━Bang! ━Clang!
The sound of metal colliding echoed.
It was the sound of Raphne’s spear clashing with Siegfried’s sword.
“Ugh, …sorry. Raphne. Don’t hold back, deal with it!”
At his words, Raphne turned her head, looking at me with a confused expression.
Her companion’s plea seemed to be asking for my command.
But I’m not exactly in a position to be calm and collected either.
“Emily━! Dodge━!”
━Boom!!
Amidst the hail of icicles flying my way, I hurriedly scooped up Emily and dashed out of the danger zone.
Just a few seconds too late, countless ice spikes pierced the spot where Emily and I had just been.
“Ke, Ken!”
━Whoosh!
A fireball hurtled toward us from the direction we had just vacated.
Thanks to Emily’s shout, I narrowly evaded the flames and assessed the situation.
There were three enemies attacking us.
Tarlos’s unique skill had completely seized my companions’ action rights.
‘…This means we won’t have anyone left for a big strike.’
I frowned at the worsening situation.
Tarlos’s unique skill had Emily sealed with her binding skill.
So neither Emily nor I had to worry about being controlled further.
But the three enemies still wielding purple magic like puppets were there.
The seal’s effect does not interfere with spells that have already been cast.
“Raphne━! Can you block all three of them at once?!”
“Yes!”
Raphne, confidently smiling while being some distance away, quickly broke away from Siegfried.
Facing the three enemies.
━Boom boom boom!!
Using her spear to deftly block the deluge of magic and attacks, she appeared almost like she was dancing, evoking the word ‘performer.’
‘I’ve bought us a moment…’
Fortunately, the curse skill ‘Whispers of the Soul’ doesn’t affect Raphne, who wore the pendant.
But Raphne doesn’t have the heavy attack needed to take that dragon down.
So, that leaves me as the only one who can land a decisive blow right now.
I desperately began rifling through the crafting category during the brief moment Raphne bought me.
A weapon that could deliver a strong strike immediately.
‘Quickly craft Aspetra…’
Aspetra, the secret weapon I could rely on.
But the amount of mana needed for the crafting listed in the category surpassed my maximum mana.
Recreating Aspetra is going to be tough.
‘Something… something lethal…!’
As I scanned through the weapons list, I stumbled upon an unexpected name.
‘…Why is this here?’
To place someone else’s weapon in my category, it should have undergone perfect repairs.
Or I would have had to create it myself.
But this weapon was one I had no memory of at all.
Most suspicious was the amount of mana required.
It should normally require a lot more mana to create a ‘Demon Sword.’
But it could be crafted with surprisingly low amounts.
Full of questions.
But in the current urgent situation, there was no better weapon I could find.
I promptly dropped Emily to the side and concentrated my mana.
‘Quick Crafting…’
With a hopeful heart, I recited her name.
‘Demon Sword Tirpione…!’
Soon, I felt the mana being absorbed and the familiar bright light of quick crafting gathered in my hands.
And then.
[Hehe. Hohoho…!]
Her familiar voice echoed in my ears.
[Kyaaa━! Master━!!]
As the sword materialized in my hand, a silver-haired woman appeared in the air.
The moment she opened her eyes and saw me, her expression lit up with joy, and she rushed toward me.
[Of course…! The girl knew you would definitely make me!]
“T, Tirpione━! How are you even here━!”
I never even considered she would be in my category, let alone her spirit appearing alongside the crafting of the sword.
“U, …who?”
“…A feminine voice.”
Emily whispered from behind, and Raphne immediately turned, casting a fearful look at this place.
Ignoring the sizzling tension of the two women, Tirpione joyfully continued.
[My main body is merely a vessel for my spirit… Therefore, if my master who is connected by the blood pact makes me, it’s only natural that I would transfer into that vessel!]
I couldn’t fully grasp the urgency of the situation.
But what flashed in my mind was the memory of how she had bitten my hand to drink blood during our first meeting.
So it seemed that wasn’t just for preventing degradation; it was a full master-servant contract.
‘…Regardless of the reason, it is the crucial blow needed in this situation.’
I shook off her clinginess and pointed the sword at Tarlos, asking her.
“Can your corrosion ability corrode all of the eyes on his forehead?”
[Of course! But it will require quite a bit of your mana!]
Seeing Tirpione’s confident expression, I gripped the Demon Sword tighter.
“Raphne━!”
“Y-yes!”
I shouted to Raphne, who had been sending anxious glances while blocking the three enemies.
“I’ll finish this quickly! Keep blocking all three of them!”
“L-Leave it to me━!”
Raphne stopped looking this way and started focusing entirely on blocking the controlled enemies.
And I set my sights on the massive foe before me.
The ancient dragon was focused on controlling the three, breathing heavily as it swirled its purple magic.
With the target confirmed, I tightened my legs, smashing down on the ground.
━KABOOM!!
As my body soared from the ground to reach the ancient dragon’s face.
[System: The trait of the Dragon’s Essence has been activated. The ancient dragon Tarlos is now watching you.]
