I got into school for nothing-362
I got into school for nothing (362)
Lesson 71. To Return to Normal - 2
The Clarent family's ultimate weapon, the Final Sword, said to be capable of unleashing the power of all accumulated trajectories in a single instant, enough to shatter even stars, had sliced a Dragonbone Battleship almost in half which had been at the forefront of the enemy fleet, and was now arcing back towards them.
Honestly, I would have considered it a success if this preemptive strike had merely crippled one enemy battleship, but as luck would have it, we also managed to finish off a Dragon Fang Soldier imbued with a powerful 'Life' concept as a bonus.
"It's coming, it's coming... here it is!"
The fusion of Abel and the mecha dragon was, naturally, something Asha had envisioned from the moment she obtained the ultimate Spartoi.
The ultimate Spartoi, modeled after a True Dragon, and the ultimate combined robot created by Ban Yuwon were now fusing even further—could there be anything more exhilarating?
However, even considering the substantial increase in power, it felt a little... like a mere romantic ideal, and at the time, Ban Yuwon, who had lost Dokgo Yeon and was focused solely on his own training, didn't want to think about it too deeply.
[It's truly amazing! Adding a dragon to Abel to become a Dragon Knight, then wielding a greatsword to become a Sword Dragon Knight! This is it—the Triple-Fusion Abel!]
Of course, before the final fusion, Asha and Ban Yuwon needed to connect on a deeper level—but Asha was able to secure plenty of alone time with Ban Yuwon under that pretext, so she had absolutely no complaints.
"Asha, summon the True Dragon Sword and overlay it onto the Final Sword. Can you do it?"
"I'm not confident, so help me!"
"Alright, I like your honesty."
Anyway, they had now completed what Lilyth had named 'Dragonoid Fusion Dragon Knight Abel', and had further fused it with the Final Sword—the Clarent family's ultimate weapon, which could only unleash its true power when wielded with their Authority, 'Unforgettable Trace'—transforming it into a Sword Dragon Knight.
Although Abel's size had greatly expanded after fusing with the Spartoi, the Final Sword was excessively large and long, making it barely manageable to grip its hilt with both hands, but this only amplified the 'heroic anime' vibe Ban Yuwon had envisioned.
—It's laughable how you're struggling to hold a sword longer than your own body!
Just then, surprisingly, from the enemy's bisected Dragonbone Battleship, something colossal burst forth and streaked towards them.
It appeared to be another '1st Generation Dragon Fang Soldier', similar to the one that had been annihilated earlier by directly taking the Final Sword's blow (though Ban Yuwon had, of course, absorbed all its concepts), and seeing it rapidly swell to a size comparable to the Sword Dragon Knight Abel, he felt he knew its name.
"Peloros."
—You know my name! It seems that Tower Lord, trembling at my might, ensured my name was passed down through generations of his descendants as a warning!
"What nonsense, you plagiarist of myths."
In Greek mythology, it is said that the hero Cadmus slew Drakon Ismenios and when he sowed its teeth into the ground, sturdy warriors sprouted forth.
These were called Spartoi, or Dragon Fang Soldiers, and Cadmus, after subduing the hostile Dragon Fang Soldiers by throwing a stone among them to incite infighting, healed the five surviving Dragon Fang Soldiers and made them his subordinates to build Thebes.
Echion (Serpent), Udaeus (Ground), Hyperenor (Superman), Peloros (Giant), and Chthonius (Earth) were their names.
If those names were indeed given to the five strongest among these Dragon Fang Soldiers, then Echion died during the last attack on the Ten Great Families' conference, another unnamed one just perished, leaving only three, including the giant before him.
—Shatter, you hunk of metal!
The giant charged with blinding speed, and unleashed a punch empowered by countless embedded spells.
Even though only one enemy stood before them, it was safe to assume that all of Melodia's magical capabilities were infused into that punch.
A punch so powerful it could probably shatter the moon, if not Earth itself, far surpassing the destructive force of a nuclear bomb.
'That family head, he's still pulling strings from behind instead of showing himself... Got it!'
"Hwaaaaaaap!"
Just before the monster's punch met the sword, the True Dragon Sword safely manifested within the greatsword Abel wielded.
