"You dare defy me?" Grain exclaimed in anger, lifting me off the ground. "I'll try to pull her out before it's too late!"
The mage leaned over the edge of the hole, but I pushed him back. "That won't help us. It's better to close the hole and join the others."
"Are you serious? She'll die!" Grain was ready to charge at me with his fists, but I stood calmly at the edge of the abyss, not letting him come any closer.
"If you pull her out now, she'll definitely die. But if she manages to escape on her own, we'll have a chance," I explained.
"What are you talking about?"
"Just trust me. Enough arguing, let's go back up." Grain obediently closed the hole and took one last look at it before running after me up the stairs.
Upstairs, the battle was in full swing. Hilda was drawing the dragon's attention and showering him with a hail of ice shards. None of her attacks reached their target, shattering against the thick scales, and in response, the dragon sent flames towards her. She blocked the fire with an icy aura, but with each attack, it became more challenging to do so. Katrina and Rizel were trying to break through the monster's defense with their magic, but the burns on the dragon's body were healing at an unnatural speed.
"Enough fooling around!" a plan of action was already forming in my mind.
"Where have you been?" Ragni snapped angrily and noticed the missing link, "and where did you hide Seli?"
"She's getting ready, she'll join us soon. Hilda, as always, charges head-on," I turned to Kurone, "can you tell her to retreat?"
"Sorry, but it's not going to work. She's too engrossed in the battle and pays no attention to anything else."
"What a reckless woman. Fine, Liri, Algo, are you ready?"
Liri heard me through telepathy and was ready to attack at any moment, "Do you want us to attack him from above?"
"Algo, can you and Liri create a powerful wind magic together?"
"It's possible, but I doubt it will have any effect on him."
"Just create a circular wind around the crater, spinning over the volcano. The descending airflow will hinder his flight and slow him down. Aileen, Miriam, use the poison you took from the shinobi on your arrows. If he tries to fly out of the crater, stop him."
I turned to those who remained below. We needed to distribute responsibilities precisely to prepare for the final attack.
"Grain, lift all the loose boulders in the air. Let them become our staircase to Ultras while he's airborne. Asura, Vivien, we're going on the attack. Don't aim for his body; try to cut his wings and legs. We can't let our weapons get stuck in his tissues, so strike and retreat immediately to avoid a counterattack. If possible, try to stop that berserker woman. Katrina, don't waste your energy; gather the most powerful lightning spell and be ready to attack on my command. Rizel, your decomposition magic is too weak against his regeneration. Use the Thanatos shield to cover the ground group and, if possible, those fighting him in the air. Werner, protect everyone and try to reason with Hilda when the opportunity presents itself."
I prepared for the attack, but a black paw stopped me.
"Seems like you forgot someone," Ragni frowned in disapproval.
"You wait here and save your strength," I pondered for a moment. "But you know what, try to reach Seleria's consciousness and support her."
"Huh? What does that mean?" Instead of answering, I leaped onto a stone ascending into the air. The dragoness was displeased but didn't disobey me, attempting to connect with the crimson princess.
Grain gathered all his strength and lifted all the stones lying in the crater into the air. It was a dangerous, awkward, and unfamiliar battlefield, but we had no choice. The three of us surrounded the dragon, but he paid no attention to it.
"Physh, pathetic mortals. Whether there are a hundred or a thousand of you, you are nothing compared to the power of a god!" Ultras exhaled flames around him, attempting to incinerate us in one attack. The area covered was enormous, but we managed to evade the attack. The earth mage was moving the stones just in time to give us a chance to escape.
I climbed up the stones and approached the gigantic head.
"It's not about the number of fighters, but their quality!" I shouted, leaping into the air and striking at his eyes. However, the enemy dodged, and the attack missed, only grazing his brow slightly.
"You're still just pathetic flailing!" The dragon twisted, trying to swallow me in one motion, but I had already jumped back and continued leaping from stone to stone, evading his wrath.
The girls approached him from the sides and aimed for the base of his wings. The katana easily cut through the membranous tissues of the wing, but in the next second, they began to heal. The spear pierced the muscles at the base, but it only momentarily slowed his movements. As soon as the wounds closed, he unleashed a fiery storm upon us again.
