384 – Eastern Front Offensive -2

Yuna soared into the sky, surveying the battlefield below. A chaotic scene unfolded, with giant robots lumbering, magical girls and martial artists collaborating, knights clad in power armor and cavalry charging at supersonic speeds.

How many genres are mixed in there?

The front lines were holding well. They were steadily pushing back the demon kin on all fronts, without any urgent need for reinforcements. Yuna only needed to focus on her own task.

Now, how to locate the Dragon Body?

If all the dimensional gates led to the same space, the matter would be simple. Enter, sweep everything away, and then search the interior. But that was not the case.

The dimensional gates spewing out demon kin each connected to a separate minor dimension. Not one vast plaza, but a collection of individual, distinct rooms.

“Well, if it *were* a single, connected space… we could simply hurl all sorts of magic into the open entrance and end the war, I suppose.”

If that were the case, the mages of the Scarlet Tower, including Selvier, could periodically unleash devastating area-of-effect spells and simply cleanse everything.

Therefore, they had no choice but to search each dimensional gate, open or closed, one by one. But that didn’t necessarily mean entering each gate to investigate.

Pwing.

Dark scales orbited Yuna. These were trackers crafted from Aisha’s dragon scales, designed to react when their target was nearby. Each member of the search team had been issued one.

“Bennet, no response here!”

-Same on my end. Leaving a marker.

“Nothing can be felt around here either. Head straight east and follow it.”

Bennett’s party also bustled about, scouring for the portal. But time was finite, and the number of potential dimensional gateways, far too many.

Blink.

Infusing her eyes with mana and insight, she closed them and reopened them, confirming the sight of unformed portals thickly congesting the air.

Where could it be?

Logically, typically, it would be where the demon forces flourished most. Centered in this land, perhaps. But the opponent was the cunning, wicked Black Dragon. It might read her thoughts and nest somewhere completely unexpected.

Maybe hidden above the clouds, or beneath the earth. Or perhaps it’s deceiving the maximum range at which the portal can open… striking with the unexpected.

Which meant she couldn’t skim over a single one. They all had to be checked.

To find the single room amongst this countless array where the Dragon Body was stored— first, she needed to reduce the sample size. Erase a few.

Swish. Swish. Swish.

Having reverted from butterfly to human form, Yuna, assisted by Mirror Yuna, stretched forth several jet-black arms from beneath her pointed hat. That made four pairs of arms in total.

Which meant eight times the firepower.

“『Subtraction』.”

BEEEEP──!!

Eight beams of light swept across the sky, flailing like whips. Upon touching a demon, they disintegrated into nothingness. Upon touching a portal, they shuddered and groaned.

“A, a, a…”

“G, uh.”

Demons who hadn’t so much as flinched at blades and magic, turned tail and fled from that chilling light of information erasure. Their inherent algorithms had ranked the danger of 『Subtraction』 as top-tier.

It could even be called fear. The demonic nightmares of the battlefield that sowed despair and terror amongst the imperial army were now running for their lives, chased by fear itself. But where could they even go?

-『Meteor』, Southern passage blockade complete.

“The Northern passage will be defended with the Emperor’s Heart Sword!”

“Mm. I’ll erase it.”

Light flickered once more from the tips of her fingers. And whatever form it took, she erased it. Cut in half and scattered, heads flying off and codes scrambled, spinning in place.

Setting aside the fact that it was demons being subjected to it, she looked like the living end of the world. Sweeping them up. Gathering them in.

“Dan, gerous… el, ements.”

“First, first, el,iminate.”

The majority of the demons engaged in combat suddenly ceased moving. They stood frozen like mannequins, unconcerned whether the ordinary soldiers killed them with their enchanted swords.

They hadn’t given up resisting. They were focusing on the psychic and illusionary, rather than the physical. The intensity of the mental waves emanating from the demons spiked sharply.

Hum. Huumm.

To kill the one who was most threatening to them on the battlefield, the demons focused a barrage of mental attacks on Yuna.

The heavy psychic defenses buckled, near hallucinations flickering at the edge of vision. Whispers echoed in Yuna’s ears, a nauseating tide of past pain.

But Yuna smiled.

“I… I have everything. Regrets of the past, cast aside. Freed from blood ties. People who love me. Even friends who love the same person.”

Happiness. She felt the joy she possessed, the value of her joy-filled present, with all her heart. Her present shimmered.

Why spare a glance for the past, then?

Yuna unleashed *Subtraction* without pause, dominating the battlefield. And from the heart of those beams of light, she quietly murmured,

“So I won’t listen to your curses—quickly, tell me its location. Where is it? Within a human? The collective consciousness of the demons? Or concealed… accessible only through a hidden, massive magic circle linked to a dimensional gate…”

Finally, word came.

“This is Bennett. The reaction is growing stronger the deeper we go. The target is presumed to be at the center.”

“…”

The Dragon Body’s hiding place was textbook.

That wicked creature, she’d thought it would be hidden somewhere bizarre and unexpected. Yuna puffed out her cheeks slightly, feeling oddly like she’d been outsmarted.

