Chapter 32: The True Showdown

It was as if the darkness condensed all the malice in the world into a pitch-black sphere.

When it shattered upon hitting the ground, an ominous black mist poured out.

Sensing an intense foreboding of death, I leapt back to distance myself.

But the man remained in place. The black mist swirled around him like a living creature, but he did not flee. Instead, he welcomed it with a delighted expression.

Eventually, the black mist enveloped his entire body, forming a cocoon-like sphere.

"What is this...?"

"Everyone, get behind me!"

Justina's sharp voice rang out. I'd never heard her sound so urgent before.

We quickly took our positions behind her. In that instant, Justina transformed back into her dragon form.

And then...

"Blow away!!!"

She unleashed her devastating dragon breath.

The world was briefly bathed in a blinding white light. The overwhelming radiance consumed everything, scorching all in its path. The church was obliterated in an instant, and the ground was gouged out in a straight line.

Though she seemed to be considerate of the fallen man's companions, ensuring they weren't caught in the attack, the blast still sent them rolling from the impact.

As the light subsided...

"What...!?"

The black cocoon remained intact.

"Even after such an attack, it's unscathed...?"

"No, it's not unscathed. The shell was broken, but... it seems we were a bit too late."

"Shell?"

Without answering my question, Justina glared at the cocoon.

Cracks began to appear in the cocoon, and it hatched.

What emerged was... a dragon. However, it was no ordinary dragon. Its body was decayed, emitting a foul stench.

A dragon zombie.

"A human turned into a dragon...?"

"The thing that man had was a dragon's core. It's a materialized dragon soul, and by absorbing it, humans can become dragons."

"I've never heard of such a thing."

"It's classified information. Ordinary people wouldn't know."

"So, that man became a dragon."

"Yes, that's right. Though it seems the core was defective, causing him to zombify... He's still strong enough to withstand my breath. I wonder where he got such a thing, considering how rare and difficult it is to obtain a dragon's core."

Justina spoke lightly, but she never took her eyes off the dragon zombie.

That alone showed how formidable the opponent was.

"Alto, take the injured and move them to safety. I'll handle this."

"It might be better if we do that since we might just be in the way... but there must be something we can do."

Affected by the dragon zombie's negative aura, more monsters began to gather. For Justina, they might not be much of a threat, but during her battle with the dragon zombie, any interference could be dangerous.

"Justina, leave that giant to us. As frustrating as it is, there's nothing we can do about it right now. But we'll handle the lesser creatures."

"Alto... but I..."

"Let's fight together."

"Ugh."

Justina looked at me in surprise, then nodded firmly.

"Yes, let's fight together!"

"Yeah."

The true showdown began.

Justina clashed with the dragon zombie, while we moved the cult members to safety and then began to eliminate the swarming monsters.

There weren't any particularly powerful monsters in this area, so we weren't at a disadvantage. The sheer number of them was the real issue. They appeared in such overwhelming numbers that it seemed endless.

"Alto, are you okay over there!?"

Gran called out in a stern voice while swinging his sword. I responded as I twirled my spear.

"This is nothing!"

"To think you'd handle this many monsters so easily... You've grown a lot, Alto."

"Brother, stop admiring him and keep fighting!"

Gran, Ginny, and I swung our weapons with all our might. We mowed down a large number of monsters, but new swarms appeared to take their place.

"Alto, isn't this getting tough? Shouldn't someone go and request reinforcements from the knights or dragon riders?"

"I'd rather avoid that if possible. Not only are we dealing with monsters, but also a dragon zombie. Fighting a dragon, even a zombie, in Almot might damage trust and relations. It could also provoke other cult groups. Maybe I'm overthinking it, but for now, I'd like to resolve this ourselves."

"If that's the case, there's no helping it!"

"We just have to hope that Eltselk can take down that dragon zombie!"

While fighting the monsters, I glanced at Justina.

She collided with the dragon zombie, sending it flying. She then pinned it down and swung her arm like a tree trunk. Rotten flesh was torn away, and the dragon zombie screamed in pain.

Justina tried to press the attack...

But the dragon zombie flailed wildly, knocking Justina away and launching a counterattack.

Its decayed body seemed to have some kind of limiter removed, giving it strength comparable to Justina's.

Even so, Justina couldn't be defeated. She was Bahamut, the divine dragon. Despite being young, her power was overwhelming and absolute. Normally, she wouldn't be overpowered by a dragon zombie...

"Damn it!"

Justina's voice contained a hint of frustration. She was annoyed that she couldn't finish the battle quickly.

"Alto, is Eltselk struggling?"

"I can't believe it... That dragon zombie has the power to rival Bahamut?"

"No, that's not it."

Since dreaming of becoming a dragon knight, I'd studied extensively. I learned a lot about dragons, including dragon zombies...

"I think Justina is waiting for the right moment to finish off the dragon zombie in one blow."

"Does she have to blow it away?"

"It possesses the characteristics of a zombie, including high regenerative abilities. Half-hearted attacks won't deal a fatal blow. If we push it too hard, it might go berserk and target us, or escape and cause damage to the city. Justina is waiting for the right opportunity to strike."

She's too worried about us to take decisive action.

"Damn it."

It's incredibly frustrating. Even though we agreed to fight together, we're holding Justina back...

No, I can't. I can't accept this reality and give up. We can't give up.

I've learned the importance of not giving up, the importance of resistance.

So... there's only one thing I can do.

"Gran, Ginny, can I leave this place to you?"

"Sure, leave it to us!"

"Make sure to deliver a solid blow for us too!"

They quickly understood my intentions and smiled reassuringly. They're such great friends.

"I leave it to you!"

I gripped my spear tightly and dashed towards Justina.

"Tch."

Justina clicked her tongue as she fought the dragon zombie. It wasn't particularly strong, but its high regenerative abilities made it a tough opponent.

If she didn't consider the surrounding damage, she could easily overwhelm it...

But doing so would endanger Alto and the others. Therefore, she had to aim for a one-hit kill.

But the opportunity had yet to come, and the battle dragged on.

What should she do?

As Justina hesitated...

"Alto?"

She saw Alto moving around to close the distance to the dragon zombie.

He looked at her once, and that was enough for her to understand what he was thinking.

The power of love.

Justina seriously thought about it.

Anyway, the time for the final showdown had come.

The dragon zombie roared and charged at Justina.

It didn't notice Alto.

Alto used this opportunity to leap high into the air. He flipped mid-air, spear poised, and plunged it into the dragon zombie's rotten eye.

The dragon zombie screamed, writhing in pain. Despite its decayed body, it still felt pain.

Alto quickly withdrew to avoid getting caught in the chaos.

And then...

The perfect opportunity arose.

The moment Justina had been waiting for. She gathered all her strength and unleashed it in one blow.

"This is... the end!!!"

Her second dragon breath of the day.

Unlike the first, which was more restrained, this one was significantly more powerful. The torrent of light engulfed the dragon zombie, disintegrating its body into dust.

Unable to resist, the dragon zombie was completely annihilated.

"Phew."

As the battle ended, Justina let out a small sigh. She then reverted to her human form...

"Alto, we did it!"

"Yeah."

And she high-fived Alto gracefully.