its maw—breath incoming. I roared and swung the tail with all my might. The dragon arced around me in a half-circle, but as a mighty black dragon, it dug in with its six wings and sturdy legs, gouging the earth mercilessly to halt itself. Then it unleashed a roar that shook the air itself.
Dragon's Roar. Nothing like Aterugar's dog-training version—this was pure nightmare fuel. Taking it head-on chilled my blood for a split second. No wonder even the strongest monsters submit. But I'm no monster.
I clambered onto the tail, sprinting toward its back. Ergaduk craned its neck, blasting acidic breath at me. As the searing acid engulfed me, my maxed-out aura hardened into a shield, blocking most of it. Some seeped through, burning my skin, but it regenerated faster. Troll regen? Child's play compared to this. Grandpa Blavan, thanks. Without your genes, this Bertrand would've melted into goo.
"Grit those teeth, Ergaduk!"
Shockwaves from afar made the ground quake like an earthquake. The cider bottle and snack plate had already shattered on the floor; the table had collapsed, legs twisted. The Goddess, clutching a cider glass and handful of snacks in each hand, lounged on the sofa, eyes on the screen. Bertrand and Ergaduk were locked in a brutal slugfest. Nearby hills and woods were gone, reduced to flat plain; each clash cratered the earth. A terrain-altering duel between mankind's strongest and nature's apex.
First such fight since the world's creation. Neither showed fatigue or gave ground—they were dead even. The Goddess was thrilled. Mideronde, clinging precariously to the sofa behind her, glanced worriedly at the sky. The fallout was worse than she'd imagined. At this rate, the spatial distortion would shatter.
And sure enough, a massive shockwave cracked it. Mideronde's signature spell, honed over millennia, crumbling under pure physical force. The first crack widened with the next waves, then split wide open.
"The magic... Huh?!"
Staring blankly at her ruined spell, Mideronde sensed something odd. A sharp, probing magic slipped through the breach. Analyzing its wavelength, she tilted her head.
Detection magic...?
It shot like an arrow across the void toward Bertrand and Ergaduk's brawl. Hitting Ergaduk's back dead-on, followed by more in rapid succession.
Who the hell's casting detection spells? Tracing it back, Mideronde blinked in disbelief.
"What... is that...?"
I'd just grabbed one of Ergaduk's wings when it vanished from my grip. What? Blink?
But Ergaduk hadn't blinked. The dragon filling my vision was gone; naked Erga stood there instead.
"Huh? What's this? I was just getting into it."
"I was enjoying it too, but we have to stop here."
"Why? Getting cold feet?"
"Hardly. I was finally cutting loose. But..."
Erga trailed off, pointing one way. Not an ambush, surely—he wasn't the type. I turned.
South sky.
"Huh? What's that? Why's it...?"
In the blink it took me to mutter, it was already hurtling toward us at insane speed.