The giant blocks of ice hurtled through the sky like cannonballs,
colliding with the creatures as though it was absorbing their bodies, before
shattering and blowing the eerie beasts away.
But the group of creatures itself was still full of life. Without pausing for
breath, Rio launched a second round. This knocked two more creatures out of
the group in the sky — and one of them landed near Rio and Latifa. Rio took
one look at it, before widening his eyes in shock.
A dragon? No, a demi-dragon?! The identity of the bird-like creature that
had attacked Rio and Latifa was a demi-dragon — similar to a dragon in
appearance and said to be a member of the dragon family. This flight in
particular was composed of the smallest subspecies of demi-dragon: the
three-meter-long Winged Lizard.
The creature that had fallen before Rio had taken an ice chunk straight to
the face, but it was still breathing weakly. They weren't members of the
dragon family for nothing — their bodies were ridiculously sturdy.
"Kyaaah!"
Having had four of their group defeated in such a short time, the
remaining Winged Lizards became wary, scattering themselves to surround
Rio and Latifa. Rio scowled faintly and released a third round of ice blocks.
However, the circling flight of the Winged Lizards was much harder to aim at
compared to the direct path they had used before.
"R-Rio! They're coming all at once!"
"Yeah, it's not worth the effort of taking them all down. Let's run! Come
on!"
Rio kicked off the ground as Latifa did the same behind him. The two of
them bolted away like a startled hare, but the Winged Lizards also gave
pursuit. Irritatingly, they maintained a distance not too near and not too far as
they enclosed around Rio and Latifa.
I guess they won't let us get away that easily, Rio thought, turning to
look behind him and frowning. It was difficult to gain a lead on Winged
Lizards when they could fly.
"Hah... Hah... Hah..." Their full-speed dash with their baggage had
already caused Latifa's breath to come out in rough pants.
They're trying to wear our stamina out, huh? Latifa won't last long
running at this speed. The situation will only get worse at this rate. Rio
analyzed the situation on the spot before coming to a decision.
"Latifa, you go ahead! Hide behind that hill over there."
"Huh? Ah... B-But!" The sudden order perplexed Latifa; she strongly
opposed the idea of it.
"It's fine, just go! It's okay, I can manage this by myself! Got it?!" Rio
repeated in a stronger tone, before coming to a stop without waiting for a
reply.
For an instant, Latifa's speed fell dramatically. But she was more than
painfully aware of how much of a burden she was, so she focused on running
even as her face screwed up in shame.
One of the Winged Lizards glided down towards Rio.
"Sorry, but you're not getting past me," Rio muttered, removing his
backpack before leaping into the air towards the Winged Lizard. He clutched
his longsword in his right hand and thrust it into the body of the creature.
So tough! And heavy!
Despite his astonishment at the sensation in his hand, he pulled his sword
back. He grabbed the Winged Lizard's neck and pulled it closer to him,
flipping himself onto its back with nimble movements, then using it as a
stepping stone to attack another Winged Lizard. The Winged Lizard currently
under siege tried to snap at Rio and drive him away, but Rio gathered essence
in his arms and enhanced his strength. Then, he swung the sword as they
passed each other and felled the neck of the beast.
Immediately, Rio created a blast of wind in his left hand and used the
reverse thrust to brake and land on the headless creature's back. That was
when a new Winged Lizard tried to snap at Rio. Without batting an eyelash,
he fired another blast of wind at the creature he was standing on. His body
shot upwards, causing the attacking Winged Lizard's jaws to close around
nothing but thin air.
Rio flipped himself around midair and brought his sword down against
the extended neck of the Winged Lizard from above. No sooner then he had
done that, he stuck his left arm above him and used the reverse thrust to leap
onto the back of the just-beheaded Winged Lizard. Landing on its back, Rio
sheathed his sword by his waist and held both hands out to each side, using
essence to create large balls of fire. He launched them at two of the Winged
Lizards nearby.
