Dragonblood Frenzy.
It was a negative trait of Dusk Bringar that existed even in the game.
But it was just that, existing. It had never been used when allied, nor had it been used when appearing as an enemy.
It was merely acknowledged as a background setting for having such a negative trait.
The conditions for its activation were complex, involving her having to reclaim the blood essence she had distributed among her four direct knight subordinates.
Naturally, such an action would result in the loss of their former powers for these Dragonblood Knights.
Hence, Dusk Bringar was currently employing a workaround.
Her four Dragonblood Knights were kneeling on one side of the arena, connected to Dusk Bringar by a stream of red magical power.
It seemed that she was reclaiming the blood essence through this magical conduit.
This would prevent the knights from losing their powers permanently, but they would be unable to join the battle immediately.
"..."
Kneeling and sending back the blood essence through the connected magical conduit,
The four knights looked pitifully at their master. A trace of sad regret crossed the face of the leading old knight - Andimion.
Is it worth triggering such a rampage to this extent?
Boom!
"Arghhh!"
Its worth might be uncertain, but its destructive power is absolutely tremendous!
All attacks from Dusk Bringar, now in a state of Dragonblood Frenzy, transformed into that of a dragon species, spreading destruction over a wide area.
A single basic attack would devastate an area, sending shockwaves in all directions.
She literally became a 'boss monster.'
'It might look somewhat powerful this way!'
But the downside was not over yet.
'The next problem is, it shaves off the lifespan...!'
It's unclear what exactly lifespan means to a half-human, half-dragon who lives for hundreds of years in the game setting! But it's certainly mentioned as a demerit.
During Dragonblood Frenzy, the holder's lifespan is reduced.
"Haah..."
Right now, Dusk Bringar was throwing away her own life to win the martial arts tournament finals and gain the command rights for the operation to subdue the Black Dragon...!
'This is a big problem too, but the biggest reason I didn't use Dragonblood Frenzy in the game is-'
"Hyaaaah-!"
It makes one lose their mind...!
Distinctions between friend and foe blur, and her existence shifts more towards that of a dragon - or more accurately, a monster.
In the game, it was implemented such that she would attack allies out of control.
And here, in reality... she opened her mouth wide, spewing terrifying golden light from her eyes.
Tremendous magical power condensed between her unique sharp teeth. This is it!
"Are you serious, Your Grace?! This is too much!"
"Then... surrender quickly...!"
With a breath, Dusk Bringar gathered her breath.
We, terrified, nevertheless rolled away in unison, just as we had trained for dragon species tactics... and then, the next moment.
Swoosh-!
Boom!
The dragon breath unleashed by Dusk Bringar exploded.
The arena was completely devastated, and the unseated southern plains were split in half, tearing the area apart. Aaargh!
"Breath! Dodge to the sides-!"
As Evangelin said this while holding up her shield, she was blown far away by the tail end of the breath.
"Argh!"
"Evangeliiine!"
Why block that when I said to dodge!
Luckily, she seemed not too badly hurt thanks to her transcendent defense and [Damage Save], though seeing her roll far away on the ground meant returning to the match was out of the question!
Swoosh-!
Following the breath attack, Dusk Bringar who had charged towards us performed a graceful spin.
Her tail, adorned with red magical power, swept towards us as it gathered massive energy - it was a floor attack!
"Remember jump rope?! Dodge at the same time! One, two..."
I was about to count 'three' but the tail attack came at 'two'. Aaaah!
Missing the timing, I, along with Junior, who was also physically weak, screamed at the same time. We can't dodge!
"Hup!"
Then Lucas, gasping for breath, grabbed both me and Junior by the nape and yanked us upwards with a jump.
The Dusk Bringar's tail attack just swept beneath our feet, scouring the ground. Dragon, damn scary!
"But now, I'm starting to see the pattern!"
Upon hearing my words, the main party members nodded together.
The Red Dragon is, after all, a dragon species.
The patterns are fundamentally similar to those of the Black Dragon.
If we apply the dragon species counter-tactics we've trained so far, we can manage...!
As we withstood the following breath and tail attacks, Dusk Bringar frowned in annoyance.
