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Chapter 418: The Greatest Gambit! [Release Version]
🕑 Added 2023-05-12 03:34:21 +0000 UTCWe don’t have time for this!
Our targets in this entire debacle weren't these dragonkin slayers or the random adventurers vying for the Event reward, it was the person behind all these disasters. The ones who probably are responcible for the gods issuing the first Event Quest inside this dungeon.
Right now, our objective wasn’t to fight, it was to chase. We had to reach Maagneil and “Broggart” before they escaped! Letting them flee into the unknown again was a no go!
But, just like always, that red aura from that bastard unnerved me ‘cause he always knew when the best time to strike was.
But not this time!
Galg, ignoring the incoming army led by Tasianna, only had eyes for me as his red aura intensified, but there was something I just noticed after meeting him three times at this point. He wasn’t that insanely fast that I couldn’t see him. Compared to my fight with Vifi’Yok where she zoomed around with that lightning of his to the point I could only predict where she went, Galg was just slow enough for me to see.
It was all in my mind. That creeping chill running down my spine whenever I smelled him. The stench of the dead dragonkins covering his armor and body, telling me how many fights he has seen, how many dragonkins just like me he has slain. The armor he made from my arm to counter me, the potions his team created to heal from fire damage, and just the fact he made sure he had everything planned to murder me.
Nothing scared a prey more than a prepared hunter … something I’ve known and taught others here and there. This was a crash course I haven’t had in months … but the third time was what I needed to understand—my fear of him slowed my thinking and actions down!
Snap!
Anticipating him to dash at me again, I snapped my fingers just as he jumped to reach me while riding Uno, causing a spark blast to erupt. While it didn’t hurt Galg, Uno flinched from the damage from the blow, creating enough distance for me to cast two [Wind Blast]s, blowing us far away from this man.
“Sorry, Uno!”
[“Do not be, Alpha’s Master!”] That low, manly voice coming from Saori’s second-in-command reassured me before he stomped on the air, using [Air Walk] to get further away from the dragonslayer. Still, that guy was relentless as always.
However, the moment he tried to pursue me, not one, but two of my allies charged right at him. Vifi’Yok preoccupied his right blade, while Saori kept his left arm restricted with [Dark Tendrils]. That was when the third punched him right in the chest, spreading blue mana lines on the armor before sending him away through the force of her strike.
It was Neill, and she already was in her [Battle Frenzy] mode with her black hair shining neon purple.
Galg fell onto the ground, tumbling around before he recovered his balance. The mana lines spreading on his chest suddenly stopped, leaving a large scar on his armor, but it wasn’t broken. I should feel proud my scales managed to endure a punch from an enraged Neill, but this wasn’t the moment to express that.
As he recovered from that blow by taking a breather, his two remaining allies—the blind katzune archer and the eccentric human mage—began to barrage us with arrows and spells respectively, forcing Kyouya to dismount and construct shadow walls with his unique skills, creating enough of a diversion for everybody else to bypass the projectiles.
Once Saori rescued her student from the incoming fire and teleported him on Quatre, I was ready to unleash hell back by bombarding them with my own spells.
<[Various Spell Buffs] [Music Resonation (Moderate)] [Stage Fever (Minor)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]>
Not this time! I’m not cowering before you all, this time!
Not only the dragonslayers but also their cronies had to dodge as [Bedrock Blades], [Banishment Beam], and [Levin Core] riddled the battlefields with destruction, blowing the ground up and inconveniencing everybody around.
I did managed to damage a couple of the random wyvern slayers and adventurers, but the mages amongst them immediately went into action to stop me from killing any of them, especially that dragonslayer mage. Aside from holy and dark elemental spells, that guy had been using fire, wind, water, and earth spells, in addition to their various compound elements—lightning, ice, magma, and mud—to fend me off.
He had access to [Bedrock Blades] to force us to dodge, [Tailwind] to speed up his allies movements, [Blazing Twister] to force us into positions for the katzune archer to fire at us, and even [Sapphire Membrane] to create a barrier of water to shield everybody. This wasn’t even to mention how I noticed him being able to cast seven spells simultaneously, making me fully acknowledge this person was without a doubt a rank A mage.
