Chapter 51 – In the Empire, the Demonic beasts… (2)

“……You’re angry.”
“Who wouldn’t be angry at this-”

– Baaaaang!

‘Ah, that scared me!’

We quickly looked up at the sky.

The Tyrant Electric Dragon’s large chin had approached us at some point and was ruthlessly slamming down against my Holy Domain.

The monster was mercilessly chomping down with its teeth as if it was a child trying to take a figurine out from a snowglobe.

– Bang! Boom!

“Your highness…… You truly are an extremely strong priest as I have heard.”

Vice Captain Élisabeth gasped in admiration.

I had not noticed before because this was my first time being attacked from above, but a golden dome was sparkling at the top of my Holy Domain whenever the Electric Dragon slammed down.

The circle worked as a shield both on the ground and in the air.

The Holy Domain was a circle that blocked all attacks against the priest, however it was only omnipotent against opponents with weaker Divine Power.

The Electric Dragon had to have lower Divine Power than me since it was a demonic beast.

Furthermore, my ether was currently so full that it was overflowing.

This was truly a relief.

– Bang! Baaaaang! Bang!

– Rooooooooooooar!

The bastard opened his large mouth and roared, as if it was angry at the Holy Domain that wasn’t even shaking.

Demy curled up against my feet while all of us except the Imperial Prince covered our ears out of reflex.

I thought that we might die from ruptured eardrums before this bastard could chomp or eat us to our deaths.

– Bang! Bang!

“Demonic beasts are weak against water and fire but will water not work on this one at all?”
“I will try!”

I had to pretty much shout that question to the Imperial Prince when Christelle responded.

Her blue-gray eyes were oddly excited. She cautiously moved her right fingertips.

The water wall that had appeared around us earlier, as if to protect us, slowly rose up.

The Electric Dragon was so focused on us that it didn’t seem to notice it.

– Baaaaang! Boom!

– Chhhhhhhhhhhh!

A torrent of water slammed against the Electric Dragon’s large head. And then…

– Chhhhhhhhhhh!

– Rooooooooooooar!

There were enough sparks to easily roast four people and the Electric Dragon roared again.

There wasn’t even a scratch on its body once the water completely evaporated away.

I felt my head getting cold with fear.

“……I guess its electric attribute offsets its water weakness.”

– Baaaaang! Boom! Boom!

The Electric Dragon must have gotten angry at the provocation as it was slamming down quicker than before.

My ears were hurting and the ground underneath my feet was shaking.

The situation might be different if we had run into a smaller and more manageable electric attribute demonic beast.

However, the Electric Dragon was a legendary demonic beast that usually only appeared once every two hundred years.

I didn’t know why it showed up after such a short time or why it appeared from the first wave of demonic beasts……

There was one more thing for me to check. I looked toward Imperial Prince Cédric.

“We should see how it reacts to metal.”

His orange eyes glowed as if he understood what I was saying. And soon…

– Pabat!

The dagger that was attached to the side of his boot shot up into the air.

The weapon that was accurately flying toward the Electric Dragon’s eyes…

– Chhhhhhhhhhh!

– Rooooooooooooar!

Was struck by a spark mid-air and burnt to a crisp.

“Haaaa.”

‘So basically… Going out of the Holy Domain with a sword in hand might cause us to get struck by lightning with a lightning rod in our hand.’

Although water couldn’t damage the monster, it could at least catch its attention or make it angry.

We also had our MVP, our esteemed divine beast.

– Baaaaang! Bang! Bang!

“We should probably aim for its hind legs. The center of its weight should be there!”

Vice Captain Élisabeth fixed her grip on her sword after I shouted.

Christelle was saying something to me while the Imperial Prince just observed me with a calm gaze.

As for me, I was thinking about my sister even in such a situation.

That little punk’s dream until she was seven years old was to become a Tyrannosaurus.

*

“Demy, can you do it? You are our ace today.”

– Screeeeech!

The red panda flailed his two front paws with a savage look on his face.

His white cheeks and his shaking whiskers were full of determination.

I carried Demy in my arms and filled him with ether.

Christelle checked on Demy and my situation as she slowly enlarged a water drop.

– Bang! Bang! Baaaaang!

“Hey! Over here, you giant chicken!” (TL: The Korean uses the term, yonggari tongphyuh, which 1. Would take a while for me to explain 2. Has no English equivalent, so just changed to giant chicken as a means to insult the beast)

‘Giant chicken……’

She was shouting at it.

The Electric Dragon seemed extremely upset at that comment as it opened its jaws wide and roared.

Christelle smiled and used a thin strand of water to poke at its head from the left.

