Chapter 16

I immediately shifted into reverse.

Seconds later, Alice manipulated the golem, causing the upper half of the vehicle’s body to rotate. After a near-instantaneous change in direction, I slammed the accelerator to the floor.

I checked the rearview mirror. The blue dragon was letting out a roar—a thunderous sound that felt like a lightning strike. The air vibrated so violently I thought my eardrums would burst.

Before long, the dragon began to sprint after us. Every single step shook the ground. The sheer spectacle of it made me burst into a sudden laugh.

“When you think fantasy, it’s gotta be dragons! I guess that’s how it is!”

I poked my rifle out the window and opened fire. The bullets simply bounced off the scales. I hadn’t managed to leave even a scratch. I suppose that was only natural. To a creature of that massive size, my rifle was essentially a pea shooter. It probably didn’t even feel any pain.

Meanwhile, the dragon used its wings to accelerate rapidly and swung its foreleg toward us. Human-sized claws closed in. I wrenched the steering wheel at the last second, attempting to evade.

“Whoa!”

The sound of destruction echoed from the rear of the vehicle. The body tilted sharply as a massive tremor ran through it. I fought the wheel, managed to keep us level, and narrowly avoided flipping over. I wiped the sweat from my forehead, exhaling in relief.

“That was close…”

“The golem in the rear seems to be damaged. It’s not responding well to my commands.”

“Fantastic. I’m practically moved to tears.”

While we were talking, the claws attacked again. I kept the pedal floored while spinning the wheel to deviate from the trajectory of the strike. This time, the dodge was successful. I watched as the claws gouged deep furrows into the earth.

If that ever scored a direct hit on the golem car, I’d have to be prepared for some serious damage. I had to make sure it didn’t land another blow.

Contrary to my resolve, the dragon pursued us with relentless tenacity. There was no sign it would give up. What exactly was driving this thing? I clicked my tongue without hesitation.

“…Man, talk about a romantic drive.”

Glaring at the dragon reflected in the side mirror, I observed our surroundings. Fleeing into the forests on either side was dangerous. The trees would prevent us from maintaining speed, whereas the dragon could simply plow through them with its sheer momentum. We’d be caught in an instant.

As things stood, our only option was to flee along the riverbank and look for an opening to counterattack. The dragon’s claws were capable of shredding the golem car’s armor. The longer this dragged on, the worse the damage would get. If we broke down, we’d be stranded in the middle of the forest for sure.

I shifted my gaze to Alice in the passenger seat.

“I thought I heard that there were only monsters I could handle in these danger zones?”

“Dragons are the exception. To think we’d encounter one in a place like this… it seems we’ve been very unlucky.”

“Haha, so it went out of its way just to see us? I’m flattered. Maybe I should ask for a commemorative photo.”

I threw open the driver-side door and leaned my body out of the car, hooking my leg into the seat so I wouldn’t fall. From that position, I grabbed my bow and a bomb arrow.

“Switching to autonomous mode. I’m leaving the control to you.”

“Got it. I’ll handle it.”

I lit the fuse of the bomb arrow and quickly readied the bow. I locked eyes with the dragon as it approached with a cacophony of noise. Amidst the never-ending vibrations, I pushed my concentration to the limit. I waited for the sway of my aim to stabilize.

The moment the perfect timing arrived, I snapped my eyes wide.

“—Drop dead, you oversized lizard.”

I released the arrow. My best shot struck the dragon directly in one of its eyes. An explosion erupted simultaneously. The dragon’s roar pierced the night sky, its volume so intense it made me grimace. The rising flames and black smoke shrouded the creature’s face. Its movements visibly slowed.

“Oh, did I get him?”

I watched with anticipation. A few seconds later, the dragon shook its head to clear the smoke. At the site where the arrow had hit, the surrounding scales were lightly charred.

But that was it. It hadn’t even been blinded; I’d only managed to give it a slight burn. The dragon let out a roar of pure rage and resumed its acceleration.

“Dammit, that’s some ridiculous toughness!”

I fired another bomb arrow. This time, it hit one of the dragon’s legs. It slowed down slightly, but again, it didn’t deal any significant damage. It only served to irritate the beast further.

“I have never wanted a rocket launcher more than I do today!”

“Dragons have natural defensive magic layered over their scales. Half-hearted attacks won’t work. Even with my reinforcement magic on your bomb arrows, it seems charring them is the best we can do.”

“Oh, is that so! Thanks for the helpful commentary!”

I threw the bow back into the car and grabbed a variety of bombs instead.

Due to their size, the bomb arrows lacked power. Even with Alice’s magical reinforcement, there was a limit to what they could do. If they didn’t work on the dragon, I would just have to use something with even higher explosive force.

I was the Bomber who had wiped an entire city off the map. I wasn’t about to lose to a lizard just because it had a massive build. It was time to show this thing my pride and my true strength.