Just like me with far more room to work with, unlike the tunnel we just fought in, this was about to copy our first meeting where we went wild with our spell casts. Only difference was I was fighting against eight more mages, all able to cast at least three spells at once. They were rank B, probably, but any spells slung at us forced us on the defensive as even a weak earth spell was enough to disrupt our dodging rhythm.
“Can’t attack!” Vifi’Yok cried out as she dodged at an incoming arrow, forcing me to cast [Sanctuary] to block a few more spells to allow us to get in a better position for me to cast spells. “Too many!”
Vifi’Yok was one of our only fighters who could equal Galg when it came to combat speed, so having her act as our vanguard would leave our slower members in danger. King Fugnarus had his artificial Territory in store to allow him to control the earth at a more large-scale fashion, but if his armor or axe cracked, all of would be for naught. Tatsuya and Kyouya were completely out of the question since they weren’t strong enough.
I couldn’t just charge in since I was weak to their attacks, especially Winter’s Gift would knock me easily. I couldn’t even transform back into a dragon since the moment I did, I would have to take off my bracelet. That meant I would forfeit my stay in this dungeon and would be transported out by the rules of the Event Quest. I had to rely on my allies, but …
Grimnir wasn’t responding, looking like he was still in shock at what happened, not to mention, he probably was still feeling the aftereffects of the demonic encroachment, even if [My Darkest Thoughts] probably soothed his mind. I felt confident in Ellaine’s powers now … but only if she turned into her demonkin form, and that could expose her to Vifi’Yok. Was it worth it?
As such, only Neill or Saori could be sent in, but both of them were weak to anti-dragonkin weapons. Neither of them could fully one-woman army all of them due to the number of wyvern slayers and the three dragonslayers looming around with Winter’s Gift ready to take them out.
The shadow pack, also, required far larger shadows to jump out from now that they evolved into rank Bs. They were far too large for human shadows now, and this huge arena was surprisingly well lit by a large artificial sun.
Sun? Wait, wait, wait! This place is large enough! The requirements are set!
And just as I got an epiphany on how to solve this situation, the more obvious one was about to dawn on me. I mean, while my hearing was quite good, it couldn’t hear people from too far away … still, it did sound like the air was whistling as multiple missiles were quickly approaching us from the sky.
Looking up, I knew why.
“DRAGOONS!” the enemies before me shouted, momentarily stopping their assault.
For up in the sky, spirit-like silver and black dragons formed before they lunged at us, striking and launching numerous of our enemies up in the air. Easy pickings while they were airborne, but I held my spells back as I squinted my eyes, noticing numerous other figures diving onto the ground, barraging the ground as if it was an artillery strike!
The rumbling, ear-splitting sounds of all those attacks forced the dragonslayer mage to focus entirely on defense, constructing multiple [Sapphire Membranes] to dampen the attacks. Still, those spear-like missiles pierced right through the watery barrier, wrecking the people underneath it.
<Allied Territory detected! [Skyward Bladeworks] has been activated!>
Just then, a System message appeared in front of me as the dust was swept away by the sight of twelve spears made from glistening silver. They rotated around a silver-scaled dragonewt, slicing anybody around her before she jumped up, using those floating weapons to destroy the [Sapphire Membrane], opening for the assault of two familiar dragonewts and the sightings of a blue-haired elf blasting ice unto the battlefield.
“Glory to Kargryxmor! Glory to Eltharion! Glory to the True Dragonkins! Dragoons! Dive!” The silver dragonewt shouted before she pointed her spears at the enemy below. “Protect our Princesses, Loatryxians! Clan Nordor, protect our matriarch’s beloved daughter!”
Yorshka! That’s her Territory!
“By the command of my father, a representative of the kinkyuro, Loatryxians, we give our lives to our Emperor’s daughters!” And from below, a bulky, black-scaled dragonewt raised his halbard into the sky as black flames began to rise around him, covering his black-scaled armor like a poncho. “Our honor as knights depends on it! I, Midirn, order every able Clan Kargryxmor member to protect our two princesses! Protect Princess Hestia and Princess Fargryneill! Gahaha!”
