"Gigigigigigigiii!"
Letting out such a cry, the seven-colored Dragonias swung its claws at Rei with its sole remaining left arm.
It was as if it had been waiting for Rei to finish using his magic... no, it had likely been waiting.
An ordinary Dragonias would attack the moment it could, but the commander-class Dragonias—those with special scales, including the seven-colored one—possessed clear intelligence.
That was precisely why it would not let slip the momentary opening created when Rei's concentration wavered after using magic.
Though it must be said that Set, who tilted his body to evade the initial strike the instant he sensed the teleportation coming, was equally impressive.
Regardless, in response to that strike from the seven-colored Dragonias, Rei swung Death Scythe.
"Gii!"
Perhaps deeming the power of Rei's Death Scythe dangerous, the seven-colored Dragonias maintained the motion of its attempted attack and used the lizard-like legs of its lower half to kick off the air.
With a movement as though kicking off a wall right before it—something close to a Triangle Jump—it tried to create distance from Rei... but even so, it was too slow.
Though the front leg of the lizard portion that had kicked off the air was not severed, it was deeply slashed.
"Gigigiii!"
Perhaps the speed of Rei's swinging Death Scythe was beyond its expectations. The seven-colored Dragonias screamed in pain from its slashed front leg while still pulling away from Rei.
The slashed leg was not severed, but it was undoubtedly a deep wound.
The blood flowing from that wound fell toward the ground.
Even while watching that, Rei kept Death Scythe at the ready without letting his guard down. But Vihera, who was clinging to Set's leg, called out to him.
"Rei! First, think about getting away from here! The fact that Set is carrying me is hindering his movements!"
If it were an ordinary opponent, carrying Vihera—or even someone heavier—would not hinder Set's fighting.
No, to be precise, it might get in the way of fighting, but considering Set's abilities and the enemy's abilities, it would be at a negligible level.
But... that was only for ordinary opponents.
As long as the seven-colored Dragonias possessed the ability to teleport, there was no telling when or from where it would attack.
If so, even with just Vihera, the current situation of carrying her could in no way be considered advantageous—it was decidedly disadvantageous.
"...Set!"
"Grrrrr!"
After a moment's silence, Rei called out, and Set cried out in response.
The reason Rei did not reply immediately was that, even if they put distance between themselves and here, there was no knowing when another seven-colored Dragonias might attack.
For some reason, only the one currently fighting Rei was attacking, and the transparent-scaled Dragonias, which possessed high jumping power and Optical Camouflage, showed no sign of approaching either.
Well, leaving the former aside, the latter might simply be because it had moved away from the Queen.
Regardless, for now, the seven-colored Dragonias was still attacking alone. If that situation changed, there was no guarantee the circumstances would become more favorable than they were now.
That said, pointlessly leaving a combat asset like Vihera idle would also be meaningless.
That was why he decided to temporarily pull away from the Dragonias and regroup.
(Besides, the seven-colored Dragonias seems to be focusing its attacks solely on me and Set for now, probably because I injured it. But if we continue fighting like this, there's a possibility Vihera could become a target as well.)
Set could fly freely through the air, and Rei, riding on Set's back, could move his upper body freely.
Compared to those two, Vihera, who was clinging to Set's front leg, inevitably had her actions restricted.
What would happen if Vihera, with her movements thus restricted, were targeted by the seven-colored Dragonias?
Of course, knowing Vihera as he did, she could likely evade the seven-colored Dragonias's attacks, and depending on the situation, she might even be able to counterattack.
But... facing a seven-colored Dragonias that could teleport and sprint through the air, and that likely possessed the highest physical capabilities among all Dragonias, how would she cope in such a restricted state?
That, without needing to think about it, would be extremely difficult.
(Knowing Vihera's personality, she might actually say that's exactly why it would be interesting.)
If he actually asked her, Vihera might say exactly that.
But at the same time, in that situation, she would not be able to fight to her heart's content, so she would also feel reluctant about it.
While Rei was thinking such things, Set continued flying... and suddenly, a question occurred to Rei.
(Why isn't the seven-colored Dragonias teleporting to attack us in this situation?)
If it had the ability to teleport, it could come attack them at any time.
But when Set was flying at full speed, the seven-colored Dragonias never teleported to attack.
It had teleported to attack when Rei was using magic, carpet-bombing, but at that time Set had also slowed his flight speed to maximize the effect of the magic.
