Ryuu Kusari no Ori -Kokoro no Uchi no “Kokoro”--Chapter 7.22

Chapter 7.22

Somia muttered in a worried voice as she watched Zonne and Tom continue to treat Lisa.

"... Are they going to be okay?"

"Are you worried?"

"Y-, yes ... According to the old man, Azel-san is also a dragon, and it seems that she is trying to seal Nozomu-san at any cost..."

Her gaze, as she muttered in a sunken tone, had been glancing into the depths of the forest.

Tom couldn't help but chuckle at her concern for the safety of her sister and the others, who were probably facing a powerful enemy.

"Even so, they'll do something about it."

"Tom-san?"

Tom's tone of voice was not one of desperation or self-mockery. Tom's tone was somewhat optimistic, and Somia tilted her head.

Tom usually didn't use a strong tone of voice. However, he said what he had just said in a tone that could be taken as optimistic.

Zonne felt the same way, and while continuing to treat Lisa, he turned his eyes to Tom.

"We met him, spent time with him, and exchanged a lot of our thoughts and feelings with him."

"Does that mean they have some kind of plan?

"There was something when Nozomu-kun was still bedridden. Well, it's nothing compared to what the old man gave Irisdina-san, but..."

"Hmm..."

Tom chuckled as he watched Somia's eyes widen in surprise.

Zonne looked up at the grayish trees with a melancholy look on his face. At that moment, Lisa, who had fainted, flinched slightly.

"U-, uuu……"

Her lips moved in pain for a moment and her eyes slowly opened.

====================================

Magic bullets landed on Azel's back. However, Azel, who was protected by her strong scales, showed no pain and turned toward Irisdina and the others with a look of dismay on her face.

"...... Another human? Step back. "This" is not something you can be involved with."

"As the granddaughter of the old man, and as a dragon, your words are very annoying to listen to."

A tone of apathy could be felt even in her calm words. Azel treated Nozomu as an object by addressing him as “this” and Feo muttered to himself in frustration.

Ignoring Feo's soliloquy, Azel glanced at Irisdina and the others who were rushing to the scene.

The same as her cold tone of voice, her gaze was devoid of any emotion. However, when her gaze caught sight of a certain person, the cold gaze that had been looking down on Irisdina and the others was slightly tinged with astonishment.

"An elf? Why... with humans ..."

Azel's eyes fell on Shīna, who was holding an arrow ready to fire from her bow.

She was probably surprised to see that the people who live close to the spirits same as herself were facing her on the human side.

"To the ties that the spirits have connected us. O the Monarch of the spirits."

Shīna, on the other hand, politely bowed to Azel. However, behind her blue pair of eyes, there was a strong sense of caution.

Even the edge of her words of respect for Azel carried a sense of urgency, like taut strings.

"Daughter of the fairy, if you are one who walks with the spirits, you should already understand the danger of this human being...'

Azel gave words of warning to Shīna, who expressed caution even while respecting her.

Despite her apathy, her words didn't contain the same coldness directed toward Nozomu, Irisdina, and the others.

They were people who sensed the presence of the spirits that filled the world and used their powers together. As beings of the same nature, they probably had their own thoughts on this matter.

"Certainly, these spirits are our irreplaceable friends and inseparable neighbors. And with them, I saw firsthand how dangerous the power of the black dragon he had swallowed was."

The power of chaos that she had witnessed before. The power of chaos and hatred that Tiamat possessed. The slightest leak would cause the surrounding spirits to shrivel up in fear.

As a being who connected with the spirits, she sensed the danger of this more than any of her peers.

After encountering a pinnacle of spirits in this way, her conviction deepened even further.

But even so, Shīna was not willing to change her mind.

"But I owe him a debt of gratitude that I cannot repay. If you want to unilaterally seal him up, I will not back down."

Such words came out of her mouth naturally.

A young man who gave her the opportunity to break out of her shell and face the spirits again. She would do anything to support him.

Shīna thus calmly and naturally withdrew herself from bowing to the Monarch of the spirits.

Azel frowned at Shīna's attempt to help Nozomu even though she knew the danger Tiamat posed.

