Side Story 2: Undersea Dungeon 10

「GROOOAAAHHH!」

The ice dragon weaved its mana into a deafening roar. A dragon’s roar possesses the power to inflict fear and paralyze anyone weaker… but it had no effect on us.

「Brilliant Lightning Rush!」

「Grr…! Woof!」

「I shall show you my true power!」

Fran, Urushi, and Silent Sea surged forward with a pulse of mana. Fran and I took the front, which was the most dangerous position, since we were the best at defense.

「Teyaah!」

Fran launched the first attack to draw the dragon’s attention. Not that she was holding back—it was a full-powered Sonic Wave.

The high-speed slash flew through the air and left a cut across the ice dragon’s snout. The physical damage was minimal, but it seemed to have left the creature mentally shaken.

「Grah? Graaaaahhh!」

The dragon had initially underestimated us as weaklings, so it roared in outrage after being wounded. The minor cut was regenerated instantly, but the scar left on the dragon’s pride would not vanish so easily.

Man or dragon, it seems anger can make anyone lose their composure.

「Grah…」

The ice dragon glared at Fran and puffed out its chest. Then, it opened its maw all the way.

「GRAAAHHHH!」

『We could see your breath coming a mile away! Flame Burst!』

「Fire Javelin!」

Our flame magic crashed into the dragon’s icy breath. A violent explosion erupted as the frost and fire canceled each other out.

The shockwave left a huge crater in the floor and a white mist covering the room. Yet Fran stood completely unharmed.

「Grah?」

The dragon stared at us dumbfounded. Apparently, it couldn’t believe that we nullified its breath so easily.

I’ll admit, this guy is pretty strong in terms of raw power. But it had one fatal flaw: a lack of combat experience. It couldn’t even gauge our strength properly.

Not to mention the biggest blunder. Why would you leave yourself wide open like that?

「Grr!」

「You’re mine!」

「Gryaaahhh!」

Urushi and Silent Sea struck at the dragon’s hind legs while it was distracted with us.

The left foot was completely torn off, as Urushi clamped his jaws on the ankle. Cloaked in the power of darkness, his fangs crushed through the dragon’s scales. At maximum size, he could bite into a dragon leg as thick as a log like it was chicken leg.

Meanwhile, Silent Sea had changed into a completely different form. We’d seen many forms already, but I never expected such a drastic transformation.

The lower half was a writhing mass of octopus-like tentacles, and the upper half was the massive head of a sea wolf. And to top it all off, the upper body of a beautiful woman had sprouted on top of the head.

That must be the monster known as a Scylla. Well, maybe it’s not exactly the same, but I’ll call it that for convenience.

Using the scylla form’s countless tentacles, Silent Sea bound the dragon’s right leg and pinned it in place. The dragon thrashed in an attempt to break free, but it was no use.

No matter how many tentacles it tore off, Silent Sea regenerated them just as fast. In addition, trying to claw or bite through the tentacles was futile, as they transformed into liquid right before impact. Even we would have some trouble breaking out of a pin like that.

Maybe teleporting out or blasting everything away with a burst of mana would work. Given the abilities of an ice dragon, it probably had the power to freeze the area around it.

However, the dragon seemed too panicked to think of that. The sudden attack on both hind legs must have left it rattled. I could see the fear on its face.

That’s another sign that it lacks experience. It didn’t even notice Fran quietly focusing her mana, even though we were standing right in front of it.

「Haaahhh…!」

She took a deep breath as she slowly raised me into position. Meanwhile, the dragon was still oblivious.

Allowing yourself to be distracted just because someone is attacking you is a novice mistake. Sure, Fran was hiding her presence with stealth skills, but that wasn’t nearly enough to escape from the senses of a dragon.

Well, no matter. If it can’t notice us, it’ll just have to die without realizing what killed it.

（Let’s go!）

『Yeah! Do it!』

（Black Lightning Roll!）

While holding me above her head, Fran turned into a streak of black lightning that cut across the chamber.

Her target was the neck. A strike of maximum power to put the dragon down for good.

「Haaaahhh!」

「Graaah!?」

The dragon finally noticed Fran again. Unfortunately, that’s way too late.

Her slash traced a diagonal arc, and black lightning crackled along its path.

She used no sword arts and no magic, only her honed technique and strength. Yet her strike was as sharp as divine judgment.

The dragon’s scales parted like soft tofu. Its head fell off with that single blow.

Her display of swordsmanship was chillingly silent and breathtakingly beautiful.

As Fran continued her training, she discovered the path beyond the realm of Swordking. The pinnacle of swordsmanship, reproducing Heavenly Judgment on her own. This was perhaps the first step down that path.

She still needed intense concentration and time to prepare, but if you ask, that’s great progress.

「Gryaaaaaah…!!」

「…I did it.」

『Yeah! You were amazing, Fran!』

「Nn. If I want to wield you as a divine sword, I need to be able to do this much. But it’s still not enough. I need more training.」

Even after becoming a divine sword wielder, Fran would always be Fran.

View the latest chapters at seeker142.github.io