~ Chapter 7 ~

[ The Dragon of the North ]

Dragons. Powerful, mythical creatures born with an affinity for the elements and blessed by the Goddess Stacia.

Long before the Axiom Church, dragons had served as protectors of the humans—they were spread across the lands and their might was key in repelling outsiders from trespassing into their lands. In return for their protection, humans would offer them gold and food as recompense, thus striking a mutualistic pact amongst the two races. Such was a form of unity between the two species that would last for an incredibly long time.

Following the establishment of the Axiom Church's order of Integrity Knights, however, their numbers across the Human Empire have steadily dwindled, leaving many to conspire that the knights had been dispatched to hunt them down. Many more support the theory that they had moved into seclusion following the booming of the human population, which meant they no longer required protection.

To date, the only dragons that remain now are those in service to the knights, for the wilderness beyond is home to no other dragons. The duty of protection now falls upon the Integrity Knight.

Even so, many are those who yearn to witness a true dragon of the old soaring across the skies, just as they had once upon a time ago.

~ Excerpt taken from the legend of «Dragons of the Human Empire»

There was a moment of silence. The kind where a single pin could be heard from Mel's away if dropped on the ground—and then, it was quickly broken apart by the sounds of something hard clattering against the ground, followed by rushing footballs and a jetting stream of frigid black winds within the frozen cave system.

Adrenaline was surging in his veins, the world around him slow and his breathing rapid. No longer weighed down as he was, he managed to move fast enough to be able to throw himself to the side to avoid a stream of jet black mist coming his way. A single Mel. That was the distance he'd managed to put between himself and the frost breath before he would have been turned into a human popsicle. The ground, once covered in sparkling blue frost, was now blanketed in corrupted black ice—and that could have easily been him had he been a second later.

Kirito stared at the ice, in disbelief, before he gritted his teeth and quickly picked himself up from the ground and moved once more, aware that his attacker was keeping its focus on him as it let out a steady breath of black ice. 'Gaaagh..! Eugeo was right the first time! This had been a trap, and I lead us right into it! How could I have been such a damned idiot?!'

He knew he was an idiot. Always had been. And yet, it feels like it's been nothing but bad thing after bad thing happening because of him.

Alice's arrest. Eugeo getting hurt. And now this?

Had his instincts been wrong? He'd been so sure that it was nothing that they wouldn't actually have to worry about—they'd been here before, after all, and there were no signs of anything living to be sighted save for the typical cave bats. So here he'd been hoping that they'd go and find whoever it was, get them out and perhaps be on their merry way.

A cynical part of him recognized the flaw in his thinking and chastised him for that. Of course something was bound to go wrong. Why else had the voice sound so troubled to begin with? It was clearly trying to make him aware of some danger.

Doubt began to creep into him in that moment. Could the voice have purposedly attempted to lure them in by sounding so weak? By calling out for help, hoping for some poor fool to come? If so, then why had it gone so far as to warn them?

Kirito's line of thoughts was disrupted by the raucous roar from up above, body reflexively moving behind a new cover. Peering past the fallen boulder, his mind still failed to accept the fact that there was an actual dragon in the cave. Of rotting flesh and an ominous aura seeping from its body, a thin veil of black mist circulating around itself, ghastly silver eyes trying to discern its preys' locations.

Damn it all. There would be more time to figure things out later on, preferably when he and Eugeo are still alive. Right now, getting out of this situation was more important.

However, any hopes of fighting that thing is now abysmal, considering that he'd dropped his axe a little ways too far from here (as if he could have done it in the first place, though). He spotted it in the distance, contrasting against the rest of the ice background.

"Kirito!" His head snapped to the right, spotting his best friend in cover nearby. The relief on his expression was palpable. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine!" He nodded back, equally pleased to see that his friend was okay. "Dropped the Dragon Bone Axe a little far from here, but that's not important. We need to get out of here! There's no way we can beat that thing!"