The fireballs drew a neat curve in the air as they collided directly with the
creatures. A shockwave rang out from the impact, shaking the air around
them, but the only damage the Winged Lizards took was having their balance
thrown off.
They may have been demi-dragons, but they were still renowned for
being vicious creatures — their skin was highly resistant towards heat.
"Krraaah!"
The leader of the Winged Lizards raised its strange voice in protest,
responding to what it perceived as a threat — Rio. The flight scattered in
every direction and fled.
Meanwhile, the Winged Lizard Rio was standing on was on a collision
course with the ground. Just before making contact, Rio directed a blast of
wind towards the ground to soften the impact. The force of the wind blew
him backwards, raising him into the air. Next, he maximized the
enhancement on his physical body before landing a few moments after the
Winged Lizard crashed into the ground.
◇◇◇
After Latifa managed to escape by herself, she was faced with a threat
that was different than the one Rio was tackling.
"Hah... Hah... H-huh?!"
As she hid behind the hill that Rio had pointed out and regained her
breath, she suddenly caught the scent of something else. Glancing around
nervously, she spotted a Lizardman — another subspecies of demi-dragon
like the Winged Lizard. The shadow of death loomed over her; fear clawed
away at her heart.
"Eek?!"
Body trembling, Latifa readied her dagger. For all the assassination
experience she had until now, she had never been on the side of being
attacked herself.
The Lizardman was two meters tall and boasted five meters from head to
tail — almost like a dinosaur — with its whip-like tail swinging from side to
side.
Using the movements ingrained within her body, Latifa leaped
instinctively. She flipped once in the air and stabbed at the Lizardman's back
with her dagger. However, her physical enchantments weren't enough to
make up for her childish strength. The light attack of her dagger only spurred
the creature on further.
"Ugh! I-It's so tough?!"
Faced with the fact her dagger could only scratch the surface of its skin, Latifa gasped. When the Lizardman let out an angry roar at the dull pain in its
backside, Latifa used its back as a stepping stone to leap away in a panic.
Landing in a clearing where the group of beasts hadn't gathered, Latifa
poured her strength into her legs to focus on a getaway. However, when she
tried to run, she found the Lizardmen had already cut around her in wait.
Overwhelmed at the numbers, Latifa's face twisted with fright.
If she could use her battle abilities to their full capacity, she would have
been able to create as many escape routes as she wanted. What Latifa lacked
in power, she made up for in speed, after all. As long as she positioned
herself correctly, she'd be able to keep them at bay for as long as her stamina
could hold up. Then, once she bought enough time, Rio would come back to
save her.
But Latifa had lost her nerve from the start, panicking too much to
remain calm, not unlike those times when she had been controlled by the
Collar of Submission. She'd do anything to avoid a situation where she'd
have to fight to the death.
Furthermore, Latifa had almost no experience fighting in anything other
than a one-on-one situation.
"Krraaah!" The Lizardman she cut in the back earlier roared, jumping at
Latifa.
"No!" she screamed, leaping away from it with more strength than
needed. The unexpected turn of events had completely turned her panic into
inner chaos.
The Lizardmen seemed to pick up on her fear as they swished their tails
tauntingly in a mocking strike against her. Latifa somehow managed the
evade the attack with her jump, but the chaos within her only grew stronger.
Her movements became slower and slower.
"Kya?!" Eventually, Latifa tripped and fell.
She tried to stand up in a hurry, but her body collapsed beneath her.
There was no strength in her arms... Her legs wouldn't move, either.
The Lizardmen halted their animated display of intimidation and slowly
walked forward.
"Ugh, ah... N-No... S-Save me... O... Onii...chan..." Latifa squeaked out,
on the verge of tears, as her imminent death approached her step-by-step.
Save me... That was all she could think.
In front of her was a large shadow — the drooling mouth and sharp fangs
of a Lizardman. It was the same one that Latifa injured earlier; it emitted a delightful screech as it opened its jaws wide.