[Altair Miller]
Being carried through the forest, fangs sunk into my shoulder, definitely wasn't on my top ten list of ways to get around. Ignoring the pain, I spun my staff and drove its tip straight into Terascre's eye.
"Groooooooooo!" A guttural roar erupted from his throat, reverberating among the trees as he released me.
My feet hit the ground, and I skidded backward, a cloud of dust rising from the impact. Terascre swung his body around, his eyes bloodshot with fury, and blood streamed from his left eye like a dark waterfall.
"You're not Fafnir, but you'll do nicely for a warm-up," I taunted, a defiant grin curving my lips.
My words seemed to fuel his rage even further. Terascre charged at high speed, the ground trembling under the weight of his colossal paws. I retreated swiftly, twisting my body to the side and, in the same motion, swung my staff toward his flank. Yet Terascre lashed his tail, whipping the air like a blade. The impact collided with my staff, generating a shockwave that hurled me backward.
I spun in midair, controlling the fall until my feet struck the trunk of a tree. Bracing myself there momentarily, I plucked three hairs and cast them into the wind. In the blink of an eye, they transformed into three clones: two landed on the branches above, while the third hit the ground with a thud.
"Bah! What an ugly creature. Your mother must've puked when she saw you born," said the clone on the ground, covering his mouth in an exaggerated gesture of disgust.
"Dude, talking about someone's mom is a low blow," retorted the clone on the branch, swaying with a mocking grin.
"Shut up, your mom's a whore," replied the clone on the ground, pointing upward with a provocative laugh.
"My mom is your mom, idiot," shot back the other, spinning agilely on the branch.
"…"
"You guys realize there's a dragon right in front of us, right?" I rolled my eyes, bending my knees, ready to act.
"Hahahaha! Boss, all women are dragons," cackled the clone on the ground, narrowly dodging Terascre's tail as it slashed through the air in renewed fury.
Ignoring the clones' chatter, I dashed toward Terascre with an explosive burst of speed. He reacted, swinging his tail at me. I blocked the blow with my staff, the muscles in my arms straining under the impact. Simultaneously, one of the clones on the branch extended his staff, which instantly grew longer, striking Terascre's side and forcing him to stagger. Before he could recover, the second clone leapt from the branch in an acrobatic spin, aiming a brutal, precise blow at the dragon's head.
Terascre roared in pain and spun around, trying to strike me with a furious barrage of tail attacks. My clone on the ground danced between the strikes, dodging with agile, almost theatrical movements.
"Grow!" I shouted, and my staff expanded instantly, the stone tip smashing Terascre's carapace against the ground with a deafening crash. The two clones on the branches seized the moment, conjuring their own staffs, which grew and struck the dragon's head in unison. The double blow echoed through the forest like thunder.
"Gooooooooo!" Terascre howled, his tail thrashing wildly. The movement struck the staff pinning him down, freeing him. "Oops!" exclaimed the nearest clone, losing his balance and tumbling toward the dragon. Terascre opened his massive jaws, spewing a gale of orange flames. The clone twisted in midair, trying to escape, but the flames spread, licking through the air and painting the forest red with searing heat.
"Kinto'un!" I yelled, and instantly a golden cloud formed beneath my feet. Landing softly on it, I gazed down at the sea of flames below.
Burning the vegetation isn't exactly cool, I thought, as Terascre kept spewing fire, the heat warping the air around him.
"Unfortunately, you're not Fafnir. If it takes me longer than this to defeat you, it'll be embarrassing for me. Forgive me for this."
I forgot to mention, but Kinto'un isn't just a magical cloud that floats—that alone would be impressive enough. But it possesses a certain degree of sentience and, more importantly, has atmokinesis, the ability to manipulate weather phenomena. For example, if I do this…
I raised my fist as small electric currents began coursing through Kinto'un. With my fist clenched, I struck the surface of the cloud. Instantly, lightning gathered at a single point and fired a powerful, unified beam toward Terascre.
A deafening boom shook the forest. The impact carved a massive crater, steam rising from the shattered earth. Small electric sparks still crackled along my arm as I opened and closed my hand.
"I'm not big on naming things, but I'm calling this 'Thunder Breaker,'" I said, satisfied with my choice. I leapt off Kinto'un, which dissolved in a golden shimmer behind me.
"Hey, are you still alive?" I asked, landing beside him and prodding him with the Ruyi Jingu.
Terascre groaned in pain, a faint puff of flames wafting toward me, but it didn't even breach the protection of the Monkey King's mantle. I extended my hand, dispersing the flames with a casual flick.
"So you've still got some breath left," I remarked, twirling my staff as I stared at the noble creature lying before me. "I'd love to say this will hurt me more than it'll hurt you, but that'd be a blatant lie. Safe travels."
I pressed my staff against his torso. "Grow and expand!" At my command, the stone staff exploded in size, shoving Terascre and launching him like a shooting star back toward the battlefield.
