"This is..."
Zai stared at the scene unfolding before him, muttering in dumbfounded disbelief.
Still, the very fact that he could speak at all in this situation was proof that Zai had more nerve than the rest.
Or perhaps it was the effect of having known Rei for slightly longer than the others.
At any rate, what spread before Zai and his companions was hell—no, something beyond hell. An overwhelming sight for which even the word "despair" felt too mild for the Dragonias.
Ten fire-wrapped tornadoes raged through the stronghold, while from above, massive volleys of flaming arrows rained down again and again.
All of it was the work of a single person and a single creature—Rei and Set.
They had been watching the scene unfold. They had indeed been watching, but... even so, it was only natural to question whether what they were seeing was truly real.
Several of them were pinching their own cheeks, wondering if this was a dream.
That was how unbelievable the sight before them was.
Even on the day they first met Rei, during the battle against the Dragonias that had attacked the settlement, Rei had created what could only be called a Scorching Hell.
That was why they had expected him to produce a similar one with similar magic this time. But the scene born before their eyes now made them feel as though the Scorching Hell they had witnessed before was nothing more than child's play.
Zai and the others were positioned quite far from the Dragonias stronghold.
They had arrived during the day and chosen a spot where they could stay hidden until nightfall. They could see the stronghold from here, but they had never been more grateful for that distance.
Even from this far away, the Fire Whirlwinds and the endless stream of Flame Arrows made the air feel hot.
It would not have been surprising if the surrounding temperature had risen by several degrees—perhaps even close to ten.
That was how intense the heat was.
"Those... are really Dragonias, right?"
Somehow managing to find his voice, the one who muttered that was Dratt.
Normally, Dratt was hostile toward Zai, treating him as a rival, but looking at the situation before them now, he seemed to have completely forgotten all of that.
However, Zai and the other Centaurs were no different.
In terms of individual ability, Dragonias far surpassed Centaurs.
When fighting them, multiple Centaurs had to cooperate just to manage a near-even fight. That was how powerful they were.
And yet, before Zai and Dratt's eyes, those very Dragonias were being blown away, burned, slashed, and slammed down—trampled as if they were withered grass caught in the wind.
Yes, it was a scene that could only be described as a trampling by natural disaster.
A power that could not be captured even by the word "overwhelming."
What in the world... did we... no, who did we become acquainted with?
Watching the scene before him, Zai recalled the faces of Rei and Set.
He had known that Rei possessed extraordinary power—power that, if he got serious, could annihilate an entire Centaur settlement. He had known that, but... it was clear without even thinking that Rei's strength far exceeded anything he had imagined.
In Zai's heart, fear and awe toward Rei and Set grew to equal proportions.
But... the moment he saw Set flying through the sky, illuminated by the moonlight and the Fire Whirlwinds, with Rei on its back casting magic and unleashing attacks on the ground below one after another, the fear and awe—and the emotions that could have turned to suspicion—suddenly vanished from within him.
In the first place, Rei had no obligation to fight the Dragonias.
And yet, why was Rei doing what he was doing now?
Of course, there were probably various reasons, but one of the biggest among them was undeniably to help the Centaurs, who had been under attack by Dragonias and dwindling in number. That was an undeniable fact.
With that in mind, Zai understood that whatever he thought here was meaningless.
"Everyone, pull yourselves together. Rei has taken on annihilating the Dragonias, but some of them might flee to escape the Flame Tornadoes. If that happens, it falls on us to deal with them."
At Zai's words, the other Centaurs also came back to their senses.
They did, but... what lingered in their eyes was the same fear and awe Zai had felt just moments ago.
"Why is Rei fighting the Dragonias like this? It's to help us. Given that, you may feel gratitude toward Rei, but looking at him with those eyes... our pride as Rulers of the Plains won't allow it."
The words "Ruler of the Plains" carried great weight among the Centaurs.
Ever since the Dragonias had appeared, the Centaurs had been on the losing end.
There had been instances where skilled fighters like Zai and Dratt cooperated to slay a few of them, but looking at the bigger picture, they had been continuously overwhelmed.
This, despite the Centaurs once being called Rulers of the Plains.
Even so... or perhaps precisely because of that, the words "Ruler of the Plains" exerted a powerful influence on them.
"Hmph. It was already decided that Rei would do something about the Dragonias. It's just being carried out now, so there's no reason to be bothered by something like that."
The first to respond was Dratt.
His antagonism toward Rei likely played a part, but the fact that he recovered his composure faster than the other Centaurs was probably also related to his standing as one of the settlement's finest warriors.
In a sense, one could chalk it up to stubborn pride—and it wouldn't be a strange conclusion to draw.
Nevertheless, Dratt's words prompted the other Centaurs to come back to their senses one by one.
"Still, it's strange, isn't it?"
One of the Centaurs murmured.
Receiving questioning looks from several others—wondering what he meant—the Centaur continued, gazing at the Scorching Hell before them.
"It's fine that there are Flame Tornadoes. I can understand the Flame Arrows raining down from above, too. But... why aren't the Dragonias fleeing from where the tornadoes are rampaging? Why aren't they running from the stronghold?"
