"Hmm…that worked out better than I expected."
Luke remarked upon seeing the Dragon flap its large wings, causing powerful gusts of wind to blow in all directions as it took to the skies in an attempt to avoid the incoming wave of flames.
"I just copied that Laneford man's spell, but it worked out fine.
Still…what was 'he' of all people doing here, and how did he strangely disappear?"
"GRROOOAAARRRRR!!!!"
The loud roar of the now airborne dragon shook him out of his thoughts, causing the man to sigh softly as he spoke.
"I guess these are thoughts for later."
He then kicked off the ground and jumped into the air with his fist coated in a bright red fiery aura which emanated so much heat that those that were on the ground over a hundred metres away could feel it.
**KAABOOOMMM!!!!
The loud explosion and the resulting shockwaves of the clash were enough to shock those who were impaired by the Dragon fear back to their senses, with many of them wondering just who was it that was capable of taking on this powerful undead beast.
And Evan provided them with the answer to that question.
[WE HAVE THE SECOND, THIRD AND FOURTH OF THE TEN GREAT SWORDSMEN FIGHTING ALONG WITH US!!!!
THE SWORD SAINT WOULD TAKE CARE OF THE BONE DRAGON, SO CHARGE FORWARD AND END ALL THE OTHER UNDEAD. WE ARE ALREADY VICTORIOUS!!!!!]
The megaphone and voice magic infusion combined, once again carried the reincarnated hero's voice across the battlefield, causing the eyes of many who heard his words to widen in shock.
"…Second?!"
"He's the 'Great Swordsman' is the one fighting the dragon?! Way to go!!"
"What?! The Second Sword?! That's Duke Bowthe!!"
"The Sword Saint!!!"
"Sir Thompson is here too?!"
"I fucking knew it!!"
"The lieutenant General is also here?!"
"Lightning Sword, the Aura Sword and the Sword Saint!! The undead are done for!!!"
Light returned to the eyes of those who had despaired upon the appearance of the dragon.
Adventurers and mercenaries picked up their fallen weapons as cheers of joy began to ring out across the battlefield.
The fallen morale of the coalition force instantly shot up to an all-time high, even higher than Evan had been expecting.
But this was natural, the Ten Great Swordsmen were the Great Western Empire's 'Strongest Cards'. With three of them present, the combatants were sure their victory was guaranteed.
Especially when the fact that Sir Luke, who also had a 'Sword Saint' title, was the one combatting the dragon.
He's an existence that had been famous long before many of the adventurers and knights present were even born, a powerful swordsman that once held the title of 'First Sword' during the previous Emperor's reign.
Someone capable of battling the 'Human Flame' of the Great Eastern Empire to a standstill.
Someone many of them looked up to as a role model, a powerful being that they admired.
And now that same person was fighting on the same battlefield as they were? It'd be stranger if they didn't get hyped up.
[You're really selling out my reputation, kid.]
"Of course, I am. What else is a reputation supposed to be used for?"
Evan chuckled lightly as he replied to the voice of the Sword Saint through the communication device in his ear, all while engaged in combat with an undead knight that had particularly powerful sword-wielding techniques.
"Now, focus on the undead dragon you're fighting and kill it before it accidentally fires a breath and turns a certain nearby city in the distance into a sea of flames."
[I'm going to ignore how contradictory your statement now was.]
"Please do, I barely had any proper idea of what I said."
After a light chuckle, Evan dodged the undead knight's vertical slash, and spun his body around before delivering a horizontal aura slash towards its head, severing it from its neck.
He then pulled his sword back and reactivated the aura slash, before slicing the undead's body into five pieces.
With a small sigh, Evan flicked off the black blood on his sword and spoke to the Second Sword once more.
"Now then, go on and fight your dragon. I have two Great Swordsmen to assist.
Also…feel Free to release your limiter."
[…Wait, how do you know abou-]
The man's voice was cut off when Evan causally deactivated the communicator and turned his gaze towards the direction where Ralphie and Duke Cheverton stood off with Zacular and Dominik.
Although Zacular had wanted to go and chase after the Second Sword and the undead Dragon who were taking their battle further away, Dominik held him back and spoke with gritted teeth as he used 'Corrupted Recovery' on his half-severed arm.
"That's Luke Bowthe…he's the one 'Uno' and I did not want to be here at all. Seems we were too late."
The Demon's eyes widened in slight surprise, but he quickly regained his calm and turned his attention to the two Grandmasters in front of him.
It was then that Dominik drew his finger across the back of Zacular's hand, a signal the two of them had agreed on earlier in the day.
There was silence for a moment as Duke Charles and Ralphie calmly readied their weapons, and then in the next moment.
"Geass of Vengeance!!"
The Dullahan King burst out from the small patch of Darkness behind Duke Charles, activating his skill and swinging his sword straight towards the man's neck.