One might have argued otherwise, but he would just as strongly support his own words; a couple of goblins couldn't possibly compare to a dragon. The sheer difference in their strength and whatnot was just too much. Plus, it was less of a fight and simply trying to outrun and dodge the goblins that night. In this fresh new situation, there wouldn't be a chance for him to win whatsoever.

Right now, their condition of 'victory' was find some way to get out of here. But that also brought up a much worse possibility; the dragon might try to chase after them. And if it got out and discovered their village? The sheer damage would be irrecoverable.

"Charlotte and Fanatio!" He looked back at Eugeo. "They're in the village, right? They should be able to take care of this!"

'Ah, right! They're the two strongest people in the village, and our best bet at fighting this thing!' The initial hope was quickly clouded with doubt. 'But that means we need to find some way to get to them. How do we—' His thoughts ceased, eyes widening slightly as an idea came to mind. 'It might work,' might being the keyword, and equally reckless and dangerous, but sometimes those kinds of options are the only things that work in situations like these. "Eugeo! I have a plan!"

"What is it?"

"We need to find some way to get Fanatio's and Charlotte's help, but if the both of us leave this cave together, we might accidentally bring this guy along with us. You can figure out why that's not the best idea."

"Right. It might start wreaking havoc on the village or the area…" Eugeo bristled at that thought. "How are we going to keep it in here..?"

"One of us will have to stay back and keep it occupied long enough for the other person to get out and call for help. And obviously, I'll stay back—"

The roar from above them had them flinching, but Eugeo shouted through it all. "What do you mean you'll stay?!"

"Not like we have much other options here, Eugeo!" A blast of ice shatters the apex of his temporary blockade, scattering pieces of frost here and there. He gritted his teeth through it all. "Right now, all we can do is try and get back-up!"

"I get that, and it's a really smart decision, but if it means you're staying here all on your own, then there's no way I'm just going to accept that!"

"What do you mean?! If the both of us go, it'll follow us out of the cave! It'll be panic in the village, and—"

"I'm not leaving you alone again!" His voice cracked near the end, frustration rich in his tone. It was so sudden that it took Kirito aback, giving him time to continue on, eyes strained. "You did that for us that night too! You could have died back then, and there's a chance it might happen to you tonight as well! So what makes you think I'm just going to let you risk your life again?! I can't!"

'Damn it, Eugeo, what are you saying? This is obviously the only option we have left..!'

And yet, as his brain conjures the image of his best friend's face from that night, horror present in his expression when he told him what he'd planned to do…

Damn it all. It had been the only option back then, and Eugeo had agreed with him. He'd been so sure that he'd do it again in this moment, but he never considered the possibility that he wouldn't. And now, there was just no way that they could follow through with his initial plan.

As much as he wanted to call Eugeo out for being thoughtless… he knew he wasn't. Kirito was. He knew that, for risking his safety just like that, he was putting his own friend through all sorts of fears. And that was just unfair of him—he knew that, if their positions were reversed, he'd have felt equally anxious.

"Well," he groaned out, a sign of defeat in the face of his friend's stubbornness. He didn't miss the faint signs of relief in his eyes. Urgh, of course he's genuinely happy about that. "What other choice do we have? There's no way we could possibly fight that thing. We don't even—"

A momentary lapse in sound and motion, before everything exploded into action as their covers were suddenly shattered, ice and rock dispersed in every direction as the ensuing blowback knocked them a distance away, their bodies ragdolling against the ground.

Kirito skidded on the ice a fair distance away, his vision wavering and his chest tight. Even so, as he forced away with the pain, he pushed himself to his feet. Gasping. Bleeding knuckles from the friction.

'Eugeo..!'

Ignoring how heavy his body felt, his attempt to run towards his friend had him suddenly bucking in pain, forced to limp towards his downed friend and support him by throwing the blond's arm around his neck and dragging both of them behind a pile of fallen rubble.

Not a moment too soon. Cold. Cold was all he felt as the wind streamed around the rubble, quickly forming a layer of black crystals across its surface. Cursing, he immediately moved both of them away from it but never out of its range of protection, keeping them safe out of the breath's hit range but also from coming into contact with the freezing rock to avoid letting the frost grow onto them as well.

