bookworm

Because they had turned in early the night before, they awoke bright and early the next morning.
It was still not quite light when they roused. They ate a quick breakfast of dried foods, completed their morning preparations, stowed their blankets inside the tent, and then merrily went on their way.
“There’s a bit of a rise over there, so we should be able to see out over the whole dig…”
“Oh.”A quiet word from Mavis interrupted Mile’s proposal.
“What’s the matter?” Mile asked.
“M-my foot just broke through something…” Mavis replied, her face twitching.
Hearing this, Mile made a break for the small incline, quickly falling to a crouch and looking out over the dig site. As she did, she saw beastmen flooding from one of the huts, kicking up some sort of ruckus.
“It seems like they’ve got some kind of warning system set up, too…”
“I-I’m sorry! This is all my fault…” Mavis said apologetically.
However, it was not as though she’d intended to trip the wire. None of them had thought there would be an alarm, so it would probably just have been a matter of time.
Mile said as much, assuring Mavis not to worry, but over-earnest Mavis did not seem to be comforted.
But was that pit there the last time…?
Mile’s eyes fixed on a hole about seven or eight meters in diameter near the center of the dig site. She didn’t remember it. However, when she had observed the site before, it was evening and rather dark. Thinking she had probably overlooked it, she now paid it no mind. Now was not the time to be thinking about such things, after all.
“Let’s move! If we fight beastmen in terrain with low visibility or a lot of trees, we’ll be at a disadvantage!”
Just as Mile suggested, fighting in heavily wooded areas was a problem when your opponents were nimble beastmen, who were skilled in close-range combat. Using powerful fire magic would be difficult, too.
They wanted to leave their opponents relatively unscathed, and therefore hoped to avoid using fire magic. But if they found themselves outnumbered, it would be back on the table. As long as they didn’t kill the beastmen, they could be fixed back up with healing magic. They would just have to put up with the pain until they were healed.Of course, if this went poorly, they would be “assaulting some beastfolk in the middle of scavenging.” To connect this to the previous incident and have the situation read as, “We went to reclaim the gear stolen by bandits and were attacked again, so we rightfully defended ourselves,” they had to ensure their attacks were only reactionary, should the situation come to blows.
Over and over, Mile pressed this upon them. Reina was exasperated at her insistence, but Dr. Clairia was deeply moved.
“I know you said we were relocating, but where?!”
Reina’s complaint was well founded. They were cutting straight through the forest. There were only trees behind them. Because they were still at something of an elevation, however, the trees were beginning to thin.
Even so, they could still easily be cornered. Even if they retreated at full speed, they would never move quicker than beastmen through the woods. Save for Mile.
If they kept up, they were sure to be attacked when they were exhausted and negligent. It would be safer to pick a preemptive fight somewhere that would be advantageous for them and then run once they had crushed their opponents.
Plus, if they just ran away like this, it would count as a “failed request” on their record.
“We’re going to keep up this way and run down the other side of this hill all the way to there. This is reconnaissance-in-force,” Mile said, pointing to the dig site.
Dr. Clairia interjected. “You know, Miss Mile. A reconnaissance-in-force maneuver typically involves slightly reckless action to seek out information about an enemy whose location you’re already aware of or making a move that they can’t ignore in order to stir them up and gauge their general disposition. At the very least, it doesn’t usually mean storming the enemy stronghold and gathering information after everyone has been defeated. Are you sure you aren’t thinking of a disruption-in-force?”
“I-I know that much! I watched a video about the ‘craft of war,’” Mile snapped back, perturbed.
“‘Vee-dee-oh’? ‘Orc raft?’”
Dr. Clairia clearly couldn’t follow her Terran terminology. Then again, even if she had used words from this world to explain it, such as “combat tactics” or “digital film record,” the point still wouldn’t have gotten across.
In any case, there was no time. There was no telling how soon they would end up surrounded, so they didn’t have the luxury of a leisurely debate.
“No use. I don’t think it’s a good plan, but since I can’t think of a better one, process of elimination means Mile’s plan is the best. Let’s just try to make sure non-combatants get a chance to escape unharmed.”
With Reina’s approval, their course of action was cemented.
“All right, let’s do it!”
“All right!!!” the other three cheered.
“…All right!” As always, Dr. Clairia was just one beat behind.

