Dragon Transformation

Whether dragon transformation strengthened not only the transformed arm but also basic physical abilities, Caesar rushed toward me faster than before.

Those sharp claws were about to tear me apart… but at the last moment I somehow managed to deflect them with my sword. However, the attack was so heavy that my arm went numb.

“Ugh…!”

“Luca!!”

As my movement slowed from the numbness, Caesar fired an Ice Spear, and before my body could properly move again it was already right in front of me.

There was no time to think of a way to escape… the Ice Spear pierced into my abdomen, and although I twisted my body to avoid a fatal wound, a deep gash opened in my side.

“Ghk…!”

This is bad. Dragon-transformed Caesar is far stronger than I expected. At this rate my life will be in danger before the dragon transformation’s time limit runs out.

“Luca! Fall back a little!”

Hubert raised his greatsword and stood in front of me with a desperate expression. Hubert might be killed instantly. That thought crossed my mind, but I trusted my companion and jumped back.

I immediately focused my mind, gathering magical power so I could cast a Heal strong enough to treat my injuries. Not yet… this still isn’t enough.

As expected, Heal takes too long to gather magical power for—it’s not very practical in real combat…

“Air Impact! Rock Bullet!”

“Hah!”

Ann supported Hubert with magic while Rebecca supported him with arrows, but Hubert looked battered. Just a little more…

“Heal!”

The moment the magic activated and the pain in my side disappeared, I kicked off the ground and stopped the arm that was about to strike Hubert with my sword.

“Inferno!”

I unleashed a powerful fire spell, but it was quickly extinguished by water magic and Caesar’s dragonized arm. Dragon transformation really is troublesome.

“How many minutes left, Lady Seremees?”

“About three minutes.”

“Still that long…”

I could barely manage to dodge Caesar’s relentless attacks, and I had no chance to even think about counterattacking. Three more minutes of this… could we endure it?

Even now I was only barely avoiding fatal blows, while small wounds kept piling up.

“How annoying… all you do is run away!”

“…Tornado!”

Perhaps irritated that he couldn’t defeat us as expected, Caesar taunted us, but I ignored it completely. If I responded to the provocation and counterattacked, he would exploit the opening.

We just need to hold out until the dragon transformation ends. If we endure until then, we win.

If I used Temporary Peace somewhere… but the moment that black mist appeared, Caesar would realize that I’m a servant of the Goddess of Peace. If that happened, he might know the details of the ability and avoid the Purple Sphere completely.

If that happened, there would be a massive explosion here. That’s something I absolutely want to avoid…

“Guess it can’t be helped. I’ll show you my trump card.”

Caesar suddenly stopped moving and spoke with a chilling grin. Immediately afterward, Caesar’s body itself began to grow larger.

“This is…”

“Luca, this is extremely dangerous. Caesar is attempting further dragon transformation.”

“Will he be alright doing something like that?”

“If the transformation ends normally it’s fine… but in the worst case, he’ll lose his reason and become a complete dragon.”

If that happens, what should we do? Could the four of us even defeat a true dragon…?

“Gahahahaha! Now you’re finished!”

As his body grew larger and even his legs changed into scaled skin, Caesar laughed like a madman and kicked off the ground toward me.

“…Ghah…!”

“Luca!!”

The ground cracked from the impact, the sound of air splitting barely reached my ears, and before I could even perceive his movement I was blown away. The shock broke my ribs and probably damaged my organs, because blood overflowed from my mouth.

My consciousness… is fading…

“…That was close.”

Just before losing consciousness, I activated Temporary Peace and barely managed to heal the life-threatening injuries. The Purple Sphere that was extracted was unbelievably large and ominous.

“Luca! Are you alright!?”

“Rebecca… I used Temporary Peace, so I’m fine. Be careful not to get hit by the Purple Sphere.”

“Of course.”

As I spoke with Rebecca, who had rushed over immediately, Caesar looked at the Purple Sphere and spread his arms with a delighted grin before bursting into laughter.

“…So you’re a servant of the God of Peace! If I defeat you, Lord Deshmira will surely be pleased! Hahahaha, this is getting fun!”

After saying that, he glared at us with a vicious expression and immediately began firing the strongest spells a divine servant could unleash in rapid succession. He clearly understood that getting close to Temporary Peace was the most dangerous thing. This is troublesome.

“Fire Storm! Ice Wall!”

I could barely deal with the incoming magic, but that alone consumed all my attention. I could hardly do anything else. Even controlling the Purple Sphere was difficult.

“Luca! Leave dealing with the magic to me!”

“…Understood! I’m counting on you!”

Trusting Ann’s determined eyes and tone, I stopped trying to deflect the spells one by one. Then I ran straight toward Caesar.

Caesar will definitely try to escape, so the only way is to get close and hit him with the Purple Sphere. The farther the distance, the harder it is to control the Purple Sphere.

“Hah!”

When I got close enough that my sword could reach him, I slammed the Purple Sphere toward him with all my strength… but Caesar easily leaped away and escaped from the spot. Then he repositioned himself and fired magic again.