"That's..."
The Centaur's words echoed the same doubt Rei was feeling in the sky above. It made the others think he had a point, and they turned their gazes back toward the Dragonias stronghold.
Before their eyes, the Dragonias were merely running around within the stronghold.
If they fled away from where the Fire Whirlwinds raged, they should have been able to survive.
And yet, there was no sign of the Dragonias leaving the stronghold.
"Maybe this area holds some kind of important secret for the Dragonias."
Those who heard Dratt's words nodded in agreement.
Despite being in such an overwhelmingly dire situation, they still did not flee. Thinking there must be some kind of secret behind that was not unreasonable.
...Of course, what kind of secret it was remained unknown.
It would be good if that secret turned out to be a weakness for the Dragonias.
But there was also the possibility of something else—a worst-case secret that, if discovered, would bring nothing but despair to whoever learned of it.
"Whether there's a secret or not. And even if there is, we don't know what kind. But... either way, we won't be able to investigate it until the scene unfolding before us settles down."
No one could object to the words that came from Zai's mouth.
After all, even if there was some secret, if asked whether they could step into the scorching hell before their eyes, the answer was a resounding no.
"In other words, all we can do right now is stand here and watch in silence. ...Come to think of it, the ones with red scales don't die from Rei's magic, right? What's happening with those ones?"
At Dratt's words, spoken as he briskly shifted his mindset, the Centaurs turned their attention back to the Scorching Hell.
However, given that they were far from the stronghold where the Dragonias had been, they could make out the general shapes of the figures but could not discern the color of their scales.
Moreover, while the Centaurs possessed keen eyesight from living on the plains, their Night Vision was not that effective.
From where they currently stood, there was no way to determine what was happening with the red-scaled Dragonias.
"We can't see from here. We can't see, but... Dragonias are dying one after another. I don't think there are any survivors."
At Zai's words, everyone nodded in agreement.
They couldn't see clearly from here, but watching the Dragonias die one after another, it seemed highly likely that even the red-scaled ones were dying as well.
"...They're dying, right?"
The Centaur who had guided Rei and the others here asked in a voice filled with doubt.
The red-scaled Dragonias were supposed to be immune even to Rei's magic.
In fact, when Rei had used his magic on the Dragonias that attacked the settlement, all the Dragonias with other colored scales had died—only the red-scaled ones had survived.
But currently, before their eyes, every single Dragonias appeared to be dying without exception, and that raised doubts.
In reality, the flames of the Fire Whirlwinds were not killing the red-scaled Dragonias.
What was killing them was being slashed apart by the metal fragments scattered within the Fire Whirlwinds, or suffering fatal damage from violently colliding with the bodies of other Dragonias caught in the same vortex—things of that nature.
But since they had no way of knowing Rei was doing such a thing, the only conclusion the Centaurs could draw was that for some reason, every single Dragonias was dying.
Being caught in a Fire Whirlwind and having a comrade's body become a weapon—they might have understood that under normal circumstances, but right now they were too overwhelmed by the scene before them to think that far.
"Um, so then... what should we do?"
One of the Centaurs asked in bewilderment.
And so, the question ultimately came down to that... and since there was nothing they could do in the current situation, Zai and the others could do nothing but silently watch from afar what could only be called a scene of apocalyptic devastation.
While Zai and the others stared at the Dragonias stronghold in astonishment, for those actually at the scene, they had no time for such things.
"GOGAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
A green-scaled Dragonias ran through the stronghold, letting out a piercing shriek.
But there was nowhere safe to go.
After all, there were ten Fire Whirlwinds, each moving independently.
And from above, Rei astride Set was leveraging his vast magical power, endlessly unleashing massive volleys of Flame Arrows.
Even in areas without a Fire Whirlwind, the arrows raining down from the sky could not be blocked unless one bore red scales.
...In that sense, the red-scaled Dragonias were indeed more fortunate than the rest.
Though being under assault by Rei and Set like this, one could hardly call them fortunate at all.
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Amidst the chaos, a single Dragonias charged around with a tremendous roar.
Perhaps because it had a larger body than the others, it barreled through without a care, sending fellow Dragonias flying as it ran.
Of course, since the Dragonias were governed by hunger, they had little to no sense of camaraderie.
If anything, the awareness that these were creatures not to be eaten was stronger.
With that Dragonias running amok, several others were sent flying—straight into the path of an approaching Fire Whirlwind, where they were killed.
That Dragonias had thus unintentionally killed several of its own kind, but... making such a flashy display of movement was ultimately its downfall.
It drew the attention of Rei, riding on Set overhead... and a few seconds later, it was burned to ashes by the massive downpour of Flame Arrows, its corpse crumpling to the ground.
Then again, within this scorching hell, no one paid any attention to that particular Dragonias.
Several of the blue-scaled Dragonias, unable to withstand the rapidly rising temperature caused by the Fire Whirlwinds and Flame Arrows, collapsed to the ground.
And then...
"GUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!"
Suddenly, an enormous roar that seemed to echo across the entire battlefield reverberated through the surroundings.