"■■■■■■■■!!!"
A grotesque dragon emerged through the jagged crack.
It possessed no visible muscles or organs, yet it radiated a sense of danger far greater than any monster we had encountered thus far.
"Roar, tempest...!"
"Hey, Aiz!!!"
The moment Aiz laid eyes on that monstrosity, she unleashed the full power of [Aerial] and charged in without a second thought.
I tried to stop her, but it was impossible to restrain Aiz once she had lost herself to a blind, vengeful rage.
"■■■■■■■!!!"
"Tch..."
Aiz, having rushed in recklessly, was struck by the dragon's swinging foreleg and sent flying across the room.
And then,
"■■■■■■!"
The dragon began to rampage indiscriminately.
"Bellf!"
"I know!"
The executives moved to engage the wild beast, and I sprinted toward where Aiz had fallen to heal her, but...
"■■■■■■!!!"
"Why are you so fast when you're nothing but bones!?"
Whether it wanted to prevent Aiz from recovering or simply hated me, the dragon charged straight at me as I ran.
"Trace on... [Rho Aias]!!!"
I hastily projected [Rho Aias] and deployed the barrier.
Seven shields blossomed open like petals.
"■■■■■■■!!!"
"Damn it..."
In an instant, six of the shields were shattered. I barely managed to block the final blow with the last one, but cracks were already spider-webbing across its surface.
"■■■■■■..."
"To sweep away all things and bring an end to the great war, burn, sword of Surtr—my name is Alv."
The dragon glared at me fiercely from beyond the barrier.
"■■■■■■!"
It let out a piercing shriek,
"Damn it..."
"■■■■■■!!!"
and the barrier shattered.
At the same time,
"[Lea Lavein]!"
Riveria's spell, [Lea Lavein], tore through the air toward the dragon.
But,
"It... deflected magic?"
The magic had no effect on the creature.
"Trace on."
However, thanks to the opening the spell created, I was able to project a magic sword.
"[Rho Aias]."
The seven shields spread open once more.
Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—the dragon's attention shifted back to the executives.
"Finish it already."
"Got it."
"■■■■■■■■!!!"
Whether enraged or simply erratic, the dragon shrieked and clambered along the walls and ceiling like a monkey, lunging at the executives. I seized the chance to pour a potion into Aiz's mouth.
"...Next time, don't just charge in blindly."
"...Sorry."
Aiz recovered quickly, as expected of a Level 3 adventurer.
She still had a few wounds, but they were the sort that would vanish instantly after a potion.
The executives would handle the dragon, so all we had to do now was stay out of the way, but...
"Are you frustrated?"
Aiz didn't seem to think so.
"Yeah... I am..."
"If you're frustrated, then watch the situation before you charge in. You only have one life, so treasure it."
"But..."
"Why are you in such a hurry? Do you have some kind of curse or something?"
"...I feel like I'll lose it again."
"..."
Ah, right.
This girl had lost her parents to monsters, hadn't she?
"I... don't want to lose anything else."
"If you keep charging in like that, you'll lose things you wouldn't have lost otherwise."
"Ugh..."
"There are plenty of people around who can help you. It's okay to take it slow."
"...Will Bellf help me too?"
"Aren't I already helping you?"
While we were talking,
"■■■■...■■■■■...!"
the dragon was finally erased by the executives.
After finishing the investigation, Bellf and the Loki Familia executives departed.
Bellf went home to rest, while the Loki Familia returned to their residence, Twilight Manor.
Finn reported on the sudden light that had shone through the floor and the monster that had appeared, and then,
"Now then, shouldn't we do a Status update?" Loki suggested.
"I'm fine. I want to rest."
"Me too."
"I'll do it."
"Maybe I should too?"
A few declined, while a few others, including Aiz, accepted.
"Now then~ did Aiz-chan do hers last week?"
"Yeah."
"Then let's see..."
After making a slight cut on her finger and updating Aiz's Falna, Loki—
"Eh...?"
"What is it?"
"Whaaaat!?"
"Loki?"
—was so shocked she nearly toppled over.
On the parchment where Loki had written Aiz's Status, a new Skill had appeared.
[Avalon]
-Increased recovery
-Increased Mind
-Increased Excelia
"A cheat Skill appeared!!!"
That day, Loki's grin supposedly stretched from ear to ear...