"O-Oi, Eugeo, you okay..?"

"Urgh… Y-Yeah, I'm fine," despite his slurring speech, that he answered at all was a relief. He opted to summon 'Stacia Windows' to check on both of their «Life»; only a sliver depleted on Eugeo's part, and almost none in his case. Good. "Owww… What happened..?"

"Explosion. I don't know," he clicked his teeth, applying a weak 'Luminous' element over his friend's head to relieve the pain. 'Okay, okay. Everything's fine for now, no need to panic,' even as he thought that, he couldn't help but notice how shaky his hands were. He peered over the rock when the breath of ice came to a cease, watching the dragon flap its wings to keep itself hovering in the same place. 'Damn… What're we supposed to do now..?'

There was just too little information on the enemy. It's undead, breathes ice, and can fly; but what of its weaknesses? Could it be affected by «Sacred Arts» to some extent? It would be nice if that was the case, but in this dark cave? It would just be impossible.

Kirito was not a stranger to the church's teachings. Just as there is Lady Stacia, who created everything, so too is there Solus, Lunaria and Terraria—where the first blessed the world with her warm light, the second gave her gifts to the people with their respite from the day and pleasant dreams, and the third oversaw the fertility of their lands.

And in this very place, natural and untouched by man, was still beloved by Lady Terraria. The ground, though quiet, is alive, and within it is spatial resources all the same.

But it just wouldn't be enough to execute high-levelled spells that could actually injure the dragon. Plus, his «System Control Authority» was just too low for him to do that in the first place. All he could do was cast low-levelled spells with the faint traces of spatial resources in this cave, and no more.

Damn it, damn it. What else could they do? Straining his mind, Kirito was unable to formulate a proper plan. No weapon to make use of. A cave so wide that there was a lot of distance between himself and the undead dragon. The only good thing are the abundance of obstacles that they could use as cover, but other than that, they're locked in a stalemate that neither of them could break unless the other party makes a wrong move somewhere.

And Kirito knows he can't force this battle into one of attrition. Unlike the dragon, he can't keep fighting forever. He'll get fatigued, and one simple mistake is going to be his untimely undoing.

'Darn it… How'd that thing even come to life? Hell, is it even alive to begin with?'

It isn't. That was the answer his heart came up with the moment he properly took in its features; the rotting flesh, the revealed pieces of its skull, damaged parts of its body and gross showings of its internals—if something sustained injuries of this extent, there was no chance of survival.

Then what? Was it resurrected somehow? Had someone cast a spell to somehow revive this thing?

'Is it some form of «Dark Arts»..?'

No, that couldn't possibly be it. Quickly surveying the cave, he couldn't spot anyone else here save for himself and Eugeo. Were they using a spell to hide their presences too, then?

Useless. All of these hypotheticals aren't helping him whatsoever. All they're doing is making him second-guess any plan that he could come up with. It could easily be bad luck or a complex spell triggered by several conditions being fulfilled, or something. None of that matters at the moment because, right now, getting out alive is their focus.

'One way or another, we'll be the ones caving in first. How are we supposed to win in this sort of scenario..?' He gripped his head in his hand, screwing his eyes shut. 'If we run out together, it'll follow us out and put everyone in danger. If we just stay here, we'll eventually succumb to the cold or it'll just try and rip us apart. And if I try to fight that thing, there's just no way I could possibly kill something like that. It's already dead.'

Another blast of frigid wind at their cover gets them both to cry out in surprise. At this rate, it'd only be a matter of time before they're turned into living ice statues.