"Foolish. Even though he miraculously managed to hold it back, it is impossible for mere human beings to keep that damned dragon under control. It will eventually run amok in some form or another and become nothing more than an entity that spreads disasters. Before that happens..."

"Haa~! What a noble purpose you just said... but, based on Zonne's story, we know your real purpose is to avenge your father's death. For such a magnificent White Dragon, you are quite narrow-minded."

"W-, wha...."

Azel's question and answer were interrupted by Mars' mocking words.

Azer's eyes squinted unpleasantly at the sight of Mars, who stepped forward with a brusque grin.

"You lowly human, do you intend to insult me here?"

"If you fought against such a lowly human, you wouldn't be full of wounds, wouldn't you? It's a pity that you were so determined to win, only to get your ass handed to you in return."

Indeed, the current Azel was full of wounds.

The skin membrane of one of her wings had been torn to shreds, and her body, which used to shine like a pearl, was cruelly carved with wounds of various sizes.

Although there were no fatal wounds, they could not be ignored.

But the most important thing was that they were inflicted by the hand of a single person. And the person who did that was the target of her revenge.

That fact alone was getting on Azel's nerves.

“…………”

The heavy atmosphere around her began to become sharp like a spear.

Hostile elements overflowed from Azel's body and the surrounding spirits followed as if following her will.

The tension rose in an instant.

Mars silently extended his right hand to the hilt of the great sword on his back and raised his left hand as if to thrust it out.

Azel and Mars glared at each other, and the two of them already clashed with an invisible blade of hostility.

Irisdina intervened between the two.

She suddenly confronted Azel with a dignified tone, while controlling Mars with her right hand, who had suddenly thrown his will to fight against the opponent.

"We don't want to fight you, Azel-dono. The fact that we were able to come to this world, I think you can fully understand who helped us, don't you?"

This enclosed world is not a space that a mere human being can enter. And as far as Azel knows, there is only one person in the city who can do so.

“…………….”

"That person does not wish you to do this."

Azel remained silent while clenching her mouth hard. She probably remembered her grandfather.

Irisdina didn't understand Zonne's true intentions.

However, she could fully understand that he didn't want Azel to take such hard measures.

Azel tried to take revenge on Tiamat to avenge her father, Mikael.

On the other hand, Zonne, Mikael's father, said and did things that suggested a sense of danger about Tiamat, but he did not harbor any feelings of hatred or resentment towards her.

When the old man talked about Tiamat, Azel, and his son, whom he called Mikael, his expression was one of deep regret, like that of a large, withered tree.

Irisdina still didn't know much about what happened in that old man's past, but there was no way that Azel, who knew more about Zonne than she did, was unaware of his regrets.

With a sliver of hope in her heart, Irisdina tried to persuade Azel, by citing Zonne's words.

However…….

"... Such a foolish thing."

Azel, with a pained expression on her face, as if she had been stabbed in the chest, cut off Irisdina's attempts to persuade her.

"In any case, I can't leave this abominable dragon alone. I will do whatever it takes to ensure that the mission my father accomplished by giving his life was not in vain and this sin-stained dragon is purged!"

"... If that is the case, then we have no choice. We will defeat you and bring Nozomu to his senses once again!"

"Foolish! This human has already been consumed by Tiamat's hatred. If you break the dragon's seal now, he will rampage endlessly until his body collapses, and eventually, Tiamat will be resurrected."

"Guuu! Gaaah!"

Nozomu and Tiamat's vindictive cries resounded in the gray forest. They struggled to break free of their restraints while shouting cries of hatred.

The sight of Irisdina and the others did not seem to be reflected in Nozomu's eyes, which were stained with rage.

This scene seemed to confirm Azel's words, and Irisdina and the others had sad expressions on their faces.

"What the hell are you talking about? You're the one who started all of this!"

"No dragon could leave Tiamat alone. Even if it's not me, other dragons would have eventually come to seal it. It was only by chance that Grandfather found this abomination of a dragon this time."

Mars raised his voice, but Azel cut him off outright.