They rushed the enemy camp but without shout or battle cry.
Until they were discovered, they would remain in the shadows, forging forward in silence. Then they would lie in wait just before one of the open areas. Their scent would eventually give them away, but there was no sense in hastening the inevitable.
Naturally, the beastpeople must know where their alarm system had been triggered, so they could expect them to surround and approach, trying to block their escape route. They probably didn’t expect a small group to be coming their way, so when they got to where they expected the girls to be, only to find no one there, they would probably panic and start gaining on them.
For Mile and the others, this would mean they had been chased down by an attacking enemy, and driven into their camp, and not that they had infiltrated the camp of their own volition. By extension, any mayhem, injuries, or property and artifact damage would be because the beastmen came at them, absolving the party of even a modicum of blame.
Then, they could gather more information during the confusion or proceed once they had driven the beastmen away. There was a chance that whatever they were searching for might be destroyed or lost in the fray, but that wasn’t the girls’ problem. In fact, it might just be better if the item went “missing” during the battle.
“You’re always such an airhead, how is this the one area where you’ve got a bit of sense?!” Reina gave an exasperated shout as Mile explained the plan.

Several minutes later, just as planned, the beastmen had rushed to the point where they thought the intruders were. Seeing no one, nor any signs of them heading back, they were now proceeding back toward the dig site in order to surround the intruders from behind. Since they would likely be following their scents, it was only a matter of time before the girls were discovered.
And then, finally…
“There they are! Surround those intruders and capture them!” shouted one of the beastmen, pointing at the group.
“Oh no! The enemy has surrounded us and ordered our capture! We’d better run! I guess we’re being forced right into this open space!”
Mile stood up and began bolting directly towards the center of the dig site.
“Wah! While running away from the bandits attacking us, we ended up running right into some strange place! Is this the bandits’ secret hideout?!” she shouted in a loud and stilted voice.
There were now only ten beastpeople blocking the way ahead of them—all adult males. All of the women and youths had taken refuge in the huts, which, as far as Mile and company were concerned, was a favorable circumstance.
“Intruders shouldn’t be sayin’ such disrespectful things!”
“And bandits shouldn’t be acting so haughty!”
“Wh…”
As long as they didn’t know the truth of the matter, the men were as good as bandits. Even if that turned out to not be the case later, they were bandits for now and would be handled accordingly. Honestly, if this incident ended up being of international significance, they would be better off being considered as such.
“What?” Reina interjected. “Are you saying that’s wrong? Then what are you all doing here? And why did you capture those hunters and steal their things? Are you going to explain why you’re acting exactly like bandits?!”
“Er…”
The beastmen, lost for words, didn’t reply. Some of them looked like ones who had been present for the previous incident.
“Ugh, shut up! Oi, you lot, capture those girls already! …What’s wrong?”
For beastmen—who had a very strict respect for hierarchy—failure to obey a superior’s orders would normally be unthinkable. Mile thought it very suspicious the men didn’t act, until she looked more closely at them. Yes, they were very familiar…“Oh! These men are the ones who attacked us!” At Mile’s shout, eight men twitched and stiffened.
“What?” the leader shouted. “Are you telling me these girls are the lady hunters you said you scared off? Didn’t you say there were just four… wait! Isn’t that one there one of the prisoners who escaped?! Were they hanging around here this whole time?! The humans still don’t know what’s going on, then! Wait!! Where are the other seventeen?!”
The girls were under no obligation to answer. The humans had made it back safely, and they could still take precautions to limit the beastpeople’s actions, even without new information.
“Damn it, say something! What are you all so afraid of?”
As the leader stared in wonder at his subordinates, who still failed to move, an inconceivable thought crossed his mind.

It was just the other day that his men had returned with their report of the girls.
When they had come seeking healing services, and he had asked why they had so many injuries, they said that in order to ward the intruders off without harming them, they had taken attacks from a mage. But…it couldn’t be…
Suspicion bubbled up in his heart, but he couldn’t press them in front of the enemy.
However, just in case, he would have to prepare himself. Because, soon, probably very soon… Gwah!

Fwooooosh…
“Gwah!”
“Guh-ha!”
A bizarre smell began drifting through the area.
The Crimson Vow’s faces contorted as well—just slightly after the beastmen’s.
“Th-this smell…”
“Hwahaha! Did you really think someone as brilliant as me was going to go along with your story?! The reserve forces I sent out to lie in wait have finally returned! Now, face our overwhelming battle prowess, and be… Huuuurk!”
Apparently, their “battle prowess” had been significantly lowered.