“No. No, I wasn’t just shadow boxing. This is probably… the Black Dragon read my intentions and chose the most obvious spot to counter me…!”

*Poro-rong.* Yuna flew to the location Bennett had reported.

With the location pinpointed, everyone was converging on the center. Good, now to extract the Dragon Body and finish things for good. She saw Yuri Lanster preparing her technique.

Yuri confirmed Yuna’s position overhead, then grinned and called out,

“Ready, Yuna?”

“…O-Of course, Yuri!”

Their combined attack was meant to forcibly wrench the Dragon Body out. That’s when it happened.

*Koo, koo-goo-goo-goo──!!*

“Ugh?!”

“…An earthquake? No. This is… the entire space is trembling.”

Had it sensed the blade at its throat? The demons were launching their last-ditch effort. The sealed dimensional gates opened all at once, disgorging demons as if in a black rain.

*Crack, cra-aack. Thud-thud-thud──!!*

Without a shred of composure, releasing every demon they’d pre-emptively produced at once. A downpour of demons, so to speak.

“S-Stop them! Someone!”

Yuna screamed.

—

Rain falls. Elaine opened her visor and gazed at the sky above.

Black slime fell *thud, thud-thud*. Ceaselessly.

Once, this rain was a symbol of despair. On days like these, many soldiers on the Eastern Front met their end. They ought to be grateful, those killed by the Mazoku, that they wouldn’t even need a grave.

Most sorrowful of all was that their sacrifice held no value. The Mazoku would never be eradicated, so what meaning was there in bravely fighting and offering one’s body to this land?

But now, it’s different. Quite different, indeed.

“This battle will be the end, everyone. Now we aren’t just fighting to endure, but fighting to win.”

So, let us sprint forth one last time. For the victory finally within our grasp.

“──Cheongpung Knights, charge! Until not a single Mazoku remains before your eyes!”

Clop, clop, thudthudthudthud──!

The blue wind races onward.

“Baekseol, write some Ewha, quickly! It’s pouring down now!”

“I know that, Selvier. My eyesight’s fine.”

Swooosh──!

Ewha erupt everywhere. Sparks fly, movements slow, necks are severed, chains sweep through, and pure mana explodes.

“For the Empire! Just a little more strength!”

“Gun-Kata squad, temporary cooperation, this once!”

“In this situation, give up the Iaidō, you idiots!”

The soldiers stem the tide of lower Mazoku surging toward them, like a breakwater. The Mazoku have not breached the defenses. Not yet.

But little by little, they yield ground. Just a hair’s breadth short. Like a line of dominoes, ready to collapse if either side exerts just a bit more force. Elaine felt a heavy sense of duty.

A little more. They needed to push a little more.

If she advanced even a single step further, she could save that many more lives. Even the time to catch her breath was precious. She forced wind into her lungs with her Ewha, using it as a substitute for breathing.

The mana engine, saturated with magic, had grown fragile from overwork, and a ghastly pain flared with each manifestation of her Ewha. But it was alright. It was alright, so just a little more──.

“Elaine-nim. Perhaps you might rest for a moment and listen to my song.”

A beautiful voice grazed her ear. And then.

Kooong.

The horde of Mazoku encircling the Cheongpung Knights was flattened. As if an unseen, colossal hand had fallen upon them.

Elaine knew this power. And the owner of this voice, too.

“⋯⋯Cicel?”

Turning her head to trace the voice, she saw a woman standing atop a hill of Mazoku corpses. But her attire was peculiar.

Pert, jutting rabbit ears, and a striking rabbit mask. A bunny girl whose lack of chest accentuated the absurdity of the outfit. Far removed from the battlefield.

Only the aura of a powerful being, which the attire failed to completely conceal, lessened the sense of incongruity.

“Oh my, that outfit is… daring, Cicel. An image change?”

“⋯⋯I am not, not Ciel. I am ‘Princess Rabbit,’ a singer, and⋯⋯ someone completely unrelated.”

“Hee-eung. Then singer-nim, what song will you sing for us?”

At those words, Princess Rabbit, who was absolutely not Ciel Yurensto, raised her greatsword.

“──A victory song. There is nothing else.”

Kugugugu-!

The area trembles. Small stones and pebbles begin to float into the sky, little by little. Emergence (羽化) – ‘Lifting of Life’ (生挾擧), the ability to manipulate gravity, is being unleashed.

Thump, thump.

Princess Rabbit naturally took her place beside Ilaine. Ilaine’s wind wrapped around her, and Ciel’s Emergence swirled around the knight order. Despite wearing a bunny girl outfit, she seamlessly blended into the ranks.

Weight and speed. Someone had appeared to add that weight to Ilaine’s swift knight order. The Azure Wind Knight Order was complete with the return of the East’s premier knight.

Ilaine smiled.

“Will you sing beside me?”

“⋯⋯Yes. Some songs are more effective when heard up close.”

“Indeed. Then⋯⋯ accompany us and let me hear your song. Allow me to feel that my judgment in releasing you was correct. Blissfully so.”

“Willingly, Your Highness.”

And again.

Charge.

────!!

