“Beyond this door, there's a weakling of a dragon,” Lucy said nonchalantly.
A dragon.
Calling it a living creature felt wrong—more fitting to think of it as a force of nature. With the ability to destroy entire nations depending on its form, how could anyone consider it a mere creature?
A dragon was more like a hurricane, an earthquake, or a tidal wave—a natural disaster.
That’s why many countries had formed an anti-dragon pact centered around the Church of Armadi.
And now, a creature like that awaited beyond this door?
For a moment, Faybi thought Lucy must be lying. But that thought disappeared almost immediately. After all, Lucy had said countless things that seemed impossible before, yet none of them had been lies.
This time would be no different.
“More precisely, it’s a dragon soul embedded in a golem’s body—a cheap patchwork excuse of a dragon. It’s nowhere near the level of a real dragon, but it’s still strong enough to be a pain.”
Even a diluted version of a dragon was powerful, considering the original was a walking catastrophe. The fact that Lucy, despite throwing around words like "trash" and "weakling," still acknowledged its strength was proof enough.
For first-year academy students like them, this dragon would be a difficult opponent.
Faybi swallowed nervously, imagining the dragon behind the door.
“It would be hard to beat it the normal way. I’d be fine, but with that weak, useless swordswoman and our scatterbrained useless priestess along for the ride, it’s going to be a challenge,” Lucy remarked casually.
“Just get to the point,” Frey’s voice cut in, sharper than usual. Clearly, she didn’t appreciate being called weak.
Though Frey’s tone was lethal, Lucy just chuckled softly, used to such reactions by now.
“It’s necromancy, more or less. Even you should understand what that means, right, Miss Useless Priestess?” Lucy teased.
“Purification,” Faybi answered immediately, understanding Lucy’s plan.
Even though the creature had a golem's body, it was still a dragon at its core, making it a tough opponent. But there was no need to defeat the golem itself—if they could purify the dragon’s soul, the soulless body would crumble on its own.
“Of course, even though it’s a weakling dragon, purifying its soul isn’t going to be easy. Most priests wouldn’t dare try it. But hey, we’ve got our so-called useless priestess here, right?” Lucy continued with a grin.
Purifying a dragon’s soul.
Even with dozens or hundreds of priests gathered, such a task would be impossible.
Dragons live for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, spreading disaster wherever they go.
A soul that had experienced so much devastation couldn’t possibly be light.
In the past, when a dragon returned as an undead, three bishops had to join forces to purify it. Even if the dragon behind this door was a diluted version, at least a bishop-level priest would be required to purify it.
Normally, a first-year academy student wouldn’t have the divine power for such a task. Even a talented student wouldn’t have had enough time to accumulate the necessary strength.
But Faybi was a priestess—revered as a symbol of the Holy Church, a miracle worker recognized in many places.
No matter how young or inexperienced she might be, the divine power within her remained intact.
She had enough divine power to purify the dragon’s soul.
“Let’s take it easy. Who cares how hard the useless academy professors worked on this dungeon?” Lucy snickered.
As always, her plan seemed perfect.
Just like it had been throughout the dungeon.
While climbing the dungeon’s levels, while fighting the bosses guarding each floor, Lucy had always known exactly what to do.
It was as if God had told her the method to conquer the dungeon.
So what if...
What if, as the evil apostle had hinted, Lucy truly was Armadi’s apostle?
What if every strategy she voiced was given by Armadi?
Would my name also be part of those plans?
Despite my dealings with the evil apostle, does Armadi still trust me?
Do You believe that Your lost lamb will find her way back to the righteous path?
I’m sorry, Armadi. I don’t have that kind of faith in myself.
Overcome by her own doubts, Faybi feared she wouldn’t meet the expectations placed upon her.
“Miss Useless Priestess?”
Hearing her name, Faybi looked up to meet Lucy Alrn’s gaze.
Her eyes were filled with confidence as she stared down at Faybi.
“You can do it, right?”
Faybi blinked, startled by Lucy’s confident question, as if failure wasn’t even an option.
Can I?
Faybi had performed countless purification prayers in her life.
She had traveled far and wide as a priestess, mostly to places full of sorrow rather than joy.
In places where cries of despair far outnumbered laughter.
For her, offering a requiem was something she did whenever she arrived at a new place.
But Faybi had never purified such a high-level soul before.
Tasks like this were usually handled by bishops or cardinals, with Faybi watching from the sidelines.
Before entering the academy, she would have accepted the task without hesitation.
Being sent here by Armadi meant that He trusted her to complete the task.
Back then, Faybi would have relied on Armadi’s will, not her own confidence.
But now, things were different.
Now, she doubted whether Armadi even loved her.
Now, her heart was tainted with darkness from her dealings with the evil apostle.
Faybi couldn’t bring herself to say that she could do it.
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“What, you can’t?”
But Lucy’s next words made Faybi instinctively shake her head.
“No, I can.”
She had reacted emotionally to Lucy’s taunt, red creeping into her face as she blurted out the answer.
