Alex doesn't waste time and prepares for battle. The chaos around them has caused the Swedish Short-Snout to wake up, its blank stare fixed into the distance.
Alex sees Tereza closing the lock again, sealing them both inside the cage.
Nothing personal, Dragon… but I'm afraid you'll have to die!
Alex conjures Mustrano Malice Mauler lvl 4, the black claw forming around his left hand and arm, looking as vicious as ever. He then grabs his [Basilisk Fang] from his inventory with his free right hand.
LET'S DO THIS, MUSTRANO!
"I'm ready to sssssslaughter, human! Usssse me!" the claw hisses in his mind.
Alex activates Ren and immediately uses Gyo to distribute his Aura evenly between Mustrano and the fang. At the same time, he leaps toward the dragon's face, activating Toxic Breakthrough lvl 4. He violently stabs his toxic claw into its left eye while plunging the [Basilisk Fang] into its right eye, permanently blinding it.
You have dealt 84 x 3 = 252 Damage to Swedish Short-Snout
You have poisoned Swedish Short-Snout
You have dealt 16 x 3 = 48 Damage to Swedish Short-Snout
Basilisk Fang effect activates, injecting venom, using up 11 charges
Not willing to lose his fang or leave behind evidence, Alex immediately pulls out Mustrano and the fang. The dragon thrashes violently, blood splattering everywhere as Alex yanks with all his might. The dragon's head and body flail wildly.
Alex, fearful of a random attack hitting him despite his invisibility, activates Ken. Still, he's thrown violently against the cage.
You have received 39 damage
Still invisible and not too hurt, Alex activates Blizzard Sword lvl 4, uses Ko, and jumps back toward the dragon, stabbing his [Enchanted Runeblade] into its throat.
You have dealt 80 + 52 = 132 Damage to Swedish Short-Snout
The dragon, seemingly unfazed by the damage, begins spewing its deadly blue Azure flame around the cage. Blood flows from its neck where Alex stabbed it. Alex narrowly avoids the flame by jumping into a corner of the relatively small cage, lying close to the ground.
Despite not being hit directly, he can feel the intense heat radiating from the mysterious blue flame.
The dragon continues to rage, blinded and bleeding. Alex constantly sees messages about the poison effects he applied.
Despite dealing close to 500 damage already, the dragon doesn't look remotely defeated—just enraged.
When the dragon finally stops spewing fire and takes a deep, labored breath, running low on oxygen, Alex decides to use his most vicious and effective method of attack.
Thanks to its incredibly protective scales, Rishi warned me not to attack from the outside. That leaves weak points like its neck and eyes. But the most effective method is simply…
As the dragon desperately gasps for air, still in complete panic and confusion, it opens its massive maw as wide as it can. Alex's eyes light up.
He pulls out every single Annihilation Grenade lvl 4 he can conjure, lights them all up, and dumps them deep into the dragon's mouth, making it choke on them.
I can't allow it to spit them out.
Alex desperately kicks against its throat again and again.
You have dealt 11 Damage to Swedish Short-Snout
You have dealt 5 Damage to Swedish Short-Snout
You have dealt 6 Damage to Swedish Short-Snout
You have dealt 8 Damage to Swedish Short-Snout
Alex hears the dragon swallowing the grenades. He celebrates silently as he counts down from three seconds. He quickly jumps back into a corner of the cage, using Ken again and pulling out his [Shield of Pluto], not daring to even look at the dragon.
Suddenly, the dragon's stomach bursts open like a dam. Explosive flames, blood, smashed organs, shrapnell and crushed bones spew out in a vile, destructive stream.
Thanks to his defensive stance, Alex manages to avoid the disgusting torrent of destruction.
He checks his log and, to his absolute horror, notes that the dragon is still alive!
This can't be! If this isn't enough… SHIT, there's no time! Harry can't keep this up for long!
Alex charges back into the fight, jumping onto the dragon's stomach as it lies on its back, desperately trying to breathe.
He continues stabbing the dragon's neck and head with another Blizzard Sword lvl 4.
You have dealt 82 + 54 = 136 Damage to Swedish Short-Snout
He pulls out his sword and strikes again. Blizzard Sword lvl 4!
You have dealt 78 + 51 = 129 Damage to Swedish Short-Snout
SHIT, I NEED TO HURRY! I NEED TO LEAVE! We can't afford to be discovered.
"ONE MORE TIME. DIE, YOU FUCKING BEAST!" Adrenaline fuels Alex as he recklessly stabs his enchanted sword deep into the dragon's neck, again and again.
Finally, Alex uses Ko again and combines it with his Blizzard Sword lvl 4.
Despite the panic and confusion, Alex notices the dragon's face slightly distorting.
I have a bad feeling…
Alex suddenly stops his assault and jumps down from the dragon, his instincts screaming at him as the dragon unleashes a wild stream of fire, flailing its head around.
He narrowly dodges the flames, the scorching air around him causing intense discomfort.
As soon as the dragon stops its final struggle, Alex plunges his last strike directly into its mangled throat one final time.
