ALL NOVEL Chapter 401
There are wings to falling.
That famous line was being spoken while the manifestation was taking place on the back of the dragon.
“Persistent, aren’t you?”
Maria’s husband relentlessly pounded on the dragon’s wing joint. No matter how powerful the dragon was, this body was made from the World Tree. Those fists were certainly something to worry about.
Once. Twice. Thrice.
What started as a mere annoyance transformed into a burden for the dragon as the accumulating pain began to take its toll.
No matter how mighty the creature, pain receptors exist, and the compounded suffering couldn’t be ignored.
Thus, the dragon’s body started to shake naturally.
And Peymin didn’t miss the opportunity.
“Joint! Joint! Joint! Joint!”
Like digging through a mountain of treasure, Peymin’s adrenaline-fueled hands began to rip into the dragon’s knee hide.
Even as it tried to shake its legs free, the dragon had no choice but to endure the relentless assault on its flesh.
The dragon’s body spun around wildly in an attempt to throw off the two ruckus-makers. It was flight that bordered on acrobatic. But the two clung stubbornly and continued their attack.
In a sudden chicken game, the dragon and the two were desperately tugging at each other.
One misstep away from certain death.
“Honey, are you okay?”
Maria was worried about her struggling husband but also about Peymin, who was hanging on for dear life.
Her partner nodded indifferently at Maria’s worries and punched a hole the size of his fist in the wing joint. It was a triumphant effort after nearly ten minutes of relentless pounding.
“Bones! Bones!”
After piercing through the thick hide, the bloodied murderess found the sturdy bone encased in muscle and smiled widely. She had finally achieved her target. Her hands dove into the joint without restraint.
Even for her delicate hands, penetrating the joint that connected the bones was another matter altogether, causing the dragon to scream in pain. Experiencing pain for the first time, the dragon began to falter in its flight.
“We’re falling! Aaaaaaaah!”
“Honey!”
The World Tree golem forced its body into the wing joint while hugging Maria tightly. Maria, in turn, squeezed the golem’s body with all her might and closed her eyes.
Soon, a massive shock would engulf them.
Even with the Quartz blood giving them relatively robust bodies, falling from hundreds of meters in the air was still dangerous.
“We’re falling! Falling!”
“All troops retreat! Get away from the dragon’s drop zone!”
As the monsters and imperial soldiers confirmed the dragon’s descent, they began to flee in a panic. Naturally, no one wanted to be crushed under the dragon.
The imperial army, being elite forces, withdrew in an orderly fashion, while the monsters, lacking command structure, created a chaotic stampede of retreat.
Then, with a shock, the ground quaked. The dragon’s massive body had fallen. As the dragon struggled to maintain composure, Peymin, hanging on for dear life, began to crawl up its body.
“Let’s aim for the head~”
Every living being needs a head to survive.
Peymin rushed toward the head, and Maria, who somehow withstood the shock, along with the World Tree golem, began walking toward the dragon’s head.
“Sister, when did you arrive?”
“Just now.”
Hazel stood before the dragon’s head, holding a kitchen knife upside down. Stunned from the impact of falling from a great height, the dragon trembled in an attempt to escape its approaching doom, but it was too late.
“Shall we end this?”
“Yeah. Little sister.”
The murderous sisters slowly approached the dragon’s eyes. The dragon instinctively sensed its fate and closed its eyes in one final struggle, but there was no way they would miss piercing the dragon’s eyelids.
Soon, the dragon’s desperate scream began to echo across the battlefield.
The sisters, having gouged their way to the brain while the dragon was still alive, quickly devoured its body and soul. With everything taken from it, the dragon fell silent, prompting cheers from the imperial soldiers.
“We won! Aaaaaaaah!”
“Long live the crown prince!”
“Long live!”
Though they were praising the wrong entity, nobody cared, caught up in the celebratory mood.
The fight’s main characters were soon destined to return home.
The blood-soaked sisters shared a wry smile at the soldiers cheering for them.