"Alright, I was going to end this by giving you a proper beating, but if you're going to keep resisting like this...!"
Then, grasping a sword imbued with twilight magical power, she charged at us.
"No choice but to get rougher-!"
Lucas then gritted his teeth and stepped forward, drawing a sword hilt from his belongings - it was the Bestowed Sword.
"I brought it just in case, and look what happens...!"
From the empty hilt, a blade of light emerged, and Lucas clashed it against Dusk Bringar's great sword.
Clang-!
With a clear sound of swords clashing, Lucas's blade of light was easily shattered to pieces.
"Ugh?!"
Lucas, gritting his teeth, twisted his body to dodge the continuous strikes from the great sword.
Realizing he couldn't match her in power in a head-on fight, Lucas began to buy time by parrying the great sword's side with the blade of light that surged again.
"Regain your senses, Your Grace! What do you think you're doing?"
"I am in my right mind, knight...!"
"This is a martial arts tournament! It's not a matter of life and death, we are allies!"
"It may be a martial arts tournament, but it's also a tactical evaluation! And!"
The Dusk Bringar roared fiercely.
"The Black Dragon won't welcome you with wooden swords and water guns, will it-!"
The Dusk Bringar leaped high and slammed her great sword down.
Lucas, having covered his body with a golden aura using [Divine Descent], attempted to counter with a sword strike wrapped in [Strike of Will], but...
'-This is impossible!'
Feeling an instinctive danger just before the swords clashed, he kicked off the ground and rolled away to evade.
Boom!
The exploded arena floor spat dirt and sand into the sky. From within that dust cloud, Dusk Bringar's golden eyes glinted menacingly.
"You're quite good at running away, and you call yourself a knight...!"
"Being a knight is not about how one fights, but how one lives one's life."
Even while sweating profusely, Lucas calmly responded.
"Wouldn't Your Grace agree?"
"Daring to lecture me about life, insolent...!"
The Dusk Bringar, kicking off the ground, rushed at Lucas in an instant. Lucas continued to narrowly evade the great sword, dragging out the time.
Dragons are powerful.
But they are large.
Each attack is formidable, but their large movements are slow and full of openings.
Therefore- by recognizing the patterns in advance and evading early.
This is the basic tactic when facing dragon species.
'You're doing well, Lucas!'
I inwardly praised Lucas. While Lucas was buying time, Junior, Damian, and I were preparing a countermeasure.
Screech!
And Junior completed her magic.
What is the most effective magic against boss monsters held by the Nightmare Legion?
Naturally, it's Junior's ultimate move, [Elemental Disassembly]!
"Hup-!"
With the ultra-fast chanting feature attached to the staff [Rod of Crimson], Junior completed casting her ultimate move in 3 minutes and used [Elemental Disassembly].
Zing!
A halo appeared in the sky, chopping up the target's magic power...
"I won't let you!"
Suddenly, a knight rushed in front of us.
He was Andimion, the leading knight under Dusk Bringar.
This handsome old man with neatly combed white hair incredibly blocked Junior's staff with his body in a nimble movement.
[Elemental Disassembly] was taken by Sir Andimion, and Dusk Bringar was still unscathed.
"But, knowing this would happen..."
Junior smirked and continued to aim her staff.
"I had a trump card prepared as well-!"
Another feature of [Rod of Crimson].
That is... 'Multi-Casting'.
It can cast several spells simultaneously at the cost of consuming an immense amount of magic power.
Normally, due to its terrible efficiency, there's no reason to use it, but now is an emergency!
And Junior could borrow magic power from the future using her SSR-grade magician robe, [Past Futures].
To make a long story short, anyway! She had pre-cast several instances of the cheat ultimate move [Elemental Disassembly]-
Ting! Ting! Zing-!
And made it possible to fire them in succession!
[Elemental Disassembly] was completed one after another. However, the remaining knights rushed in to take the hit in succession.
From the beginning, the knights seemed to have been waiting, concerned about Junior's magic, and took the hits with their bodies.
"Ugh, I'm so dizzy..."