Faster than before, and with even greater weight.

A living, moving bullet that crushes everything in its path was unleashed once more.

—

If that’s not an eraser, what is?

The knight order led by Ilaine and Ciel went about pulverizing the demonic hordes into dust. It’s a bonus that the attack range is almost twice the original covering range.

The demons’ death throes were in vain. Our power was slightly ahead of the power of the demons. I also managed to conserve my strength. I have enough energy to slay the dragon.

Yuna and Yuri are preparing to drag out the Dragon Body.

The principle is simple.

“Ascension (昇華) – ‘Fantasy Realm (幻想界): Temporary Gate Opening (一時開門)!’ “

Yuna opens and seizes the dimensional gate’s space itself, using her illusion magic to exert gravitational force.

“Emergence (羽化) – ‘Binding of Original Desire (本望拘束).’ “

Charrrrr-!

And Yuri plunges the chains deep into the space, wrapping them around the contents within. Now that the chains are firmly fixed, it is time to pull.

“『Howon(護願)』.”

After reinforcing the chains with Bennett’s unyielding light.

“Alright── just gotta pull this, right! Step back, I’m going all out! I’ll show you the might of Magical Girl Pure Rodeo!”

The Paladin Commander, second to none in brute force, tugs.

Creeak- Creeeeaaak──!!

With a vibration that felt like the world itself was groaning, a colossal shadow began to emerge, inch by inch, from beyond the gate. Vast, misshapen, and crudely formed.

Kim Ruru, aided by the engine, strained with such force that the surrounding mana visibly crystallized into a sapphire haze.

“Euraaahhh-!!”

Kugagagagagaak──!!

Kuuuhhh-!

Something immense was dragged forth. The impact of its fall sent a choking cloud of dust swirling into the air. Its shadow alone hinted at its magnitude.

The root of all evil, the form of the Black Dragon. We were finally about to witness it.

We hastily cleared away the dust. Show yourself, show yourself!

“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”

“⋯⋯Huh?”

What was revealed after the dust settled was…

“D, dead⋯⋯?”

A deformed dragon, rotting in places, scales sparsely scattered, appearing gaunt with its tongue lolling out, hung limply.

—

Going all out.

—

Silence descended. It didn’t match the image we all held in our minds.

The organ resembling wings was shaped like a human arm and hand, elongated and skeletal. The fingers were needlessly delicate. More like a grotesque creature subjected to hundreds of surgeries than a dragon.

And above all, it wasn’t moving. Not a twitch.

“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”

“⋯⋯I, is this… is this dragon dead?”

Perhaps it was only natural.

Just a body without a heart, without a soul. Of course⋯⋯ it would be dead.

A deflating finale. We hadn’t even imagined it would be found dead in such a hideous state. Like a plucked chicken, balding and repulsive. Not threatening in the slightest.

“I, I’ll confirm it myself. I’ll sever the dragon’s head to be absolutely sure──”

Yeah, real nice to lop off that b*stard’s head, then stroll home, wash my feet, and sleep like a log…

Like hell I’d think that.

“Stop. Don’t go.”

“Uh?”

I grabbed Enbers’ scruff, his expression foggy. He tilted his head, gesturing with his eyes, a silent ‘what’s up?’

Without a word, I jerked my chin back, telling him to look.

Enbers turned his head toward the Black Dragon again. And, in an instant, could see sharp claws and talons practically right under his nose.

Classic horror game shtick. You look away for a sec, and then *bam*, it’s right on top of you. Old school.

“H-huh, huh-er?!”

Enbers stumbled backward, startled.

Then, laughter echoed. I couldn’t tell where it was coming from. Sounded like it was cracking my skull open and shouting from the inside.

Hee hee hee. Ha. Hahaha.

Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.

A viscous mockery. The thing was enjoying Enbers’ shock, laughing with unrestrained glee. Boy, girl, elder, middle-aged, no age group was spared. All kinds of laughter mashed together and reverberated.

*Shhhkk-*

From somewhere high up in the heavens, black threads descended. They connected to various points on the Black Dragon’s body, linking tight.

A marionette.

*Kugugugugugu-*

The dragon’s massive form began to move like a manipulated puppet. It braced its front paws on the ground to pull itself up, then opened its mouth and stuck out its tongue.

A flippant raspberry.

“………”

But it wasn’t funny, or anticlimactic, in the slightest. Instead, I was gathering my magic more intensely than ever before. Because the fight had already begun.

Slithering. Cunning, complex, and hideous illusion magic was secretly crawling forward. No one noticed. Only me and Yuna, here, had picked up on it.

While drawing our attention with ridiculous movements, in the shadows, it was already sharpening its blade, ready to slice our arteries.

A shameless 『Deception』through and through.

Well, then I’ll tear that deception to shreds.

“—The Tower Lord and I will handle the illusion magic. Everyone else, focus on the physical assault. Yuna, let’s go.”

“……Yeah!”

Ha. Ha. Hahahahaha.

Three pairs of arms unfurled from the Black Dragon’s back. Yuna and I surged forward, wrapped in the full force of our magic, rushing towards it.