[V11C6] Battle of the Seven Sages

The earth dragons approaching the royal capital shook the ground with every step, leaving a trail of dust in their wake.

As if synchronized, they unleashed bloodthirsty roars tainted with the excitement of trampling the powerless beneath their feet. Any humans within earshot were left trembling in their boots.

The Magic Corps and Dragon Knights took a stand at the southeast, launching a volley of ice spears and ballista javelins at the four dragons.

However, earth dragons were known for their impenetrable scales and high magic resistance. These projectiles were about as dangerous as toothpicks.

No matter how many times the humans racked their brains for new strategies, or refined their magecraft, or developed weapons based on technological developments, some things would never change. The only way to kill a dragon was to deliver a precise blow directly to the forehead.

But there was a man who overturned this reality.

“He’s here! All hands, focus on stalling the dragons!”

The Dragon Knights gave the signal, triggering the net trap pulled by horses. These nets entangled the stubby legs of the earth dragons.

That said, they were only able to topple one of them. The remaining three simply dragged the nets along with the momentum of their charge.

This was followed by another set of spells from the Magic Corps. This time, they created walls of ice rising from the ground, which were little more than unpleasant speed bumps to the earth dragons.

The dragons roared in outrage after trampling the walls under their feet.

The frail creatures easily crushed underfoot dared to resist? How foolish. In that case, they deserved to be flattened along with their meager attempt at resistance.

As if in response to the roaring earth dragons, the wyverns began gliding down from the sky to swipe their prey.

Eager to score first blood, the earth dragons continued toward the humans with increased momentum.

——Suddenly, a shining red gate appeared in the skies above.

“In the name of the Artillery Mage, Bradford Firestone… Open the gate!”

The gate, formed from red particles of light, silently opened its doors. Crimson flames spilled forth, scattering flower petal-like sparks.

“Clad in the celebratory flames, manifest yourself… Spirit King of Fire, Flem-Blem!”

The particles of light transformed into swirling flames, before ending up in the form of a dozen spears. Each one was as massive as the trunk of a tree.

The wyverns and earth dragons found themselves under the rain of spears.

The only weakpoint of a dragon was its forehead; they would not take significant damage at any other location.

And yet, these crimson spears easily pierced through the torsos and limbs of the earth dragons, while blasting off the wings of the wyverns. Several explosions rocked the battlefield, as fiery sparks and dragon limbs danced through the air.

Bradford Firestone the Artillery Mage was one the only mages with the firepower to penetrate dragon scales. Even so, he frowned after looking at the results of his work.

“That took care of the earth dragons… but there’s still a few wyverns left. Spotter team, cast reconnaissance magic and send me all the details! The Barrier Mage’s spirit is currently dealing with the wyverns near the capital! Anyone with their hands free, go back her up!”

“Urgent message! Spotted additional fire dragons to the east!”

Even after hearing the bad news, Bradford only scratched his beard.

“No problem, we’ve already got reinforcements from the palace on that side! Alright boys, let’s finish the job!”

＊　＊　＊

There had initially been three earth dragons assaulting the eastern wall of the royal capital.

One had been taken down by the throwing spears of the Dragon Knights, but then the remaining two flew into a rage, becoming impossible for them to handle.

They trampled through all the traps and trenches while deflecting all the Dragon Knights’ javelins and the Magic Corps’s spells.

Meanwhile, the chaos allowed three wyverns to fly overhead and cross the city walls.

“Three wyverns have breached the walls! They’ll reach the residential district…!”

Immediately after the soldier’s cry of despair, thorny vines crawled forward and entangled one of the wyvern’s necks.

There was a man with curly red hair standing on the watchtower next to the city gates. The Sage staff in his hand proved his identity as the Fifth Thorn Witch, Raul Roseberg.

Raul sprinkled rose seeds at his feet, which sprouted one after another, extending their vines across the city walls.

“It’s going to be hard to cover this much distance… so I guess I have to do that. Dealing with the aftermath might get a bit troublesome, but now’s not the time to be worrying about that…”

After muttering complaints to himself for a few seconds, Raul covered his face with his right hand.

“Gather before me, you ugly lizards. I’ll turn you all into nourishment for my roses.”

With the hand covering his eyes, the only part visible was his perfectly shaped lips twisting into a wicked smile.

The brambles covering the walls began to swell, and the vines strangling the wyverns underwent a terrifying change. Their thorns extended to pierce through the foreheads of the screeching wyverns, impaling their brains and blooming blood red roses.

Next, the most wicked witch in history turned toward the dragons rampaging outside the city walls, lazily raising a single finger.

“How unsightly. Disappear.”

The vines covering the city walls obeyed her command and entangled the raging earth dragons.