Kang Miyeon poured all her power into that sword, and Ban Yuwon, synchronizing with Lilyth, moved Abel as if it were his own body, unleashing his Giwon Sword style.
The greatsword met the giant's fist without a single tremor!
—KWA-AAANG!
A thunderous impact, like a multitude of bombs exploding simultaneously.
The giant's eyes twitched as he saw his fist had become bloody.
—Th-this power... Traitooorrr...!
"Yes, this is the power of the traitor you've been looking for!"
The domain of the Giwon Sword gradually expanded.
Now, even while piloting a colossal robot over dozens of meters tall and synchronizing with it, reading the flow of all concepts within a radius of several kilometers, Ban Yuwon dared to claim invincibility.
"This is the very sword that slays dragons with the power of a dragon!"
"That makes the True Dragon Sword sound like an evil weapon!"
Considering the sword's origin, that's not exactly wrong!
Whoooosh, the greatsword swung once more.
The Dragon Fang Soldier, whose movements had become considerably sluggish compared to its earlier valiant charge, couldn't dodge it and received a diagonal wound across its chest, but it wasn't particularly deep.
"Asha, focus more. Match even your heartbeat to mine."
"Uhehe, I wouldn't mind dying..."
—How is it that this idiot always turns utterly stupid just when I'm about to reassess them?
Ban Yuwon pressed himself close to Asha, almost as if overlapping bodies, and linked their mana.
Abel's power alone wouldn't be enough to defeat the strongest Dragon Fang Soldier.
The ultimate Spartoi, created by Asha's ancestor—the True Dragon's traitor who sought to eradicate dragons—it was only possible if it fully synchronized with Abel!
—Thump
The moment Ban Yuwon and Asha's mana almost completely aligned, the Spartoi's power, which covered Abel's body, also truly reached its maximum.
"Let's go."
"Yeah."
"I'm... I'm here too, Yuwon!"
With everyone's breathing now synchronized as one, the Sword Dragon Knight could finally unleash its full power.
The golden sword, born from the fusion of Clarent's ultimate weapon and the True Dragon Sword.
streaked towards the giant Peloros on a trajectory he could never escape.
"You think you can kill me with such child's play—!"
"Yes, now take a sword that sliced your friend in half with mere child's play—!"
[Your tone is completely villainous! Perfect!]
Melodia must have intuitively sensed the danger as well.
While Peloros was blocking Abel head-on, all the other battleships, excluding the half-destroyed one, were moving rapidly, and had already formed a siege and were unleashing countless spells.
As it was a legion of Dragon Fang Soldiers, naturally, the power of dragons was imbued within them.
The golden armor enveloping and protecting Abel originated from Dragon Fang Soldiers created to gain an overwhelming advantage against such dragons.
This meant that the power of all magic was halved!
—CRACKLE-CRACKLE!
"Kuaaaaakh!"
And of course, since all of it fell within the Giwon Sword's calculation range, Ban Yuwon bravely charged forward, enduring all the magical bombardment without his movements being hindered, and unleashed his sword.
Though the magical light emanating from the armor had dimmed slightly from taking so much bombardment, he still managed to slice Peloros's colossal body in half before his power ran out.
"Yuwon, it looks like the Final Sword has no power left!"
"It's alright, Miyeon unnie. One Dragonbone Battleship and two Dragon Fang Soldiers is a profitable exchange."
Ban Yuwon absorbed all of Peloros, the Dragon Fang Soldier who had met a glorious end, and deactivated Abel's fusion.
The Final Sword was discharged, and more than half the power in the True Dragon Sword had been used.
With the encirclement already complete, there was no need to remain a large target.
[Ah, I really wanted to just wipe them all out...]
'Combined robots are cooler precisely because they have a time limit.'
As the robots that comprised Abel spread out in all directions, forming temporary fortresses to block the bombardment, Lilyth transformed into the shape of a Dragonbone Battleship and took on board all the party members.
Ban Yuwon retrieved the ones that had held up well, including the Frost Fortress, into his inventory, and grinned.
"Only two left now?"
—You fiends!
[Where do you think you're going!]
Lilyth, having abandoned Abel's body and regained her ultimate speed, launched through space, dodging the bombardments flying in from all directions.