He screwed his eyes shut. Think, think, think. What could they possibly do right now? They can't fight or outrun or trick it..! What do they—

'Boys… Boys..! Can you hear me? '

Kirito froze up upon hearing that same voice ringing in his head, looking around him. Eugeo looked just as stunned. "W-What?" He blinked. "Eugeo, did you just…"

"N-No, that wasn't me. Could it have been…"

'You can hear me… Thank goodness…' This is the first voice. The one that had called for help, then warned them of the danger. She sounds more… normal than this rotting corpse's dying voice. Feminine, just as Eugeo described, and somewhat high-pitched with certain deep tones. 'Are you… injured? '

"No, we're good for now. But likely not for much longer," he peered over the rock, noticing how the dragon seemed to be catching its breath—not like it was necessary, considering how it isn't actually alive. Likely preparing for another attack. "It's got us cornered. We're sitting ducks. Gotta' find some way to turn the tides… which is easier said than done."

'That body… is a physical manifestation of dark energy. An amalgamation of negativity born from my own soul,' Kirito picked up on that. Her negativity? 'It is darkness given form. Conventional means will not be able to cut it down…'

'Shit… I mean, I'd sort of expected that, but that's not really helpful,' he clicked his tongue, Eugeo mirroring his own expression of displeasure. "Then what do we do? Should we just make a break for it? It'll be dangerous if that thing ends up following us all the way to the outside."

'No. We must slay it here and now. The longer it stays, the worse it'll be.'

"But Kirito and I can't do anything," Eugeo said with a frown. "None of us have the means of actually fighting it. It'd just be…"

'«Sacred Arts»,' she interrupted. 'Specifically, the 'Luminous' element,' her answer got the both of them to perk up. 'Darkness… and light… Both co-exist in harmony, yet they are just as capable to clash with one another. This is no different. You must strike it down using the 'Luminous' element to wound it and, eventually, defeat it.'

"That so..?" Well, better than having no options. "But there's not enough spatial resources in the area to—"

'Leave that to me, ' huh? 'But you must first regain the Dragon Bone Axe. Otherwise, we won't be able to fight it.'

"Wait, what?" Eugeo looked at him, then to his empty hands, then back at him. "Where is it?"

"Dropped it the moment the fight started," it was near enough to the pile of bones, but it was still pretty far from where they are now. "I'll have to make a dead sprint for it, but I've no idea if I'll be fast enough to avoid its breath attacks."

'That won't be an issue,' she said. 'Though this is not part of my gift, it shall be enough to assist you. '«System Call! Generate 'Aerial' element! Designation art: Tailwind»! ' Designation art? What kind of command is that?

He didn't get to articulate his question before bursts of wind seemed to pick up out of nowhere, kicking up his clothes and hair. Eugeo gasped in surprise, backing away from him and watching with wide green eyes. And Kirito, himself, felt like he'd grown ten times lighter, weight almost negligible.

'I will do my best to assist you… so please, lend me your strength, Kirito! '

The conviction in her voice—the faith in him as she spoke those words. As if she was so certain that he could somehow make this work, even though he was just some kid who couldn't ever succeed in anything.

Damn it all… What sort of decisions had he made for everything to lead up to this moment? Was this some sort of payback for whatever wrongdoings he'd committed in his previous life?

And yet… He can't bury this feeling of hope inside of him. The muted part of his soul that tries to convince him that it wasn't completely hopeless; that there's a chance—and no matter how miniscule that chance may be, it was one that could very turn the tables.

And he has to respond to it. Wants to respond to it.

"…We don't really have other choice," lowering his head, he can't help but let out a scoff. "But nothing ventured, nothing gained, eh?" He got onto his feet, preparing himself for a run. "Eugeo, you need to sit tight, got it? Just leave this to me."

"But, that's…"

'You shouldn't dismiss his words, Eugeo. For the time being, I'm only able to manipulate «Sacred Arts» around one individual only. You must take care to protect yourself in the meantime.'

Discomfort slipped into his features, but he nodded all the same. Kirito couldn't hold back the urge to pat him on the head, grinning. "Don't worry about it. Even if there's a fighting chance now, I'll be really careful about this one. Can't go dying on you now, can I?"

"…I'll hold you to that, then."

"Yeah. So just stay here. It'll be over before you know it."

He looked once more at the dragon. It was watching him. Readying itself to strike the moment he got out of cover.