“Still feels like we did something helpful this time!”
“True.”
They exchanged wry smiles.
“I hope everything else is going okay?”
“Of course. I’m sure they’ll manage.”
“They’re definitely doing fine.”
“Aunt Maria? Uncle?”
“When did you arrive?”
“Just a moment ago.”
Maria appeared, gently smiling as she stood beside the partly-damaged World Tree golem.
————————
[My toy!]
“Looks like I’ve won again.”
It’s already half and half now.
I looked down at the imperial soldiers, who had nearly cleaned up the battlefield, and picked up the lion figure representing the imperial army. Then, in front of the observer, I flung the dragon-shaped figure to the ground.
“2 to 0, huh.”
[This doesn’t make any sense!]
“Still, isn’t it fun?”
The observer, who had been throwing complaints and compliments while gazing down at the battlefield, couldn’t fully deny my words and replied with a sulky voice.
[…But losing doesn’t feel good, you know?]
That’s not my concern. Seeing this guy sulking makes me feel good. I tried to suppress my growing smile and looked at the observer.
“It seems this game has solidified my victory.”
[It’s still early! We need to see how it plays out!]
Even so, I doubt they’ll gain an upper hand against the other factions. Unless they pull some fast one or something.
“If you say so.”
With a more relaxed mind, I glanced at the battle where Karina was in the Templar Order of the Sun.
“…Hmm.”
[Hmm?]
The fight between the two religions had taken an unexpected turn.
———————
The sun and the moon.
“For Kalon!”
“For Diana!”
Incompatible factions aimed their swords at each other.
Though Diana wasn’t a deity of this world, the mere existence of a moon goddess was offensive to the sun god. Karina poured blessings upon the holy knights while occasionally glancing at the tower where Johann was.
‘Is Johann okay?’
Even though now wasn’t the time to worry about others, Karina couldn’t shake her concern for her beloved partner. If he’s out of sight, she gets anxious.
He always had a knack for getting into danger.
“Karina, let’s focus on the fight right now. Johann can handle himself no matter where he is, right?”
“…I suppose you’re right.”
Karina faced forward again. In front of her, the knights serving the moon goddess marched slowly, their eyes alight.
‘It would’ve been nice if we could resolve this peacefully…’
The two religions beneath the same sky couldn’t coexist.
Religion inherently carries the exclusivity against other beliefs.
To prove that the god they serve is supreme, they must inevitably draw their swords against each other.
Even as the two spoke, their forces continued to close the gap.
An inevitable clash was about to occur. Karina felt the gaze upon her from across the vanguard and looked forward.
‘That person…’
A strange sense of kinship.
Eyes filled with sorrow.
Karina instinctively realized that the woman across from her was of the same kind.
A saint.
If this side had the sun’s saint, then the opposite side had the moon’s saint. The two saints, serving opposing gods, exchanged curious glances.
‘That’s the sun’s saint…’
‘That’s the moon’s saint…’
They stood frozen in place, exchanging glances.
“Karina?”
“Renny. Just a moment…”
Renny stood quietly beside her like a loyal knight, acknowledging Karina’s intent to share something with the enemy, though she never suspected Karina would betray.
As the two leaders of their respective religions exuded this current, the vanguards began to feel its effects and their march slowed down.
Normally, those who should be leading to denounce the heretics stood silently, staring at each other.
Thus, facing each other from a short distance, the two vanguards began to gauge each other.
Neither side could engage in battle without orders from a superior. Especially from the saints, acting as the representatives of the gods.
After a long moment of mutual gazing, the first to speak up was… the sun’s saint, Karina.
“Are you the saint who serves the moon?”
“And you must be the saint who serves the sun.”
As they exchanged words, they shared a moment of silence, their eyes locked.
An odd atmosphere. Odd actions. Everyone’s gaze was fixed on the two saints.
“…Is there really a need for us to fight?”
With that, Karina’s question completely shattered the tense atmosphere.