Gluttony Demon King with the Swampman ~A Man with No Magic Power Who Dreamed of Magic, Wielding Knowledge from His Past Life Through Steady Research and Hard Work to Become the Most Vicious Final Boss~ - Chapter 9: Freezing Flight

Chapter 9: Freezing Flight

It was an ice flying dragon; I thought that the moment I saw it.

Its pale blue giant body and the wing membranes for riding the wind.

Its body was clad in ice armor that looked frozen in places here and there, scattering glittering diamond dust around.

It was a monster called a “wyvern,” where the forelegs had turned into wings.

This was strictly classified not as a dragon but as a sub-dragon, but its danger level and nature did not differ much. The only difference was whether it was a proper dragon or not.

The beasts had all fled, leaving just the three of us on the mountainside. The ice dragon flew over that sky. And—

“…Did it see us?”

—At the same time as Noiche’s murmur, the dragon descended.

The ice dragon flipped around in the air and came rushing at us in a dive.

It had definitely spotted us. That meant it had seen through the stealth magic.

“For real!? Noiche’s is perfect!”

“It’s weaker while the sun is up. Just dodge it.”

Enemy contact happened in an instant.

We scattered to the left and right, rolling to evade the giant body that glided in super low and swept at us with its whole form.

Rocks shattered, and dust rose.

The ice dragon, which landed by sliding in on both feet, turned back to us and let out a large roar.

…It was hostile toward us. No doubt about it.

Stepping into its territory, plus the Levi sisters having noticeable magic power—maybe those were factors too? Well, in any case—

“—Now we’ve confirmed the cause of the anomaly. What do we do from here?”

“I’d like to say take the info back, but…”

“It won’t let us escape, will it!”

Well, I agreed with that.

I did not think we could win a speed contest against a wyvern.

But in that case, the choice besides escaping… would be to fight and take it down.

“Nice. I’ve never tried if it works on dragon types.”

“Whoa!? Haro is surprisingly up for it!”

Well, opportunities like this did not come often.

At the same time as I deployed Ink in my palm, the ice dragon charged again.

Its large strides were weapons in themselves.

Each step turned into speed, and before I knew it, the giant dragon’s form loomed right in front of me.

“Chain Saw, the Crown of Chains”

—Ink and the ice dragon clashed.

The rotating water blade hit the dragon’s nose tip, grinding with sparks, but it could not deliver a finishing blow.

It did not manage to slash through the double armor of ice chunks and scales, and I forcibly shifted the trajectory to somehow avoid the direct hit of the charge.

“Float.”

Then Noiche’s follow-up.

Up until now, countless magic bullets would have been fired scattered, but this time it was different.

“Polar Star Celestial Chart”

It was magic modeled after the northern starry sky.

With one point set as the North Star, countless magic bullets were released to draw circles around it. That barrage swept across the ice dragon’s face that Ink had wounded.

Amid the intense striking sounds, the cracking ice armor finally shattered. The ice dragon reared back as if cowed.

The one who fired it, Noiche herself, turned to us with a surprised look as if saying the power had increased dramatically, but for me, the astonishment of “she already finished polishing it” was greater.

She had done it so quickly after I taught her just moments ago.

…That said, if it could be settled with this, dragons would not be feared so much.

The ice dragon roared.
It raised high the face where about half the scales had peeled off, and ice armor regenerated to cover that wound.

And above all, the air around us grew much colder.

“Well, now we’ve touched its reverse scale.”

“Reverse scale? What’s that?”

“Nothing.”

Leaving Zaria looking puzzled, I focused on the ice dragon’s movements.

From ancient times, it was said that dragons became unstoppable once they got angry. There was no legend of a “reverse scale” in this world, but it was about the same thing.

As expected, the dragon’s movements grew more intense.

It kicked the ground hard with its hooked claws like those of a bird of prey, and the speed of its leap at us was incomparable to before. Should I intercept with Ink again? No—

“—Won’t make it in time!”

I jumped to the ground, dodging by rolling.

The threat of the giant body brushing right past me sideways was close to what I knew as a “train.”

If it hit, flesh would burst and I’d die.
Or even dodging like now, the ground’s small stones scattered like bullets tore my cheek.

The cold grew even stronger.

My exhaled breath turned white, and I noticed a pleasant crunching sound from my feet, with frost creeping on the soles of my boots.

The ice dragon that had passed by turned toward us at the same time, floating countless ice bullets in the air and firing them at us.

“Swirl.”

My counter to ranged attacks. Ink spread out in a spiderweb shape with a whoosh.

The net-like Ink, swirling in a large vortex, entangled the bullets, and from there I shifted to counterattack.

Even incorporating the shattered ice bullets as abrasives, I accelerated the rotation and threw the Chain Saw, the Crown of Chains—

“Whoa, that’s allowed!?”

“Yeah, it’s handy, right?”

A counter-like throw.

It ran cracks across the ice armor guarding the dragon’s neck, and then Ink returned to my hand like a boomerang due to the rotational force.

“Float.”

Once more, Noiche’s follow-up.

Just like before, night-colored magic bullets fired overlapping on the cracked spot.

But the result was different from earlier.

“…It’s hard.”

“Probably scale hardening from magic power.”

It managed to peel off the ice armor, but that was it. It could not destroy the dragon scales, and I was convinced the stage had risen one level along with the dragon’s anger.

Now, how to strategize from here—

“Got it, Noiche! Time for a player switch with me!”

—That’s right.
We had one more fighter.

“…Zaria, are you ready?”

“Yeah yeah, leave it to your big sis! I’ve kneaded plenty of magic power.”

With those words, Zaria jumped out from behind and swapped positions with Noiche. Wait, so she was the older sister?

The ice dragon, which seemed irritated by Noiche’s barrage, charged straight at the sisters’ direction—and Zaria met it head-on.

“Rising fire whale, dawn, clear the darkness, illuminate our journey here.”

As always, an incantation I did not know.
Suddenly, light ran across the ice dragon’s body. Veins of red glittering light.

Complex and bizarre curves branched out countless times across its whole body, and points emitting strong flashing light emerged here and there.

Zaria leaped high to dodge the ice dragon’s charge, bite, and even a sweeping tail follow-up—

“Uoraaah!”

—And at some point, she had created a rose-colored magic sword in her palm, slashing at the particularly strong glowing point on the ice dragon’s neck.

“—!?”

“Hah haa! Good feedback!”

A strike that shattered the ice armor and even slashed through the dragon scales beyond. It was a shallow wound, but a wound was a wound. Blood trickled down from the neck, and the ice dragon raised a roar of agony.

I held my breath at Zaria’s cackling laughter and Noiche’s soft smile.

Hey hey, how did she do that just now?