Although Zonne, the guardian, didn't take any harsh measures after finding Nozomu, there was no telling what would have happened if another guardian had found him.

At worst, that guardian might have tried to forcibly seal Tiamat.

It was not difficult to imagine what would have happened if that had happened.

"Besides, that vessel is only a human being, and no matter how long he lives, he will only live for a few hundred years. When time runs out, Tiamat will be released and her hatred will burn many lives again. We can't let that happen!"

After all, this outcome was only the difference between late and early. Azel asserted that it was his fate as a human being and that they could never tolerate Tiamat to be resurrected.

She was conscious of being a member of a race that was related to the spirits, and of her hatred for Tiamat. That was what drove her.

What Azel said was by no means wrong.

Her motive for sealing Nozomu was certainly her hatred towards Tiamat, but there was also a firm sense of justice within that motive.

A disaster that hid behind the existence of a weak and fragile human being. In order to save numerous lives, she must contain the danger. It wasn't some incomprehensible logic.

"Even if that's true..."

Irisdina could fully understand the logic behind this. No, because of her position as a noble that governed the people, she couldn't easily refute Azel's words.

But.......

"I would never allow myself to lose him here now."

Irisdina outright rejected the logic, which was irrefutable even in her own mind.

Of course, she understood Azel's words. But she couldn't accept it.

Reason? Fate? She didn't care about that.

If his fate was to be sealed away and rot away in obscurity, then she would beat the crap out of such a trivial fate!

Just as he once severed the fate of her sister .......

Irisdina drew the rapier at her waist and glared at Azel with wariness.

As if in sync with her, her friends behind her also readied their respective weapons.

"You mean you're going to fight me?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry, but we are going to beat you right here and now."

Perhaps receiving the irreverent words directed at her as a final declaration of war, Azel, who had turned her back on them, turned to Irisdina and the others.

Seeing Azel clearly recognizing them as her enemy, Irisdina and the others each gathered up their magic power and Qi.

"If you stand in my way, I will show no mercy. If you are going to hate, hate yourself for your barbarity and stupidity in joining this abominable dragon."

White, glowing elements burst forth from Azel's body and danced through the air. Irisdina and the others opened their eyes wide as they saw the whirlpool of power.

"W-, what a ridiculous amount of elements!"

"Well, I guess that's what you'd expect from a legendary race..."

It was like a sea of clouds covering the sky. If the magic power of Irisdina and the others could be compared to wind and water, Azel's power could be described as a storm or a tsunami.

The scale was so different that it was difficult to completely grasp the whole picture.

"Gather around me, O spirit of light. Show your majesty to the fools crawling below you."

As if obeying Azel's command, the spirits of light formed countless light bullets in the air.

The number was too many to be counted. The scale was so large that it covered 70% of the entire sky.

"... I can't, the spirits won't listen to me. She has them completely under her control."

"She definitely is a monster."

Shīna, who was also able to use spirit magic, attempted to establish a contract with the spirits, but the spirits didn't seem to answer any of her calls.

Despite having one wing crushed and being wounded by Nozomu, Azel was still an order of magnitude more powerful than them.

Nozomu, who was able to reach such a monster, was also powerful.

"They are coming!"

The rain of light bullets fell all at once toward Irisdina and the others.

"Tima, Feo!"

"I-, I understand!"

Irisdina, Tima, and Feo quickly deployed magic barriers.

However, the number of light bullets released by Azel was truly extraordinary. The swarm of light bullets that attacked with a clear intent to kill swallowed Irisdina and the others in no time.

Explosions echoed one after another. At the same time, a cloud of dust rose high in the air, covering the flashes of white light bullets.

In the blink of an eye, Iris and the others were swallowed by the storm of flashes.

Azel watched them with a nonchalant gaze and turned on her heel as if she had no further use for them.

No matter how smart they were, they were only humans after all.

There was no way they could put up much of a fight against the fury of nature.

It was heartbreaking that they had involved the elf girl, but it was inevitable that she would have to do so in order to seal the dragon.

As such, Azel immediately resumed the sealing of Nozomu as she put the presence of Irisdina and the others in the corner of her thoughts.

