Reincarnated as a Dragon's Egg

“Look at this bastard from the department store of dirty tactics! What kind of angel is this!?”

I glance behind me to check the position of Jornes as she flies towards me. The boost from that blast wasn’t enough. She’s quickly closing the distance.

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[Jornes Liarm]

Species: Abaddon

Condition: Spirit, Angel Mirror

Lv: 150/150 (MAX)

HP: 7501/9802

MP: 3752/6253

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It’s nothing but tragic that having done so much, the turning point is still a long way off, even though I was making good progress before… Shit, if only she didn’t have [Angel Mirror], I could have kept that up to run her out of MP!

The most I could shave off was forty percent… It’s probably too much to hope I can draw this out into a battle of attrition so she expends more with [Angel Mirror].

However, Jornes should be in similar dire straits to me, with the deciding factor being whether she has enough MP left to take me down.

Even though it’s impossible for me to continue running until she exhausts her 4000 or so MP, if I can manage to take away another one or two thousand MP, Jornes will immediately fall into a tough situation. With her current MP, Jornes should be near her limit where she won’t be able to throw out barrages of skills without regard for her remaining MP. If I take her MP down just a little bit further, it should become a stalemate where we’ll both be looking for ways to deplete the other’s MP.

I guess I have no choice but to try to hold out by the skin of my teeth and keep evading. Jornes won’t be able to maintain [Angel Mirror] if she loses too much MP, and she won’t be able to satisfactorily utilise any skill she copies with [Chant Return], either. I still have a ton of skills I don’t wish to reveal yet. I’ll evade with all my strength and have her use up her MP.

I flip my body around and face the approaching Jornes. I change my forelimb’s shape with [Dragon Mirror].

『[Ideal Weapon]!』

Light gathers in the palm of my transformed hand. [Ideal Weapon]… It’s the skill that lets me create any weapon I wish for.

【Normal skill [Ideal Weapon]】

【A magic skill that allows the user’s ideal weapon to be drawn from the world of dreams.】

【The weapon’s abilities depend heavily on the strength of the user’s magic, and on the skill level.】

【Mana is continuously consumed while in use.】

【Once the weapon leaves the user’s hands, it disappears.】

What I wish for is a greatshield. A shield large enough to protect my body in its entirety. The light in my hand turns deep red, and transforms into a solid, heavy mass.

【[Apocalypse Greatshield]: Value L+ (Upper Legendary)】

【[Defence: 5000]】

【A greatshield made of the scales and fangs of the dragon who will cause the end of the world.】

【With its evil soul sealed within, any attackers will be enveloped in hellfire.】

A reddish-black, gigantic shield appears in my grip. The sinister faces and skulls of dragons are engraved into it. It’s the first time I’ve used this skill since I evolved, but it’s resulted in an outrageously strong greatshield.

『Here I go, Jornes!』

I advance towards her with my greatshield out in front.

I’ll use the greatshield to get a good hit in while defending from her attacks, and then follow up with a claw swipe from her blind spot… Well, that’s what I let her think, but it’s only the first phase of my plan.

I curl up my body with my form hidden from view by the greatshield… In that state, I use [Dragon Mirror] and make my body even smaller. I take the form of a baby dragon.

I understand that there’s little point in using [Ideal Weapon]. It’ll only be erased by Jornes’ [Resist], and if she keeps dispelling it, my MP consumption will be much higher.

The only reason I’m using it is to obfuscate my actual plan, as well as to gain a foothold. I put my feet on the rear of the [Apocalypse Greatshield] and roll vigorously.

『[Resist].』

My [Ideal Weapon] is dispelled by Jornes’ magic, and the [Apocalypse Greatshield] is erased from existence. I spread out my wings in my baby dragon form, and ride the momentum of [Roll] to pass below Jornes’ forelimbs. It’s my own form. I’m the one who knows best where the blind spots are.

Jornes didn’t react in time. She swung her claws just a little too late.

I did it…! Even though I’ve changed my physique with [Dragon Mirror], my speed hasn’t changed. I laid misdirection and concealed my form with [Ideal Weapon], caught her off guard by becoming smaller with [Dragon Mirror] and brought out my top speed with [Roll] to charge into her blind spot. It was a risky gamble, but the feint worked spectacularly.

It’s the first time I’ve shown her [Dragon Mirror] for anything else besides supplementing [Autoregeneration], and it’s the first time she’s seeing [Ideal Weapon] and [Roll], too. I was certain she wouldn’t be able to react. It probably wouldn’t work a second time, but I had no choice but to take her by surprise like this now.

I had a great misunderstanding in thinking that I ought to be able to reliably deplete Jornes’ resources once I discovered a way to shut down her counters. She has plenty of means at her disposal. She’s bound to have more tricks up her sleeve.

However, you could say the same for me. I still have some cards I haven’t shown yet.

Against the Saint of legend, there’s no way it would lead to something like a battle of attrition. It’s an all-out battle using everything at our disposal. If I lose in the contest of wills and bring out something halfhearted, I’ll be cornered at once.

“GuOOOOOOOOOOOOh!”

Jornes’ roar resounds. With how the winds are blowing, I don’t need to look behind to know that Jornes has flipped around and started accelerating.

I dispel [Dragon Mirror] and return to my original form. It’ll be a disaster if I get blown away by [Ruin] in my baby dragon form which lacks stats. I’ll be fatally injured from just brushing it.

“Come follow me then, Jornes!”

The situation is worsening by the minute, but Jornes should be feeling the heat like I am. With her in [Angel Mirror] form, it’s way too disadvantageous to come at her directly without a plan. At any rate, I’ll keep frustrating her, and wait for an opportunity to appear…!