I quickly shrank the staff to normal size, watching the bright speck streak across the sky. Flexing my feet, I blasted off toward the battlefield.
•••
"But at least he doesn't bite anymore," I said, rubbing my neck as all eyes turned toward me.
Did I do something wrong?
Seriously, I wondered, putting a finger to my chin.
"Idiot!" A cute shout snapped me from my thoughts.
I lowered my gaze and saw Ritsuka glaring up at me, cheeks puffed out like an angry chipmunk.
"Shouldn't you be resting?" I asked with a faint smile.
"I'm not some delicate flower… You said we'd go kick some asses together, but at the first chance you got, you left me out," she replied, her tone heavy with hurt.
I scratched my head, feeling a bit embarrassed. Even though I'd only wanted her to rest, I realized I shouldn't have made that decision for her.
"Sorry. That won't happen again." I flicked her forehead lightly.
"…" She held a hand to her forehead, a small smile appearing on her pink lips. "I hope not," she murmured, trying to hide her smile.
Seeing the mood settle, I turned to the dragon saint.
"I gave your dragon back, even after you threw him at me. No need to thank me," I said, planting my staff in the ground and staring at her.
"I admit, I'm a little shocked," Martha replied, averting her eyes from the crater to meet mine. "But it was a welcome check. If you couldn't handle a mere child of Leviathan, you'd have no chance at all against Fafnir."
She spoke as if she were on our side… Not exactly; it was more like she was rooting for us.
"However, I'm afraid it's not over yet." Martha raised her staff, positioning it in front of her face. "One final trial." As she spoke, her magical power began to surge, while Terascre rose behind her, imposing and mighty.
"She's going to use her Noble Phantasm," I murmured, furrowing my brow.
I'd wanted to conserve as much magical energy as possible, but it seemed there was no choice…
Before I could finish the thought, Ritsuka stepped forward.
"By this Command Spell, I order you: destroy everything, Artoria!" She raised her hand, and Artoria's magical power flared, momentarily surpassing her own limits.
"Finally acting like a Master," said Artoria with a smile, holding her sword upright.
Cry out. It's time to fall to the ground.
Excalibur glowed with a purple energy, tearing open the ground behind her.
Vortigern, Hammer of the Wicked King, invert the rising sun. Devour the light.
Excalibur Morgan!!
Artoria swung her sword, and a wave of energy sliced through the air, shattering the ground before her.
At the same time, Martha leapt atop Terascre's head, murmuring:
"«Oh dragon who never knew love's touch, come to me.»"
White bands wrapped around Terascre's body as he roared, seeming to reach his peak.
"«Go like the stars, Tarasque!»"
Martha swung her staff, which shone with sacred power, and with a precise blow, struck the rear of Terascre's carapace. The dragon was hurled toward us, spinning like a projectile.
The two Noble Phantasms collided, unleashing a tremendous shockwave. With Ritsuka beside me, I reached out to steady her before she could be blown away. She grabbed my sleeve, shielding her face against the fierce wind.
The clash of the techniques roared like a furious storm, but in the next instant, Terascre, spinning at breakneck speed, began to slow. Eventually, Artoria's Noble Phantasm prevailed. The surge of energy pierced through the already weakened Terascre, striking Martha, who only had time to partially dodge to the side.
As the energy dissipated, our eyes fell upon the saint, now missing half her body.
"Martha…" Jeanne murmured, her gaze sorrowful, unable to look away from her saintly companion.
"Aha… haha! D-don't look at me like that," Martha said, blood pouring and staining the ground. Her eyes shifted to the dragon, which was fading into particles of light. A flicker of sadness crossed her expression, as though, in that moment, her true self was beginning to resurface.
"Well… I guess this is the end," she said, turning her eyes back to us. "Honestly, I wanted to let you feel my holy fists a bit more, especially that Servant who calls herself the Demon King."
"Just bring your best next time." Nobunaga shrugged.
"Haha! You've got plenty of spirit," Martha said, letting out a light laugh as blood trickled from her lips. "But now listen to me, let me tell you one or two things." Her expression hardened, turning serious. "You need to go to… cough… Lyon. There, you'll find what you need to defeat… Fafnir."
"What's in that place?" I asked, my staff fading from my hand in a subtle glow.
"In Lyon, you'll find a dragonslayer capable of defeating him."
A dragonslayer!? I exclaimed mentally.
A dragonslayer would really come in handy right about now.
I shook my head, lost in thought, but then realized Martha was no longer paying attention to us. Her eyes were fixed on the spot where her partner was dissolving into particles of light. "Tarasque, forgive me," she whispered, her voice heavy with regret, as the dragon completely vanished. "Next time… I hope to be summoned… properly…" With those words, her body dissolved into a gentle glow, leaving behind a devastated clearing bathed in silver moonlight.
••• ••• •••
Don't forget to throw power stones and leave a review to motivate me.