There were fourteen men in front of them, who were huddled up puking. There were twenty at their rear, gaunt and wobbling—and still reeking.
Only the first fourteen still appeared to be in top shape. So, no one could say their battle strength was improved with the additional numbers.
The ones who had fallen for the stink trap had probably washed themselves hard, but the smell still hadn’t come all the way out. There were even some pitiful forms among them who had shaved their fur, hoping to rid themselves of every trace of the stench.
“M-Mile, what in the world is that…?” Reina asked.
Mavis gasped. “Are you saying Mile did this?”
“P-please forgive me…”
Though their noses were nowhere near as sharp as the beastmen’s, Reina, Pauline, and Mavis were all on the brink of fainting. As was Mile, whose nose was sharper than the average human’s.
Dr. Clairia, of course, was on the ground, vomiting.
A shout, from Mile, resounded through the area.
“Waaaaaah!!! Smell, go awaaaay! Destroy all the sources of this smell here and throughout the whole foreeeest!!!”

***

“Huff, huff, huff… Th-thank you so much…”
Though they were enemies, the leader of the beastmen offered Mile his thanks for ridding them of the smell.
“Hrff, hrff, hrff… N-no worries, it was my pleasure.”
Neither side could be considered in their best form, but there was no time to sit around and chatter; the battle was about to begin.
Before it did, however, Mavis pulled something from her pocket. It was a small, capsule-like vessel: the gift Mile had given her. Because there were so many enemies, she had already decided it was time to use it. She gripped the capsule in her hand and uttered:
“Let’s see what you’ve got, Micross!”
Mile had once described the contents of this object to Mavis. “Inside this capsule is a very, very tiny object that can restore the power of your ‘spirit.’ When the going gets tough, please don’t hesitate to use it.”
Because this world didn’t yet have a word equivalent to “nano,” Mile had elected to call it something equivalent to “micro.” It was a soup full of microscopic things. “Microsoup,” or “Micross” for short. The word that Mavis used was obviously not pronounced the same, but it carried the same meaning.
With this prayer offered to the capsule, Mavis unscrewed the cap and gulped down the liquid.
“True Godspeed Blade EX!”
With Mavis’s cry, the battle was underway.

Naturally, Reina and Pauline had already prepared their spells before the fighting even began. This wasn’t cowardly; it was no different, actually, than a swordsman gripping the hilt before the fight began.
They let those spells fly before the beastmen could draw nearer. There was no mage in any world who would wait for an enemy skilled in close-range combat to approach them.
“Ultra Super Deluxe Hot Tornado!”
“Gyaaaaaah!!!”
Following Pauline’s special non-lethal (if you didn’t count souls) hot magic spell, Reina fired her own spell.
“Ultrasonic!”
“Eeeeeeek!!!”
After discussing it with Mavis, who was well aware of Reina’s frightening philosophy that “as long as it’s non-lethal, friendly fire isn’t a problem,” Mile had come up with a sort of magic perfect for fighting beastpeople—one that affected only beastpeople and not their allies. She had taught it to Reina before they set out.
Naturally, the ones who had the highest probability of being caught in Reina’s attack spells were the frontline fighters. For Mavis and Mile, it was a literal matter of life and death.
What flew out from Reina’s spell, though, was an incredibly unpleasant burst of sound, inaudible to humans but perfectly audible to beastmen, who could hear a much wider range of frequencies.
The beastmen clapped their hands over their ears in pain, while the Crimson Vow, who were humans, stood calmly. Almost.
“Gweeehhh…” Mile could feel the bile rising. “St-stop! Stop that speeeeell!”
Her range of hearing was even broader than the beastmen’s.
Wh-why? I was perfectly fine when we practiced this.
Mile was utterly perplexed. During their practice sessions, Reina had only been concentrating on projecting the spell forward. Now, though, it was reverberating through the entire area. Plus, she had only timidly attempted this spell when practicing; now, she hurled it at full strength, without limits.
Following the first damaging wave of Reina’s spell, Mavis rushed into the twenty men of the original search party who hadn’t been struck by Pauline’s attack.
I feel so light, Mavis marveled. My body and my sword feel as light as air!
In her previous life, Mile would have been able to perfectly name the euphoric feeling Mavis had: doping.
Thanks to the microsoup, chock full of nanomachines, the concentration of nanomachines in Mavis’s body was now leagues higher than what she would normally possess or even knowingly ingest. And so, if she used her normal “True Godspeed Blade” in her current state…
Once more, Mavis raised her battle cry. “True Godspeed Blade EX!”
That was the most important part, after all.