Realizing her mistake, Faybi tried to correct herself, but it was too late.
“Good, let’s get moving. Useless swordswoman, stay behind the priestess and guard her. Don’t interfere—just protect her. Miss Useless Priestess, start preparing the purification prayer as soon as we enter. When you’re ready, cast it immediately.”
With a quick scan of the party, Lucy pushed open the massive door leading to the boss room.
—ROOOOAR!
The door creaked open, and a gust of wind carrying a deafening roar echoed through the room.
The roar was filled with malice, resentment, and hatred.
Can I really do this?
Can I really confront the emotions behind that voice?
Armadi, please answer me.
Give this foolish lamb the strength to carry out Your will.
God, that’s loud.
It feels like my eardrums are going to burst.
Even back when I watched movies in a theater with speakers cranked up to full blast, it wasn’t this loud.
Well, a dragon is a dragon, after all.
As soon as we stepped inside, the door behind us slammed shut, and the boss room was swallowed by darkness.
Not long after, I heard a gust of wind from above, followed by a tremor as something heavy landed on the ground. A soft, dawn-like light filled the room.
—ROOOOAR!
That’s when I finally caught sight of the enemy.
Standing atop a boulder in the center of the room was the dragon.
A massive creature made of stone, its body inhabited by the soul of a dragon that had been hunted down by humans, now forced to serve as their puppet.
Wow, it’s been a while.
I rarely bothered with the academy’s dungeon bosses during the first semester because the effort didn’t justify the rewards.
The last time I faced this thing was probably during a challenge run, clearing all the bosses barehanded.
But no problem.
I know exactly how to hunt this thing.
And besides, we have our cheat code with us—the priestess.
Unless our luck takes a turn for the absolute worst, it’s nearly impossible to have a priestess in the party at this stage of the game.
No matter how deep your grudge runs, all you’ll do is get purified.
That’s all you can do, you pathetic excuse for a dragon.
Just quietly die and hand over your rewards.
Confirming that Faybi had started her purification prayer, I turned to face the dragon and opened my mouth.
“Hey, you worthless piece of junk dragon. How does it feel to be hunted by humans and then treated like a toy? Huh?♡ How does it feel to be mocked by a girl like me?♡”
As soon as the dragon’s red eyes focused on me, a wave of exhilaration washed over me.
The provocation worked perfectly, so Faybi wouldn’t be in any danger now.
All I had to do was hold out until she completed the purification.
Piece of cake.
In the early game, this dragon was only tough because it could fly.
That thing was so cowardly, it barely ever came down from the sky.
To bring it down, you’d have to rely on ranged attacks, but early in the game, those were pretty scarce.
That’s why hunting this dragon was such an annoying grind.
But not now.
As long as Faybi purifies its soul, we’re good.
All I have to do is stall for time.
Too easy.
“Oh, right♡ I forgot you can’t speak because you’re just a stupid, worthless lizard♡ My bad♡ You pathetic, brainless piece of trash♡”
As soon as my taunts ended, the dragon let out another roar and spread its wings, soaring into the high ceiling of the cavern.
Honestly, the academy professors who designed this dungeon must’ve been jerks.
They had students fight a dragon, yet left its greatest advantage—flying—completely intact.
Not that it matters to someone like me.
This dragon has only two main attack patterns.
Breath attacks.
And spell bombardment.
There’s also a third pattern when it takes enough damage and falls to the ground, but that won’t be our problem today.
It’s going to crash soon enough.
Alright, what’s first?
Raising my shield, I stared up at the dragon. As soon as its jaws opened, I sprinted forward.
Moments later, a jet of fire erupted from where I had just been standing, with the flames chasing me as I ran.
This pattern’s easy.
All I have to do is keep running.
The fire stays on the ground for a while, so if you choose the wrong route, you’re toast. But that’s not an issue for me.
I’m a veteran at this.
I’ve run this route so many times I could do it blindfolded.
Back when I was playing with a level 1 bald character, I dodged this same pattern with ease, so there’s no way I’ll mess it up now, especially with my current speed and stamina.
Once the entire cavern had turned into a sea of flames, the dragon finally stopped its breath attack and flew to the center of the room.
It spread its wings wide and opened its jaws again.
The second pattern—spell bombardment.
The spells it casts depend on its health, but at full HP, there are usually three types.
Lightning.
Earth spears.
And summoning spirits.
No matter which spell it casts, my strategy is the same—
<It seems the purification prayer is starting.>
As I was strategizing, I heard Grandpa’s voice in my head.
Already?
Wow, that was fast. As expected of a priestess.
Carrying her all the way up to the 100th floor was worth it after all.
I turned my attention back to the dragon, anticipating the moment when it would become nothing more than a falling statue. But to my surprise, that moment never came.
Instead, the dragon began casting its spells.
I dodged a spear of earth with a roll and glanced over at Faybi.
Her eyes were locked on the ground, lost in confusion.
...Did she fail?
Faybi?