Chapter 433: O Dragon, O Dragon! Part 10

Author's Preface
To think I'd update three times in one day...! Twice a day is one thing, but three times...! Not only am I failing to keep my one-update-a-day promise, but I... what have I done...!!

Amidst winds that felt as though they were tearing the very atmosphere apart, Noirlind and Siegwurm soared freely through the sky in all directions.
The pursuer, Siegwurm, simply chased Noirlind. It was an arrogance that seemed to say he would shoot him down the instant he stopped moving for even a fraction of a second, an overconfidence permitted only to the truly powerful.

"Noirlind-san! Can you decelerate for a split second and get behind him!?"

『Do not command me!! That was my intention from the start!!』

A loop-the-loop at absolute top speed; though it was merely for a split second, Noirlind managed to get behind Siegwurm, and not missing that momentary window, the Black Dragon's breath and Akitsu Akane's shuriken were fired in tandem.

『It will not work!』

『Damn you...!』

"No, Noirlind-san! It probably only doesn't work when his horns are glowing! And physical attacks will still go through!!"

『Then I shall shoot you down!!』

Akitsu Akane's assessment was correct. One of Siegwurm's actions, "Shining Dragon King (Tupac Amaru)," was an empowered state applied to his entire body originating from his horns.
By donning highly concentrated magic power like a cloak, this golden fighting aura would melt and mix away any external magical interference, but it showed absolutely no effect against physical interference.

Of course, there was also the underlying reason that Siegwurm's physical body did not require any additional physical reinforcement... but at the very least, in order to conquer the light-enveloped Siegwurm, physical attacks were the absolute key.

『Noirlind, let me teach you the basics of close-quarters combat... Claws cannot move like hands and fists!!』

『Na, guo!?』

Compared to Noirlind, whose dragon base was a quadrupedal carnivore, Siegwurm's dragon base was practically humanoid and bipedal.
Siegwurm's hands grabbed Noirlind by the neck as he tried to bite into his throat, and the Gold hurled the Pitch-Black away in a swirling motion just like that.

『Guoaoa!?』

"Wawawawa... Hidden Blade Art! 【Flying Squirrel Robe】!!"

Thrown into the mid-air, Akitsu Akane managed to mitigate the impact of the fall by spreading her cloth like a parachute right before crashing into the ground.

"Fugyu."

Even so, it didn't completely reduce the damage to zero, and though she barely managed to break her fall and land, Akitsu Akane's HP was halved.

"Noirlind-san!"

『Gu... nuuuu...』

Slammed into the ground in a manner resembling an amateur's shoulder throw, Noirlind let out a groan. Looking up, Akitsu Akane realized this was bad and hurriedly started running.

"...What do we do?"

"I don't think we can beat it... but should we whittle it down?"

"But wait, it's huge that he's holding Siegwurm's aggro, you know?"

"Who cares about the minor details, we gotta pay him back for half-destroying the frontline base earlier."

The players' attention turned to Noirlind.
He already had a criminal record of attacking the frontline base, and even if he didn't, the moment he was incorporated into the scenario clear conditions, there was always the possibility that Noirlind would be exposed to player attacks.
The only reason he hadn't been targeted until now was simply because he had been fighting outside the players' effective range. Now that he was grounded and exposing an opening, being targeted was an entirely natural outcome.

"W-Wait, wait, please waaaait!!"

Just as the players surrounding Noirlind gripped their weapons tighter.

The arrival of two "individuals" interrupted the mob's attempt to gang up on Noirlind.

『Are you prepared, Noirlind... hm?』

"Sorry Siegwurm, it's a matter of family ties... I'm here to assist this guy."

The Golden Dragon King, Siegwurm, touched his feet to the earth with a majestic and imposing presence.

However, however. The man who stood before Noirlind to face him showed absolutely no signs of cowering, even when standing directly in the path of one of the Seven Supreme Species.

