The Dragon, meaning the forgotten cult leader, looked alternately at his severed abdomen and Kail with a perplexed expression.
The magic he had just used. Power-tier magic was an ability that could not be countered unless it was a divine power or an equivalent ability.
A spell that rewinds the target’s time, usable as a finishing move to kill enemies or as an invincible move to heal all bodily injuries.
Even though it only worked within a localized range, it was still a magic that could not be ignored. The idea of it being broken was unimaginable.
‘How on earth?’
The cult leader replayed the scene he had witnessed in his mind. Kail, struck by his magic, had been sent back, shivered wildly in one spot… then suddenly the magic broke and he charged at him.
Since power-tier magic couldn’t be used multiple times in succession, he countered Kail with another spell. A mistake. Kail cut through those spells and approached him, eventually succeeding in slicing him.
He couldn’t understand how such a thing was possible, even now that it had actually happened.
─Grrr-!
“Looks like you have too much time to think!”
However, as Kail said, there was no time to be lost in thought. Before the cult leader stood a swordsman capable of easily cutting through dragon scales, and losing focus in front of such a swordsman was a perilous act that could cost him his life.
─【Fall back!】
Not a spell but a simple draconic word. The pressure utilizing the privilege of a dragon pushed Kail far away.
It seemed that the method which shattered the time-manipulating power-tier magic couldn’t be applied to the draconic word; Kail was helplessly pushed back, creating distance between him and the dragon.
As soon as the distance widened, the cult leader immediately began chanting a spell.
─『Instant……
“Halt-.”
Pakiiing-!
The teleportation spell the cult leader was chanting shattered, and with an expression full of anger, he glared at the sorcerer who had broken his magic.
Yuri, who found herself face-to-face with the dragon’s wrathful gaze, flinched and stealthily hid behind Kail. Her attempt to conceal her trembling was rather amusing.
─How dare, how dare a mere human sorcerer-!
Yuri, who had learned from Merlin that the once-thought-nonexistent teleportation magic did exist, had also learned both teleportation magic and counter-magic against it from him.
Thinking it might come in handy someday, she had somewhat forced him to teach her—though she never expected to use it on someone other than Merlin.
“…Lizard.”
─Hah, hahahaha-!
As Yuri, hiding slightly behind Kail, pressed the button that gnawed at the dragon’s pride, the enraged dragon unleashed its breath with laughter.
An extremely yang flame that burns everything it touches spewed forth from the dragon’s maw. The second divine right of a dragon. The Breath Weapon that incinerates everything on the ground.
Facing the supposedly unstoppable divine right of the dragon, Kail glanced back at Yuri and said,
“Well done.”
“…Yeah.”
“Keep blocking so that guy can’t escape.”
And the next moment, Kail began stacking Aura Blades in front of him. The Aura Blades, which block all physical forces, collided with the dragon’s Breath that burns everything in existence.
The superhuman divine right versus the dragon’s divine right. Naturally, even a superhuman cannot match a dragon. The first Aura Blade started melting.
Then the second, third, and in an instant, over ten Aura Blades melted.
But they didn’t simply melt away helplessly. Slowly, very slowly—the Breath began to halt and eventually dissipated without piercing through the Aura Blades Kail had erected.
“Is that it? Lizard.”
─You, youuuu-! You filthy monkey-! Just because you blocked a single breath, you’ve become so arrogant!
“Well, yeah. If you survive a dragon’s breath, arrogance is justified, isn’t it?”
It’s not like he shouted, “Dodge the breath! To the corner!” and died. He blocked it head-on with confidence, so wasn’t it reasonable to feel proud?
Moreover, he accomplished what no other Aura Master could. What other Aura Master could block a dragon’s Breath with just a few Aura Blades?
No one. Not a single Aura Master.
“And your tongue’s been wagging quite a bit since earlier. Are you scared? Why don’t you try using that magic again? It might work this time.”
─Kail Meyer……! Do you think I won’t figure out whatever trick you used, no matter how many times I see it?
“Yeah, you won’t～. A primitive lizard like you wouldn’t get it even after tens of thousands of years.”
─Such insolence.
Whether the provocation worked or not, the dragon began chanting the same spell as before. Seeing this, Kail let out a snicker.
The way he countered the time-reversal magic was incredibly simple. A secret of the physical world that medieval people could never uncover: the relativity of time.
By vibrating Aura at near-light speed, he accelerated relative time and shook off the spell. It was basic common knowledge for anyone from the 21st century.
‘Using the same magic again? Did he think I couldn’t block it twice……’
Unfortunately, the cult leader’s thoughts weren’t like that. The activated time reversal power headed not toward Kail but toward the dragon’s body.
The dragon’s wounds, bleeding profusely, healed, and the cult leader used his restored corporeal form to swiftly ascend into the sky.
“Damn.”
─Grrr! You stupid monkey!
Kail instinctively realized he couldn’t afford to give distance. With swift reflexes, he kicked off the ground and charged toward the dragon.
However, even that action was something the cult leader had lured him into. Seeing Kail charging at him, the cult leader smirked and uttered a draconic word.
─【Crush】
A draconic word that couldn’t be cut or countered, merely pushing forward with sheer output.
Even Kail couldn’t block or cut through this draconic word. He could cut through it if he focused, but the brief opening it created was unavoidable.
“Grrr-!”
─Hahahaha! Farewell, Kail Meyer!
Flap-! The dragon flapped its wings. Once airborne, there was no way two-legged Kail could keep up with the dragon.
The skies were the domain of dragons. No creature could defeat a dragon in aerial combat.
‘Damn-!’
If he lost here, it was over. From this point onward, it would be a one-sided attack. But there was no way to stop it. As Kail stood there blankly staring at the dragon, something flew from behind him toward the dragon.
Rocket-like, it struck the fleeing dragon’s jaw and returned to its original position.
Kail squinted and realized it was a human arm. Specifically, a prosthetic arm made of an unknown metal.
‘What the…….’
─Grrr!?
“Hey! Kail!”
Jerry, having retrieved the prosthetic arm, extended his other arm and shouted.
“I’m going! Hold on tight!”
And the next moment, Jerry’s right arm shot forward. Seeing it, Kail wasted no time and leaped onto it.
Kail mounted the unbelievably long prosthetic arm, feeling like Tao Pai Pai riding a pole he had launched. Accelerated by magical power, it felt like riding a missile. Breaking the sound barrier with ease, Kail approached the fleeing cult leader, who erupted in shock.
─What is this!
Whoosh-! Flapping its wings to create a typhoon, the cult leader believed it would prevent Kail from approaching. In reality, it didn’t.
The prosthetic arm Kail rode was perfectly controlled by Jerry, who observed them from afar.
With the Aura Master focusing solely on control, trivial interference was effortlessly blocked.
“Hahahahahaha-!”
─You hairless monkey-!
While the cult leader couldn’t believe humans could create such a thing, Kail, who had reached the dragon’s nose on the prosthetic arm, drew his sword and prepared to swing.
‘Accelerate, accelerate again.’
An Aura Master didn’t need to add weight to his sword. Thanks to the Aura Blade, which cuts through anything it touches, there was no need to swing the sword in an unstable stance while riding a rocket arm.
All Kail needed to do was bring the sword close. The rest—the approach, piercing through the enemy—was handled by the prosthetic arm he rode.
“Dieeee-!”
─Kail Meyeerrr-!
Slicing past the screaming dragon’s head, Kail felt the satisfying sensation of the dragon’s head cleanly severed.
Dragon blood gushed from the severed neck, painting the sky. Beneath the waterfall-like torrent of dragon blood, Kail felt his soul’s rank rising.