The rousing battle cries and speeches fully invigorated the many dragonewts on the grounds—the ones who bombarded the area with their [Dragoon Dive]s. They all raised their polearms in unison, pumping them up and down like handbells in the middle of the shattered ground and the bodies of some of the deceased adventurers.
“Kill the dragonslayers! Kill the wyvern slayers! Kill all dragonkin SLAYERS!”
I noticed Pradreo and Skardrvo amongst the dragoons—the two dragonewts ambassadors I met—before they had to defend themselves from some incoming attackers. In fact, all of them went into action, with archers targeting Yorshka in the skies. Fortunately, the two dragonewts and Tasianna I mentioned before had them covered.
Ice breaths coming from Shay and Beth blanked the field before countless blades of ice showered everything, turning the battlefield into a spike field. Tasianna was riding on the back of the brother of the two twins, doing what she did best. As the chaos raged on, a giant green magic circle appeared on the ground, before Tasianna unleashed one of her new spells upon everybody.
“Support is here! Flight Zone!” she shouted for everybody to hear before the spell activated, causing a strong updrift from the magic circle, shooting everybody in the air as we floated around as if we were in an indoor skydiving room.
“Tasianna!” I shouted as I noticed the katzune archer aiming at her, but before she even needed to react, an arrow landed directly on the man’s bow, ruining his aim.
Following his direction, the other archers readied their bows at Tasianna, but this was the dragoons’ playing field. If it came to the air battles, this was their moment!
“Huuuraaaah!” The only human amongst the dragoon shouted, swinging his swordspear downwards, causing the wind to move towards him, bringing the archers closer. This rusty dragoon—Farron—then stomped the air with his fellow dragon knight, shooting themselves forward in a rotating moment with [Spiral] to eviscerate anybody they touched.
The uplift suddenly stopped, causing everybody to fall down who wasn’t floating with a skill or ability. My team, for example, were going back to the ground.
And there was when all of saw the reinforcements of the cavalry incoming. Riding on the backs of dinosaurs made from water, numerous humans, elves, and dwarves quickly approached us with the giant ice serpent acting as the vanguard. I also noticed a priest-like wind elf aiming his bow at a few adventurers but not shooting, while a heavily armored dwarf was laughing out loud as he bashed his gemstone-embedded shield with a hammer.
However, it wasn’t these over twenty allies that made me smile, but the five scalekins sitting on the last dinosaur. Saurians; it was Master, Krim-Slak, Grazlahta, Akast, and Tehmrayn! That ass who didn’t want to join the after-battle feast in Elyonda was back!
I could even see Nishio, Kazumi, Kohaku, and Misaki in the middle! The students weren’t fully injured! Everybody was alright, and they were charging into battle with the rest.
The whole bloody expedition was here … I couldn’t really them show me up but—
“Go!” Neill shouted. “Find the person behind this and beat the shit out of them! We can handle this!”
“What?!” I snapped my head around. What was Sis suggesting here.
“This is another Elyonda situation if you ask me, Hestia. We failed to stop Ghorush from releasing that rank SS leviathan cuz we got distracted—even Tehmrayn realized it was his mistake in the end. Whatever they are planning with that ‘dragon killer,’ we need to stop it now.” She grabbed my shoulders. “Manethala might not be part of Kargryx, but you heard that fake Broggart. It might not be the whole truth he said, but I have this feeling Manethala is still an unwilling participant in this. As a dragonkin myself, I know what it feels when somebody stomps on the things you love, especially if all of the things are in your nest!”
She then began shedding the upper layer of her scales, allowing them to form two gauntlets and greaves, before she continued, “But, if that guy is a threat, then we better stop him now. What did you say? A rebellion orb or something?”
I understood what she wanted us to do. “… You’re telling me to divide our forces?”
“Yes … cuz killing that dragonslayer is my job, not yours.”
Huh? My mouth went agape as I heard her say that.
