That darn 'Party Leader' really HAD made a name for himself over the years. When I'd brought up the existence of a dragon's corpse being found on the outskirts of the village, the Guild didn't just support the evacuation efforts, but gladly helped us out.
"Everyone, prepare and organise yourselves!" The Branch Manager even went as far as to put Silver License members into teams with Bronze License holders supporting the evacuation itself rather than battle. They didn't want disharmony to add a risk.
It was then the loud roar of a Dragon coming from the horizons using flight stopped us in our tracks.
"What are we waiting for?! The Dragon is already here!" A thug who joined for the Guild solely for the 'freedom' Adventurers enjoyed panicked as soon as the possibility of an horrid death was upon us.
I disliked these ruffians who couldn't even get the bare minimum of a Silver License and put too much of their efforts raising their 'Ranks' instead. In dire situations like this, people like him who couldn't use their heads were the ones causing panic...!
"Shut ya frickin' mouth!" Angered by the ignorant idiot who actually thought now was time to run, I was about to draw my blade before my brother Jeremy stopped me. His hand gently stopped me from drawing my sword as he spoke to the man:
"We are going to prepare to fight."
"What did ya say?!" The man heavily refused to cooperate, but Jeremy merely looked at the Branch Manager instead of saying anything else. Hah... If only he acted like this normally instead of being a goofy jokester whenever we went out hunting...!
"The Mage is right." It wasn't that the Branch Manager bothered memorising our names or faces but just saw us as how we looked. The staff and fire resistance cloak Jeremy wore was enough for anybody to think my brother was a 'Bombarder'.
(Author's Note: I just now changed 'Bomber' to 'Bombarder' as I feel that is a better nickname.)
"Have you gone crazy?! We're up against a real frickin' Dragon!" The Branch Manager didn't seem to pleased to hear these words as he vanished from his spot and suddenly grabbed the man's neck. As a rare Lightning Specialist, all magical defences or resistance was like paper in front of him as he lifted the man up from the collar.
"I believe we already made an agreement that you hired 'Adventurers' would follow the directions of management if an incident arose. Either become blacklisted or stop sowing discord." The Branch Manager let the man go after saying his piece.
It wasn't only us, but perhaps even the rest of the Adventurers here hoped someone as strong as our manager could defeat the Dragon so we could get back to our normal lives before it attacked.
The Lightning Affinity was the most powerful among the Attributes, and the Branch Manager was even someone with a 'True Affinity' as well. A Lightning Specialist like him could even tap into the Ethers of the world in order to borrow their power.
The whole reason most Adventurers were following this man's orders was out of faith. They trusted his judgement while more experienced people who have heard of similar situations in order villages would know the importance of unity right now.
I myself had been taught by some of the white-haired veterans of this Guild that Dragons were known to never allow their prey to escape. They would hunt down those escaping first by using their great flight speed that defied their weight.
Normally, one would think that the Dragons we emulated when talking about 'Strength' used in Fire Swordsmanship would have the same weaknesses as we Humans do. This thought process itself is something too ridiculous when thinking calmly.
After all, the Fire Attribute wasn't solely created by humanity. As powerful creatures that were familiar with the intricacies of true 'Fire Magic' lost in the age of Gods, they were not to be underestimated using normal common sense used for Humans.
After hearing the incoming Dragon's roar, it took only a few moments for everyone to prepare themselves and for the first batch of combat-ready Adventurers to check on the situation at hand.
Lead by the Branch Manager, we watched as the powerful creature descended from above to where me and Jeremy came from. The village's houses obstructed our view for a moment as we helped each other check on what the situation was.
The next time we caught sight of the Dragon was when it had returned to its towering form that could be seen even without actively trying to look for it. The menacing figure of the creature loomed as it charged towards someone on the ground.
Then, this gigantic creature was flung away...!
"What happened?!" Was the question many people voiced out loud or perhaps even thought in their heads as soon as they saw a Dragon being thrown into the distance. Some even forgot we were standing on houses as they thoughtlessly stepped forwards and almost fell to the ground bellow. My eyes glanced at the Manager who watched silently.
Of course, he also seemed surprised by first clash's outcome. However, he looked far more able to accept it compared to others. As expected of the most powerful person in the Guild's staff!
We watched as the enormous red figure was able to regain its bearing and return into our direction. It was at this moment that the person going head-to-head with the Dragon showed himself. I couldn't believe my eyes on the identity of this 'Hero'...!
'Bob?!?!' My mind was confused as his figure rushed towards powerful creature with his sword.
Why was someone as inconspicuous as HIM fighting a Dragon?! Was Bob always this strong?
My thoughts were in disarray as I saw Bob fighting it out with a monstrous entity that even an A Rank Gold Adventurer would have a hard time solo-fighting without back-up. Humanity were social creatures that fought in groups, but Bob broke all common sense I knew of by fighting the Dragon much better than even the Elemental Races could.
Could Wind Swordsmanship be used like this? The blades he used weren't like gusts like normal Wind Swordsman used, but instead seemed to chop a hurricane of slices with each movement. How was he able to keep up such a speed without faltering?
The human body wasn't made for such rapid successions of movement. Even if he had enough Mana to use up, how was his body able to handle the strain of the Aura- Wait, what is happening?!
"He has become a true 'Wind Divinity'." The Branch Manager sighed in admiration as we saw him dodge and counter a Destruction Breath by slicing it to pieces. The astonishment in my gasp couldn't be hidden as I saw such an oddly beautiful scene...
Our current leader, the Guild's only Branch Manager, didn't stop giving out orders even as this epic battle was going on, as he seemed to believe that my Party Leader wouldn't be able to win.
"Ready the Water Barrier! All Water and Earth Specialists are to form an Icestone Defence. Now!"