The dragon raised its foreleg—a telltale sign of an impending claw attack. I grabbed one of my bombs and lit the fuse near the base so it would detonate almost instantly. Aiming for the dragon’s descending foreleg, I hurled the bomb.

The explosion scored a direct hit, knocking the trajectory of its claws slightly off course. The talons gouged the earth, missing the golem car by a hair’s breadth. However, the impact sent a spray of stone fragments flying from the torn ground. I crossed my arms to shield my face as a series of dull thuds battered my body. The debris rattled against the vehicle’s armor with a metallic clang.

After weathering the rain of stones, I glared at the dragon, which was still in pursuit.

“Dammit. This is getting out of hand…”

I was barely managing to brush off its attacks. I didn’t even have the breathing room to counterattack. Or rather, I questioned if I even had a means to effectively strike back. Still, being pushed around like this grated on my nerves. I don’t let anyone make a fool of me—not even a giant dragon.

The dragon, still virtually unscathed, stretched its neck and opened its maw, revealing rows of jagged fangs. Realizing our attacks weren’t working, it seemed to have decided to simply crush and swallow the golem car whole. It was looking down on me completely.

I felt a surge of even deeper murderous intent. I selected a bomb from my stash, lit it, and shot it straight into the dragon’s wide-open mouth as it closed in.

“Here, have some bait! Eat your fill!”

The bomb landed on the dragon’s tongue and rolled down into its throat. Moments later, a muffled burst echoed, and the dragon began spewing red smoke. The thick vapor billowed out uncontrollably. Sensing something was wrong, the dragon let out a shriek, stomping its feet in visible agony. Smoke leaked from its nostrils and mouth, and its pursuit speed finally dropped.

“How do you like the taste of my tear gas? If you’re a fan, I’ll give you the recipe.”

Mocking the screaming dragon, I lit a Molotov-style bomb and threw it at its face, which was still emitting red smoke. The fire ignited the gas, causing an additional explosion. Unable to endure the pain, the dragon collapsed and began thrashing on the ground. The distance between us and the beast widened rapidly.

“Serves you right! That’s the power of a human for you.”

“Jack, this is no time for victory cheers.”

Beside me as I celebrated, Alice pointed ahead. I shifted my gaze accordingly.

Thirty yards in front of us, the river vanished. I couldn’t see anything beyond that point. It was likely a massive drop-off, like a waterfall.

“It looks like there was a major fissure in the ground. I didn’t know about this.”

“Wonderful. Our luck just keeps getting better and better.”

Spitting out the words, I climbed back into the driver’s seat and grabbed the wheel. Checking the side mirror, I saw the dragon had already picked itself up and was taking flight to intercept us.

This was bad. Things had turned into a real mess. Diving into a waterfall basin was out of the question. I had to turn and plunge into the forest immediately, praying the trees would act as a screen to help us lose the dragon.

Just then, the dragon dropped from above with a roar. Whether fueled by the pain I’d caused it or not, its speed this time was truly merciless. It clearly had no intention of letting us escape. An impact like an explosion sounded from directly behind us—its claws had pierced through the roof of the rear section, the tips crushing the cargo inside.

“…You’ve done it now, you bastard.”

I slammed my hand against the steering wheel. The controls weren’t responding. Because of the claws hooked into the rear, the front wheels were lifting off the ground. The impaled talons were dragging against the vehicle’s movement. The tilted golem car continued to hurtle forward at high speed, trailing sparks.

Alice wore a grim expression.

“It’s no use. I’ve tried transforming the golems, but I can’t stop it. To make things worse, several of the golems in the rear have had their cores crushed and have ceased functioning.”

“Well, that’s just great news.”

As I spoke, I threw open the door, climbed out, and scrambled onto the roof of the golem car. Rolling up my sleeves, I stood tall. In my line of sight was the dragon, flapping its wings as it flew, its foreleg claws still buried in the vehicle. It was infuriating and humiliating, but my weapons weren’t working on this thing.

In that case, it was time for my last resort. I pulled my fist back and drove it into the creature’s claw with everything I had.

“Take THIS!”

With a satisfying crack, my fist shattered the dragon’s claw. The dragon let out a shrill cry. Evidently, that had actually hurt; it pulled away and retreated into the sky. I had put my faith in my high-level status modifiers, and they had come through for me. It seemed the absurd levels I’d gained back at the Imperial Capital were enough to wound even a dragon.

The retreating dragon vanished from sight in an instant, showing no sign of returning. I breathed a sigh of relief for a moment. But just as I started to relax, Alice’s voice screamed from inside the car.

“Jack! We’re falling!”

I spun around to look ahead. The golem car was just about to launch into the air. A powerful sensation of weightlessness took over as the vehicle tilted forward and began its vertical plunge. We were being sucked straight down toward the base of the waterfall.

‘—Ah, crap.’

I’d been so focused on fending off the dragon that I’d forgotten the drop. But regrets were already too late. I closed my eyes and clung to the golem car, bracing myself for the impact.