“Dimension Wanderers, heed your mother’s words.”
Luri spoke to the girls in a callous tone.
“It was you who asked to save Hibris, wasn’t it? That’s how we can save our world too.”
Adella’s unwavering eyes sparkled.
“Is there really a way back to our original world? If you think about it, the monster called Erosion also flowed into your world. If you summoned it, you must take responsibility.”
Rustle-
Luri threw off her high-heeled shoes and strolled barefoot on the grass.
“Could a disaster have spread to another dimension, Mother?”
“There’s a possibility. They don’t shy away from space and time,” the witch answered bluntly.
“It seems they are from the future. So, why did I beg you to save Hibris?”
Luri’s lips twitched with a face that looked like she was about to cry.
The witch’s returning answer was chilling.
“Just faithfully follow my orders. It’s time to accomplish the task.”
“If something goes wrong with you, Mother—”
“I do not make mistakes. I cannot. Luri, you’re rambling unnecessarily.”
At the witch’s words, the young maid’s body stiffened like stone.
She stubbornly bowed her head and beckoned Hibris with her finger.
Hibris’ body was enveloped in a black aura and floated up.
“Ugh. My, body!”
“Did you hear? Mother doesn’t have much time left. Hand over the final fragment while we can speak nicely.”
“Then why on earth are you trying to kill Hibris?!”
Crackle-!
A powerful lightning struck, and Hibris immediately lost consciousness.
The witch took Hibris and formed a small spherical barrier around her.
Inside the barrier, the witch began to extract the green aura as much as possible.
Hibris’ complexion grew increasingly pale.
“Hibris!”
“That’s enough.”
Luri stepped forward to block her.
“I vowed loyalty to my mother. If you wish to convey your words through me, then trample me and go past.”
[▶Hatchling Luri]
[8-circle spell: Polymorph Release]
Shadows fell over the world.
A giant wing pierced the sky, and the mana-infused atmosphere vibrated in response to the fluttering force.
The tail was an endlessly extending whip, and the large eyes contained the depths of the universe.
The murky scales reflecting the moonlight shone brilliantly.
As if proving that some creatures are nobler than others.
The young dragon’s head slowly looked down at the girls.
*
“Battle preparation, everyone.”
I calmly signaled.
“How are we supposed to get past something that big?”
“We’ll end up getting stomped instead.”
Mana was condensed from the dragon’s fangs.
[Aah, now I understand Mother’s intentions. They are beings beyond Kairal.]
An unpleasant voice whined and stirred in my head.
[You were the ones who planted the parasitic trees that suck the life out of the world.]
The night sky brightened, and powerful mana energy began to swirl around Luri.
As Luri took a deep breath, a massive flame began to flicker in her mouth.
Red mana surged through the gaps between her black scales.
In an instant, Luri opened her mouth wide and started to breathe out scorching flames.
KWAAAHHH-!
The dragon’s breath was not just simple flames.
It was energy condensed with wrath and the will to annihilate.
The boiling flames spread like a wave and even pursued us.
[Cast: Elevation]
[Cast: Ventus Repulsio]
The ground shook and the air was covered like a tsunami from above.
Monica created an opening.
The Saetbyeol and I dashed towards each other from both sides.
[Imperial Palace Swordsmanship, 242nd Move – Hook Slash]
I left cuts on scales tougher than ordinary armor.
From the opposite side, Cheon Saetbyeol’s dagger mercilessly unleashed a flurry of attacks.
As Luri swung her tail, the ground was deeply scarred.
Even amidst the pouring mud, I unleashed a flurry of five moves from the Imperial Palace Swordsmanship, cutting through the earth and slashing the sky.
TiTiTiTing-!
“KUOAAAHHH!”
Stepping back, I calmly reassessed the pattern.
Luri dove into the shadows, maneuvering her massive body.
“Saetbyeol, behind you!”
“If you say behind, I don’t know where that is! Ugh!”
KWAAAHHH-!
Claws slicing through the space grazed past Saetbyeol’s body.
The path where the claws had passed was crackling with black lightning.
[A monster that fell into the Mirror World is likely a backlash from Erosion’s dissolution. You’ll pay dearly for using magic so carelessly.]
Thud-!
Luri smashed the ground with her front paw, scattering sharp fragments.
“CKRAOW!”
If you allow approach, she’ll strike with her tail or bite with her mouth, and from a distance, she’ll breathe fire or swing her shadowed claws annoyingly.
Monica, who was restoring the collapsing terrain, was nearing her limit too.
“Na-me! Let’s cast the cooperative magic!”
In the midst of chaos, Monica shouted loudly.
Mana bombs went off, and dozens of crimson lightning strikes crackled down from the sky.
“Cooperative magic?”
“Ignis Bellum.”
“Do you know how to do it?”
“Hey, I’m Monica Ricci!”
“Alright, let’s give it a go.”
She confidently highlighted her pride.
Listening to the newbie is one of the joys of the seasoned.
It was like a puppy that had just been born, scared and trailing behind me, now confidently pulling the leash.