– Rooooooooooooar!

– Chhhhhhhhhhh!

The beast turned its head to the left and launched a spark.

“Demy, now!”

– Screeeech!

– Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuumble!

An extremely large Venus flytrap quickly grew in the dirt on the Electric Dragon’s right side.

Green vines about 2 m in diameter shot up into the air.

A guaiacum tree was growing right next to them.

Hearing the noises, the Electric Dragon turned its head to the other side…

– Chhh!

– Rooooooar!

Two water drops the size of exercise balls burst in front of the bastard’s eyes.

The Electric Dragon violently shook its head. Its eyes seemed weak compared to its hide.

– Chhhhhhhhhh……

The house-sized Venus flytrap used that moment to open its jaws.

It looked large enough to cover the Electric Dragon’s jaws.

I could feel Demy sucking out my ether and trying his best. After that…

– Clench!

– Roooooooooooooar!

The venus flytrap bit down on the Electric Dragon’s head!

The Electric Dragon flailed and stumbled as its jaws and sight were blocked.

It released sparks from its mouth but Demy persisted without losing.

– Chhhhhhhhhhh!

“Not so fast.”

The sparks reached my Holy Domain as well. However, my circle was fine.

I did not build up my toughness with Cardinal Boutier to be taken out by a damn demonic beast.

The anxious Electric Dragon flailed. Its front limbs were too short for it to pull the venus flytrap off.

This was our chance.

– Tap!

The Imperial Prince was a punk who did not need my signal.

He instantly charged out of the Holy Domain and moved toward the Electric Dragon’s left leg.

Vice Captain Élisabeth, who charged out at almost the same time, was aiming for its right leg.

“Young lady Sarnez!”
“Yes!”

Christelle prepared the core skill for this attack.

The Imperial Prince and Vice Captain Élisabeth slide away while slashing their swords horizontally.

The two sword rays were as cold as a woman’s scorn that could cause frost in the middle of summer.

– Slash!

– Bang!

– Rooooooooooooar!

There were deep red slash marks visible on its large legs.

The attackers quickly dodged the tail and retreated behind some trees.

As the beast flailed from pain and stomped around…

– Chhhhhhhh……

An actual field of frost appeared under its feet. This ice had appeared out of nowhere!

The Electric Dragon lost its balance on the suddenly slippery ground and stumbled.

It felt as if its heavy body was falling in slow motion.

Christelle finally took a breath and smiled.

– Boooooooom!

– Roooooooooooooar!

It was shaking almost as much as the mountain rumbling. The fallen demonic beast roared as the ground shook.

It was almost over.

“Vice Captain Élisabeth!”
“Please give it to me!”

I threw the guaiacum branch that Demy had grown to her since she was comparably closer.

She grabbed the branch with her left hand and immediately jumped. As for the sword that was in the young Countess’s right hand…

– Stab!

– Rooooooar!

It instantly pierced through the Electric Dragon’s tail and stabbed into the ground. The demonic beast drooled and growled.

She quickly released her sword and jumped up.

– Tatap!

– Chhhhhhhhhhh!

The demonic beast launched a short spark as Vice Captain Élisabeth jumped.

The young Countess was calm despite the fact that she would have been electrocuted had she jumped a moment later.

The guaiacum in her left hand seemed to flow like water as it moved to her right hand, and then…

– Staaaaaab!

– Rooooooooooooooar!

It quickly stabbed into the Electric Dragon’s eye.

Vice Captain Élisabeth was using so much strength that the veins on her forehead were visible as she stabbed the branch deep inside.

I tightly hugged Demy. I gulped, concerned that the Electric Dragon might launch one last attack.

And finally…

– Grrrrrrrr……

– Boom!

It growled one last breath and its head fell.

Vice Captain Élisabeth was breathing heavily as she landed on the pebbled ground. Her forehead was a bit wet.

“You worked really hard, Vice Captain Élisabeth.”
“Ah, it wasn’t much, your highness.”
“Hahahaha.”

All the tension in my body released and I couldn’t help but laugh at this very Élisabeth-like response.

I released my Holy Domain and put Demy down. Vice Captain Élisabeth suddenly asked me a question.

“Your highness, how did you come up with using guaiacum?”
“It is being used in the reconstruction of Juliette Palace. They usually use red sandalwood or ebony, but they said that they brought a sturdier wood because they thought I might destroy the room again.”

Basically, this was the strongest type of wood I knew about.

I only had praises for Demy who understood exactly what I wanted.

Wood doesn’t conduct electricity so I thought that it could be a safe weapon. I was relieved that Vice Captain Élisabeth was not hurt at all.