"My bro gave me a push, telling me 'Don't hold back, go beat him up'..."

『Ho, ho, ho! I know you, I know you! My sworn ally Vysache's guest... the warrior whose scars were carved by Lycaon! If I recall, your name is... Enraku!』

"It's Sunraku."

Bearing a "greatsword" that radiated an abnormal brilliance, as if it had been packed with all the stars twinkling in the night sky, he stood in a bizarre, almost entirely bare-skinned getup, save for a bird mask and a token waist guard.
With curse-like engravings crawling across his bare skin, emitting a bizarre, intimidating aura that pointed in an entirely different direction from pure strength... Sunraku alone stared straight at Siegwurm and declared with arrogant defiance.

"You want roleplay? Very well, let me challenge you to a 1-on-1 duel, Siegwurm!!!"

『Ku, kukaka, fuhahahahaha!! Very well! Very well!! Hero, then I shall accept that duel!!!』

Pushing past the players who were watching the scene unfold with bewildered expressions, Akitsu Akane finally reached Noirlind's side.

"S-Sunraku-san!"

"Yo, Akitsu Akane. Sorry I'm late, but... I'll let you handle buying time to make up for it. Hurry up and get that black one back on his feet."

『What did you say, you mere bug...』

"Ah? The fuck you want, wanna go? You walking Dragon Materials, I'm Level 145, you hear? I'm at the level where I scatter spiders, you hear?"

『Gu, nuu...! Impudent...』

A half-naked bird-head cracking his neck back and forth while glaring down Noirlind was a spectacularly incomprehensible sight, but 【Wolfgang】 was a clan fundamentally full of eccentric weirdos.
Not particularly minding it as just how things were, Akitsu Akane continued the conversation while keeping an eye on Siegwurm.

"Um, Sunraku-san..."

"Listen up, Akitsu Akane. I said I'll stall him, but I probably won't last a minute."

"Eh..."

"Pass a message to Pencilgon and OiKatzo. Tell them, 'We're executing the Rust Plan here.'"

"Eh, ah, yes."

Now then, Sunraku turned back to Siegwurm. Taking a step forward as if it were nothing, he glared straight at Siegwurm while wielding Pale Sheen, which had already activated its combined function.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Now then, let's do this 1-on-1."

『Good, I permit it. Though you claim to be merely stalling... how much have you poured into the radiance of that sword? It looks as though it could cleave even me in two.』

"Wanna know? It's a special tune-up packed with every Component Crystal I had on hand... I stopped counting after one hundred!!"

『Very well! I permit you alone to stand before me! Sunraku, show me that radiance within my gravity field!!』

No one gave a signal. It was just that Siegwurm taking flight high into the heavens and Sunraku striking his chest with his right fist happened at the exact same moment.

"Noirlind-san! We're right in the direct hit zone here!"

『H-Hmph... Bug, I shall grant you the honor of stalling!』

"Shut up, you boneheaded black lizard!"

『Bone...!?』

"Later! Let's do this later! Okay!?"

Both had already entered a realm where their consciousness was entirely focused on securing the kill against their opponent.
To put it into perspective, it was like aiming fully drawn bows at each other from point-blank range. A clash of murderous intent and resolve that practically screamed they would absolutely deliver a fatal blow to their opponent, even if it meant completely ignoring their own damage.

Having accelerated via a mid-air somersault, Siegwurm closed in on Sunraku in a straight line at a terrifying speed that seemed capable of cleaving the earth.

Cloaked in black lightning, afterglow trailing from his eyes, Sunraku charged head-on into the approaching Siegwurm.

For just a fraction of a second, a breathtaking, momentary void of silence.

At the very instant of collision, the opposing dragon and human shouted simultaneously!!

"───Seiten Style 【Hayakaze】!!"

"───Jazzy-Zone!!"

Clash.

Author's Afterword
Would you get mad if I said the updates end here for today?