Once again, the elements that Azel possessed poured into Mikael, who was sealing Nozomu, and when a magic circle was formed around the crystal, it began emitting a strong light.

Then a new magic circle began to form around the circle that was restraining Nozomu.

"Well then. I've been interrupted, but this time I'm going to seal you..."

"Don't think you've won!"

"Wha~ !?"

As Azel was about to resume the sealing, a strong wind slammed into her.

A swarm of wind blades reminiscent of a tornado blew away the dust and smoke that had been raised and slammed into Azel in a spiral.

Although the wind could not blow away Azel's huge wall-like physique, the unexpected impact caused Azel to involuntarily take a half step back.

As the dust cloud disappeared, in front of her, was the figure of Mars holding a greatsword.

Behind him stood Tima and the others, who had deployed a barrier, with dignified expressions on their faces.

The barrier was a multi-colored barrier that emitted four colors; earth, water, fire, and wind.

Furthermore, the barrier deployed by Tima had many talismans attached to it, emitting light. The technique depicted on the attached talismans was magic power control. It was Feo's talisman technique to assist Tima's magic, which was enormous but lacked precision.

With such assistance, the legendary class of magic that was completely controlled was even more robust than when it was hit by the metal dragon's breath before.

In fact, her barrier was still shining powerfully even after being hit by Azel's light bullets.

"Uuu, I thought I would be able to get out of my poor life sometime soon..."

"I-, I'm sorry. I still can't control my magic power well ..."

Feo's talismans, which offset Azel's spirit magic, reached their limit and disintegrated into tatters, and fell down in a dance. This was due to being hit by an impact of enormous magic power and powerful spirit magic.

At the same time, Tima's barrier, which was shining with a solid color, began to shake.

Feo took out another talisman from his pocket and threw it at Tima's barrier.

The talismans attached to the barrier shone and began to control Tima's magic again, and the barrier that had begun to waver regained its brilliance.

"Ai, I can't endure it for long!"

"I know! Mars-kun, let's go!"

With Irisdina's shout, they started running all at once. Their destination was where the silvery-white dragon was.

To be honest, they wanted to release Nozomu immediately, but it was a fact that the dragon sealing barrier was currently restraining Nozomu, who was on the verge of going out of control. If the dragon sealing barrier were to be destroyed from the outside, Nozomu will continue to run wild.

Even if they could bring him back to his senses, they didn't want to be interrupted by Azel.

In order to bring him back to his senses, they had to first subdue Azel and then bring him back to his senses, which were engulfed in hatred.

"I won't let you get in my way!"

Azel once again created a light bullet in the air and fired it at Irisdina and the others who were about to step forward.

A dense barrage of light bullets hit them, leaving no room for evasion.

In the blink of an eye, Irisdina and the others were swallowed

However, the next moment, two unscathed persons jumped out while brushing aside the scattered elements.

"Wha~!?"

Azel unintentionally let out a startled cry.

The bodies of Irisdina and the others were enveloped by four-colored magic barriers. To their surprise, Tima's barriers were being deployed and maintained on each of them individually.

Basically, magic barriers are deployed within a certain range centered on the caster. The greater the distance between the caster and the barrier, the more difficult it becomes, and it requires considerable skill to deploy and maintain the barrier for each individual.

Furthermore, the more magic that was cast, the more difficult it became.

How many people on the Arcmel Continent could deploy multiple barriers of the four attributes for each individual?

It was a technique that Tima, who had difficulty controlling her magic power, would never be able to pull off on her own.

In fact, Irisdina and the others' barriers, which were already cracked here and there as they weaved through the barrage of light bullets, looked as if they were about to crumble at any moment.

However, when Irisdina and Mars took out a talisman from their pockets and attached it to the barrier, the barrier that was about to collapse regained its firm brilliance.

Simultaneous use of ultra-high-level technique. Irisdina and the others were able to do this temporarily by deploying a large number of talismans.

The problem was, that the talisman was a consumable item, and it was impossible to maintain the barrier for a long period of time because too much was consumed. And it would cost someone money.