""On it!"" The leaders of the Earth Group and Water Group formed in our teams responded,
Magical circles filled to the brim with energy were being put into a formation to combine into a more unbelievable power. The Fire Group I and Jeremy were in along with the Wind Group were given a different set of instructions as soon as he spoke.
My anxiety couldn't help but show as trying to show off my feeble 'fake fire' element in front of a being that possessed the true Fire Attribute couldn't help but show. Now was the time for action, I mustn't get worked up by what I can see.
Even if there was a Dragon here, now was the time to contribute as much as I could regardless of the difference between our abilities. My sword turned red as I activated my strongest attack Art silently.
[Sword Art- Scorching Brilliance! (Charging)]
By my side was the quite Jeremy who also worked with me. As to focus our firepower, he created a Fireball before resonating with my Mana Origin. A change occurred as his flame was devoured by my skull and started to turn even more hotter.
Even as the flames started to glow bright enough to sear my hand, he cooperated with me in these dire circumstances and ripped off a part of his cloak. The flames on my sword gradually transformed as he used it to tie my hand to the sword. The burning sensation lessened and the stability of my grip improved as used our Art.
[Duo Art- Phoenix Aggressor! (Forming)]
The sword no longer gave off a burning sensation anymore as my brother's insights into the Fire Attribute imparted into the sword. There was a reason Healers weren't limited to Water Specialists as all five Affinities contained the element of 'life'.
Fire Healers wasn't a popular role anymore as not only were most Fire Users too short-tempered to desire to learn Healing Spells, but the way those with the Fire Affinity healed was a little tricky compared to the naturally gentle Water Affinity.
There were those who would feel the sensation of burning when getting cured by a Fire Healer compared to the naturally adept Water Healers that only made their patience feel a slight chill.
I could feel the seared skin that had burnt off my hand rapidly regenerating as aspects of a 'Phoenix' was added to this attack. However, that didn't mean that healing was all it could do.
Once this attack was released, the 'healing nature' flames will show the reason why the word Aggressor was added to our Duo Art. My arms ached as a shadow loomed over village.
Once again, I was stunned by Bob actually bringing out the highest extent of his strength as he sliced apart a sudden Destruction Breath that covered the entire village. The Sword Art he brought out put us at the eye of the storm as he slashed apart the scorching blast with all his strength...! The Duo Art finally stabilised in my arm as we all decided to use this opportunity to jump into the fray.
"Wait!" The Branch Manager at the side seemed to have charged up the Lightning Aura around his body for quite some time. The katana in his hand was in out of its sheath as he pointed the sword at the ferocious creature, causing us to stop.
"Attack straight after me! Those working on the Icestone Barrier, change it into an Assault Formation! We need to back him up properly!" Just as he was giving the last orders needed, my heart couldn't hold on anymore after seeing Bob bleeding after being cut by a claw of wind. My feet stamped on the ground and shot forwards...
It took a less than a few second to get close to where the massive creature was, my heart clenched after seeing Bob get smashed into the ground after the Dragon did some high speed action. My voice aggressively shouted at it:
"Don't forget about us!"
[Lightning Draw- Nerve Disrupter!]
Despite being the fastest to get to where the Dragon was by foot, I wasn't the first one to attack it as the Branch Manager took advantage of the creature's momentary shift in attention. His electric amethyst sword slash cut through the distance between them before accurately hitting its neck. A burst of lightning followed that broke the crimson radiance that covered the Dragon's entire body.
Being the first one to arrive at the scene, my sword glimmered as I shot out my strongest sword slash.
[Duo Art- Phoenix Aggressor! (Release)]
The burning flames of my sword travelled towards the body of the massive entity flying in the sky, but as my flaming flying slash wasn't fast enough to cross the distance before it recovered, the Dragon attempted to escape by getting out of the way.
Its wings flapped strongly, but was interrupted by the Fire Group and Wind Group combining their power into a giant Magic Circle which had been drawn by the Mages of our Red Tryst Vine Village.
[Firewind Formation- Gyro Malevolence!]
The Fire Mana and Wind Mana fed to it released out into a spinning blade of flames that went straight past my 'Phoenix Aggressor'. Although it missed the body of the Dragon, it was able to injure its wings, causing it to fall just enough for my Duo Art to hit, and allowing the last Groups to have their opportunity. My flying slash exploded on contact with the creature, but it wasn't as strong as the Gyro Malevolence that had injured its wings.
However, the strength of my slash had distracted it just enough for our last Group attack to land a clean hit. Some of the Wind Specialists mixed into the Water and Earth Groups transported the Magic Circles they made past it before setting them off.
[Icestone Barrier- Damning of the Snowstorm!]
Rocks and shard of ice manifested into a rotating hurricane that devoured the Dragon to the point it couldn't even be seen anymore. The countless roars it made while being trapped in the temporal magic barrier were filled with agonising emotions.
My eyes darkened as I realised what we did wasn't going to be enough. Unless it died by this last attack, we'll all lose our strength to fight. None of us held back as countless breaths were taken from the Groups as they had fully lost their stamina.
Please, please don't survive this...!
As the Icestone Barrier dissipated due to lack of energy being supplied to it, the figure of the enormous red creature reappeared. My heart stopped beating for a moment as it was almost like its eyes were looking at me directly. This time, we could do nothing or even defend ourselves as it seemed to have taken the chance to charge one the the biggest Destruction Breaths imaginable.
Even I could sense the magical raptures in the air as it seemed to burn its own life force completely to create a Destruction Breath far more powerful than anything we saw before. Were were all doomed, that Breath can't be stopped at all...!!!
What do we do?
What do we do?!
No... Help!
[Sacrificial Ignition- True Hell Destruction Inferno!]