Danmachi: A Mage's Journey

Chapter 293 293: Creating an Opportunity

"Ais!? Wait! Don't go off on your own!"

Even Riveria's sharp voice could not reach her back, already swallowed by the storm.

And yet, blocking her path, mindless, burning monsters rushed aimlessly, their bodies aflame.

Kill them all.

The silver blade twirled, fast as a hurricane. Golden eyes, clouded with black vengeance, whispered death to every obstacle.

Whirlwinds ripped through flesh. Sparks scattered. Blood sprayed.

In the blink of an eye, before Alise and the others could even react, the wind, overflowing with violent magical power, cleaved everything in its way.

"Out of my way! Don't block me! All of you, disappear!" Ais roared, her storm-driven form an arrow of darkness, flying toward the dragon.

"Damn it, Finn... Ais! I didn't think her emotions would burst out like this." Riveria ground her teeth, cursing the absent pallum with bitter hatred.

She abandoned her attack spell, forcing herself to chant defensive magic instead.

The sight of that lone girl, sword in hand, charging into battle against the black dragon, looked less like recklessness and more like the beginning of an epic but Riveria's heart knew better.

She thought of the countless tragedies in heroic tales. Of those who charged alone. Of those who never returned. Her expression hardened.

"If this continues, Ais will be killed. Even at her strongest, she can't face that monster alone." Gareth's grim words made Riveria exhale in frustration.

"Of course."

Flames burst from Alise's body as she shouted her magic's name. Her hands, feet, and sword shone with the red brilliance of a lotus in full bloom.

Her voice rang like a battle bell, snapping her companions out of the black gale that threatened to drag them down.

"Don't falter! Everyone, forward! We can't let little Ais fight alone!"

"Oooooooohhhhhhh!!!"

Alise stamped down with blazing steps, and Kaguya and the others roared and followed.

Ais' black wind split the air, ripping apart scales, tearing into flesh, sending up great gouts of boiling blood.

Hissing, the dragon's wounds steamed, black-purple particles seeping upward as the flesh stitched itself back together, only for Ais' storm to rip it open once more, carving new wounds atop the old.

But every strike, every slash, every storm came at a terrible cost. Her fragile body creaked, her slender limbs groaned with strain, her muscles tore, her skin split, and blood seeped down her arms.

Crack.

Even the indestructible silver blade began to splinter.

"ROOOOOAARRRRRR!"

The Greatest Evil bellowed, shaking the very cavern.

The moment the others caught up, the monster's massive tail, barbed and brutal, swung across the scorched battlefield.

The ground shattered like brittle clay, exploding outward. Shards of stone, searing with heat, blasted through the air like a storm of bullets.

"Tch!"

Alise spun, her crimson blade tearing arcs of light. The burning attack slashed apart the storm of rubble, pulverizing every stone to dust.

"Veil Breath!"

Riveria's chant completed, and emerald radiance cloaked them all. Even Ais, flung through the air, was shielded, the green veil softening her fall.

Akira twisted aside, narrowly dodging the dragon's sweep. His hands surged with frost, gathering into a colossal blade of ice.

The giant sword, glowing blue-white, was no weaker than Ais' storm. It crashed down, shattering scales, tearing through flesh, geysers of scalding dragon blood bursting forth. Frost spread instantly, freezing the wounds shut.

The Greatest Evil roared, writhing in agony.

"Be careful! It's charging another breath!" Akira shouted.

The dragon's chest swelled violently. Between its scales, purple fire leaked like molten lightning. The heat distorted the air, threatening to incinerate everything.

The frost cracked and melted. The monster raised its massive head, jaws splitting wide, light pooling in its throat.

BANG!

The dragon's breath never came. The dark-blue giant sword slammed into its upper jaw, fracturing under the sheer force, but driving the monster's head upward.

"GURRRRRHHHAAAUUGHHHH!!"

The Greatest Evil screamed in anguish, its roar drowning the battlefield.