However, Duke Charles' lightning-fast speed allowed him to react to the sudden attack, turning around and blocking the sword of the Dullahan King with an aura-filled blade.
At the same time, Zacular and Dominik both jumped backwards, two black magic circles appearing around their arms as they both shouted out.
"Demonic Fusion!!"
**BOOMMM!!!
A small explosion of demonic energy occurred, pushing back Ralphie who had charged after them and even Sir Czac who was monitoring them from the skies.
When the dust cleared up, the newly fused appearance of the Eighth Finger and his contracted demon was revealed.
Taller, buffer, and obviously stronger.
The Fused being possessed dark grey-coloured skin, with pitch black sclera and deep red pupils that had a singular ring of grey around them.
His facial features were unlike Dominik's melancholic ones or Zacular's casual ones, having a long thin nose, with canine teeth and a tattoo below his right eye.
Long grey hair with deep red streaks that ran through it messily flowed down to his waist, in between the pair of bat-like wings that emerged from his back.
The wings were black, with each one having a magic circle inscribed on the inner parts.
On his forehead was a strange crest that no one but Pride and Greed could recognize, the crest of the family that Zacular hailed from in the demon world.
He raised a hand to push back his bangs, revealing the jagged lines that appeared on both of his wrists.
A large grey magic circle appeared behind him as he parted his lips to speak two words with a strangely echoing voice that sounded like a mix between Dominik's and Zacular's.
[Death-Hollow Magic.]
◇ ◇ ◇
Luke Bowthe touched the two swords on his belt and looked at the damaged buildings around him as he walked through what was once a major road in the city of Paglad.
The city's current state was truly an eerie sight. So many lives forgotten and whatever was left to show for it was slowly withering away as time went on.
He saw many shattered possessions on the floor, including a torn bloodstained doll that once belonged to a child, which made him scowl.
There were still thousands of weaker undead residing in this town, with levels around 50 or so, however, Luke's presence was powerful enough to make them steer clear.
Another reason they kept away was the massive undead creature that flew above the city, softly flapping its decaying wings as it made its way to the city's highest point while casting a broad shadow on the ground.
**BAMM!
The undead dragon landed atop what was once the City lord's mansion, causing part of it to crumble to dust as it rose its head and locked gazes with Luke.
The Dragon still had most of its intelligence and strength as an undead beast, so it was able to instantly discern that Luke had no intention of battling it on the Savannas and instead chose to fly over to the ruined city of Paglad, kilometres away, for their battle.
Regarding the coalition force's members, the dragon considered them all, save the grandmasters, as worthless and had negative interest in them.
The Eighth Finger did not order it to wreak havoc as originally planned since he understood the Dragon needed to concentrate on Luke to defeat the Sword Saint and could not have other grandmasters interfere.
The Sword Saint silently stared at the undead dragon who stared back at it, a strange silence persisting for a few moments before he asked.
"What was it?"
His question made the Dragon's head tilt to the side in confusion, apparently not understanding what the man had been talking about.
"What was it about that boy that surprised you so much when you looked at him?"
The undead dragon's inferno sights widened ever so slightly, apparently surprised that Luke had noticed its earlier state of shock and discerned the cause.
"The instant you looked at that boy, Evan, I sensed both shock and recognition from you.
What did you recognize about him that left you so dumbfounded that you could not even throw out attacks properly even after a minute?"
[…]
After staring at Luke in silence for a while, the undead dragon sighed and dropped one of its forelimbs from the mansion's roof before speaking.
[If I had any intentions to let you leave here alive today, I would have told you to warn that boy to be careful.
The fates of 'Irregulars' like him, can turn out to be very grim.
I, am very sure of this, after all, I was an Irregular myself when I was alive.
My irregularity is also what brought me death. And it's also why the necromancer spent days inscribing these mystical runes on my corpse to control me.]
Unsurprisingly, the undead dragon was capable of speech much like other high-level undead, and it spoke of grim implications towards Evan's new title.
Evan's irregular status startled Luke, who understood a bit about them.
[If it was not for the fact that he possessed the child of death skill that let him manipulate the Doctrine of Death's essence, then that necromancer would have failed in his endeavour to reanimate me.]
"Though…you are unable to use your full strength as a result."
Luke's comment caused the undead dragon to snort in response, but the Sword Saint kept talking.
"I'm sure Ralphie's attack also dealt a great deal of damage to you."
[Ralphie? Is that the name of that human with the strange icy aura?
He would be my next target after I am done with you.]
"Like you have any chance of leaving here 'alive'."
Luke replied after a short laugh, remembering Evan's words to him about his 'Limit' and sighed.
"That kid really is an irregular.
Just how does he know about that?
Guess I have a few more things to report to the Retired Emperor."
When the Undead Dragon wondered what Luke was muttering, the man looked up at the undead and spoke deeply.
"Release…limit."
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