Desperate Situation
It seemed that the demons in the vicinity had, in fact, been mostly defeated by her attacks.
Sheila finally had enough time to look around and see what was going on. She was in turmoil by Jornwerner’s unexpected attitude.
The wide plain that had been covered with demons was now somewhat more visible, probably because there were fewer moving objects. Far behind them, she could see the figures of Clauschezade and Leidyrune. They appeared to be safe from a distance, and Sheila breathed a sigh of relief.
At that moment, Jornwerner stirred slightly from her shoulder.
He slowly looked up and let go of her upper body. He didn’t look like he had cried, but he still looked as pitiful as a wet puppy in the rain.
“Are you all right now?”
“Yeah…. Sorry, I guess I got upset. I knew in my head that you were the one who created the wind, but when I saw your figure get caught up with the demons, my heart almost stopped.”
He was being awfully honest and without his usual flippant tone, so she couldn’t help but softened up. Sheila laughed and ruffled Jornwerner’s hair a little roughly. She actually quite liked the soft texture of his hair.
“If you’ve calmed down, listen to me. I will never let myself die on the battlefield.”
She smiled boldly, and Jornwerner’s eyes widened as if he had been taken by surprise.
“Well, I might get seriously injured in the future. But I won’t die. I can promise you that. I will definitely come back.”
Sheila readied her sword again. A worm-like demon jumped at her and she quickly cut it down. She wiped the blood from her blade with one swing and looked back at Jornwerner.
“After all, if you go to great lengths to protect someone important to you, it would be a shame if you yourself died, right?”
Sheila smiled roguishly, and Jornwerner smiled back as if he too had been affected.
“That’s your way of thinking, huh?”
“That was surprising, though. I thought Jornwerner-sensei didn’t care what happened to the people around him. It was a bit innocent of you not to want those close to you to die.”
“I…. thought so, too.”
Muttering quietly, Jornwerner reached for Sheila’s cheek.
His hand stopped just short of touching. Carefully, as if tracing the air, as if afraid that as soon as he touched her, she would disappear.
Jornwerner looked at Sheila with a fleeting smile that seemed to melt into the air.
“…. You’re quite scary.”
“Eh?”
“You’re a very, very scary person.”
Sheila was indignant at his words. Did he not see her kindness to engage in a conversation in a situation when they were surrounded by demons?
“That’s rude. Even though I went to the trouble of comforting you…. Watch out, behind you!”
After eliminating the rat demon that was approaching behind Jornwerner, Sheila got herself ready again.
“Alright, just a little more! There are only small demons left, but let’s stay on our toes and do our best.”
Jornwerner also regained his composure and began to look at the surrounding demons.
Clauschezade and Leidyrune were also continuing to fight, and the numbers around them were dwindling rapidly. The wide-range attack magic tools seemed to have already been exhausted, but Jornwerner’s magic power hadn’t yet shown any sign of waning. Even though he had been casting offensive magic for hours, he was still different from a student.
And yet, in between attacks, he would laugh and say silly things.
“Hmph. I wonder if Clauschezade and Leidyrune saw our exchange earlier. Would you like to be honest about it then? I’ll tell them that we’re in that kind of relationship.”
“What do you mean by ‘in that kind of relationship’?”
Sheila’s eyes squinted in dismay at Jornwerner’s joke, which suddenly sprung up again. The fact that he was making jokes again meant that he was back to his usual teasing self. There was no point in taking him seriously.
While defeating the demons, they both finally met up with Clauschezade and Leidyrune. With Leidyrune with him, neither of them had a scratch on them.
“I’m sorry, I messed up the formation.”
“That’s all right. Anyway, are you hurt?”
“Yes, I’m fine! I’m glad you’re all safe, too!”
After confirming each other’s safety with a few words, the final battle began.
Perhaps because they didn’t have enough hands, Leidyrune was also fighting with a sword in hand. With the four of them fighting together, a group of small demons wasn’t their match.
Clauschezade’s sword sliced through the demons, and Jornwerner fired ice magic at the few that were left behind. Leidyrune also cast his wind magic, cutting down their numbers in one fell swoop. Everyone continued to fight desperately, almost getting caught in the heap of corpses.
They were almost done, just a little more. The end was already in sight.
Their fatigue had almost reached its limit, but hope kept their bodies moving.
“Geez, I just want to rest when I get home….”
Clauschezade overheard the unconscious murmur.
“Even though it’s a hassle, you should eat first. Even if you’d rather sleep, you’ll wake up hungry all night.”
He was probably speaking from experience. His words were filled of his real feelings.
Jornwerner laughed, finding it amusing.
“Clauschezade usually works too much. At times like that, he sometimes doesn’t wake up for a whole day to make up for the lost time.”
“Heh~ He’s surprisingly a deep sleeper….”
“Did you say something?”
Leidyrune sighed in exasperation next to Sheila, who was trying not to look into Claushezade’s eyes as he sharply questioned her back.
“You can’t speak for others, can you, Jornwerner? Even you’re sleep deprived because of your studies.”
With the number of demons visibly moving decreasing, everyone was a bit relaxed. However, Sheila suddenly looked up at the sky.
She dropped her beloved sword to the ground with a thud.
“That’s….”
Those who noticed Sheila standing there speechless began to follow her gaze.
A black shadow was floating in the sky. A seemingly majestic figure that, by any means, wasn’t a bird at all.
“――Dragon.”
Clauschezade’s voice was terribly grave as he muttered.
Dragon. A winged species. The smallest of them was known to be 3 meters long, and the largest more than 50 meters long. They were ferocious and were said to be the strongest of all demons.
They didn’t know the exact length of the dragon flying in the sky right now. However, it looked to be well over 10 meters long.
Although still far away, it would only be a matter of time before it got closer. It went without saying that――the Kingdom of Steitz was the destination.
Naturally, Clauschezade’s magic sword couldn’t reach the enemy in the sky. His face contorted complicatedly.
If he had been fully prepared to fight demons, especially a dragon, he would have found a way to attack it, but he wasn’t prepared for that.
Leidyrune wielded his magical power and weaved his signature wind magic. Sheila had seen that tornado before.
However, it was still not effective against winged demons. The dragon could feel the change in the wind and skillfully slipped through. Clauschezade and Jornwerner were also casting several spells, but they weren’t causing enough damage.
“――O Spirit of Light!”
Sheila grabbed the few arrows she had left and drew her bow. The arrow flew at the speed of light, hit the target perfectly, and successfully pierced its huge wings.
The dragon lost its balance slightly but quickly recovered as her attack wasn’t as powerful as magic.
Hoping to at least draw its attention to her, she aimed at its snout as if to provoke it. This time she missed, but the dragon looked down at Sheila annoyed.
The sharp look in its eyes made her shiver, but in an instant, its gaze fell away as if it had lost interest in her. It seemed that the dragon couldn’t be distracted by the presence of the finest magical elements gathered right in front of its eyes and nose.
The dragon had already come within sight with its sharp claws and fangs. Beyond the thin skin of its wings, Sheila could see the orange sky tinted with the setting sun.
At this rate, it would easily slip through the sky above them. All the hard work they had done up to this point will be lost.
A scene from a picture book flashed through Sheila’s mind. A city burned to the ground by the flames of a dragon’s breath. A kingdom dying.
‘What should I do….?’
The frustration of being helpless. A sense of hopelessness. Somebody, anybody, please do something. Help.
‘Please God….!’
――At that moment, a brilliant plan came to mind.