"Please, both of you! Don't spend too much! My wealth, the crystallization of my blood, sweat, tears, and snot that I've worked so hard to accumulate!"

"It's impossible!"

"I'll buy you dinner at my place later, so bear with it! It's just a snot, right!?"

"There's no way you can make up for all of it with just one dinner----!"

Feo wept in sorrow as his property had literally turned into a scrap of paper. But of course, in such an urgent situation, Irisdina and the others had no time to worry about Feo's property...

Feo involuntarily shed tears at the sight of his earnings from the past few weeks fizzling out in the blink of an eye.

(Alright, if I survive this battle, I'll have Nozomu treat me and I'll eat a belly full of black bread...)

His thoughts were already on the verge of escaping reality.

He was muttering that he was sick of eating stones, but he was still desperately trying to maintain the barrier by using talismans, which was beyond pathetic and painful.

Leaving such Feo behind, Irisdina and Mars, while dodging the rain of light bullets slamming down on them, splitting to the left and right and trying to get close to Azel at once.

"Kuh~ ... don't think you can touch me with just this level of attack!"

Azel began to concentrate the barrage of light bullets she was deploying on Irisdina and Mars.

The speed of Irisdina and Mars gradually began to slow down due to the increased density of the barrage. Furthermore, countless stakes of light protruded from the ground to block their direction of movement.

The stakes of lights piled up and formed a semi-circular wall of light, separating the two from Azel.

Irisdina and Mars were completely stopped in their tracks. At this rate, they would only be attacked one-sidedly.

"Kuh~, she has stopped us in our tracks...."

However, there was no sign of agitation on the faces of the two.

The two glanced at each other, changed direction 90 degrees, and ran toward the center along the wall of light.

"Mars-kun"

"Yeah, I know! We'll change our plan. Don't get the timing wrong!"

Wind clung to the greatsword that Mars carried in his right hand. At the same time, magic power gathered on the gauntlet of his left hand, and when it emitted light, a part of the gauntlet popped off.

What peeked through the gap in the iron armor was a wind technique.

"This is a present from Tom! Blow it away!"

Magic and Qi Combination Technique [Dust Break of the Hungry Beast]

A technique that combines the Qi technique [Cleaving Dust Hammer] and the magic [Wind Tunnel of the Hungry Beast].

The intertwined wind of hungry beast devoured the stakes of lights and light bullets blocking the direction of travel and turned towards Azel in one fell swoop.

"Wha~!? Guah~!"

Azel screamed in anguish.

The pack of hungry beasts clawed at Azel's scales and turned their fangs on the wound that Nozomu had inflicted. The elegant scales cracked and peeled off, and fresh blood danced from the wounds.

It was incomparably more powerful than the imperfect technique he had previously let run amok.

"Thank you, Tom ..."

Mars alone had not yet been able to control the combination technique. However, by limiting the technique and adding additional assistance, he could see the possibilities.

Magic Formation Technique. Mars had asked Tom to engrave on the back of his gauntlet a technique to activate magic by simply pouring in magic power, and a technique to adjust the amount of magic power.

If they were engraved on the weapon, they would reduce its durability. The same was true if it was engraved directly into the armor.

Furthermore, if it was engraved directly on the armor, the technique might be worn away in battle, and the technique might not function fully.

For this reason, Tom engraved the formation on the back of the gauntlet, on the fabric part that served as the base of the armor.

This way, Mars could use magic just by pouring his magic power into the gauntlet and could concentrate more on controlling his Qi technique.

Nevertheless, there were some drawbacks.

Part of the gauntlet might shatter into four pieces, making it an inferior piece of armor.

In addition, the engraving technique would deteriorate with continued use. It was still uncertain how many techniques would be able to withstand the burden of a Qi-Magic combination technique.

However, Mars was able to obtain enough power to compensate for this.

In fact, the perfectly controlled Qi and Magic Technique had a synergistic effect, obliterating Azel's stakes of lights and light bullets, and inflicting damage on Azel's wounds.

"Let's go!"

Irisdina leaped into the space that had been cleared by the [Dust Break of the Hungry Beast] and closed in towards Azel at once.

