The Doctor Cured The Villainess And Ran Away-Chapter 43: Just the Two of Us (1)

“—Kaaaaah!!”

The Death Dragon, having lost its wing, thrashed about miserably as it plummeted.

Its massive body stirred up clouds of dust, kicking up a sandstorm.

Thanks to the mask, I didn’t end up with a mouthful of dirt.

Wow. Even so, I didn’t expect her to slice Wilhelm’s wing off in one strike.

Asella’s teleportation magic had a smaller radius than the dragon’s body, so only part of it was transported—hence the severing effect.

Just imagining that hitting me gives me goosebumps.

“Haah, huu...”

Asella panted heavily. Looks like the mana consumption was bigger than expected.

No surprise—she’d forcefully replenished her mana with potions.

But what choice did we have? The other imperial mages had all turned tail to protect the Emperor, so the only mage left to fight here was Asella.

Still, I can’t leave the chances of other bad endings alone either.

Her subjugating the dragon is the best outcome.

“The second strike...”

Just as Asella raised her staff, the Death Dragon lifted its head and let out a roar.

The earsplitting screech made Asella grimace and falter.

“Whoa there.”

I grabbed her by the shoulder and supported her.

The dragon was flexing its dominance. Honestly, I’d be furious too if I were suddenly summoned into enemy territory.

Even so, the Middle Realm is ridiculously far from here. There’s no way it was Recalled from there.

The hatchling Asella summoned had also been pre-captured and prepped in a tent.

Maybe it was native to this region?

It might’ve had a nest somewhere in the mountains.

Maybe this event was what got it noticed and scouted by the Demon King’s Army in the first place.

If we slay the Death Dragon here...

I pulled up the bad ending list:

[No. 019: Curse of the Death Dragon – 44%]

This would erase the ending where Wilhelm defeats us. A win-win.

“Your Highness, focus.”

“...Okay.”

Asella began forming a new magic circle.

Now that she’d confirmed Recall could be used offensively, she was planning to use it again.

“This time, I’ll finish it.”

Asella aimed her staff squarely at the Death Dragon’s head.

She was going to teleport only the head this time—to sever its life completely.

“Recall.”

The moment the casting completed—

—Rumble!

The Death Dragon stamped its feet.

Its giant form lunged at us faster than anyone would’ve believed possible.

“Gh—!”

—Fwoosh!

Asella’s spell did hit.

But it only grazed the dragon’s side instead of targeting the head.

Only a chunk of its abdomen was torn away—barely a flesh wound.

—KAAAAH!!

The Death Dragon roared in even greater rage and charged on.

With its wings gone, it had truly become a massive lizard. Its claws tore up the ground, and it opened its gaping maw wide.

“Damn.”

At this rate, we were going to be eaten. The bastard was surprisingly fast and agile, making it a difficult opponent.

I reacted quickly, pulling a strength-enhancing injection from inside my coat and setting it vertically to my chest.

Click—I pressed the button on the end and injected it.

Just before the dragon’s jaws could reach us, I grabbed Asella and jumped, narrowly dodging its teeth.

—KRAAAASH!!

The ground shattered where the Death Dragon landed.

“Las?!”

“Are you hurt anywhere, Your Highness?”

“N-No...”

The Death Dragon snapped its head toward us again without pause.

Black energy began to rise from its mouth.

“It’s going to breathe. If it hits, it’ll burn us with a curse.”

It wasn’t magic. It was just raw dark-attribute mana detonated violently.

It was fast, its aim was precise, and it wasn’t easy to dodge.

I figured I could still jump once more. Just as I wrapped my arm around Asella’s waist—

“Haaaah!!”

—Clang!

A rugged bastard sword rammed straight into the Death Dragon’s mouth as it charged the black breath.

The dragon clamped its jaws shut, catching the sword between its teeth.

The sword’s owner, a red-haired knight, soared through the air.

It was Tanya.

“Doctor! Your Highness! Get clear of here!”

Tanya unleashed a burst of sword aura and forced the Death Dragon back in a clash of strength.

Perhaps the dragon didn’t expect to be overpowered by a human—it froze, briefly stunned.

“Your Highness, now’s your chance.”

“Mm.”

She understood instantly.

Neither of us had any intention of running.

I, of course, couldn’t back down. And Asella wasn’t the type to show her back to an enemy before settling the score.

“Your Highness?!”

Tanya cried out, surprised to see Asella begin casting a third spell.

Sweat poured from Asella like rain, but she grinned wickedly—like the villainess she was.

“To think I’m fighting a dragon...”

Golden mana exploded from her magic circle.

“This’ll be the finest magic demonstration yet.”

—FWOOOOOM!

Asella’s Recall spell activated.

The magic circle spun and blazed in brilliant golden light, more radiant than ever.

The target: the dragon’s head, which Tanya had perfectly locked in place.

Glittering light spilled from the Death Dragon’s neck—and the next instant—

—THUD!

The enormous head of the dragon dropped from the air in front of us, tongue hanging out.

Clatter—Tanya’s blade hit the ground beside it.

The decapitated Death Dragon’s massive body lost its balance and collapsed to the earth with a deafening crash.

“Haah, haah...”

Asella gasped for breath.

She’d used several high-level spells back to back—it was only natural to be completely exhausted.

“You did well.”

“...We won.”

