The Twilight Spear flew straight toward the mottled Dragonias on the ground, its scales a mix of silver and copper.
Compared to when Rei had his feet planted on the ground, its power was somewhat inferior.
Even so, thanks to Rei's physical abilities and the way he moved his body to fully exploit them, the released Twilight Spear tore through the very air itself, racing straight toward the target on the ground to pierce it.
In response to that Twilight Spear, the mottled Dragonias pointed its finger... and in the next instant, fired blood compressed by internal pressure.
The principle itself was not so different from a water gun.
However, the blood fired using internal pressure produced an effect incomparable to a water gun. It was a power fitting to be described as a blood laser.
That said, even a blood laser should not have had enough power to do anything about the Twilight Spear flying toward it, and the spear flew on toward the mottled Dragonias, shattering the blood laser itself as it went.
Rei, who had thrown the Twilight Spear, was surprised by the opponent's attack method, but thought that this had finished it off... or even if it hadn't killed it, it should have dealt a certain amount of damage.
However... whether the mottled Dragonias had acted on instinct, or whether it was mere chance.
Rei could not tell which it was, but the blood laser fired from the mottled Dragonias could not intercept the Twilight Spear. Instead, it succeeded in altering the spear's trajectory.
And before he knew it, the Twilight Spear had driven its spearhead into the ground right beside the mottled Dragonias.
"What? Don't tell me... it was aiming for this from the start?"
At the unexpected—yes, far too unexpected—sight, Rei let out a cry of surprise, but still used one of the Twilight Spear's abilities to call it back to his hand, completing its retrieval.
Then, he asked Set to fly in circles around the mottled Dragonias, and aimed to throw the Twilight Spear once more.
He had thrown it to confirm whether or not the mottled Dragonias's previous attack had been deliberate. But seeing it continue to point its hand at Set as they flew through the sky, it was clear that the previous attack had not been mere coincidence, but intentional.
That said, still as if just to be safe, with the intent of confirming... Rei threw the Twilight Spear once again.
Simultaneously, the blood laser fired from the mottled Dragonias.
Perhaps because it was the second time.
The blood laser struck the Twilight Spear more quickly and accurately than before, altering its trajectory.
"Grrrrl."
"Yeah. It seems they can deliberately intercept our attacks. Still, I can think of a few ways to deal with that."
The most likely weakness was, as expected, that it could not fire the blood laser in rapid succession.
Additionally, since it fired blood using internal pressure, the amount of blood it had was naturally limited.
In the worst case, the possibility even existed of it bleeding to death without ever being injured.
That was why, despite being surprised by the opponent's abilities, Rei was not overly wary.
(Still, if that attack actually hits, just how much damage would it deal... I'd like to know at least that much.)
So he thought, but he had no intention of taking the hit himself, let alone telling Set to get hit by it.
He switched the Twilight Spear to his left hand and drew another spear in his right.
However, this spear was one Rei had purchased previously—the kind that wouldn't be surprising if it broke at any time.
Even after obtaining the Twilight Spear, Rei still purchased these kinds of spears from time to time.
Fundamentally, for throwing, the Twilight Spear was more than sufficient.
However, there were opponents he didn't want the Twilight Spear to touch... such as Zombies or Slimes, or into sludge-like places, where he simply didn't feel like using it.
It was for such times that he used these spears that wouldn't be surprising if they broke.
"Set, slowly approach that mottled Dragonias. And if it looks like it's going to fire blood, dodge."
"Gruu? ...Grrrrl!"
At first, Set seemed to wonder why Rei was asking him to do such a thing, but nevertheless, since it was Rei's request, he slowly began to descend toward the mottled Dragonias.
Naturally, from the mottled Dragonias's perspective, it was not Set's usual flying speed, but a slow approach—one that allowed it to take aim with its ranged attack, which was convenient for the attacker.
Set's behavior was blatant provocation, but whether the mottled Dragonias showed understanding of his actions, or felt nothing about them... in any case, it launched its attack all at once.
The mottled Dragonias's hand moved.
The moment he thought so, Set flapped his wings and shifted from his position, and the blood laser passed through where Set had been... and struck the shaft of the spear Rei had extended, shattering it.
"Huh."
At the blood laser's unexpected power, a voice of admiration escaped Rei's lips.
The spear Rei had used was chipped at the spearhead, making it difficult to use as a spear, but the shaft had no particular damage.
Even if it was unusable as a spear, the shaft should have been perfectly serviceable as a blunt weapon.
Despite that, the blood laser had shattered the shaft.
He had thought it would slice through like a Water Cutter, so it shattering was unexpected even for Rei.
However, being able to see that attack with his own eyes was a sufficient harvest.
"For now, that attack doesn't slice—it's more of an impact... or should I say, like a bullet? Anyway, it's that kind of weapon. In that case, there are ways to deal with it. Or rather, if it doesn't hit, it means nothing."
There was no mistaking that the fired attack was powerful.
But even so, it was not to the degree of being fatal for Rei or Set.
(Considering the recoil transmitted through the shaft, this level of power wouldn't be a fatal wound even if it hits. Of course, that doesn't mean I have any intention of taking the hit.)
He threw the spear, broken at the middle of its shaft, toward the mottled Dragonias.