"Haaaa!"

A rapier was carried in her hand.

A jet-black blade reminiscent of an abyssal night, with multiple layers of strengthening magic on it.

[Lunar Eclipse]

A magic sword comparable to Nozomu's [Phantom] was swung at the place where the scales had been peeled off.

"Aaaaaa!"

The rapier cut deeply through Azel's body. Furthermore, Irisdina swung her rapier again, two or three more times, slicing through Azel's body.

"You, lowly human!"

Azel swung her stiff, log-like arms and tried to shake Irisdina off.

However, the pain of having one wing and her entire body ripped off by Nozomu made it difficult for her to move her body.

Furthermore, her opponent was much smaller than her. Azel's body didn't move the way she wanted, and her attacks were inevitably rough.

On the other hand, Irisdina's movements were fluid and free of any waste.

She danced and dodged Azer's attacks, and kept swinging her rapier.

"Guu! Gah~ !? You're so annoying!!"

"~ !?"

"Be blown away! Human!"

The impatient Azel blew away Irisdina's body with a gust of wind as random elements were released from all over her body.

After blowing away the bug that was blocking her way, Azel concentrated her strength on her mouth at once.

With an angry expression on her face, Azel looked at Irisdina's figure who was trying to get up.

"Begone!"

"Mimuru-kun!"

"I've been waiting for it!"

Along with Irisdina's voice, Mimuru popped out from behind a tree behind Azel.

In her hand was the talisman given to them by Zonne.

Irisdina and the others were all just decoys. It was a plan to make sure they hit the only one talisman that could possibly contain Azel.

"Do you think I didn't notice?"

However, that was not enough to outwit Azel.

She had the surrounding spirits completely under her control. Naturally, she also sensed Mimuru's movement.

Azel swung her supple tail up and tried to get rid of Mimuru.

"Yes, we thought so."

"Wha~ !? Gaah!"

The next moment, however, an arrow from behind Irisdina pierced the breath that Azel was about to release.

Immediately afterward, the arrow exploded, releasing four colors of magic power.

Azel winced at the intense pain that shot through her mouth.

"As expected, Tom's specially made arrow with Tima's magic in it. I heard that he was only able to prepare one arrow, but it is extraordinarily powerful."

The arrow was shot by Shīna, who was waiting in the rear. The arrow was inscribed with a technique from the arrowhead to the feathers.

The engraved technique was a combination of Shina's [Divine Punishment of the Star Sea] and Tima's four attributes. It was an arrow that Tom had prepared especially for her.

Originally, the [Divine Punishment of the Star Sea] was released by concentrating the power of spirits, but this time, it was released with Tima's magic power.

The arrow, which had the power of all four attributes, successfully detonated Azel's breath, which had reached a critical point.

"I can't believe that while we were taking care of Nozomu, they were making something like this..."

Marveling at the arrow she had just released, Shīna recalled the time when she was given this arrow.

According to Tom, the creator of the arrow, he and Tima had worked hard to create it after learning of Nozomu's true identity, and they had completed it while Irisdina and the others were nursing Nozomu.

However, there were many defects, and the finished products were all disposable and could be used only once. Or, after use, they seem to be accompanied by some kind of irreversible harm, making them the worst in terms of cost performance.

In fact, the bowstring of Shīna's bow was broken by the recoil when she released it.

However, as she could see, it was extremely powerful.

The arrow hit its target without missing its aim and inflicted a wound on the Monarch of the spirits.

"Damn youu~!"

"Behave yourself!"

Azel, coughing up blood, still struggled to resist, but it was too late.

At the same time that Mimuru attached the talisman, the technique engraved on the talisman was activated with Zonne's soul as its nucleus.

Countless lights bound Azel's body and seal her power.

What was engraved was the same as the one used on Nozomu, a dragon-sealing barrier.

"Damn it, no way..."

"We did it!"

Mimuru expressed her joy that it went better than expected. Irisdina breathed out a sigh of relief as she watched this scene.

If Azel had unleashed a powerful breath from the first blow, or if she had not slowed her pursuit, it would not have gone as well as it did.