He shouldn't be doing this, but with no other choices, it was do or die. And he can't die here—not yet. Not until he's finally made amends of his mistakes and travel to Centoria to carry out his final wishes.

Too many things to accomplish. Being dead would make it impossible by then.

"Okay then… Let's do this!"

Kirito. An amnesiac who had, a very long time ago, entered this cave alongside two other children. She had witnessed their bonds first-hand, and had quickly learnt of its untimely demise.

And this was the boy who was involved in that nightly battle with the goblins. The one she felt her soul resonate with.

Having lived a very long life, she'd gotten very used to seeing the birth and fall of many a warrior. Some excelled at swordplay, others intellectual. Many displayed arrogance towards their peers, but never was one a coward.

This little one, though hardly as skilled as any finely-polished swordsman, held promise in the sense that his spirit burned stronger than anything she'd ever seen. The fire in his eyes when she'd told him that they had a chance of beating this monster.

Monster… She bristled at the label but said nothing else, for what else could this thing be called, then? Truly, a monster was all too fitting.

But all of that was instantly pushed out of her mind when Kirito, tapping into the potential of her blessed winds, practically disappeared in the blink of an eye. The undead vessel began its assault then, chasing it down with its breath of frigid blackness, intending to deliver an immediate and absolute sub-zero death.

But it couldn't keep up with his sudden increase in speed. The little boy with black hair was running too fast, manoeuvring between the obstacles to give himself protection while steadily closing the distance between himself and his target.

"Got it!" He yelled, body in the midst of an impressively fluid display of motion as he picks up the Dragon Bone Axe in one hand. "Now what?!"

'Leave that to me! ' Yelling as such, she hones in on the image conjured in her mind, letting the words of the «Sacred Tongue» run their course. '«System Call! Generate 'Luminous', 'Thermal' elements, adhere»! '

To allow something to 'adhere' to an object was as implied; it allows an element to attach itself to an object, with a focus on a specific effect that only that specific element could provide. It's something that she recognizes these children having done once with the cattail and the 'Luminous' element; by attaching said element to the cattail, thus using it as a makeshift light source.

But that was no the full extent of such a simple syntax. Far be it from the truth.

In fact, one's imagination is the strongest weapon that one could make use of, for the reliance of the «Sacred Arts» on the ability to imagine and perceive the spell could very well affect its power. And she, who had studied these arts for a very long time, understood very well just how to manipulate it in ways that wouldn't exactly require such high levels of authority.

And that was how, what should be two completely different elements of completely different effects were able to come together in a beautiful symphony, dressed along the outlines of Kirito's axe. Even without a physical vessel, she could sense the quiet warmth that emanated from the bony material.

And then, it was set aflame; hot white-red fire wrapped around the blade of the axe, creeping along the material and all the way down to its wielder's grip. Yet, by her decree, it simply licked his skin without inflicting a single burn. As if it was merely an illusion.

All of that—in three mere seconds. Kirito's brain registered the change and his body moved once more, avoiding a stream of black wind.

'My specialty isn't fire… but with «Sacred Arts», anything is made possible,' though if it had been him, he would have been able to create far more powerful flames. 'Now hurry. Within its chest should be a core. You must destroy it, or else we'd all be in danger..! '

"Yeah, on it!"

Though she understood the haste of the situation, a part of her was guilted by the fact that she was asking a child to fight something so dangerous as this. And yet, for all the facts that were in place, he never once shied from the fight, meeting their enemy's gaze dead-on without a single hint of fear. His stance was imperfect, his body rigid and his grip too tight.

Yet all she could think of was how he was going to win.

And then, Kirito moved.

"Hroaaaah!" Charging straight towards the centre of the cave and right at his target, the winds beneath his feet sent him surging straight, unbeholden by the laws of physics. He became a black blur, dodging the breaths with ease as he got into the beast's blind spot.

Once he finally got behind the dragon, Kirito stomped his boots into the ground, skidding to a stop as he tensed the muscles in his legs.

And then, he leapt upwards.