“Yes. You’ve won, Your Highness.”

Asella looked at the severed dragon head lying on the ground and let out a faint laugh.

Sticky blood oozed from it—not exactly a pleasant sight. Kind of grotesque, really.

Still, she must be pleased—she’d proven just how powerful her magic was.

“Her Highness brought down a Death Dragon!”

“That was incredible magic...!”

“So this is the power of Moonlight Palace!”

The imperial knights who had been holding back and tossing spears from afar were left speechless by how swiftly the situation had resolved.

They now looked upon Asella with awe.

Most of them probably hadn’t even understood the full danger of Recall.

All they saw was Asella unleashing genius magic and single-handedly repelling an external attack.

“Princess Asella!”

“That was magnificent!”

The knights cheered and applauded.

Even if she didn’t earn points with the Emperor, she had left a lasting impression on countless imperial officials during this tournament.

Asella, too, didn’t seem to mind the admiration. She slowly looked around.

“Your Highness.”

“Mm?”

“Do you dislike the Empire?”

She replied to my question with a question of her own.

“Las, are you planning to stay with the Imperial Court forever?”

Of course not.

I’d planned on opening a private practice from the start. Being a royal physician was just a stepping stone.

“I’ll probably stay until I retire.”

That was my answer.

“...I see.”

Asella fell into thought, letting the cheers around her wash over her.

―――――――――――

· Bad Ending has been removed.

No. 019: Curse of the Death Dragon — 44% → 0%

· Ending probabilities have changed.

No. 012: Fall of the Empire — 92% → 30%

No. 005: Victory of the Demon King’s Army — 73% → 58%

No. 101: Mana Rampage — 71% → 4%

...

· ■■■ ■, ■■ ■■ — 2% → 11%

―――――――――――

By eliminating the Death Dragon—one of the Demon King Army’s high officers—early, the chances of multiple bad endings dropped significantly.

The ending where we lose to Wilhelm has been erased. The odds of the normal and good endings have also increased drastically.

The Fall of the Empire hasn’t been deleted yet, though.

At least we’ve caught our breath for now.

Still, I felt a sense of satisfaction, knowing we were heading in the right direction.

The Moonlight Palace knights rushed toward us. They’d hurried, but Tanya had been too fast.

“Well then, shall we head back? That was an intense fight. Let’s get you some rest, and I’ll run a full examination of your condition afterward.”

“Okay, let’s do that.”

Asella was unusually docile—probably completely drained.

Not bad. Maybe I should make her use up all her mana more often.

“...Hey, Las.”

“Yes?”

She called, and I turned to face her.

“While I’m resting... you’re going to examine me, right? Then, there’s something I’ve been meaning to say—”

But I didn’t hear the rest.

Because what I saw first was the black aura rising from her body.

Its origin: the severed dragon head.

A curse!

Even in death, the Death Dragon had left a curse behind. I clicked my tongue and lunged at Asella.

“Las?”

“Your Highness, get back!”

She reacted quickly, immediately beginning to draw a defensive magic formation to resist the curse.

“Gh—!”

But with a pained groan, her spell lost power and dispersed midair.

She was out of mana.

I threw my arms around her shoulders. Just as I moved to push her out of the way—

—FWOOSH!!

Black energy exploded around us. It felt just like when we passed through a Teleport Gate—gut-wrenching nausea roiled in my stomach.

My vision went black.

***

“Ugh...”

Asella slowly sat up.

The smell of earth and grass filled her nose.

Small insects crawled across the mud caked on her arm—disgusting.

“Where...”

She looked around.

Untamed wilderness. We’d been dumped into the heart of nature.

It looked mountainous. The thick canopy above blocked out nearly all sunlight.

“What the hell...”

She stood up.

Her ornate dueling outfit was soaked in mud—utterly ruined.

Only her staff, still clutched in both hands, remained intact.

“Where are we...”

There was no doubt the Death Dragon’s curse had activated.

So then, what kind of curse was it?

It wasn’t an illusion. Illusion-type curses should break immediately upon the caster’s death.

“A rebound.”

A reversal.

The Death Dragon had, in its final moments, used a curse that reflected magic back onto its caster.

Recall had affected Asella—sending her to the spot where the Death Dragon had originally been summoned from.

This had to be somewhere near its nest.

“Wait...”

She strained to remember.

She hadn’t been sent alone.

He’d been with her when the curse struck.

“Las.”

Sudden anxiety swept over Asella. She frantically scanned her surroundings.

Making your master worry... you’re a failure of a physician.

Not that she was actually worried.

She was only looking for him because her chances of survival in this unexpected situation increased dramatically with him around.

Though it contradicted her secret hope that he’d stayed safely behind in the arena, Asella convinced herself with that excuse and wandered the wild, pathless slopes.

Eventually—

“Las!”

She spotted a white-haired boy collapsed in a heap of leaves.

“Las, Las?!”

She shook his shoulder hard, but got no response.

Turning him over, she saw him resting peacefully, as if in eternal sleep.

Her heart plummeted, and she tried to calm her breathing.

“He’s alive.”

His chest rose and fell—he was still breathing.

Asella bit [N O V E L I G H T] her lower lip.

“Phew...”

She was out of mana, and staying idle in a place like this would only lead to a quiet death.

Asella mustered her remaining strength, slung Las over her back, and began to walk.