As I approached the dragon, I felt strange. I felt light with no pain whatsoever; my senses felt way sharper than they had been, even with the adrenaline potion. My vision had been blurry until a moment ago, but it was getting clearer by the second.
But I had no time to observe everything patiently as I saw the creature flinging its claws towards Kaguya, but before the attack could connect, I rushed forward with so much speed that everything became a blur. One moment, I was several hundred meters away, and the next moment, I was standing in front of Kaguya. I parried the dragon's claws to the side. The attack that had felt like a mountain's weight now felt like a child's push. The monster staggered to the side and took a few steps back in surprise.
"Wha?" I heard a surprise voice from behind and turned to find a pair of crimson eyes staring at my face, observing my features intently. I tilted my head, studying my own reflection in her clear eyes, and noticed a white thread spreading around my whole body and face, like blood vessels. The gold and silver light that had circled me till now were no longer outwards but flowed through the white vessels like blood.
"What the hell happened to you?" Kaguya asked, bringing my attention back to her. Only then did I notice her injuries—deep and numerous. Her arms were bleeding with cuts marring her whole body and face. Even her white cape was dirty and soiled red with ash and blood, making me frown. She needs healing. Not only her, but the others were also in the same condition, battered and bruised and in severe need of treatment, as I observed Ais and others from my peripheral view.
"Limit Off…?" "GRAAAAAA!" The dragon's roar drowned out Ryuu's voice as it shook the very ground around us and brought its hand down to crush us under its weight. Without needing me to look back, my instinct moved me on its own, raising my left hand and stopping the beast attack right in its tracks. A loud boom echoed through the battlefield as a small cloud of ash rose. The dragon's full weight felt like nothing.
"Move," I said. Kaguya didn't argue. She was already backing away, eyes never leaving me. I turned back to face the dragon and gave it a 'light' push. The monster stumbled backwards, its whole balance broken by the simple push. I lunge forward, appearing in front of its face and punching the side of it; its head recoiled. Bones shattered in my hand, I felt it break, but no pain registered. The Limit Off state suppressed everything. My body twisted downward and kicked its head to the ground. The dragon nose dived into the ashen ground, bouncing once through the impact.
"Impossible…" Alise breathed, her eyes wide as saucers. "He caught that thing with one hand!"
"What in the world happened to him?" Kaguya muttered, uncorking a potion with shaking hands. "Those veins, that light... What is he right now?"
"Limit off…" Ryuu whispered, her ocean-blue eyes studying me intently. "I've read about this state, but seeing it.. It's supposed to be a state where the adventurer removes all their natural limiters."
"Will he survive this?!" Asfi's voice cracked with worry as she quickly assessed the situation. "That state will destroy him! He was already going beyond his limits before! Now this?!"
"Arin..." Ais's voice was barely audible, guilt and concern warring in her expression. Her hands clenched into fists. "My fault… This is my fault."
"We can worry about that after we kill this thing!" Riveria cut in sharply. "Everyone, use your potions. I will cast Veil Breath again, prepare to support him. That state won't last forever, and when it ends..." She didn't finish the sentence. She didn't need to.
"Right!" Alise forced herself to her feet, wincing but grinning. "Let's show this beast what we're really capable of!! I'm not letting him show off alone!"
I heard the girls conversation in the distance as they were getting ready to rejoin the battle. As they said, I wanted to finish it sooner, since I don't even know how long this state will last.
The beast quickly shook off the shock and, with surprising agility, jumped back, creating a huge distance between us. It took a loud breath and started charging its breath attack, releasing it shortly after.
The death ray that we were only able to defend against before appeared to be moving at a slow speed, now giving me ample time to dodge. I wanted to test myself against it, but instinct overrode curiosity. My body moved before I could think, dodging automatically. That made me frown. Wait. I hadn't decided to dodge. My body had moved without me. That's not good.
But I didn't dwell further on the question and faced the wounded monster. The beast proved its intelligence over a normal monster and decided on a strange move as it started running in circles at a fast speed, like a predator circling prey—no, like prey circling, desperate, creating a whirlwind of ash and scales. Right there in that moment, the dragon had decided to throw away its pride as the king of beasts and behaved like a normal animal desperate to live.
The speed was so fast that the monster started blurring, and when Riveria released her ice magic yet again, the dragon's tail smashed against the approaching cold, breaking the ice into small pieces.
I landed near that rather dragon-made tornado and entered the area. The dragon's thick tail rushed at me like a train, while I once again lifted my left hand and, upon contact, released a burst of wind at the back of it. Stopping its tail right then and there.
But I wasn't finished as I clenched my hand into a fist, breaking off the tough scales on its body, and threw the giant monster away like a rag doll. Following it with a jump, I kicked on the surface of its belly, and several scales flew in the air as the dragon crashed on the ground.
With me standing atop its chest, I noticed something in its eyes; it wasn't rage, it wasn't even intelligence. Its purple eyes were filled with terror, the kind of terror only those on the death door feel.
The dragon—ancient, prideful, king of beasts knew. Knew it was prey now. Knew death had come for it. And for the first time in its long existence, it felt small.
I debated for a second on calling Ais to finish it off, but not knowing the time I had left, decided against it and took a step forward, standing on its chest right where its magic crystal was. I raised my sword high with both hands, the sharp point of the sword aimed right at the center of its chest.