'Burst! ' The winds heeded her call, becoming an explosion beneath him that sent him rocketing Mel's above the ground, the weight of the axe in the boy's grip wholly negligible. Kirito reached the peak of his ascent in a few seconds—in time to meet its gaping maw and the endless black void within its throat as it turned around. 'Strike it! '

"Hyaaaah!"

With a battle cry ripped out of his throat, Kirito swung the axe of bone in a swift downwards arch.

Under normal circumstances, it would have done absolutely nothing. Yet, blessed with light and fire, the blow was absolute; the axe tore straight into its skull, right past its decaying muscles and out through the side. It practically dissected half of its face in a single, clean swing, fire bursting from its wound like a ruptured bubble.

But as beautiful as it had been, it wasn't the right target.

The ensuing roar was somehow strong enough to knock the boy back by sheer force, sending him falling down in a swift descent. Kirito repositioned himself mid-air to make sure he rolled across the ground, dispersing the force and letting him safely put distance between himself and the undead monster.

Which was still dead. Or alive. Or dead-alive.

"Damn! It turned around too fast that time!" He refixed his grip over his weapon. "Guess we'll need to move faster! We can still do this!"

Initially disrupted from his first successful attack, the corpse quickly recovered and was back on the attack. Kirito quickly moved once more, the winds carrying him out of harm's way.

Kirito had been right. The corpse, though not quick enough to keep up with his new speed, still possesses a rather impressive reflex—how else could it have possibly turned around that fast to try and attack him back then?

That also brought two things to light; that the vessel's backside is the weak point, and that a distraction is needed to temporarily stun it. But how?

'We need to find some way to halt its movements, even if for a little while. Do you have any ideas as to how to achieve that? '

"You're asking me?" Despite that, he manages to answer in the midst of his run. "What if you freeze it over? Use 'Cryogenic' element or something."

That was not a bad idea. 'I could, but at the moment, I must manipulate these two spells at the same time. It would be difficult to execute another spell to bind the dragon's movements… '

"Then we just need to catch it by surprise! Enough so that it won't be able to move fast enough like it did before!" He yelled back. "Hey lady, is it possible for me to chant a low-levelled spell? It doesn't need to hurt; just has to happen!"

'If you require enough resources to execute the spell, then leave it to me. But what is— '

"Good enough! Get ready!"

Pushing himself even further, the winds were spurned by his will and howled even louder. She hadn't expected it, let alone for Kirito to suddenly switch his trajectory in one swift motion and charge straight right at it.

"«System Call»!" He yelled, which was her cue to begin amplifying the amount of spatial resources in the area. He suddenly screwed his eyes shut and outstretched his other arm towards the abomination. "«Generate 'Luminous' element, burst»!"

Illuminance went off like a bomb, filling the cave upon his command. She gasped, watching as the darkness was quickly overtaken by light, pouring blinding whiteness into every crevice and corner within this space.

The 'Luminous' element, though regarded as a source of light and wound-treating, was now being used offensively. And it worked, for the sudden shift in brightness caught the beast off-guard, causing it to howl in pain—both from the bright explosion and the essence of 'holiness' in the spell.

And Kirito, never one to let an opportunity slip through his fingers, snatched for it.

With another burst of wind, he zoomed straight forwards and put himself behind the dragon. Once more, he kicked off the ground and rocketed straight at its torso, axe blazing hot white in preparation to swing into its target. Wind rushed against his face and his clothes as he was sailing at the speed of an arrow, approaching his death.

And yet, connected as they are in that single moment, she could sense only one thing… the exhilaration of the fight.

As if guided by some invisible will, Kirito swung his axe right into its abdomen, roaring louder than the beast. The blade tore right into its spine, viciously goring apart its muscles and shattering bone. It cut through with such ease, it could have only been done with a proper sword.

Something shattered upon impact. Only a voice as she is now, she gasped in shock as she felt the immediate collapse of its energy supply, spilling outwards like sifting sand. Kirito began to fall downwards as gravity acted on him, pulling him back down to the ground. The dragon above him let out a howl. Then a wail.

And finally, a whimper, as its body collided with his and crashed down into the ground along with him, blacking out.