His flames were much stronger than any mage could create, not to mention that even all the fire mages of the Academy would have struggled to produce something equally powerful. However, before each attack, we had a couple of seconds to dodge, and we used them to the fullest. The pressing force of the cyclone forming above the crater was steadily pushing the monster down, but it also made it difficult for us to move on unstable stones with such strong winds.
The battle had only lasted ten minutes, but it felt like an eternity. All our attacks didn't inflict serious damage on him, and small wounds healed instantly. But we were merely buying time to let the others prepare. At least, that's what I thought, but it wasn't as obvious to the white princess.
"Gwahaha!! Thank you for creating such a splendid arena! Now I'll show you the strength of northern warriors!" I don't know when she managed it, but she appeared on the largest rock right above Ultras' back. "Oraaaah!"
With a battle cry, the girl enveloped her battle axe in a massive chunk of ice and brought it crashing down on the dragon's spine at the base of his neck.
The blow was indeed impressive, and it could have decapitated any dragon if its neck hadn't been three times thicker than the valkyrie herself. The axe had penetrated halfway into the monster's neck, and the icy aura quickly dissipated from the heat of its blood. But the strike couldn't go any further, just as its owner couldn't pull the axe out.
"Damn, it's so sturdy. Let's push harder," the girl pressed both feet against the monster's neck and tried to pull the blade out, but it wouldn't budge. The creature's skin was regenerating, closing the wound around the blade.
"Fool! Get away from there," though she probably couldn't hear my shout, it was worth trying.
"Such persistent pests," the dragon extended its paw backward and grabbed the white princess. He attempted to pull the girl out, but Hilda held tightly to the axe's handle. With some effort, Ultras managed to extract the valkyrie along with the axe. "Tch, she can't wait to die; I wanted to interrogate her first. Oh well."
Swinging, the dragon forcefully threw the girl against the crater's wall. Grain managed to react and conjured a dust cloud to soften the impact. However, the dragon's grip broke a couple of bones in the princess's body. But the monster didn't stop there; he turned towards the girl lying on the ground and widely opened his mouth, flames gathering in the depths of his throat.
"Rizel, can you do something?" I asked.
"Too far, I won't be able to block such force," the necromancer tried to protect the reckless girl, but she clearly lacked the strength.
"Use me as a conduit," Werner touched his scythe to the necromancer's staff and rushed to help.
A stream of flames comparable to a solar flare burst out of the dragon's maw and engulfed Hilda. In the last moment, the guy managed to stand in his way. The Thanatos shield, partially transferred to the adamantium blade, stood between them, but even it couldn't fully contain the force of the flames. The dragon showered them with his breath for twenty seconds until he grew tired of it.
"Alright, kid, you gave her a few more minutes of life," turning away, Ultras returned to more pressing matters, still being attacked from all sides.
"Hey, how are you holding up?" Hilda struggled to sit on her knees after the harsh landing and addressed the guy who protected her.
"Well, could've been better," the adamantium blade melted, losing its original form. The young man's body had several burns. "But I hope I won't have to do that again."
Werner leaned down and helped the princess to her feet.
"Why did you take such a risk? I would've come up with something," Hilda was dragging her feet, trying to hold herself proudly.
"Don't talk nonsense. That attack would've turned you into ashes," Werner looked thoughtfully at their comrades fighting in the sky. "Your attack was a pure suicide. I might want to fight alongside everyone, but I don't have enough strength for that yet."
"Speak for yourself; I have more than enough strength!" Hilda pouted.
"Maybe so, but you're absolutely terrible at fighting in a team. If you had listened to Krito, you wouldn't have been hit by such an attack."
"Hah, you're going to teach me how to fight monsters? I was the best warrior of the north; I can handle everything myself," a sudden surge of pain brought the girl to her knees. Her external injuries were minimal, but the internal trauma was making itself felt.
"And look where your arrogance has led you," Werner bent down and lifted the white princess in his arms.
"What are you doing?!" It was the first time someone treated her like a weak girl, and this pleasant feeling spread across Hilda's cheeks like paint.
"We need to join the ground group as soon as possible. If I'm right, Krito is already ready to initiate the main attack."
"What? He's just teasing this monster; there's no way he'll win like that."
"You just don't know him well," Werner smirked and rushed forward. "Now is the time for him to show his miracle."