“Either that, or we can all wait here, kill the dragonslayers together, and possibly risk Maagneil or that ‘thing’ running the fuck away. Or, in the worst case, that thing becomes active and wants to kill us. Do you get what I mean? I—all of the expedition force—can handle these two last assholes!” Neill readied to jump off Uno the moment we landed. “… Besides, you made me realize I can’t continue running away from my kirin form. As I told you, if I want my name to spread throughout the world, then it better be from me killing the rank S dragonslayer ‘Twin Reaver’ Galg! GALG!”
“W-wait!” I reached my hand out as she jumped off, joining the fray as she regrouped with Pradreo and Skardrvo, leaving me here, flabbergasted at what just happened. “… But I was supposed to prove I’m not running away any longer. Why are you—”
“Cut it with the jokes! Uno, move!” Saori pulled me back on the fenrir’s back before he snapped his body around and ran. “Song found a tunnelway. They are sure Maagneil came from it, but they were sure he visited Broggart from the arena area.”
“Wait, you can’t be serious! We can’t just—” I wanted to protest to Neill’s and Saori’s wish to split up the group, finding it more too risky unless we make sure we kill Galg here and now, however, that was when a telepathic message came to interrupt me.
[“Lady Hestia.”] It was Tasianna’s voice. [“Miss Saori briefed me as much as possible. I am not clear on your situation, but I know the real enemy to this entire mess is on the last floor. Leave these scoundrels to all of us.”]
[“Tasianna, you can’t—”]
[“Trust us! I won’t die. Your sister won’t die. Saint Kushlek’zar won’t die. Yorshka and Farron will not fall! The twins will reap before they fall! This is not where we will die, so trust us, and move! What I’ve learned as a leader during this expedition is that sometimes, you need to put your faith into those under you. Even if you are the strongest ever, you cannot solve every situation without letting repercussions build up!”]
Tasianna … What have you experienced during this trip?
“Lass,” King Fugnarus called out to me. “Justice doesn’t always have to come through our hands. Maagneil. Broggart. The Prince of Greed. They can not be left to their own devices!”
The king of the dwarves who lost an entire rescue party to the dragonslayers wanted to avenge all of them for his honor, but he put it aside for his responsibility as a king. He pushed me forward, reminding me what my role in all of this was. Reminding me of what Eshe and Tehmrayn told me to do as a Champion.
I was given a Divine Quest by Crustacia. I was given the role to fulfil a task by the gods … and as a Champion who agreed to it, I had to answer their trust in me. Crustacia’s trust in me to find the filth staining her lands and to get rid of it!
This wasn’t the time for my idol side to win over, this was the time for me to act upon everything I’ve learned on my adventurers. I was a blessed of Aurena; a Champion and self-proclaimed idol!
I clenched my hands. [“Then you better return, Tasianna! Keep everybody safe! This is an order!”]
[“Yes, Princess Hestia!”]
She was so far up in the sky, dazzling so brightly with that new wardress of hers. Where did she get it? From a dungeon chest? It didn’t matter, for her resplendent figure felt so … No, it felt like the same old Tasianna, but she was now forged through trials where she didn’t have to rely on me any longer. She had already grown strong, but it felt like she got even better.
On the backs of Uno, our eight man group dashed through the battlefields, through the rain of arrows and spells. Some wyvern slayers would appear before us, but before any of us needed to fight, somebody from the expedition force would block them.
“Move, Princess Hestia!”
“Clan Nordor will keep you safe!”
First, it was Pradreo and Skardrvo. I argued with them, finding their zealous fanaticism to the killing of dragonkin slayers quite frightening and intimidating, but when it mattered the most, they stood by me. I didn’t acknowledge them as family just yet … but they did. For my dragon father and mother, they were here to protect me.
I really should apologize to them the next time we meet.
In addition, numerous humans, dragonewts, elves, and dwarves helped us get through all the conflict. People I had never met in my life before were fighting in my behest, slaying those I deemed enemies.
Unlike in Elyonda where I led and fought for the people of Elyonda, this time it was the other way around. Still … it felt undeserved. Their trust in me was due to my political connections and standing as a member of the imperial family of Kargryx … But that only made me more motivated to shine brighter. I had to live up to their expectations.