But just as I was about to bring my sword down…
Thump!
A heartbeat—my own, so loud it shook my skull, and with it, everything stopped. The pain came roaring back. The omnipotence of power I felt till now faded along with the white vessels and the golden and silver light flowing through it. The dragon, taking the opportunity, pushed me off to the ground and raised its hand once again, trying to crush me. And this time, I knew I wouldn't survive it. There was no more miracle in my store.
"Arin!" I heard voices calling my name, and through the peripheral view, I noticed Ais and others rushing towards me. But it's already too late, or so I thought.
"Wynn Fimbulvetr!" another voice echoed through the battlefield, a very familiar voice, a voice of a young elven girl. And along with it came an extreme cloud of cold. The temperature plummeted. Frost spread across the ground in crystalline fractals, beautiful and deadly. Ice erupted from beneath the dragon, not Riveria's elegant constructs but raw magical force unrefined, overwhelming and absolute. The dragon's roar died as ice claimed it, mid-scream, and froze the beast's lower half like a statue.
"Lefiya...?" I spoke the name of the girl after a hard struggle, as the girl with golden hair rushed through the ashen field carrying a silver staff. While another girl with similar but different golden blonde hair, Ais, dragged me away.
"You idiot! You complete idiot!" Lefiya's voice was shrill with panic as she rushed over, her staff still glowing with residual magic. "What were you thinking?! Do you have any idea how close you came to dying?!"
"...close enough to see the other side..." I managed, each word feeling like it weighed a ton.
"This isn't funny!" Tears were streaming down her face as she knelt beside me.
"Lefiya, focus!" Riveria's sharp command cut through the younger elf's panic. "Cast heal on him, now! His body is in shock from the state ending!"
"R-Right!" Lefiya's hands shook as she began chanting, warm healing magic washing over me as Riveria cast the same healing beside her, with her staff back in her hands, the difference in her normal magic and now was like night and day. All that healing helped physically, at least.
"The dragon's moving again," Kaguya warned, breathing hard. "Lefiya's ice won't hold it forever."
"Then we finish it while… It's trapped," Ais said quietly, already moving toward the frozen beast. There was something different in her eyes now—a cold determination that had nothing to do with berserker rage.
"Wait, Ais—" I tried to push myself up and failed spectacularly.
"Stay down," she said without looking back. "You've… done enough. More than enough." Her voice softened slightly. "Let me... let us finish this."
"She's right," Alise said, limping forward with her sword raised. "You got us this far, Arin. Now it's our turn. Let this beautiful, perfect heroine of justice show you!"
"Besides," Kaguya added, checking her katana, "you look like a corpse. Even I'm in better shape than you right now, and that's saying something."
"That's not exactly comforting..."
"Good," she shot back, that same smirk on her face.
"And for the record," Asfi's voice cut in, sharp, "I'm confiscating all your potions after this. Every single one." She stood beside me, her wings folding back into her sandals. "You just proved you can't be trusted with them. Mixing an adrenaline inducer with a high-grade healing potion? Were you seeking death?!"
"...kept me alive, didn't it...?"
"It worked?!" Her voice cracked. "Really? Because all I saw was your body literally tear itself apart and rebuild simultaneously! That's—" She stopped, taking a shaky breath. "When this is over, we're having a very long talk about this."
"...yes ma'am…" I was still lying on the ground as Lefiya and Riveria finished the healing process.
Ryuu stepped forward, flames already gathering around her blade. "Everyone ready?"
"Lefiya, stay with Arin," Riveria commanded as she stood. "Keep him stable. The rest of you—" Her jade eyes swept across the group, "—let's end this once and for all."
"Wait," I called out weakly. They all paused, looking back. "Ais..."
She turned, her golden eyes meeting mine.
"Don't... lose yourself again," I said. "Stay in control. Promise me."
For a moment, she just stared. Then she nodded once, firmly. "I promise." I studied her eyes. The berserker rage was gone. In its place was pure determination.
"Good," she leaned. I thought, letting my head fall back against the ground. "Then... go kill that thing."
As they moved toward it, Lefiya's healing magic continued to wash over me; Even as my wounds closed, she continued casting magic. I could feel her hands trembling.
"You're the biggest idiot," she whispered, voice thick with tears. "The biggest idiot I've ever met."
"...Yeah," I said, watching Ais and the others prepare for the final assault. "And you are the biggest crybaby," I gave a small laugh. "By the way, where are the others?"
"Captain Finn told me to go ahead of them, saying he had a bad feeling. They will be here shortly," she answered, but at this point, I wasn't worried. Since in the previous exchange, I had damaged it by a whole lot. And with the staff in hand, Riveria could one-shot it if the anti-magic shield is brought down.
"GRAAAAAW!" I turned to see that the dragon's roar shattered what remained of its ice prison. Its purple eyes blazed with desperate fury as it faced the six warriors surrounding it.
One grounded dragon. Six determined adventurers. No more tricks. No more miracles.
Just one final battle.
In the distance, I saw them—Finn's distinctive silhouette, Gareth's massive frame, reinforcements finally arriving. But they wouldn't be needed.
The girls would finish this themselves.