The Final Sword, now no more than a large blade, blocked a few enemy spells before losing its power and being flung into space.
Ban Yuwon pondered as he watched the enemy flagship, half-destroyed and moving slower than the other battleships.
"Two 1st Generation Dragon Fang Soldiers left, and the Melodia Family Head... Now the enemy's true strength should start showing itself."
As if in response to Ban Yuwon's murmur, hundreds of warriors in pristine white armor began to leap out into space simultaneously.
Surprisingly, even the weakest among them was Level 250—meaning they surpassed 10 Irektos.
Anyone witnessing such a legion of Dragon Fang Soldiers, easily surpassing the full might of most Ten Great Families, couldn't help but tremble.
"Really? Then what was that giant who attacked us earlier?"
"A sacrifice."
A sacrifice meant to exhaust Ban Yuwon's greatest powers—the True Dragon Sword and the Final Sword—and then be annihilated.
They had truly staked everything on this day, in this place.
Just like Echion, who had unhesitatingly thrown away his life to awaken Aire, these Dragon Fang Soldiers had a nature to act blindly for their objective.
"G-good heavens. How are we supposed to fight against things like that?"
Even though they had just defeated an opponent at least 5 Irektos stronger than that, Kang Miyeon's confidence seemed to have vanished as soon as Abel's fusion was undone.
"Well, it might be tough with just us, but it's fine. I called for reinforcements ages ago."
[But they're a bit late. Will it be alright? What if they've pulled some kind of trick...?]
—Indeed, reinforcements cannot come.
Had he overheard their conversation? At an uncanny timing, the Melodia Family Head Rasteil's telepathy soared towards them.
It wasn't ordinary magic, nor martial arts, nor even dragon speech.
The Family Head's voice, casually piercing through space and striking directly into their ears, could it possibly be derived from some Authority?
That thought only just occurred to him.
—Ban Yuwon, descendant of the Tower Lord. Even in this moment where we stake our lives in battle, you cannot abandon your playful whims. Your nature, treating every situation lightly, will surely lead you to ruin.
"What are you talking about, you bastard who invaded Earth first?"
—Lady Aire cannot come. We will go to fetch her. After we kill you here and imprison you in the Tower!
At that moment.
A strange melody began to echo throughout the entirety of space.
Ban Yuwon's first thought was, 'Was the tale of the bard who appeased the dragon's wrath and, receiving its blessing, revived Melodia, not a lie after all?'
Then, he considered that the spatial magic the Melodia Family specialized in was not unique to them but rather a forte of all those connected to True Dragons, and therefore could not be their inherent 'Authority'.
If that were the case, and the bard's story wasn't entirely false—what if the Melodia Family possessed a separate Authority of their own?
—Kuaaaaaakh!
—The enemy is before us!
Hundreds of Dragon Fang Soldiers poured into space, led by two 1st Generation Dragon Fang Soldiers who surged towards Lilyth at the forefront of the legion.
He saw the aura of all of them temporarily amplify by nearly 50% at that very moment.
"No, isn't this a bit too much of a cheat?"
—Why am I called Pendragon—the Dragon's Head—even though I am not a Dragonoid? I'll show you why, starting now.
Listening to the Melodia Family Head's voice, Ban Yuwon thought.
No, if he had such an ability, why didn't he use it last time?
Unless he'd been trying to make Ban Yuwon complacent until this very moment—that would sting a little.
Beside him, Asha, for some reason, rejoiced as she felt a surge of power within herself.
"Ooooh... Yuwon, I think I've gotten stronger too!"
"Fortunately, it doesn't seem to distinguish between friend and foe. Still, hundreds against one is too much of a disadvantage..."
—It's not a disadvantage.
Space tore open.
A massive True Dragon appeared before the half-bisected Dragonbone Battleship of the Melodia and Dragon Fang Soldier allied forces, and proceeded to tear it apart completely.
—Because I've arrived.
"The barrier was too sturdy, so it took a little time, sorry! But I'm not too late, am I?"
It was the moment Aire, whom Rasteil had confidently declared would never arrive, reached Earth.
Alongside Stella, the Starlight wielder who mocked and manipulated all transcendents.
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