You have dealt 151 + 61 = 212 Damage to Swedish Short-Snout
You have killed Swedish Short-Snout
Alex immediately grabs the large chest—a rare occurrence—and stumbles out of the cage, feeling groggy.
You received Large Chest (Purple)
Alex is almost completely out of Aura, despite only fighting for five minutes. He feels exhausted and kneels down, breathing heavily. He finally removes the [Invisibility Cloak?] gasping for air.
Damn! I nearly died! … My LUK or my instincts saved me! If I'd gotten hit with that ability while using Ko… Damn! I need to forget it for now.
Alex Kerber: Lvl 4
HP: 284/302, MP: 243/282 AURA: 11/192
Tereza flies by the cage with a smile, casts another Alohomora and Menchi immediately rushes into the cage and immediately begins disassembling the dragon, skillfully butchering it. Her Hatsu, Dismantling Edge magically cuts through the dead dragon quickly, despite its strong, magical scales.
Is it more effective on dead targets? You usually disassemble or dismantle something non-living, right?
Menchi takes just two minutes to cut the dragon into pieces. She then spreads a strange, acidic potion around, dissolving many of the leftover parts. After that, she uses Gastronova to start a fire in the forest.
That works? Convenient!
"Let's get out!" Alex calls out to her.
"Hehe, I got a lot of meat. Let's leave!" Menchi says with a huge grin, obviously satisfied.
Alex and Menchi both use Zetsu, not only to recover but to stay hidden as well. They see Rishi, Tereza, and Jewel standing on the sidelines, all cloaked. Jewel is perched on Tereza's back. As soon as Alex approaches them, he reestablishes his mental connection with Jewel, hearing her cute voice in his mind.
My Dearest Soulmate, did my Soulmate succeed?! Princess Jewel is so impressed.
❤️
Yes, Jewel. What's the status?
Princess Jewel's group focused on confusing and enraging the remaining dragons and knocking out anyone who came to try to hinder our grand ambition. Not a single peasant was permanently harmed, just as Soulmate wished for.
Alex sees Tereza transform into her bat form, quickly grabbing a net from her inventory. Rishi and Jewel instantly jump into it, and Alex and Menchi quickly follow. Tereza then flies deeper into the forest, carrying the group with her, as if they were cargo.
Did we do it?!
Everyone stares at each other, and the group finally begins to laugh.
"Yes! We did it!" Tereza cheers in her beastly voice, sounding from above the others. "I was wrong for doubting this idea. Jewel, sometimes even that small little spider brain of yours can come up with a good idea. This was worth it. Did you get the entire corpse?"
Princess Jewel is not interested in causing a crash, so she will respond appropriately at a later point in time.
"That dragon dropped a Purple chest as well… a large one!" Alex states.
"A large one?" Rishi questions Alex, slightly intrigued.
"Never got one before? It usually has two to three times the amount of items inside. This is pretty new for me as well—I've only gotten a few large chests before," Alex explains.
"Interesting. So the system judges the dragon to be a worthy enemy then," Rishi notes, his curiosity piqued.
"I nearly… died… Let's fly home. I'm worried about Harry. It wasn't really right to involve him—he's still so young," Alex says, looking slightly worried.
"Your concept of age is silly, Alex. Everyone above 12 can become a hunter and thus be responsible for their own actions," Menchi states.
Yeah… if you don't see a huge red flag there, I don't know what to tell you.
Your Princess Jewel isn't even one year old, my Dearest Soulmate. Princess Jewel agrees with the Royal Head Chef as well.
"I'm still worried. Even without his age, I'd be concerned. Tereza, I know you're struggling, but can you hurry up as much as you can? Back to our house! Rishi, you wear the [Invisibility Cloak?]. Jewel, Tereza, Menchi, and I can hide ourselves," Alex says, handing him the cloak.
"Not a bad idea," Rishi says, quickly putting it on.
It takes ten minutes for Tereza to land. Alex lands on top of their little house and looks toward the scene of the crime—the burning edge of the Forbidden Forest, still on fire. Alex sees a small burning section in the distance. Thankfully, the dragons were located in a part of the forest with fewer trees, preventing the fire from spreading too far.
Was that really okay? It was the height of selfishness. Perhaps people did die… Well, I guess it was worth it if we get away with it. I have to abandon my mental weakness. These aren't even humans… or are they? Does it even matter, at this point?
Alex jumps down from the house, and the group quickly enters. To their surprise, Harry is already sitting at the table with a smile.
"You!! Harry! Good job making it back!" Alex says, hugging him. "Now forget ever owing us anything, okay? I know you felt slightly guilty. You worked your butt off tonight. Thank you, Harry!"
"I'm glad to help! Did you do it?" Harry asks curiously.
Alex nods.
"Wicked! You look a little charred and beat up, but you have to promise to tell me tomorrow!" Harry says with an amused but slightly worried look.
"Let's quickly wash up and then rest for today. No staying up late. No lights for today," Rishi cautions, concerned about drawing attention to themselves.
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