Mile was lagging behind.
The damage she had taken from Reina’s spell was massive. However, as the beastmen had been hurt not only by Reina’s spell but also Pauline’s, they wouldn’t be a problem. Before the beastmen had a chance to get to Reina and Pauline, Mile struck.
No match for Mile’s true speed or power, the beastmen fell to the ground, one after another.
Why had she gotten serious now?
Well, there was no telling how many more “non-lethal attack spells” Reina and Pauline would be inclined to use if the battle dragged on.
“It’s not like it’ll kill anyone, so it’s okay if your allies get caught in the fire!” Pauline had once said.
The two of them were of the same mind.
They would, without hesitation, rain down utter annihilation, even upon dear friends. That was Reina and Pauline’s way.
They would never be dissuaded or deterred.

Have I surpassed the limits of human ability? Mavis wondered, fighting at full strength just the same.
Like this, she could even best her father or eldest brother in the blink of an eye. She knew that for certain.
No, this isn’t really my own strength. The True Godspeed Blade I can summon with my personal spiritual power is, but this power from that special medicine is only temporary. Even so, I will accept it and fight with my full potential! Besides—
Mavis quickly glanced behind her.
—if we don’t hurry up and end this, I could end up caught in one of their spells!!
With the same thought weighing on their minds, Mile and Mavis fought for their lives. However desperate, they still refused to strike with full strength. All their nervous reactions were concentrated into controlling their speed and power so as not to cause grave injury.
But then, just as it seemed they were about to achieve victory—and without facing a second wave of spells from Reina and Pauline—it appeared.
“Grruurrrrrrrrr…”
Near the center of the dig site was a hole about seven or eight meters in diameter. From within it, something huge clambered out.“A-an earth dragon?” Though shocked, Reina immediately began incanting a spell.
She had initially prepared a non-lethal spell for the beastmen, but such a thing would be of no use against a dragon. She immediately discarded it and began another. Pauline did the same.
Mile and Mavis quickly struck down the remaining beastmen and turned their swords to face the dragon.
“Firebomb!”
“Ultra Hot!”
The two mages fired their spells in tandem, but while Reina’s struck the dragon in the gut, it appeared to have no effect. Pauline’s spell dissipated before it reached the dragon’s head.
“No way…”
“H-how?”
Even for a dragon, taking a direct hit from a firebomb spell—particularly a powerful one—without any damage, or even flinching, was unthinkable. And Pauline’s spell had simply vanished. Inconceivable!
Seeing the dragon unharmed and continuing to approach them, and that Reina and Pauline were too stunned to prepare more spells, Mile decided to step in herself. This was perhaps the first time she ever needed to use a serious attack spell.“Exploding Magic, Fire!”
Pow!
“Wh…”
The powerful spell, fired in earnest to fell the dragon, was deflected.
As Mile stood, taken aback, the dragon, who had been slowly thudding towards them all the while, moved with a quick and accurate strike, lashing its tail at Mile.
“Gyaaaaaah!!”
Helpless, Mile flew toward the stone ruins ten meters away. Her body crashed into the half-collapsed rubble.
“Miiiiiiile!!!” Reina, Mavis, and Pauline all shouted. Before they could help her, though, they had to do something about the dragon.
The three tried their hardest to convince themselves it was just like the time with the rock lizard, that she would be fine; it was Mile, after all. Even so, they knew the chances of that prayer being answered were slim.

“Gaaaaaaaah…”
An immense and unbelievable pain coursed all through Mile’s body.
Ow ow ow ow owww! What’s with this?! That blow wasn’t any different from the rock lizard’s…
She had never felt such pain, not in her previous life and certainly not since her reincarnation. It was as though every bone in her body were broken… No, they probably were broken. Shattered into pieces and now piercing her muscles and internal organs. The pain was all she could think about.
Why? I thought I was supposed to have half the sturdiness of an elder dragon… Why didn’t their magic go through…?
The dragon turned to face her. She couldn’t move a muscle, nor utter a sound from the horrendous pain, but the dragon continued to approach. It opened its enormous mouth, and…
“Oh? I struck you, and yet you live… Just what are you?”
“I-It spoke?!” Pauline cried, but Reina and Mavis, now realizing what they were truly up against, bit their lips in fear.
“A-an elder dragon…”
Yes. Not an earth dragon but an elder dragon, whose power, intelligence, magic, and strength was the greatest in all the world—and of which Mile possessed but half its power…
Chapter 33:

