"You mean... your boss bet everything on the new era?"
When Chu Tianjiao questioned Zero about the trio's true purpose, her response piqued his curiosity.
This conversation stemmed from something they'd just witnessed—
Not long after Melusine and Shirou charged in, Chu Tianjiao was stunned to see Melusine, alone and wielding her blade, decapitate a massive dragon retainer. A creature that even the Secret Party deemed a formidable threat had been felled in a single exchange by this young girl!
Woc! It was like a goddess descended—this girl was terrifying!
Then, he saw Shirou standing at the coastline with his black bow in one hand and the Dragon-Slaying Platform in the other, slashing and launching blade-like projectiles one after another. The wounded dragon, missing one of its wings, desperately flapped the other to evade, but was eventually turned into a blazing fireball by Shirou's relentless ranged assault.
An amazing tag-team effort! Truly worthy of someone who had fought Odin head-on!
It was Chu Tianjiao's first time witnessing Shirou in battle, and he was full of admiration, clapping with thunderous enthusiasm.
Earlier, he'd been a bit panicked. But now, watching this, he felt completely at ease—as if there was nothing for him to do. The equipment box he'd brought from Cassell Academy didn't have anything that could harm dragons anyway.
Not even alchemical bullets. Even if he used an L115A3 sniper rifle, it would do little more than tickle such a massive dragon. Compared to Shirou—who was basically a humanoid tactical missile launcher—he was utterly outclassed.
Clearly, the times had changed. The younger generation surpassed the old, and those pushed out by the waves might as well sit and watch the show.
All he needed was a bucket of popcorn and a soda.
"So, is this why your boss placed his hopes on Shirou?" he asked, glancing at Zero, whose calm demeanor hadn't changed. She didn't even seem surprised by Melusine. Though he hadn't spent much time with her, he assumed she was just expressionless—not emotionless. Which meant she probably knew more than she let on.
"No. Our boss has his own plans."
Zero clearly didn't want to say more. But Chu Tianjiao wasn't ready to give up.
"Come on, I'm just a nominal member of the Secret Party, not one of them. I'm basically a tool working for the principal, helping make trades with you guys. We all serve the same boss—no need to be strangers…"
"New era." Zero suddenly spat out two words.
"What?"
Chu Tianjiao blinked, puzzled—then realized she was talking about her boss's plans. "New era... you mean, the new era Shirou's creating...? So your boss bet everything on this?"
That would make sense. To single-handedly impact the Secret Party and stir global mixed-blood organizations into chaos—Shirou had indeed stirred the winds of a new era. If one could ride those winds… then even chaos became a stepping stone.
"No," Zero said. "The era our boss is creating will be much newer than this one. And the storms that come before it will be far more violent than these little skirmishes."
That cryptic answer was all she gave before clamming up again.
Cryptic indeed. It wasn't like a riddle-spouting boss would ever directly explain their future plans to this trio.
"Wow... then, do old-timers like me even have a chance to get on the ship of the new era?" Chu Tianjiao said with a sigh.
He was technically speaking about himself—but in truth, he was thinking of his family.
He'd made his son, Chu Zihang, steer clear of these supernatural affairs and return to a normal life. His ex-wife, Su Xiaoyan, had remarried into a stable and well-off household. He'd done all that to ensure the dragon mess stayed away from them—he'd take care of it alone.
But could things really stay that peaceful from now on?
The Secret Party was descending into chaos. All the mixed-blood factions were getting restless. Principal Angers was in a tough spot. And Chu Tianjiao couldn't guarantee he'd always be able to shield his son and ex-wife forever.
"It's simple," Zero said coldly, cutting into the worries of the middle-aged man. "Be useful."
"...?"
"As long as you're useful and show your value, you won't have to worry about being abandoned."
Her answer left Chu Tianjiao wide-eyed, but with a glimmer of realization—just before Zero spread her arms wide.
In that instant, her pupils lit up, and the invisible domain of the Dustless Realm rapidly unfolded, enveloping Chu Tianjiao and Nono within.
BOOM!
Out of nowhere, a crackling electric sphere slammed into the nearby pavement, blasting a scorched crater and flinging superheated debris. But all of it was effortlessly deflected by the seamless protection of Zero's Dustless Realm.
Recovering from his shock, Chu Tianjiao looked toward the source—it was the same dark cyan dragon retainer, and the electric orb had been hurled from its claw.
Even after enduring multiple devastating explosions, the wounded beast was still thrashing desperately, refusing to die quietly.
Shirou didn't hold back. He slammed down the Dragon-Slaying Platform, scorching blue flames tearing the ground as they burned. The dragon lunged, trying to grab hold of something, but Shirou hacked off one of its forelimbs, spraying blood everywhere. The limb was instantly reduced to charred flesh by the fire.
The dragon let out a thunderous roar—not in pain, but in sheer fury, like a wild beast cornered with no escape.
It opened its massive maw, lined with jagged fangs, and a condensed orb of lightning—charged with genryū—glowed from within. The moment it opened its mouth, the bright-blue energy erupted into a deadly breath attack!
"Not good!"
Shirou was just about to dodge, guided by his intuition—only to realize that doing so would send the beam straight toward Zero and the others.
Zero might be able to block it—but that kind of direct hit? From such high-heat, high-voltage energy? It was uncertain. This dragon wasn't dumb—it had calculated this to force Shirou into taking the hit!
"Hyah!"
Just then, a huge, bloodied dragon head came crashing down from above—thrown sideways to collide with the open maw of the attacking dragon. Its aim was perfect.
The impact knocked the dragon's head off target. The lightning blast veered off, missing its mark and slamming into a deserted area—incinerating an entire greenbelt and a section of asphalt road, leaving behind a terrifying scorched crater.
"You nailed it, Melusine!"
Shirou instantly realized what had happened. Melusine must've finished off another dragon and come to assist—tossing the severed head at just the right moment and with perfect aim.
He seized the opening. With the dragon's neck exposed, Shirou yanked up the Dragon-Slaying Platform and brought it down hard. The blade, wrapped in blue flame, cut clean through the armored neck.
The fire eagerly consumed the bloodied flesh as the dragon finally met its end.
Melusine landed lightly beside him. Even her long hair barely looked ruffled. When Shirou praised her, she remained calm and composed—showing no outward pride.
"Battle over. Thank you for the compliment. But honestly, this was boring. Enemy after enemy keeps coming, but none can truly be called strong…"
Tch. Shirou thought, Don't think I didn't see that twitch in your smile or the way your tail was wagging.
Guess I really should just treat her like a pampered pet—praise her and everything goes smoothly.
As Melusine basked in his compliments, the sea suddenly began to churn.
"What's going on?"
Seeing Shirou and Melusine slay the dragon, Nono, Zero, and Chu Tianjiao were just about to run over—only to stop short as the once-calm ocean transformed into a raging storm.
It was as if the sea had a mind of its own and was baring its fury toward those on land.
Shirou was shocked too. He'd seen this kind of turbulent shift before—like when the giant White Whale caused the tides to surge.
But that had only triggered one large wave.
This time—the entire sea was acting up!
"A real tsunami is coming!" Melusine's draconic eyes lit up. She could sense it—a worthy enemy had arrived.
(End of Chapter)
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