Normally, a spear broken at the middle of its shaft would be useless as a weapon.
However, that was only under normal circumstances... and when the one throwing it was Rei, it was a different story.
Though not as much as the Twilight Spear, its speed was worthy of being called a sharp strike.
But... the mottled Dragonias casually caught the strike of the spear's shaft.
Whether it judged that being hit would not cause significant damage, or whether it simply could not react to the speed.
From what Rei could see, it was likely the former.
In fact, even upon being hit, there was no wound worth mentioning.
If this had been the Twilight Spear held in his left hand, it might have been somewhat different.
"Let's test it... Hah!"
Along with a sharp shout, Rei threw the Twilight Spear.
But... as expected, the mottled Dragonias swiftly moved from its position the moment Rei readied the Twilight Spear.
(Does it possess both the intelligence of a copper-scaled Dragonias and the strength of a silver-scaled Dragonias? That's troublesome in its own right, but... in that sense, the golden-scaled Dragonias was something like that. No, rather, the fact that it has a ranged attack makes this mottled Dragonias even more troublesome.)
If it were Rei, Set, or Vihera, dealing with this mottled Dragonias would be possible.
But if it were Centaurs doing it, that was a different story.
Though they had been growing stronger through repeated mock battles with Vihera, they still could not possibly win in a battle against such a powerful enemy.
Only Zai, the strongest among the Centaurs, could probably hold out for a certain amount of time if he committed to defense.
But that was only to a certain extent, and it was certain that he would ultimately lose.
(Which means, the question is how frequently this mottled Dragonias appears. If it's about the same rate as the copper-scaled Dragonias, we can probably still handle it.)
Rei's guess was that the reason this mottled Dragonias had appeared was largely because this location was not far from the Dragonias headquarters.
In other words, the closer they got to the headquarters, the more mottled Dragonias there might be. If that were the case, even if Rei found the headquarters, it might be difficult to bring Zai and the others along, let alone Vihera.
At the very least, Rei could not imagine the current Zai being able to handle the blood laser.
(Since it's called a headquarters, I can't deny the possibility that there are even more powerful Dragonias there... This is troublesome.)
Thinking that, Rei lightly tapped the back of Set's neck and leaped from his back.
Set understood what Rei was trying to do just from having his back tapped, and moved to support his action.
Without barely exchanging a word, being able to read Rei's actions like this was because they were partners who had been together for years... though in reality it was only a few, but that was the kind of relationship they had.
"Grrrrrrrl!"
The moment it let out a cry, twenty Wind Arrows were created around Set, and those arrows plunged toward the mottled Dragonias.
Their power itself was not that strong, but it was the first time seeing such an attack, so it was likely enough to put the mottled Dragonias on guard.
During that time, Rei descended toward the ground. The mottled Dragonias, whose attention was briefly drawn by the Wind Arrows, in the next moment fired a blood laser at Rei as he fell to the ground.
Was it an attack made understanding that Rei had no ability to fly?
Or was it semi-instinctive?
Even Rei, who was attacked, could not tell which...
"Too naive."
The blood laser the mottled Dragonias had fired was a strike that anticipated Rei's falling speed.
Rei had naturally predicted that such a strike would come... and as he descended toward the ground, he activated his Sleipnir boots and stepped on the sky.
Moreover, that step was not merely stepping on the air.
The moment he stepped, he kicked off it and charged in a straight line toward the mottled Dragonias.
Naturally, even in that brief moment, Death Scythe, drawn from the Misty Ring, was gripped in Rei's right hand.
Whether it noticed Rei's state, the mottled Dragonias readied its claws to meet his charge.
From the enemy's demeanor, Rei was convinced that the unknown attack method the mottled Dragonias possessed was only the blood laser.
If it had some other attack method, there was no reason it wouldn't use it in this situation.
...Or perhaps there was a possibility it still had some hidden card up its sleeve, but it probably was not in a situation to use it right now.
Watching the rapidly approaching mottled Dragonias, Rei threw the Twilight Spear as a feint.
He was not standing on the ground, nor was he riding on Set's back firmly twisting his body. The strike he released was purely a one-handed throw.
But even so, the spear released by Rei's physical abilities advanced through the air faster than an ordinary arrow, aiming to pierce the mottled Dragonias.
The mottled Dragonias, naturally, swung its claws to deal with the incoming Twilight Spear.
"HAHABANAAH!"
That unpleasant cry was not so different from the other Dragonias.
In any case, it had probably swung its claw to do something about the Twilight Spear coming toward it.
But... that was an action taken far too lightly against the weapon known as the Twilight Spear and Rei who had thrown it.
Or perhaps, since Set had been dodging the blood lasers, it thought it had the advantage.
In any case, the strike of the claw and the strike of the Twilight Spear collided head-on...
"AOGANHAJIZANA!"
A scream rose from the mottled Dragonias's mouth.
Naturally. After all, the claw it had swung was shattered along with its hand by the Twilight Spear.
Fragments of flesh and bone scattered around.
Did a scream rise from the Dragonias's mouth because it had lost a hand? Or was it because... the development was far too unexpected?
In any case, that scream was the perfect opportunity for Rei... and in the next moment, the mottled Dragonias's torso was bisected clean in two by Death Scythe.