I couldn’t speak with Yorshka, Farron, Shay, Beth, or the saurians, but it didn’t mean I could exit the stage without some words.
[“Victory will be ours! Trust in me!”] I announced to everybody as they roared out in response.
We shot through the battlefield and into a cave. I looked back, noticing Ellaine was still trying to get Grimnir to stop looking like he was in a daze. I shuffled back, shaking his shoulders, telling him to get a grip.
“Grimnir, we’re about to confront Broggart! Stop looking like this isn’t your problem!”
However, he didn’t respond, only lowering his head while keeping his eyes widened. Was he having a flashback or something? Regardless, it didn’t look like any of us could solve his situation for him, as Ellaine figured he might be relapsing to when we first met him. To the Grimnir who blamed himself for his cousin’s death.
Shit!
“Company!” Vifi’Yok shouted as she pointed ahead.
“Fuck! They caught onto us!” A couple adventurers shouted as they readied their weapons at us. Ellaine quickly informed me those were the third faction of this Event Quest—the neutral faction only interested in the win, instead of the fighting.
I can’t let you win this!
I left Grimnir in Ellaine’s care before jumping forward to spew out purple flames at our competition. Once they were set ablaze, I immediately used [Volcanic Blaze] to extinguish the flame, leaving only the fumes of my [Corrosive Fire], causing them to quickly become drowsy and numb to their burn pains.
As we ran by them, I blasted them with some [White Flames] to assure they weren’t about to die and left them there. Ellaine didn’t specify them as our enemies, just competitors to the reward of this Event. After all, the entire reason for this expedition was the acquisition of the Unique Jobs and that was why Ellaine had to stay with us.
[“Found it, Master!”] Rajah’s voice entered my mind before he jumped out of the numerous shadows in this tunnel. He ran through one of the side tunnels, leading us to a set of stairs where Varya and Vidia were waiting for us.
[“The smell of that dwarf is through this path,”] the latter informed us. The power of a wolf’s nose.
Ellaine jumped off Uno’s back, understanding she had to be the first to enter the last floor. After some time passed, she finally shouted, “I got it!” and sent the message to us telepathically.
<Congratulations on becoming the first party to reach the final floor of [Manethala’s Greatest Gambit]! The trial for your last gambit has been chosen; fulfill it and you will receive your reward! Objective: Kill or expunge the invaders into Goddess Chihiro’s workshop, and protect the dungeon core stored inside of it>
… This really is his ‘greatest gambit.’
With that message in mind, we joined up with her, prompting another System message to be sent to me which gave me the same info, only that they called me the “second party.” Without further delay, we rushed forward until we entered a humongous chamber about the size of my obsidian orchestra. We all stood still for a moment, as our eyes were captivated by the dazzling sight of the mountains upon mountains of radiant ores and minerals.
It was a literal dragon’s pile of gold. No matter where you went, it was inevitable for you to step upon at least something valuable. Even more impressive was the fact that this drake decorated his lair’s walls with topaz- and emerald-glass sheets as if they were tapestry, even adding gems and such as “embroidery.” Manethala the Avaricious, indeed. Manethala the No-Home-Decoration-Skill sounded more accurate at this point, though.
“Grrraaaaaaak!” Speaking of the devil … that very terrible home decorators suddenly was blown through a gold-plated door to the right, destroying it while the former crashed right into his pile of wealth. Blood splattered all over everything as a deep wound on his stomach began to spray around like a fountain.
That’s a drake.
The humongous dragonkin before me was almost the size of the geisenlarg king I fought in Griffonpeak, towering even over my dragon form. This beast …was probably the length of a medium navy warship, with the outer shell looking like the armor of a desert reptile. In fact, with the sharp protrusions limited to his back, Manethala looked like an armadillo lizard with the bulk of a komodo dragon, but the gigantification needed for a rank A true dragonkin.
We gazed at the groaning drake for a moment, before we snapped to the broken door, hearing the rumbling footsteps of something approaching. The clanking sound of gears turning and the cracking of metal put through stress and tear drowned out all other noises, even our own awe as it revealed itself.