"K-Kirito!" Panic and fear shooting through his system, Eugeo ignored any need for safety as he broke into a dead sprint straight for the dragon's corpse. He pressed against its body, gasping when pain lanced up his right arm, but he shook it off and continued to push. It did not budge in the slightest. "Come ooon..!"

Grunting hard, he pushed to the best that he could. Failing to make it move even a single milli- Mel, however, indicated that he just wasn't strong enough.

His dread began to grow. Kirito was still underneath this thing, being crushed by its weight. If he can't get him out of there, then he might actually suffocate to death! O-Or he's lying down there bleeding, and he can't—

'Eugeo, you need to hurry! ' He was brought out of his rampant thoughts by the voice once more, the desperation in her tone making his heart drum faster. 'We must remove Kirito from beneath the dragon's corpse! The impact broke his ribs! He requires immediate treatment..! '

Broken ribs? Oh no. No no no, not like this. "R-Right! But how do I—"

'«System Call! Generate 'Aerial' element, adhere»! ' Wind swirled around his body and arms, forming a framework that seemed so akin to heavy armour. 'Eugeo! '

"O-Okay! I got it!"

Bracing himself, Eugeo began to push into the dragon's side, making full use of his body weight. When he felt it began to shift, hope instantly peaked in his heart and he pushed harder, making full use of the wind to strengthen his body and shove the dragon off of his best friend.

Eventually, he managed to shift it enough for Kirito's arm to be reachable, prompting him to grab onto his hand and pull him out. The faint traces of blood on his lips and forehead had his heart stopping, but he continued to pull him away from the dragon, aware that black smoke was being expunged from its carcass, the flesh and bones slowly disintegrating into nothingness.

He didn't stop to watch it fully disappear. Instead, he quickly got onto his knees and checked for Kirito's breath. The muted hums were a good sign, but the voice had said that he'd broken the bones inside of his body. "W-What should I do?"

'Please, leave it to me. As I was the one to have put him in danger, it falls upon me to mend his wounds. «System Call»…'

It was like a building flame. Her chant kindled a light so soft that wrapped around his friend's entire body, forming a thin, almost translucent layer of white. Eventually, it grew to become brighter, warmer than he would have expected it to be.

"Come on, come on, please be okay…" Quickly drawing a 'Stacia Window' over his friend's body, he immediately checked the value of his «Life». Seeing half of it gone had him feeling nauseous, but to see its value halt in its decrement gave him some amount of comfort. "Oh, thank the goddesses… Y-You're gonna' be okay, Kirito."

'I will see to it that he will be,' the voice spoke up once more. There was no missing the relief and haste in her tone. 'I said it before, didn't I? I had been the one to ask of him to fight the beast. He had gotten hurt because of me, so—'

"I-I don't think you need to blame yourself for that one," he interjected, although with a shaky tone. "I mean… Kirito would have still tried to fight it, I'd bet. That's just the way he is. So don't be too hard on yourself, okay? If anything, I should be thanking you. You'd been watching over him since the start of the fight, after all," he lowered his head in a quiet bow. "Thank you."

She said nothing for a while, leaving him to wonder if there'd been something wrong with what he said. Eventually, however, she finally returned his words. 'No… If anyone should be thanking anyone, it is me. I am grateful that the two of you sought to assist me with ridding that dragon. Left unchecked, it would have brought about danger to the people of the Human Empire.'

"T-Then I guess it's a good thing that Kirito took care of it, huh?" He smiled at that.

'Indeed. Your friend… He did amazingly well,' there was a hint of awe in her voice. One that he shared all the same. 'Even against such a difficult foe as this one, to have succeeded in besting it… He certainly isn't one to be underestimated.'

"No kidding. He's always been good at being unpredictable, it's scary," he laughed a little, though he realized just how tightly he was holding his best friend's hand. 'Kirito's okay. He's going to be okay,' he tried to reassure himself. He needs to calm down. "At least… Everything's over now. So thank you, miss… Um, do you have a name? I'm not exactly sure what to call you."

