Chapter 340

The Water Dragon and the Ijilis Flower

Then we talked about what to do next.

“As for me, I want to go down there and take off its head.”

Said the Lord Snow Cat. Yes, I wanted to make sure that it never breathed again. And while I thought it was very likely already dead, perhaps the strongest water dragon would be tougher than that.

“However, I cannot do anything when it’s encased like that. Asagi, you do it.”

“…Fine.”

I wasn’t exactly fully recovered, but allowing it to revive was the last thing we needed. This was the part where I needed to keep pushing. And so I forced myself to my feet. As for a sword that could cut through that ice, the only thing I could think of was coating the greatsword in a water blade. But how much could I do in my current state…

“Oomph…”

“You sound like an old man…”

Daniela noted with a look of distaste. Shut up. Three hundred-year-old.

And then I activated Legs of the God Wolf. I slid through the air with just the power of the wind, and looked down at the hole that Daniela and the Snow Cat had made.

“It really is amazing…”

When the Blue Dragon had unleashed its breath, its power had exceeded that of the Snow Cat, resulting in the melting of the ice. But now, it was all frozen solid again. It was because I used magic conversation while using Niflheim.

I looked away from the walls and to the frozen breath. It resembled a giant spear of ice. When I looked up, I could see where it connected with the Niflheim, as the ice spread out in all directions. The sun was out again, and its rays shone through the umbrella of ice.

I squinted from the brightness and turned my eyes away. The next thing that I looked at was the Blue Dragon itself.

“Damn…”

This was the first water dragon I had ever seen. It was so awe-inspiring that you almost wanted to bow before it, even though it was now frozen. I had seen just the shadow of its long body through Eyes of the God Wolf before, but it seemed slimmer up close. Judging by the fact that the body was frozen but the head was not, you could see that it had tried really hard to avoid the Snow Cat’s ice attack.

Its four limbs were much like other dragons I had seen. They had fingers and claws. The only differences were that they were webbed. They were thin, but seemed strong.

I could see its face clearly now. It was the expression of someone that didn’t realize what was happening. I stared at it for a while, but it did not stare back.

“Alright…!”

I held the greatsword out and sent what magic that had recovered into it. Then water started to flow out of the base and slowly enveloped the sword. When it reached the tip, the water blade was complete. And so I swung the sword over the Blue Dragon’s neck. It felt like cutting food that was frozen to its core. I grimaced as the head fell down. I had to chase after it and put it in the hollow bag. At the very least, not a single drop of blood was spilled.

□ □ □ □

When I returned to the surface, I saw that Daniela and the Snow Cat were waiting on the island, and so I went and joined them. The grass cracked loudly under my boots. Apparently, everything near the island had been frozen as well.

“Welcome back. Was it really dead?”

“Yeah. It was frozen to the bone. Alright, I’m going to deactivate the ice in the lake now.”

The parts that were frozen with Niflheim. As it was my magic, I could melt it as well. And so I stretched out my hand and laid it over the surface of the water, controlling the energy so that the ice would melt.

“…Hmm. It will probably be finished in about five minutes.”

“Well, we will need to collect the water dragon when that happens.”

“…Huh?”

Daniela folded her arms and looked at the lake as if it were obvious. And who was going to do that?

“You can have a five-minute break, Asagi. So rest up.”

“Are you serious…”

She was more merciless than usual. So it was my job again. Was I ever going to fully recover…

By enveloping myself in dark blue magic, I was able to become mostly waterproof as I dove down to the bottom of the lake and collected the Blue Dragon. After that, I was able to rest. Thankfully, Daniela had a bonfire blazing on my return. My chilled body wanted warmth.

“So…everything is finished now?”

“Uh, yes. Thank you.”

The Lord Snow Cat got back to its feet and looked down at us. It could be very intimidating. A white leopard… It yawned loudly and then started to slowly walk away.

“I’ve worked too much today… I’m going home and taking a nap. Thank you for getting rid of that annoying dragon. Farewell and good luck.”

“Yes. You too, Lord Snow Cat.”

“Aye.”

That’s all it said before running over the surface of the lake. It was a pretty abrupt farewell. But that was about what one should expect from a cat.

“Worked too much today… I wish I could say that.”

“What would you prefer to be doing?”

But I ignored her question and lay on the grass as the Snow Cat had done. Ahh, the fire was so warm… So comfortable…

□ □ □ □

Apparently, the warmth had been casting a spell on me without my knowledge. But when I woke up again, I was inside a tent. I looked around and saw that Daniela’s magic heater-like device was on. That’s why it was so warm.

I then crawled out to discover that it was already dark outside. The sky was filled with stars that shined brightly over us.

“Sleep well?”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to doze off.”

“You worked too hard today. It could not be helped.”

Hey… There it was. Indeed, I had done well. I liked to think so, anyway. But waking up at night… That was a bit too much.

I sat down next to her and stared dazedly at the flames. As I scratched my head, Daniela poked at the firewood and started to talk.

“There are no monsters on this island. They could probably not get near with the Blue Dragon guarding it. And so I left you here to see the ruins.”

“Please tell me you at least set up a barrier…”

“Aye, you need not worry about that.”

And yet, somehow I still did.

“It looks like an old church. There is a lot more left than the ruin in Replant. And just like that time in Reserentrible, there was an entrance to the underground.”

“I knew it.”

“Aye. It was concealed with magic. It would be very difficult for anyone to find it, if they had no idea it was there.”

It wasn’t something to be discovered by accident. I didn’t know how long the Blue Dragon had been lurking here, but even if it had been easier to access, people would have likely still seen it as an old church and nothing more.

“And what was inside?”

“I have not checked. It could be dangerous. And…”

Daniela began to look inside of my bag. Her arm went all the way in and came out grasping a red flower.

“I go this.”

“The Ijilis flower. It’s…pretty.”

I had only seen it through Eyes of the God Wolf earlier. It had six red petals that spread outwards and smelled very nice.

“We should take it back at once. Even if it’s in the middle of the night.”

“Yes, I am sure they are waiting for us. Just let me put out the fire first.”

Daniela extinguished it with wind magic and then got her things together. While my nap had delayed things a little, at least we now knew that we could save Mishka’s mother.

I put on my bag and looked towards Daniela. She was reaching out to me, so I picked her up. Then the platinum and green wind enveloped my legs and carried me into the sky. The lights were on at Cath Palug. So, it was still too early for everyone to be asleep.

“Alright, let’s go.”

“Aye!”

And so I raised the speed of the wind and rushed straight towards the settlement with a great feeling of impatience.