…Grrrrrrrrr
…Grrrrrrrrr
…Grrrrrrrrr
Savage growls echoed from the seven heads.
Not a single scratch marked the scales of the Red Dragon.
More precisely, no matter how many attacks struck it, everything regenerated.
"Hmm, this is endless. What a problem." (Rosalie)
Rosalie-san muttered casually, her entire body burning red.
"Mama… aren't you overdoing it? You've cast over a hundred spells already." (Rebecca)
Rebecca-senpai beside her looked worried.
It is true that Rosalie-san was using the most flashy magic.
"Hm? I'm wearing the Dress of Spirits, so my mana consumption is zero. I'm just asking the Fire Spirit-chans to cast the spells for me☆" (Rosalie)
Rosalie-san laughed lightly.
I-I see…
Rebecca-senpai had a look that said, "Eh, my Mama is weird…"
And speaking of mana consumption…
"Eri, haven't you used quite a bit of mana too?" (Eugene)
I asked the Demon Lord, Eri, beside me.
She'd been firing off spells close to Saint Rank power.
"Mm, I've lost a little…" (Eri)
"Then maybe conserve—" (Eugene)
"It's not even down by a tenth, so it's fine." (Eri)
"…I-I see." (Shizuma)
It seems I shouldn't judge Eri by the standards of a half-angel like myself.
I was already nearly out of mana.
"Eugy-kun!"
"Eugene!"
Sumire and the Dungeon Master Anemoi came over.
"I'll give you mana, so face this way…" (Sumire)
"Eugene, look at me…" (Anemoi)
Sumire and Anemoi grabbed my face.
"Eh?"
"Eh?"
They exchanged puzzled looks.
"Don't get in my way, Dungeon Master-san! It's my role to give mana to Eugy-kun!" (Sumire)
"Y-You're a challenger! Rather than wasting mana, I, the Dungeon Master—" (Anemoi)
"No! Earlier he did a Mana Link kiss with Eri-san, and before that he received mana from Anemoi-san, right! Then it's my turn next! …Mmph♡" (Sumire)
Sumire pressed her lips against mine without further argument.
At the same time, hot mana flowed into my body.
I could feel my strength recovering.
"Tch…"
Anemoi glared at me resentfully.
…Why?
"You're quite lively, Eugene." (Claude)
Claude spoke to me, sounding a bit tired.
He leaned on the Dragon God Spear like a staff.
"Are you okay? I'll cast a healing spell—" (Eugene)
As I tried to break the Mana Link kiss and cast magic on Claude…
"…It's more mental stamina than anything. Long battles with the Dragon God Spear are still tough." (Claude)
"I see." (Eugene)
I checked on the Red Dragon as I replied.
It has been unusually quiet for a while.
Was it plotting something?
At that moment, a teleportation magic circle appeared behind Claude, and me.
"Claude, drink this mental recovery potion. For now, stand by. The one who can deal the most damage to the Red Dragon is your Dragon God Spear. It would be troublesome if you couldn't move when it counts. Next would be Eugene's God Katana. However, Eugene has three sources supplying him with mana. That shouldn't be a problem." (Uther)
The speaker was Principal Uther.
— "Even so, the Red Dragon looks unusually troubled. Ahaha, as expected, having the Dragon Oracle here must be its biggest headache. As long as the Oracle is here, it can't just blow everyone away with a single dragon roar." (Loki)
The one speaking wickedly was the Demon God-sama.
The Dragon Oracle, President Media, was waiting in the back, protected by dragons and the Twelve Knights.
She wasn't participating in the battle, but simply having her there helped immensely.
(With just the Red Dragon's roar, the Dungeon City would be half-destroyed…) (Eugene)
At least we were avoiding a tragedy like last time.
"Even so, both sides lack a decisive blow. The Red Dragon has infinite mana, but we are finite. At this rate, we'll collapse from exhaustion before time runs out." (Uther)
Principal Uther frowned, arms crossed.
"Eri, any good ideas?" (Eugene)
I asked.
"Well…if we want to kill the Red Dragon, we'd need to crush all seven hearts. But this is just the Trial of the Gods, so we don't need to go that far. Still, I doubt it'll admit defeat over something half-baked since it came here of its own will. Even when we've crushed a few heads, it just regenerates them right away… Troublesome." (Eri)
Eri bit her finger thoughtfully.
— "Just drop all seven heads at the same time. If it's forced to display such disgrace, even a Divine Beast will admit defeat." (Loki)
The Demon God-sama offered advice.
(Isn't that…extremely difficult?) (Eugene)
The only time we managed to sever one of the Red Dragon's heads was through a surprise attack from Eri and Rosalie-san.
Claude and I inflicted serious wounds, but not enough to decapitate.
I doubt something like that is even possible…
"Very well, let's form a plan. Gather at Media-kun's position." (Uther)
Principal Uther gave the order.
"....................."
(…The Red Dragon looks irritated.) (Eugene)
Which meant Principal Uther's instruction was likely correct.
We gathered while keeping a wary eye on the Red Dragon to form our strategy.