“Saetbyeol, you can hold your own, right?”
“The tanking’s on me, sis. I’ll try my best…! Just as long as I don’t hit an instant-death pattern!”
The fire barrier Ignis Bellum.
When used alone, it’s defensive magic, but when cast by two or more, there’s no more destructive offensive magic.
Monica drew a member with her wand.
Four circles began to revolve around a central one, slowly orbiting.
She replicated the rune onto the magic circle and handed it over to me.
“Make it bigger, Monica. Look at its size. Okay.”
“Na-me, lower the direction a bit, that’s perfect.”
“Kyaaah! I got hit once and I’m half-dead, save meee! Waaaaahhh!”
Given the high concentration required, I kept my words few.
“What is everyone doing?! Breath! Move to the corner!”
I waited.
Until the mana spread throughout the entire circuit.
Until all the runes found their places.
Even with lives hanging by a thread, I reduced discrepancies.
Yeah, Monica, you’re as much of a perfectionist as I am.
Sparkle-
The cohesiveness of the magic circle.
The moment it becomes one magic instead of two.
““Pesca!””
[5-circle spell: Ignis Bellum]
[5-circle spell: Ignis Bellum]
“Cheon Saetbyeol, lower your head!”
“Haahhhh!”
A white beam rained down sharply over the head of the prostrate Saetbyeol.
A massive wall of fire formed on either side of the dragon’s head.
Fwoosh-!
The two barriers crumpled Luri’s torso from both sides.
“KUWAAAHHH!”
A scream that shook the earth struck my eardrums.
[It’s hot. It hurts. Mother. Save me.]
That was not real.
I tightly shut my eyes and cranked up the output.
Vwoooom-!
“Ugh!”
Monica matched her output with mine to maintain balance.
Before long, Ignis Bellum transformed into a chestnut, enveloping the Black Dragon.
“H-huh, I always have the extreme job… huh?”
I kicked the well-rested Saetbyeol in the butt.
“Hey! Hurry up and deal the finishing blow, what are you doing?!”
“Huh? Oh! Aahhhh, wait aaaaahhh!”
“No need to rush, watch out for its flailing patterns.”
“I’ll see everything and dodge!”
Next, Luri’s dragon spell unfolded.
Dragons could influence the world’s principles through their aura.
The magic circle merely mimicked a form.
Circles, squares, triangles, star-shaped gates launched stones like rain.
Thud, bang, crackle-
Saetbyeol nimbly evaded all the magic with her agile body.
In the end, she jumped onto a boulder the size of a house.
“Just because I’m me doesn’t mean I can’t use magic.”
[Cast: Elasticity Adjustment]
Leaping higher off the rock like a trampoline.
Ki-ii-eing-!
The tiny dagger, smaller than Luri’s eye, contained unimaginable energy.
‘Heavy Attack level…?!’
It seemed she had stored energy since she first stepped into the realm.
So she just dodged without even parrying.
The legendary dagger was on the verge of being destroyed from mana oversaturation.
Cheon Saetbyeol’s emerald eyes sparkled as she spun around.
She slammed down towards the earth.
“I said I’m done with normal Nightmare Difficulty.”
A massive vertical line was drawn across the world.
A blue light connecting the sky and ground split the wall of fire in two.
Luri, suffering in the fiery chestnut, had her wings shredded apart.
Without even emitting a single groan.
[Mother, that power is dangerous…]
The young dragon reigning over the sky fell helplessly into Caldera Lake.
Splash-
[Dragon Slayer]
[▶Hatchling Luri has been defeated.]
Until the very last moment, the witch only sought to take Hibris’ power.
She didn’t even cast a glance towards Luri.
I wasn’t that heartless, Wearsoft.
[Hibris – Deceased]
[▶Entering Hidden Ending.]
*
“I couldn’t save her… Is it really always this painful at first…?”
Monica clutched her heart.
“Why is the game like this? We cleared it fast, didn’t we? But it’s still not the true ending?!”
Cheon Saetbyeol sat cross-legged on the floor, frowning.
[A witch who has gathered seven Erosions is watching you.]
“I’m thinking of saying goodbye to my old friends and leaving this world,” the witch said with a somewhat enlightened voice, having emerged from the barrier.
“Leaving? Where to?”
“Personally, I hope there’s a destination. Dimension Wanderer, would you like to ask me something?”
Questions spontaneously appeared due to the game system, up to five of them.
“I have none, murderess! Go away!”
Monica shouted loudly.
The level difference was stark, making it an impossible situation to act rashly.
“Hmm…”
The witch drew an enormous magic circle, bigger than a lake, against the backdrop of the starry sky.
A crack had been created through the roots of the World Tree.
The girls turned their eyes to the world beyond the mirror.
Remnant Academy had been completely destroyed by Erosion.
Students bleeding and struggling, and villagers being carried away on stretchers.
“It seems if we cross now, we’ll regret it. Don’t you think?”
“…”
The witch picked up a stick and drew a long line in the dirt.
“You all go further into the past. The World Tree has granted you the qualification.”