Indeed, she had been worn out and injured from the battle with Nozomu. But above all, she was too inexperienced in the tactical sense to read her opponent's moves ahead of time.

Perhaps Azel had little experience in battle.

Perhaps due to her original high level of ability, she didn't experience many situations that developed into "battles".

Although the techniques she used were extremely powerful, the same subtlety and precision as Zonne's could not be felt from it.

Her power was mighty, but her spirit was immature. Thinking about it now, she was a very out-of-balance dragon.

"Let's leave it for now, the rest is..."

Irisdina glanced at Azel, who was tied to the ground, but for the time being, she put aside the question that popped up in her mind and shifted her gaze.

At that time, the talisman that sealed Azel burst into flames and scattered countless lights in the air.

The scattered light scattered around the area and poured down on the dragon-sealing barrier that had restrained Nozomu.

"Oooooooooo!"

(Kuh~ !? What a power...)

Along with a cry of rage, Nozomu struggled to break free from the restraint again.

The restraint of light was gradually cracked. Looking closely, the formation around Nozomu's feet was beginning to shake, and Mikael's crystal, which had been glowing, was gradually losing its light.

It seems that even though Mikael was the one who activated the dragon-sealing barrier, he borrowed Azel's power to maintain the barrier.

Since Azel's power to maintain the barrier was blocked and Zonne's talisman interfered with the dragon-sealing barrier, it caused the barrier that restrained Nozomu to loosen.

Nozomu, who had regained his strength, tore down the barrier with brute force.

Furthermore, the violent Qi that was released again was scattered in all directions, and Mikael, who had lost his strength, was blown away and tumbled to the ground.

""Mikaeeeee---lll !""

"Hold on, Nozomu."

Nozomu raised his katana to shatter the crystal that fell to the ground.

But before he could bring his katana down, Irisdina stopped him.

A large number of magic bullets were launched between Nozomu and Mikael.

Nozomu, sensing danger, jumped backward with the agility of a beast.

Irisdina cut in between Mikael and Nozomu in that gap. At that moment, Nozomu's eyes finally caught those of Irisdina and the others.

Crimson eyes dyed red with rage. They were the same eyes as before, filled with hostility, seeing them only as enemies.

"Shīna, hurry up!"

"Yes, I know!"

Shīna cast her magic and widened the path between her and Nozomu.

Through her, Irisdina and Nozomu's spirits connected, attempting to bring Nozomu back to his senses.

"Nozomu, can you hear me! Come to your senses now!"

"Guuuu ..."

"... No, he is too angry to hear us. He is completely in sync with Tiamat."

Irisdina raised her voice as she did when she brought Nozomu back to his senses before, but despite her thoughts, Nozomu's eyes, stained with anger, did not return to normal.

The anger had completely covered his reason, and there was no sign of stopping at all.

Tiamat's power began to hurt Nozomu's body again, as the power that had been sealed away returned.

"If so, there's no other way. We'll just have to stop him again by force."

"Y-, yeah. We have to stop him somehow ..."

Mars lined up next to Irisdina and readied his greatsword again.

Tima was also standing behind Mars, holding her staff, looking straight at Nozomu.

"Ugh, please be lenient with me. My wallet is empty already..."

"It's okay, I'll give you a loan if you need it. It's 50% in 10 days."

"The profit margins are so high that even unscrupulous merchants will be shocked..."

Despite the situation, Feo and Mimuru were engaged in a comical conversation. Shīna, too, looked appalled and lined up next to her friends.

Bringing Nozomu back to his senses now won't be as easy as before.

Last time, Nozomu had a little bit of reason left in him, but now he was completely consumed with rage.

But there was no sign of being overwhelmed in the eyes of Irisdina and the others. The only thing in their eyes was clear determination.

They will stop Nozomu and bring him back.

If fate got in the way and took him away, they would break the chain once again.

With such determination in their hearts, they once again faced the crazed Dragon Slayer.

"Now then, this is an unexpected turn of events, but let's call it a re-match of that time!"

With Mars' bold declaration, the battle between Nozomu and Irisdina and the others began once again.