Chapter 42
Could it touch me?
I could see a mass of magical energy so dense that it felt like it might.
Is it planning to spit its breath directly at the ground below, ready to self-destruct?
As expected of the Lord, quite the bold move.
If it spits the Dragon Breath straight down, not only me but even Erika and the others, who are about twenty paces away, will get caught in it.
As far as I'm concerned, I can't let that happen.
My thoughts caught up with me just as I kicked the Forest Dragon's belly instead of the ground and slid my body right under its jaw.
I push my physical enhancement to near its limit.
I become aware of magical energy mixing with my breath.
The Forest Dragon no longer seems to pay any attention to me.
No matter what happens or who stands in its way, it probably intends to blow everything away with its breath.
I caught the moment when that almost tangible magical energy began to transform.
I realized my body had moved before my thoughts only after I had swung my sword.
The Forest Dragon's lower jaw slams into its upper jaw.
Seeing the Forest Dragon's head pointing straight up, I thought I had succeeded.
With this, the breath would either misfire or be spat into the empty sky—I thought as much.
So, the event that unfolded before my eyes in the next moment greatly unsettled me.
After a fleeting moment of stillness, the Forest Dragon's cheeks seemed to swell before bursting, and from there, the breath began to scatter wildly.
Like a fountain, countless thin streams of breath sprayed everywhere like rain, causing explosions all over the area.
In terms of the scope of damage, I can't help but think it might have been better to just let it spit the breath as it intended.
Ah, this is bad.
I thought that just as my body finally landed on the ground.
Erika and the others—are they okay? As I turned to check, I saw a scene even more abnormal than the Forest Dragon scattering its breath.
Erika Solnzari, amidst the storm of destruction raging all around, calmly and precisely intercepted only the fragments of breath flying toward them with her magic.
Even though these fragments of breath have power far beyond ordinary magic, Erika intercepted and neutralized multiple of them simultaneously with a composed expression.
Bathed in the shimmering golden magic and the white light of destruction, Erika smiles like a legendary hero.
Ah, as expected of Erika, I think, while at the same time, I'm impressed by Shara.
Despite the breath causing explosions everywhere around us, she continues chanting incantations of syllabic magic without interruption.
As expected of the woman who faced a Golden Ogre even while gravely injured.
Her determination is on another level; it must be an illusion that she seems to be rolling her eyes back slightly.
I let my guard down out of relief.
I regretted that thought as I tumbled three times, scattering the grass of the grassland.
On my fifth roll, I stabbed my sword into the ground, forcibly pinning my body to the earth.
I knew my position was disadvantageous, so I managed to muster a bit of composure against the Forest Dragon's foreleg looming before me.
That said, I didn't have enough leeway to dodge it.
Barely managing to wedge my sword between its claws and my body, I was blown away once again.