'A-Ah, yes. Forgive me. It seems that I neglected my introductions during the heat of the moment, ' to be fair, so was he and Kirito. There were more pressing matters compared to getting to know each other's names back there, after all. 'It would be rude of me to keep my name from my saviours.'

Saviours? Well, that seems like a little too drastic. Plus, Eugeo doubted he could be put in the same category as Kirito, seeing that he hadn't done anything whatsoever—

Any form of thoughts that he had left in his mind halted when he felt a kind of cooling sensation around him. It was… kind. Gentler than the black frost from the dragon's corpse, that which left him feeling much at ease. Looking down at the ground, mist seemed to be wafting across the surface, twinkling like gems.

And then, a bright light emanated from the distance. His gaze was drawn towards it, aware that it was shining from the fore of the dragon skull—the skull of the previous guardian that resided within this cave, sat atop its pile of amassed treasure.

It seemed to glow brighter and brighter, until he was forced to shield his eyes with his arm to keep himself from going blind from staring at it too long.

Eventually, the light died down, leaving the cave in its naturally illuminated state. Eugeo blinked away the dots in his vision from the sudden light, looking back at the dragon skull…

Only to see a floating wisp of a beautiful blue that is akin of the ice around them, albeit accompanied by shades of soft pink and violet. It reminds him of a blue hydrangea he once saw someone in their village growing in their garden during the summer, its scent of cold ice and snow from the mountains that leaves a feeling of pleasantness in his chest.

"…Eh?"

This… Well, it could be right but also not, but at the same time, is this actually real? Is this floating, fiery thing… the voice that they'd been hearing all this time?

He blinked, trying to make sure that he was actually seeing this right. When the wisp hadn't disappeared after the eighth blink, it quickly started to dawn on him that maybe what was right before his very eyes isn't so fake as he initially assumed. "You're… Is that really you?"

'Is this my actual form? No, not at all. But it is the form that I can take as for now, considering how I am far too weak and had been separated from my body for too long. Hence, this is the only way I can show myself to you.'

"I… see. Well, I'm glad that you are okay."

'I would have been fine regardless. It is the two of you that stood to gain little from this endeavour, and would have likely been injured beyond repair had things gone poorly—and yet, the two of you still came to help,' she sounded so thankful. 'Truth be told, a part of me wondered if you would have simply ignored my call.'

"We considered it," Eugeo admitted with a bashful look, averting his gaze. "But… well, we would have probably regretted it if something bad happened because we didn't come," those words came forth as his gaze was transfixed on his best friend's face. "Kirito himself said it before. That it's important to at least try and do something, rather than regret having done nothing. He's not wrong."

'And I am forever grateful to you for coming here. Not just for myself, but for the people of the Human Empire,' the floating ball of mist seemed to bob up and down, as if bowing before him. 'Per courtesy, it is only right that I introduce myself. After all, the general basis of communication and trust is reliant on one knowing whom they are speaking to. And seeing that the two of you have given much of yourselves to dispel my curse, I am honoured to give you my name—'

'—Please, call me Selena. The Algor Halcyon. The dragon of the north.'

Author's Notes:

It should be noted that, even with a history of 'fighting', Kirito hadn't ever received proper training in regards to actual combat, so it's a very good reason as to why his fights so far have all been extremely simple and focused on swift ends; drawing the battle out would only exhaust him, so he needs to make that one hit count. Otherwise, he'd just lose in an actual fight. Gotta' make full use of whatever advantage he can get.

On another note, the only confirmed dragon name that I could come upon besides the Integrity Knight's companions is Vallenthor, the guardian of the west. This is taken from Alicization: Lycoris the game. But of course, making changes, because that's just natural.

Also, 'Algor Halcyon Selena' is a reference to a character from Brave Frontier, one of my most beloved mobile gacha games from my childhood. I'd play it now if it's not being so difficult on my current phone, so for the time being, I'll make do with my cherished memories… With that in mind, it shouldn't be too difficult to figure out the other three dragons' identities, lmao.