Reincarnated as a Dragon's Egg

I need to get closer to Jornes and search for a way to deal damage. There’s the danger of her using any magic I try back at me with [Chant Return] and [Magic Scale Magnification], so I can’t carelessly reveal my magic skills. [Ruin] is trouble enough, so if she copied my [Dite] or [Cocytus], it would seriously get out of hand. Depending on the situation I may be forced to use them, but I have more appropriate skills for keeping her in check

『[Holy Sphere]!』

I shoot a sphere of white light towards Jornes. It’s a straightforward light-attribute attack.

It costs more and does less than [Dimension Claw], and it’s also harder to hit, so I haven’t had many opportunities to use it, but it should be perfect for keeping Jornes in check. It’s not a physical attack, so [Karma Mirror] won’t stop it, and Jornes already has [Holy Sphere], so [Chant Return] isn’t a concern.

Jornes already has a low base speed, and in that abbadon body, her speed is further reduced by [Slow Body]. With such a body so big, she should struggle to dodge even simple attacks. Of course, if it wasn’t for that, it would probably be impossible for me to get even a tiny bit of damage past her [Karma Mirror].

『[Resist].』

Before it hits her, the ball of light scatters in a swirl. That [Resist] skill… it negates magic. She chose to negate it with [Resist] rather than reflect it with [Mirror Counter].

Even if I shoot [Holy Sphere] from here, it doesn’t seem likely that I’ll be able to break through her skills. However, I was able to fly a bit closer while she was busy with my [Holy Sphere]. If I keep flying closer while shooting magic like this, I’ll eventually reach her.

If it was power I was after [Gravidon] would do better, but [Holy Sphere] is easier use. I just need to keep shooting [Holy Spheres] and search for a way to deal even a little damage to her!

As I'm about to reach her, I produce a ball of white light at the end of my claws. Then, I slam the [Holy Sphere] directly into her head.

『Point blank [Holy Sphere]!』

『[Resist].』

The magic power disperses from my hand the moment it touches her. I quickly push off her with my tail to fly away.

I pushed her pretty hard with my tail, but she didn’t even budge. It might be a part of [Karma Mirror]. Rather than the simply being unaffected by damage of physical attacks, it might be that any physical contact has no effect whatsoever.

『…This is more troublesome than I had thought.』

I had been thinking of ways to get around [Karma Mirror], such as knocking her into the ground or a wall, but it doesn’t seem like it’s possible to hurt her with indirect damage either. I wanted to see if [Karma Mirror] would reflect such an attack, but it seems impossible to apply force to her in the first place. Even if I use [Gravity], it probably won’t be enough to force her to the ground, and if she judges it a hindrance, she’ll just negate it with [Resist].

The other strategy I was considering of is also rejected. I was thinking of using [Flash that Drives Away the Darkness] to bypass her [Karma Mirror]. But, since she was able to negate my point blank [Holy Sphere], any sword I bring out with [Ideal Weapon] will just get dispelled by [Resist] the same way.

But, I’ve now seen how she fights. She makes it harder for me to move through status conditions, while she herself focuses on cancelling out my attacks to buy time. Rather than using [Ruin] to attack, her goal is always to keep me in check.

Even when it seems like it would be easy for her to deal damage with [Ruin], she strangely avoids attacking in favour of keeping me in check, probably because she judged that she doesn’t want to give me a chance to attack. As a result, my plan of action going forwards is decided.

『[Curse Knight]!』

I reach out with my foreleg, gathering magic power into my claw. My claw tips shine with pale light, which forms into the figure of a knight on horseback.

It’s the long range attack skill I got upon evolving to an apocalypse.

【Normal Skill [Curse Knight]】

【Solidifies mana into the form of a knight bearing a powerful curse.】

【When the knight is struck by an impact or successfully attacks an enemy, it explodes, scattering a curse through the surroundings.】

【In addition to applying the Starvation and Frenzied status condition, if the target’s magical strength is low, the curse can cause death or allow the target’s body to be puppetted.】

Any status conditions it applies can be transferred to me by [Empath] and cured by [Baptism], but the status conditions aren’t the main point of [Curse Knight]. I should be able to expect a fair amount of damage from it, and its ability to track her is useful. Jornes’ magic stat is high, as is her [Status Condition Resistance], so I doubt she’d even be affected by the status conditions in the first place.

I had thought [Curse Knight] was unusable, since status conditions tend not to be effective against powerful opponents, it’s slow, and it costs a fairly high amount of mana. But, in this situation, the slowness and the tracking ability are just what I need.

『[Holy Sphere]!』

I shoot out a [Holy Sphere] right behind the [Curse Knight], and fly behind them myself.

The [Curse Knight] gallops in a curve, arcing towards Jornes’ side.

To defeat her, I need to attack with multiple magic skills at once. I can’t bring in Aro or treant since they would be instantly killed by [Empath], but I can do simultaneous attacks by myself. The [Curse Knight’s] slowness and tracking are perfect for this.

Jornes moves to fly away from the [Curse Knight].

But it’s no use. The [Curse Knight] adjusts its course to follow her. It speeds up, raising its lance.

『[Mirror Counter].』

A huge wall of light appears in front of her. She must have boosted it with [Magic Scale Magnification]. It seems she wasn’t running away without a plan, but rather adjusting the angle at which the [Curse Knight] would reach her.

Her [Mirror Counter] blocks both the [Curse Knight] and the [Holy Sphere].

At the same time, I am now directly above her head. I release the magic that I have gathered in my mouth.

『[Gravidon]!』

The black sphere makes contact with her head. A huge crack runs through her body, and her altitude drops.

Damage definitely went through. I was able to tear apart her absolute defence.

I can move faster than my magic attacks. Even with different activation times, as long as I can fly closer, it’s easy for me to hit with multiple at once.

By relying on the slowness and tracking of [Curse Knight], I can tear apart Jornes’ anti-magic countermeasures. If she can manage two attacks once, then I’ll hit her with three.

『I finally got you, Jornes.』

Her stone face doesn’t move. But, it feels like she’s glaring at me.