Once the earth dragons were immobilized, the Dragon Knights and Magic Corps pierced their foreheads with javelins and offensive magic respectively, finishing them off.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the walls, the townspeople who had been panicking at the dragon attacks were overcome with a different kind of fear. Rather than the dragons, they were screaming about…

“T-The Thorn Witch… the legendary Thorn Witch!”

“Those roses will eat people!”

“Hurry up and run! I don’t wanna die——!”

Their cries of fear only brought a sneer to the Thorn Witch’s lips.

“Yes, that’s right. Come any closer, and I’ll squeeze the blood right out of you… Just like this.”

She caressed her staff with the rough hand of a man accustomed to farming. As the decorations on the staff jingled in response, her thorns pierced through the foreheads of the remaining wyverns, blooming additional red roses.

The rose vines capable of entangling wyverns, the thorns piercing their foreheads, the grotesque roses born from their blood… All of this had been described in the legends of the wicked witch.

And with the mana absorbed from the impaled dragons, the Thorn Witch’s vines expanded further and further.

It should have been over once the remaining wyverns were dealt with, but a few reddish brown dragons appeared from beyond the earth dragon carcasses. Those were fire dragons.

“It seems we have quite the catch today.”

Fire dragons possessed the ability to breathe fire. While any human would burn to a crisp in those flames, they could do nothing to the Rose Fortress, which was rich in both mana and water.

Once all of their flames were blocked, the fire dragons found themselves entangled as well.

“Now, let me hear your dying screams.”

＊　＊　＊

The detention center of the Magic Corps was an underground room intended to contain members who violated discipline. As a result, it was protected by a powerful barrier resistant to magical attacks from within.

Currently, however, the detection center contained a row of beds with the shadow-infested victims lying on them.

Between the beds of Frieda and his grandmother stood the Abyss Shaman, Ray Albright, as motionless as a statue. His tears and sobs had dried up long ago, leaving only a void of despair filling his entire being.

Ray slowly reached out to touch the hand of the sleeping Frieda.

It was cold. The coldness of the deceased after losing the flame of life——and yet, she still seemed to be barely alive.

(Someone, anyone, save them. Please, don’t let the people precious to me die.)

Only once he focused his entire consciousness could he sense a faint pulse in her hand. This was the only hope that Ray could cling onto.

(I still haven’t said “I love you” properly… Help me, someone, anyone…)

“Orah!”

A loud shout echoed through the silent, underground room.

This was followed by a rain of white particles flowing down Ray’s face. Once they reached his lips, he felt a salty taste. Indeed, this was salt.

Ray slowly lifted his head to meet eyes with the scowling Melissa, who was holding a bottle of salt.

“Can you stop being so gloomy already? It’s getting on my nerves.”

“J-Just look at what happened to my fiancé and grandmother…! Anyone would…”

Ray attempted to make an excuse, but he ended up swallowing those words.

This underground room also housed the unconscious witches of House Roseberg… in other words, Melissa’s family.

Once Ray fell silent, Melissa explained the situation in an indifferent tone.

“Earth dragons are attacking the capital from the east and southeast. Also, we have confirmed sightings on over thirty wyverns.”

“…!?”

This was an unprecedented emergency, never before seen in recent history. It was rare for the capital to see any dragons, and on the few occasions that they did appear, it was always one or two lesser dragons.

“B-But my curses barely even work on dragons… What can I possibly do…?”

Melissa could not help but scoff. She stared down on Ray with a condescending look in her gleaming green eyes.

“That’s the same as saying, ‘I’m worthless and can’t do anything but curses.’”

“I-It’s the truth… All I can do is curse people!”

As a shaman, Ray lacked the ability to cast offensive magic or defensive barriers like ordinary mages. Shamans were only good at inflicting suffering on others.

“I can’t help anyone! No one can be saved by a curse!” Ray shouted hysterically, tearing at his purple, salt-covered hair. “There’s nothing I can do!”

Even after witnessing Ray’s despair, Melissa spoke with an unchanged expression.

“I heard that Adeline-sama and the others are under the influence of dark magic. Curses are pretty similar to dark magic, right?”

Melissa gestured with her chin toward Frieda, or rather, at the shadows consuming her body, before continuing.

“Isn’t the Abyss Shaman the one most suited to do something about these shadows?”

Ray instinctively reached into his pocket, finding the earrings Adeline had given him.

——Third Abyss Shaman Ray Albright. It’s time for your generation to seal Gluttonous Zoe.

Ray unconsciously clutched the earring with his trembling fingers.

Meanwhile, Melissa had turned her back to Ray, as if to say her business here was done.

“Well, I guess everything will be over if the Barrier Mage captures the culprit. In that case, there won’t be anything left for you to do. I’ll make sure to tell everyone when they wake up. About the Sage who did nothing in a national crisis.”

With that, Melissa left the room.

Ray looked again at Adeline and Frieda with the earring in his hands, before finally moving the heavy feet that had almost given up on walking.

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