After firing four shots in a row, Junior collapsed, nose bleeding. Simultaneously, the four knights hit by Elemental Disassembly also knelt on the ground.
The Dusk Bringar laughed heartily, looking our way.
"Hahaha! Run out of trump cards, have you? What will you do now, Ash?"
But I also smiled.
"What do you think, Your Grace... It seems like you're also running out of trump cards?"
"...!"
The Dusk Bringar was taken aback. The darkness that had shrouded her sclera was dissipating.
It was a sign that the 'Dragonblood Frenzy' was ending.
All four knights were hit by [Elemental Disassembly]. Naturally, the magic connection to Dusk Bringar was severed, and the supply of blood essence was halted.
As Dusk Bringar's Dragonblood Frenzy faded without enough blood essence to sustain the rampage, she shouted.
"Before that happens, I'll just have to take all of you down-!"
The Dusk Bringar, with a resounding roar, kicked off the ground and flew towards me.
Lucas, trying to intercept, was unable to withstand a tail strike launched by Dusk Bringar like a sneak attack and was blown away. Evangelin, who had hurried back, blocked the great sword with her shield but was sent flying again.
And at the same time,
"I found it, Your Highness!"
Damian shouted.
"The reverse scale! Below the Fake Dragon's neck!"
"Good! Go for it, Damian!"
Damian had been continuously searching for the game's turning point- the reverse scale of the Fake Dragon.
Before I could even speak, Damian had already notched an arrow on his bowstring,
"Do you think I'll just watch?!"
The Dusk Bringar was falling towards Damian.
Crack!
The magically wielded great sword shattered Damian's bow.
"Whoa?!"
Damian quickly raised his hands in a gesture of surrender in front of him as Dusk Bringar exhaled a fierce breath.
"Really, why does Ash have so many trump cards...!"
"Ha ha. Your Grace is also one of His Highness's trump cards. His Highness firmly believes in Your Grace."
Dusk Bringar flinched at Damian's following words.
"That you would move like this, firmly."
"...!"
The Dusk Bringar turned her fearsome gaze towards me. Eek!
Swoosh!
I raised a magic barrier on the ground and surfed across the arena - I had already reached right in front of the Fake Dragon.
Judging that Dusk Bringar would prioritize blocking Damian's sniping, I used Damian as a decoy and then dashed towards the Fake Dragon the moment its reverse scale was discovered.
"Ash-!"
Swoosh!
The Dusk Bringar, taking off from the ground, chased after me with flapping wings.
But no matter how fast Dusk Bringar was, the distance was already there.
"Checkmate!"
I lifted the flagpole, aiming its end at the reverse scale.
Then, rushing towards me from behind and lifting her great sword, Dusk Bringar shouted.
"Step aside, Ash! I am to command the Black Dragon subjugation! It must be me, it's my destiny!"
"..."
"If you don't step aside... even if it's you, I'll have no choice but to cut you down!"
Turning slightly to look back, I,
"No, Your Grace can't cut me."
Smiled brightly.
"How could Your Grace possibly lay a finger on this lovely nephew of yours?"
"...!"
The Dusk Bringar, her face contorted, shouted.
"For your sake, I could easily sever your limbs! Move aside now-!"
"I believe in Your Grace. So, I won't move."
"Ashhh!"
The Dusk Bringar, reaching me, swung down her magic great sword without hesitation.
Crash!
The great sword that cleaved through the neck of the Fake Dragon, stopping just above my head...
Thump...!
Stopped.
Not even touching the ends of my hair, Dusk Bringar forcefully halted it.
"Ha, ha, ha..."
The traces of Dragonblood Frenzy were disappearing from the heavily panting Dusk Bringar's body.
Horns, wings, tail, all fading away like mist. The whites of her eyes returned to their normal state.
Fssss...
Eventually, even the magic great sword in her hand, unable to sustain the intense magic consumption, vanished.
With her long black hair, which had been neatly braided, now completely disheveled, looking up at me with a loss of fighting spirit... Dusk Bringar muttered with a sullen expression.
"...That's low, really."
I know.
I smiled at her with my eyes, then thrust the flagpole forcefully towards the reverse scale of the Fake Dragon.