"KAAAAAAA!!"
The dragon, having lost its wings, thrashed about hideously as it fell.
Due to its massive bulk, sand and dust rose like a storm.
Thanks to my mask, I didn't have to worry about getting a mouthful of dirt.
Wow, I never expected she'd cut off Wilhelm's wing in a single strike.
Asella's teleportation magic area was smaller than the dragon's body, so only part of it was moved, causing the severing effect.
The thought of taking a hit like that myself sends shivers down my spine.
"Haah, hoo."
Asella breathed heavily. The mana consumption must have been greater than expected.
The mana she'd forcibly filled through potions would be taking its toll.
What can we do? The other imperial mages fled with the Emperor, so Asella is the only mage left to fight here.
'But we can't just leave the probability of other bad endings unaddressed.'
Her defeating the dragon is our best option.
"The second circle..."
Just as Asella aimed her staff, the dragon raised its head and howled.
The ear-splitting roar made Asella grimace and lose her stance.
"Oops."
I grab her shoulders to support her.
The dragon is unleashing its aura.
I'd be furious too if I were suddenly summoned into enemy territory.
Still, the middle realm is incredibly distant. I don't think it could have been recalled from there.
Even the hatchling Asella summoned was one we'd captured and prepared in the tent beforehand.
'Was it living in this region originally?'
Perhaps it had a nest somewhere in the mountains.
Maybe today's incident would have brought it to the world's attention and led to it being scouted by the Demon King's army.
'If we defeat the dragon here and now.'
I check the bad ending list.
[No. 019: Dragon's Curse 44%]
The ending where we lose to Wilhelm would be eliminated too.
Killing two birds with one stone.
"Princess, focus."
"Yes."
Asella forms another magic circle.
Now that she's confirmed she can use Recall as an attack spell, she'll finish the job.
"I'll end this now."
Asella aims her staff precisely at the dragon's head.
This time she plans to teleport just the head to cut off its breath.
"Recall."
The moment the casting completes.
—Grrrr!
The dragon quickly pawed the ground.
Its enormous body leaped with surprising speed, charging toward us.
"Ugh!"
—WHOOSH!
Asella's spell did hit.
But instead of the head, it merely grazed the flank.
It only managed to tear away part of the creature's abdomen.
"KAAAAAAA!!"
The dragon, filled with even greater rage, continued its charge without stopping.
Without wings, it had become like a massive lizard. Its sharp claws tore up chunks of ground as it opened its enormous mouth wide.
"Oh no."
At this rate, we'll be devoured. This one was always difficult to deal with due to its speed and agility.
I quickly pull out a strength enhancement injection from inside my robe and hold it vertically against my chest.
Click, I press the button at the end to inject.
Just before the dragon pounced on us, I embraced Asella and jumped, avoiding its teeth.
—CRASH!!
The ground cracked and collapsed where the dragon had leaped.
"Lars?!"
"Are you hurt, Your Highness?"
"N-no..."
The dragon immediately turned its head toward us, showing no signs of stopping.
Black energy rose from its mouth.
"It's going to breathe. If we're hit, we'll burn with a curse."
It's not magic, but an attack that wildly explodes evil-attribute mana.
It's fast and precisely targeted, making it difficult to dodge.
I thought I could jump once more, and was about to wrap my arm around Asella's waist when—
"HAAAA!!"
—CLANG!
A crude bastard sword plunged into the dragon's mouth as it was gathering black energy.
The dragon closed its mouth, trying to block the sword with its teeth.
The sword's owner, a knight with flowing red hair, flew through the air.
It was Tanya.
"Teacher! Your Highness! Get away from here!"
Tanya released a blade aura, pushing the dragon back in their contest of strength.
The dragon froze momentarily, seemingly surprised to be overpowered by a human.
"Your Highness, now's our chance."
"Yes."
We understood each other.
Neither of us had any intention of retreating.
I obviously couldn't back down.
And Asella wasn't the type to turn her back on an enemy before repaying them.
"Your Highness?!"
Tanya was shocked to see Asella casting a third-circle spell.
Despite sweating profusely, Asella gave a wicked smile befitting a villainess.
"A dragon as my opponent."
Golden mana exploded from her magic circle.
"What a perfect demonstration of magic."
—BOOM!!
Asella's Recall magic activates.
The rotating magic circle shines with a brilliant golden light, brighter than ever before.
The target is the dragon's head, precisely fixed in place by Tanya.
Light particles pour from the dragon's neck, and the next moment.
—THUD!
The massive dragon's head fell from midair before us, its tongue lolling out.
Clang, Tanya's blade also fell to the ground.
The dragon's enormous body, now headless, soon lost balance and—CRASH!
It collapsed to the ground with a thunderous sound.
"Haa, haa."
Asella breathed heavily.
Using such difficult magic consecutively must have exhausted her to the limit.
"Well done, Your Highness."
"...We won."
"Yes. You won, Your Highness."
Asella looked at the dragon's head lying on the ground and smiled weakly.