Fight to the Finish

A-an elder dragon…
Thanks to the dragon speaking, Mile now realized the truth as well.
There’s no way we can beat it! Elder dragons have twice my strength, twice my magical power, and are smarter than any human! There’s no way we could!
For a short time now, she hadn’t moved at all. The nanomachines had heard Mile’s unconscious cry of distress and were currently in the process of performing an emergency healing, but it would take a bit more time before she was able to move.
If her bones had been merely broken, the healing would have been incredibly fast, perhaps even instantaneous. However, bone fragments had torn her muscles and organs to shreds so repairing her would take that much longer.
The greatest problem of all, though, more painful than broken bones, was that Mile’s heart was broken.
Since she had first learned of her own strength, Mile hadn’t once felt truly in danger. Even up against bandits or powerful monsters, she would think, If it comes down to it, I just have to get serious. I’ll be fine—and that was true. Therefore, she had always had plenty of leeway and went about her days carefree.But now, her life was in true, mortal peril. She was up against an elder dragon, an unbeatable foe.
Despair and defeat consumed her.
The wheels in her head were refusing to turn. She couldn’t think. As the creature of nightmare approached, prepared to visit death upon her, she could do naught but watch helplessly, paralyzed with unimaginable pain, waiting for the end to come…

“Aaaaaaaaarrrhhh!!!”
As the elder dragon plodded towards Mile, Mavis rushed in. She struck the monster with the literal limits of her power and might.
Thwack!
However, even this mighty blow did nothing more than scratch the dragon’s hide.
“Oho, scratched my scales, did you? You’re a formidable one. However…” With a swing of its arm, the dragon flicked Mavis away. “Know your place, whelp!”
Just like Mile, Mavis was sent crashing into the ruins and collapsed into a heap. Unlike Mile, however, she hadn’t taken a powerful blow from the dragon’s tail. It had been a mere flick of its hand, so her injuries weren’t fatal. Even so, she was in no shape to move.
By then, Reina and Pauline had gotten to their feet and were preparing a second round of spells. Even after seeing what happened to Mavis, they had no intention of stopping.
There were just some things that took priority over others. Now wasn’t the time to waste carefully incanted spells or precious seconds on futile things like calling out Mavis’s name in worry.
Finally, their spells were complete.
“Blaze, O flames of Hell! Burn my enemies down to the bone!”
If the dragon was going to repel her spell, Reina would just have to surround it. For this, she used an area-attack fire spell, her specialty.
Fwooosh!
“Wh…”
The dragon didn’t even look Reina’s way. The whorl of flame that was set to envelope the dragon merely vanished, as though it was nothing.