"I won't let you release dragon breath so easily and more than that—"

Seeing the Greatest Evil now fully focused on him, Akira readied himself to unleash stronger magic. His plan was clear: cripple the wings, force the beast onto the ground, and make it easier for Alise and the others to strike.

But then—

A dreadful gurgling came from within the monster, as though boiling meat churned beneath its scales. Steam hissed out, glowing with a nauseating purple-black light.

In an instant, its wounds knitted together. Flesh regrew. Even shattered scales returned, shining with grotesque perfection.

"Regeneration ability... this strong?!"

Alise couldn't help but cry out at the sight of such abnormal, almost mocking recovery.

Moments ago, she had carved away chunks of flesh with her flaming blade, boosted by magic and skills, but all that effort vanished in an instant.

Even the Astraea Familia members found themselves stricken with despair.

Riveria's hand tightened around her staff, emerald eyes cold and unflinching despite the chaos.

"Listen well! We must maintain continuous, unrelenting offense! Tear through layer after layer of flesh until we reach its core, its magic stone! Nothing less will end it!"

This was the reality of their foe. Ordinary strikes meant nothing, wounds vanished in seconds. Only combined, relentless assault could expose the core. And only destruction of that core would finally erase this Dungeon's killer, the spawn of the evil god.

A sharp, furious roar shattered the moment. It was Ais.

Wind shrieked as her magic surged, a visible cyclone wrapping her slender frame. Her long golden hair whipped wildly as she leapt forward with sword raised. The ground itself cracked beneath her takeoff, gouged into three deep trenches by sheer wind pressure.

Her face twisted, no longer calm, no longer innocent. Pure anger radiated from her entire being. With every ounce of strength, she swung.

Each strike carried storm-force power. Each leap brought her back to the dragon, even when knocked away by wings or tail. Tornado after tornado carved into the sky, forcing the beast into furious, mindless defense. It roared, shaking the cavern.

Monsters lacked cunning. They reacted to what was in front of them. Ais had seized its focus.

"Hey, little one, calm down! If you keep going like this—!" Gareth's voice cracked with urgency.

"Damn it, she's beyond reason, she can't even hear us!" Kaguya cursed, her calls swallowed by the storm.

Lyra's thrown bombs burst against the dragon's scales, doing nothing. Even artillery fire was swallowed by its fire-breath. Magic, too, dispersed.

Large-scale spells might restrain it, but with Ais rampaging so close, even that was too dangerous.

"Ais is burning herself out!" Riveria's face hardened. "Her full skills, her full magic, unleashed without restraint. She can suppress it, yes but she's consuming her body faster than it can endure."

Only a few truly knew Ais' secret, that her abilities were not merely strong, but specialized to slay monsters. Her blade cut as if born for it. And yet, that path led to ruin. Every strike pushed her closer to collapse.

"We must stop her, no matter what!" Riveria's voice trembled.

"Leave it to me!"

The instant Ais was flung back by the dragon's lashing tail, Akira acted.

Raising his palm, he gathered a storm of ice. The air itself thickened, breath frosting in his lungs. Then, light burst above him, illuminating the battlefield like dawn breaking through ash.

From the vast magic circle, four colossal ice spears emerged, each hundreds of meters long, whirling with blizzard winds. Their shrill howl split the air, and even the mages below shivered as suffocating heat turned to chilling cold.

At his command, Akira's hand fell.

The spears launched.

BOOM.

The first two clashed with the dragon's breath head-on. Fire met ice in an explosion that turned the world into a frozen purgatory. For one hundred meters, the battlefield became blizzard and frostfire.

The last two bypassed the flames entirely. With pinpoint precision, they struck the creature's wings.

PUFF.

"AAAAAARRRRRGHHHHHH!!"

The scream of the Greatest Evil tore through stone and soul alike. Blood misted the sky as the spears nailed its wings in place, bending them at grotesque angles.

And then, it fell. A meteor of flesh and fire, dragging its burning tail, crashed down with unstoppable force.