[ROOAARRRR!!]
The ancient dragon noticed my charge and quickly erased the purple mana swirling in its hands.
━Rumble rumble rumble.
Its maw gathered red energy.
‘…Breath!’
I noticed that it was preparing to unleash its fiery breath, and I hurriedly moved my feet.
━Thud!
Reaching beneath the great dragon, I kicked off the ground and leapt into the air.
Whoosh.
As its mouth opened, the compressed shape of the breath shimmered right in front of me.
[M-Master━! Something incredible is coming━!]
Tirpione’s voice echoed in my ear, having sensed the breath too.
Though I thought I had a bit more time, Tarlos prepared its breath just as I jumped.
While it seemed weaker than usual, facing it unguarded would be a fatal mistake.
‘…I have no choice━!’
Resigning myself, I maintained my rush directly at the beast.
At that moment.
━Boom!!!
[Ugh!]
A pillar of ice shot up from the ground and violently struck the dragon’s lower jaw.
The force of the blow forced it to clamp shut just as the breath erupted from its mouth.
Thud!
Thanks to that, I safely landed atop its head and quickly glanced down.
There, I saw Mary with her staff, glaring at this place.
As the purple mana vanished from its hands, it seemed the curse controlling the three had also disappeared.
I looked at the ancient dragon, whose eyes rolled back from the explosion of its own breath.
With its white sclera exposed, its crimson eye still glowed fierce.
I locked eyes with it as I gripped the sword and poured in my mana.
[Ahh! Master’s hot essence is flowing in!]
“Don’t say weird things at a time like this!”
My mana, absorbed by Tirpione, transformed into her dark magic.
Feeling her overwhelming energy surge through me, I charged at my target.
Thud━!
‘This is… the end!’
Thrust!
Tirpione’s blade sliced through the dragon’s core without hesitation.
Almost immediately, her special ability activated.
[Die, you oversized lizard child━!]
The third eye of Tarlos became engulfed in her sinister magic.
The dark energy spread from where her sword pierced.
Crack!
Break snap…
The area around her sword began to shatter.
[ROOAARRR!!]
In sync, the ancient dragon Tarlos let out a death rattle.
Already at its lowest health from Aspetra’s previous hit, with my strike, its last flicker of life was snuffed out.
Completely drained, it staggered and trembled.
“Ugh, Uwaaaaah!”
[Kyaa! Master, be careful!]
“W-wait! You clinging to me makes it harder to balance!”
Suddenly emerging from the chaos, Tirpione clung to me, and at that moment, the dragon’s body fell.
Boom!
The heavy head of that beast collided with the ground, raising a storm of dust and confirming the ancient dragon Tarlos’s death.
“Ken━!!”
I heard my allies’ voices.
Amidst the rising dust, I clutched my head and gathered my senses.
[Ugh…]
Fortunately, thanks to the physical form of Tirpione cushioning me, I didn’t sustain major injuries.
[Master… Are you alright? Oh?]
At the same moment, Tirpione, who regained her senses, stood and looked at me, sensing something was off.
[Ah, no! To part so quickly like this…! I refuse━! It’s been no time since we reunited!]
As a weapon created via quick crafting, she was destined to be one-use only, and her form was starting to fade after a single use.
“Thank you, Tirpione. I’ll create you again when I need you next.”
[Ugh! Definitely, definitely! Master! I’m always waiting for you to call…!]
Before her words could finish, the form of Tirpione completely vanished.
‘I never imagined I’d obtain her like this.’
The Demon Sword Tirpione with her corrosion ability.
An amazing weapon with incredible stats but deemed a hidden weapon that no one could obtain due to its one-use nature.
It was a sneaky strategy, but I could use it as a single-use item.
‘…I’ll be sure to allow her a good meal for the help she gave this time.’
As I expressed my gratitude to her, someone ran up to me from behind.
Squelch.
This size, this feel, and that familiar scent.
“Ke-een! Ugh, I’m so glad! You’re safe!”
It must be Raphne, who rushed over with the highest agility, burying her face into my shoulder.
“I’m fine, Raphne. I’m not hurt at all.”
I smiled fondly, patting her head.
She probably worried I would be in danger since Tarlos had collapsed with such a loud noise.
As I reassured her, Raphne peeked up and locked her gaze on me.
For some reason, her pupils seemed completely vacant.
“Umm, Ken, but who was that girl from earlier?”
“Uh, huh?”
“It didn’t seem like the sight of her clinging to you was the first time I’ve seen that kind of relationship.”
The girl who had just been worried about my safety now glared at me menacingly.
Flustered, I pondered how to explain Tirpione to her amidst her threatening gaze.
[System: You have defeated the ancient dragon Tarlos. You have received the title ‘Dragon Slayer’ as a reward for slaying the dragon.]
[System: Due to the effects of the title ‘Dragon Slayer,’ all dragon races will now fear you. You gain 30% additional attack power against dragonkin.]
I was left speechless as a sudden message popped up in front of me.