“Rocks, show me your truest form!”
By nature, Pauline wasn’t the type of mage to cast a powerful spell or simply pull together an incantation on the spot. So without the blessing of a surplus of time, she couldn’t use powerful attack magic.
However, the elder dragon was utterly ignoring both her and Reina. It had deemed them non-threats, unable to harm it and unworthy of its time.
Therefore, there was a spell that Pauline could use.
Judging by what had happened so far, it was clear that any magic would vanish before it struck or deal no damage even if it did. However, Mavis’s sword had damaged its scales, even if only to the faintest degree. Thus, this was the only spell she could use.
It was one Mile had devised especially for Pauline, who was weak when it came to combat magic:
“We need to think of a special move for you, Pauline! In case you’re in a spot where ice magic, which is your specialty, doesn’t have enough physical strength for what you need to do. This is a last-ditch magic, for when your chances of victory and survival are at zero. Let’s call this ‘Zero-Zero Magic’!”
Mile had taught her rock sculptures weren’t made by humans. Rocks held whatever forms were within them all along; humans merely came along and chipped away the excess parts, to reveal what was hidden inside.
Therefore, she just had to request the rock to reveal its true form.
“Zero-Zero Magic No. 1, Rock Reveal!”
Suddenly, rubble began to tumble from a two-meter-high slab amongst the ruins. Bit by bit, its form changed. Beneath the rubble was…
A structure two meters in length. It resembled a spear but was the same thickness from tip to end. It spiraled and twisted, much like a screw.
Were someone from Mile’s previous life to view it, there was no doubt they would have uttered to themselves, “Oh, a drill…”
“Turn, turn! As a wagon axle turns, as a cyclone swirls! Use your power, and pierce my enemy! Shoooooot!”
Ka-shunk!
“Graaaaaaaaarrrh!”
Granted ballistic stability from its rotation, just as Pauline directed, the drill shot straight into the elder dragon’s flank. The hard and sturdy rock of the ruins withstood the initial shock of striking the dragon’s mass. Combined with the kinetic energy of its own mass and the rotational force, it pierced the dragon’s scales, buried itself inside, and then shattered.
Even if the section that had been struck was relatively close to the surface, and even if the makeup of its body made it invulnerable to pain, even the elder dragon couldn’t withstand countless stone shards exploding within its body.
Normally, no one would be stupid enough to challenge an elder dragon, and even if they were, such a fool would never be able to wound it. Even if they knocked it down or struck its little toe with a tree, they would never cause an elder dragon to feel pain.
Which meant elder dragons were unaccustomed to pain. Weak to it. This particular one was exceptionally so.
“H-hyou bwastaaaaaards!!!”
The dragon bellowed in pain and rage at the humiliation of being wounded by a lesser life-form.
Then it took a deep breath.
Without a doubt, it was preparing a specialty of all its kind: Dragon’s Breath.
There was no time for Pauline, who had just finished firing a spell, or Reina, who was on the verge of finishing her next, to prepare any protection magic. Even if they had, any spell they could muster would be as tough as wet tissue against dragon fire.
The moment they saw the crimson flames blazing in the dragon’s wide-open mouth, the two knew death was coming for them.
“Father, everyone…I’m so sorry…”
“All I wanted was to be with Alan and mother, and together we could…”

“Magic Shield!!!”
Dr. Clairia stepped into the fray. She had prepared her strongest protection spell and held it in waiting. Now, she channeled all her magical energy into an expansive shield. Even so, it wouldn’t have held back an elder dragon’s breath at full strength. Thankfully, this attack had been weak.
And of course it was weak. No matter how angry the dragon was, you wouldn’t use a bomb to kill a mouse. There was also the fact that the dragon was unaware that amongst its opponents was an elf, a race far more skilled with magic than humans.
However, though the shield protected against the core of the breath attack—the flames and the heat—they still took the force head-on. The three of them were sent flying. Thankfully, they weren’t blasted into the ruins as the two before had been but still soared an impressive distance. They plummeted to the ground, unlikely to rise again soon. The elder dragon, having already lost interest in them, ignored the three ladies and began to stalk toward Mile once more.
Oh no! I have to save her…
From her position collapsed on the ground, Mavis had seen everything. Now she tried her best to pull herself to her feet, but because she had struck her head, and her bones and tendons were injured, none of her limbs would cooperate.
I know, the Micross! If I just use the Micross…
Even with that solution in mind, her arms would not work the way she willed them to. Bit by bit they inched toward her side, but she had almost no sensation in her fingers. She couldn’t find her pocket at all.
The elder dragon was already standing over Mile, reaching out its right arm.
No! I’m never gonna make it!
Just as Mavis plunged into despair, there was a sharp ringing in her ear. The sound gave her a strange sense of déjà vu…

Shiiiiiiing… Bang!!
“Gwaah!”

The elder dragon drew back its outstretched right arm in a panic, gripping its palm.
Mavis raised her eyes.
Could it be? If it was, then she would see, up in the sky…
And indeed, when Mavis looked up, she saw above her—
“Yahooo!”
—a girl about ten years old, shouting out. Beneath her, a familiar wyvern finished a drop attack and turned back to reascend.
“L-Lobreth!”
The singular reinforcement the region’s lord had sent out had now arrived.