The sticky blood flowing out wasn't exactly a pleasant sight. Rather grotesque, actually.
Well, she must be pleased to have confirmed how powerful her magic is.
"The Princess has defeated the dragon!"
"What amazing magic...!"
"Is this the true power of the Wolgwang Palace!"
The imperial knights who had been keeping their distance, only throwing spears, stood with mouths agape at how quickly the situation had been resolved.
They gazed at Asella with awe.
Most of them probably didn't even know the dangers of Recall.
They only saw Asella demonstrate genius-level magic and single-handedly repel a foreign attack.
"Princess Asella!"
"We are humbled!"
The knights sent cheers and applause.
Though she might not have scored points with the Emperor, Asella had left a strong impression on many imperial court members at this tournament.
Asella seemed to enjoy their reaction as she slowly looked around.
"Your Highness."
"Yes."
"Do you dislike the imperial court?"
To my question, Asella oddly responded with another question.
"Young Lord, do you plan to stay in the imperial medical office?"
Obviously not forever.
From the beginning, I intended to practice private medicine, and the position of court physician was just a stepping stone.
"I'll stay until retirement."
That was my answer.
"...I see."
Asella fell into contemplation as she absorbed the cheers directed at her with her whole body.
-------------------
· A bad ending has been deleted.
No. 019: Dragon's Curse 44% → 0%
· Probabilities have changed.
No. 012: Fall of the Empire 92% → 30%
No. 005: Demon King's Army Victory 73% → 58%
No. 101: Mana Overload 71% → 4%
...
· ■■■ ■, ■■ ■■ from 2% → 11%
-------------------
By defeating the dragon, a high-ranking member of the Demon King's army in advance, many bad ending probabilities have decreased.
The ending where we lose to the dragon has been deleted, and the probabilities for normal and good endings have increased significantly.
Though the Empire's fall hasn't been eliminated yet.
'Finally a moment to breathe.'
Still, I'm satisfied that we're moving in the right direction.
The Wolgwang Palace knights are rushing toward us. They all hurried, but Tanya was simply too fast.
"Shall we head back now? After such an intense battle, you should rest first, and I'll carefully examine Your Highness's health condition."
"Yes, let's do that."
Asella was more compliant than usual, likely because all her strength was drained.
Not bad. Maybe I should trick her into using up her mana more often.
"Um, Young Lord."
"Yes."
I turn to Asella as she calls me.
"You'll examine me while I rest? Then during that time, I wanted to talk about..."
Her words didn't reach my ears.
I was distracted by the black energy enveloping Asella's body.
The source was the severed dragon's head.
'A curse!'
The dragon had left a curse even in death. I clicked my tongue and immediately rushed toward Asella.
"Young Lord?"
"Your Highness, get away!"
Asella reacted quickly to my words. She immediately tried to draw a circle to cast a defensive spell against the curse.
"Ugh."
But with a short groan, Asella's circle lost power and dissipated in midair.
Her mana was depleted.
I wrapped my arm around Asella's shoulder. Just as I was about to push her away.
—WHOOSH!!
The black energy exploded and engulfed us, and a violent churning rose in my stomach, similar to passing through a teleport gate.
Everything before my eyes turned pitch black.
***
"Ugh."
Asella slowly raised her body.
The deep smell of soil and grass filled her nose.
Several small insects crawling on the mud covering her arms disgusted her.
"Where..."
She looked around.
Complete wilderness. She had been thrown into the middle of nature.
It seemed to be mountainous terrain. The dense leaves of tall trees blocked almost all sunlight.
"What is this..."
She stood up.
Her elegant training uniform was a mess, covered in mud.
Only the staff still firmly gripped in both hands remained intact.
"Where am I?"
The dragon's curse had definitely activated.
But what kind of curse was it?
It wasn't an illusion... Illusion-type curses should dispel immediately when the caster dies.
"Reflection."
Reversal.
The dragon must have used a curse that reflected her own magic in its final moment.
Recall had affected Asella, sending her to the place from which the dragon had been summoned.
This must be near the dragon's nest.
"Wait."
She searched her memories.
She hadn't been sent here alone.
He was with her when the curse took effect.
"Lars."
Asella anxiously looked around desperately.
Making her lord worry—what an unqualified physician he was.
No, she wasn't worried at all.
She was only looking for him because his presence would increase her survival rate in this unexpected situation.
Though contradictorily, she also hoped he had safely remained at the arena, Asella made excuses to herself as she wandered the pathless mountainside.
Finally.
"Lars!"
Asella discovered a white-haired boy awkwardly sprawled on a pile of leaves.
"Lars, Lars?"
She shook his shoulders vigorously, but there was no response.
When she turned him over, his face was peaceful, as if in eternal sleep.
Calming her sinking heart, Asella steadied her breathing.
"At least he's alive."
His rising and falling chest indicated he was breathing.
Asella bit her lower lip.
"Phew."
With depleted mana, staying quietly in this remote area would only lead to a silent death.
Asella summoned her last reserves of strength, hoisted Lars up, and began to walk.