A metal colossus, just as Broggart explained with his “golem” description. A creation made from metal with a giant drill on its right arm and a laser barrel on the left. The robotic face of this golem stared at us as it revved up its drill, causing its body to shine blue from all the seams flowing through its body and revealing a dark truth behind the “power source” Broggart mentioned would power up this giant.
“Cuoso?”
Grimnir stared up at the thing’s chest, witnessing the fake Broggart’s broken body acting as the core for the entire thing. Mana was sapped from his body as it turned purple, while the aberration squirming on its chest let out a ghastly, outlandish chuckle.
Grimnir could only continue staring. “Broggart …”
“Hestia, that’s a—” Tatsuya was silenced from his shock.
Kyouya nodded. “C-can’t believe she lived through that early age, too! That’s not like the modern versions, but that still is a—”
“Gundam!” I shouted!
It wasn’t the more modern looking giant robots which looked more fantastical with their designs, but more like those bulky toys with those blocky shoulders and limbs. It looked as if some giant was wearing the armor with how simple it was. Only, the encroaching eldritch influence caused by the aberration was slowly twisting it, making it look freaky.
It became even worse when a dwarf stepped in front of the colossus’s head, revealing themselves to me Maagneil. With no words, he held up a red orb with one hand and a brown one with the other.
[“… Help … me.”] I heard from somebody telepathically, almost recognizing the voice until my parallel minds reminded me that it belonged to the earth elemental emperor. Did it come from that brown orb.
“Witness … my son’s greatest creation. The one to bring the Luedbrumdar’s name into the next world! My … chance to bring him back to life,” the deranged dwarf monologue before the robot’s face opened up, revealing something that looked like a cockpit. “His greatest creation … the killer of dragons, the one to bring Kargryx down. To bring the Ankor-Nazta down.”
“False!” King Fugnarus jumped down from Uno, walking up with his axe held up high. The Dhuinn rune on his chestplate and axe lit up. “Maagneil, you dare speak that name when you betrayed us all? You will find no glory under the clutches of the demonkins! You will fall here and lose that beard, zuekluk!”
“… You exiled my son and brought him to death, Fugnarus. You and Grimnir will not live to witness the destruction I will bring upon your home!” He went into the cockpit. “GRIMNIR! YOU WILL PAY FOR KILLING MY BROGGART! YOU WILL NOT STOP ME FROM RESURRECTING HIM!”
The endgame of this event was upon us.
I clutched my hands and touched my sun core, realizing it was almost out of solar power. It had been so long since I saw the real sun, and without a full core, I wouldn’t be able to use [Drakonian Sunlight Edge] too well, or [Solar Beam], honestly. I needed a full charge to bring havoc, including a chance to be in my dragon form.
Guess I have to make him desperate, then.
I flew up in the sky, confronting the enemy before me as it aimed its laser barrel at me.
“Hestia?!” Saori called out, but I stayed calm.
Unlike with the dragonslayers, I couldn’t smell the stench of dragonblood on the colossus that much, aside from the drill. I wasn’t scared of this thing. It was just another of the many giant foes I’ve taken down in the past. It would be another piece to my collection of victories.
I held my hand up, creating a purple magic circle as the barrel began to lit up blue.
“Purple Flash. Humanize.”
<[Humanize (Minor)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]>
I felt my mana surging up, demanding me to cast my next spell. I poured my mana out as two white magic circle materialized above and under me, each a part of the other according to the mana link between them. This was one of my newest custom spells along [Hydra]. Speaking of which …
Hydra.
The giant obsidian slime snake began to appear from the ground, hissing at the enemy before me. I tensed up as I sent more of my mana out until the holy spell was ready. With a deep breath, I roared!
“Kriiiiiaaaaaaaaah!”
Sun, Consume All!
Comments
I CANNOT BELIEVE THERE IS ACTUALLY A REFERENCE LIKE THAT! Hahahaha! Daitarn Crash! Oh, sorry, Hestia Kick! OMG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3ZlwGrxYtQ
Diego Rossi
What is this? Daitarn 3 against Gundam? Sun attack! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1y3yWWR1o0 Hestia i more beautiful than Daitarn.