Lobreth, flapping high in the sky, once more began an easy descent, likely to use his breath attack once again. However, this was incredibly reckless.
“This pitiful excuse for a dragon dares to challenge me…”
Viewing the wyvern as a foe who could cause harm, the elder dragon took a defensive stance. Just as Lobreth approached at a shallow angle, opening his mouth wide to prepare another blast of breath…
Boom!
A fireball burst from the elder dragon’s mouth.
This was nothing like the small flame it had fired toward Reina and the others; this was a true fireball, a sphere of searing death.
The high-velocity fireball smacked straight into Lobreth’s left wing. He crashed into the trees with a scream from the girl upon his back. The curtain had fallen on Lobreth’s performance just as quickly as it had risen.
However, those scant few moments weren’t for naught. Within that narrow window Lobreth and the girl had granted them, Mavis finally managed to find her pocket, seized one of the capsules inside, and flipped the lid open.
“I’m counting on you, Micross!”
Just as Mile taught her, she said a word of prayer, “to increase the effectiveness,” and gulped down everything inside. Every last drop.
“I can finish healing later. For now, I just need to focus my spirit, ignore the pain, and get this body moving! Let’s gooooooooo!!!”
Mavis fought with all her might to control her body, harnessing her own powerful spirit. As she believed she couldn’t use magic whatsoever, Mavis had no idea that what she was doing was, in fact, using healing magic.
As the pain vanished, and feeling and motion returned to her limbs, Mavis knew this didn’t mean her wounds were truly healed. It meant she had stopped feeling the pain. Her spiritual power supported her bones and ligaments to the lowest necessary degree. However, that was enough for her.
She drew another capsule from her pocket, the third that day.
Mile’s words ran through her head:
“Please only use one of these at a time. If you absolutely must, you can use just one more. However, if you do, please don’t push your body too far. When you use these, your muscles and ligaments will compensate to a fair degree, but eventually they won’t be able to keep up. If you overdo it, you’ll end up with fractured bones and torn ligaments. Your whole body will fall apart.
“And whatever you do, avoid using three or more at all costs. You should use only one, at most two, in a time of crisis—and in those moments you need to exercise the utmost caution. Got that? If you mess this up, you could end up dead!”
However, Mile had also taught Mavis a special spell that would smash through those rules, no matter how much Mile tried to warn her. As Mavis swallowed the contents of the third capsule, she uttered those words:
“To hell with that!”
Then, she took a fourth capsule, and a fifth, staring hard at them. Mavis borrowed a decisive phrase Mile used now and then:
“If this isn’t the time to use these, then when is?!”
And with that, she took the two last capsules.

Mavis’s short sword, her main weapon, had been thrown who knows where when the dragon sent her flying. All she had now was the sword she’d brought from home, previously broken and remade into a dagger by Mile. Smoothly, she drew her blade.
There was the faintest whisper… As the air around her began to stir, Mavis grinned.
“Looks like this will be our first real battle together. I’m sorry I’ve only used you for cooking up until now. This might be the first and last time we ever fight as a pair, but please, give me your all!”
A tremor seemed to run through the dagger.

Scrtch…
“Hm?”
Scrtch, scrtch, scrtch…

Beads of light flowed from the dagger’s blade. Then, upon it, a divine and brilliant, shining crest appeared.
“Is this your true form? Haha, never mind a dragon, I bet you could cut down a devil, or a god!”
It was the coating that had been applied to the blade to keep it from standing out and to dull the cutting edge. The nanomachines that clung to the dagger to maintain this coating had decided to remove it of their own volition.
Through many tearful days of misfortune, the nanomachines had heard Mile say those decisive words, too. Now they thought it to themselves:
IF NOW ISN’T THE TIME TO REMOVE THIS, THEN WHEN IS?!
If this knight was willing to put her life on the line for that girl, then they would aid her. This was the consensus of the nanomachines.
Mavis faced the elder dragon with this dagger in hand. She let out a battle cry.

For a short time, the elder dragon watched the trees, in case the wyvern had only pretended to fall and would try to send logs flying the elder dragon’s way. But when it showed no sign of that, once again the dragon turned back toward the girls.
It was well aware the human who had attacked it with a sword before was heading its way. But even in top form, she had barely scratched its scales. She had lost her main weapon and now relied on a tiny, back-up blade. Plus, with her body still battered, there was no way she could do any harm.
Knowing this, the dragon allowed her to attack as she pleased.
It could easily have brushed her away with claw or tail, but allowing her to attack, allowing her to see she couldn’t so much as wound it, would reinforce the futility and despair, as well as the fear of elder dragons that made them so legendary.
And so, the dragon struck a pose that let the girl know that while it knew she approached, it was completely ignoring her. It wouldn’t even realize she had landed an attack. But then…
Stab.
“…Hm?”
The elder dragon froze.
“Hm? Huh? Wha…?” It was in such shock, its brain couldn’t make the connection. It didn’t even feel much pain.
Something had pierced its side, through tough scales and powerful hide, far deeper than the few inches the drill had managed. Only when it felt a red-hot, searing sensation coursing through its side did the dragon stop staring, dumbfounded.
“Grr-raaaaaaaaaaaah!!”