“It feels odd catching it like this. My dream when I was young was to become a Tyrant Electric Dragon.”

Vice Captain Élisabeth laughed out loud at Christelle’s comment and walked toward me.

My mouth was stiff for a moment. It was at that moment.

– Rooooooooooooar!

“Élisabeth!”

The Electric Dragon roared and the Imperial Prince shouted at the same time.

– Craaaaaaaaaaackle!

– Bababang!

A large spark ball burst out of the fallen demonic beast’s jaw.

Vice Captain Élisabeth’s body was sent flying.

“Ugh!”
“Vice Captain Élisabeth!”

Christelle and I quickly ran toward the fallen Élisabeth. It was hard to focus on anything.

“Are you okay, Vice Captain Élisabeth?!”
“I’m, okay……”

Christelle carefully turned her around. Thankfully, she was not bleeding.

She did not get hit by the Electric Dragon’s breath directly. She seemed to have been swept up in the aftershock while standing next to it.

I finally managed to breathe. I could see some scratches on the young Countess’s cheeks.

She slowly put some strength into her lower body and stood up.

“His Royal Highness……”
“I am fine so go to the bottom of the mountain. That is an order.”

The Imperial Prince came over at some point and said in a low voice. His sword was drenched in the demonic beast’s blood.

I turned around to see that the Imperial Prince made certain that the Electric Dragon was really dead this time.

“What are you talking about? I’m fine too.”
“Can you hold a sword with a broken arm?”
“……”

Vice Captain Élisabeth bit down on her lips.

Christelle and I jumped in shock and inspected her right arm.

We had not noticed until the Imperial Prince said something.

My heart sank seeing that it was limp.

I had memorized a few more healing circles for today but none of them could heal a fracture of this level.

I clenched my teeth.

“I’m sorry, Vice Captain Élisabeth. I am still lacking as a healing priest.”
“Not at all, Prince Jesse. It is my fault for letting my guard down.”

The young Countess smiled. Her forehead had cold sweats for a different reason now.

“I’ll call the Marquis. I don’t want to hear your fiancé curse me with a grudge or something.”

The Imperial Prince spoke again. His second sentence made Vice Captain Élisabeth finally give the slightest of nods.

She rummaged through her pocket with her left hand and pulled out a transparent orb.

It was a disposable magic tool that all participants had received at the beginning of the Great Clearance of Demonic Beasts.

Her left hand with the sparkling yellow diamond ring clenched the orb.

– Crack!

The orb cracked and a red mana strand shot up into the air.

I looked up following the light to see multiple red lights visible on the blue sky.

That meant that there were a lot of participants giving up right now.

“My goodness, Élisabeth!”

I then heard a familiar voice from the direction of the valley.

Marquis François Duhem, who used his specialty of teleportation to instantly appear, was approaching us with a concerned gaze.

He was the competition organizer and the only paramedic.

According to his younger brother, Captain Duhem, he trained his magic ability day in and day out waiting for today so that he could rescue people and descend the mountain.

“Why is your arm like that? My goodness! The four of you caught that monster?!”

The Marquis’ light pink eyes were shaking.

He seemed unable to decide whether to be more shocked at the Electric Dragon’s corpse or the unexpected patient.

Vice Captain Élisabeth frowned.

“Old man, can you just take me down……”
“Sure. We will need to hurry if we don’t want to get in trouble with young master Callamard. But to take down an Electric Dragon……”

The Marquis looked at each of us before putting his hand on Vice Captain Élisabeth’s forehead.

That contact seemed to be enough for both of them to teleport.

Christelle grabbed the young Countess’s hand for a moment, let go, and whispered that she would see her later.

The Imperial Prince spoke up at that moment.

“Marquis.”
“Yes, your Royal Highness.”
“What the hell is going on?”

The Imperial Prince shook his sword once before pointing it at the tip of the Marquis’s chin.

His eyes were fluctuating like the surface of the sun.

“Your Royal Highness,”
“Quiet.”

I tried to stop him but he shut me up.

I was also curious about what was going on but thought that this bastard was quite vicious even with Vice Captain Élisabeth being injured.

“The Legend-Grade demonic beast that was the winning sacrifice two years ago appeared at the first charge. Is something like this common?”
“I ask for your understanding, your Royal Highness. This is the first time something has happened.”
“Then your thoughts on why this happened?”

The low voice only asked extremely clear questions. The Marquis slowly closed his shaking eyes before opening them back.

He was the most passionate person in the Empire when it came to demonic beast and magic tool research.

He should at least have a theory about this.

“……It is probably because there is more than one divine item here.”

The explanation that came out of his mouth was something that nobody had expected.