Considering that, Rei could also make a prediction about the seven-colored Dragonias's teleportation—calling it a weakness might be a stretch, but he could infer its conditions.
(In other words, the distance over which the seven-colored Dragonias can teleport is limited... it can only teleport over a certain short distance?)
Once he thought of that, many things made sense.
If it could teleport freely, it would not be strange for it to attack at any time.
And yet, in the current situation, there was no sign of being attacked by the enemy at all.
"Alright, Set. For now, let's hurry and get out of here. That teleportation can probably only be used over short distances. If Set flies at full speed, it shouldn't be able to teleport directly to attack us!"
"Grrrrr!"
Set cried out in response to Rei's prediction and flapped his wings, moving away from that spot.
The next moment, the seven-colored Dragonias—having lost one arm and with a large wound on its front leg—appeared where Set had been just moments before and swung its remaining arm.
But Set was already gone, and it sliced through nothing but air.
"Gii!"
Letting out an irritated cry at yet another failed attack, the seven-colored Dragonias soon stopped crying out and began chasing the moving Set.
Naturally, the option of letting Rei and his party escape did not exist for the seven-colored Dragonias.
This particular seven-colored Dragonias, unlike its companions, had suffered significant damage from Rei.
In such a state, letting Rei and his party go was an option it absolutely could not take.
"Gigigigigiiiiaaaaaaaah!"
A roar echoed throughout the surroundings.
Hearing that roar, the Dragonias on the ground began chasing Set, who was flying through the air.
To the seven-colored Dragonias, the ordinary Dragonias that lacked thinking ability and were ruled by hunger were not recognized as its own kind.
The seven-colored Dragonias was already a being near the apex of the entire Dragonias species, second only to the Queen.
For that very reason, creatures that were of the same Dragonias race yet possessed no intelligence and were ruled by hunger could not possibly be acknowledged as comrades.
Consequently, no matter what casualties they suffered from Rei's party's attacks in this battle, it was not something worth caring about at all. As long as it could resolve the frustration within itself, there was absolutely no problem.
That was why it used them as disposable pawns to defeat Rei's party without hesitation, and even when its own attacks caught ordinary Dragonias in the crossfire, it acted with the conviction that it was of no concern whatsoever.
It was not that Rei could not understand that the seven-colored Dragonias might be thinking along such lines.
However, even so, the fact that the Dragonias that had been stationary on the ground had begun chasing Set was something Rei, riding on Set's back, could comprehend.
"Pulling an annoying stunt like that."
"What are you going to do? At this rate, they'll chase us no matter where we go. Even after we leave this underground space."
Looking down at the enemy movements that resembled a red carpet, Vihera remarked.
The surviving Dragonias were not exclusively the red-scaled ones.
But since the red-scaled Dragonias were still the most numerous, looking down from Set's back as he flew through the sky revealed a swarm of red-scaled Dragonias spreading out below.
"I know. But for now, we've at least managed to put some distance between us and the tough enemies near the Queen, so it's not a bad flow, is it? ...The problem is what to do about that swarm of red-scaled Dragonias. There are just a few too many to grind through methodically."
For Rei, equipped with Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear, ten or twenty red-scaled Dragonias... no, even a hundred or two hundred could be dispatched with ease.
But... the number of red-scaled Dragonias pursuing them was in the thousands... no, there were enough to reach the tens of thousands.
Given that, even if Rei, Vihera, and Set fought them, it would take far too long to defeat every last one of the attacking enemies.
Rei and his party possessed far more stamina than ordinary people as well.
Even so, if the battle with the Dragonias dragged on, the possibility of their stamina reaching its limit was high.
(In that case, ultimately I'll need to do something about the red-scaled Dragonias. Which means... since I can't catch them all in one sweep, I need to use overwhelming offensive power to deal with the ones coming at us. Can I pull it off?)
For the time being, Rei did have an idea for breaking the current stalemate.
But even if he went through with it, whether it would resolve the situation immediately was still uncertain.
"For now... that seven-colored Dragonias seems to be targeting me, so once I land on the ground, I'll focus on it while also dealing with the other Dragonias."
"...I suppose it can't be helped."
Despite the situation of clinging to Set's front leg, Vihera told Rei with genuine disappointment.
As one who reveled in battles against powerful foes, it was only natural for Vihera to want to fight the seven-colored Dragonias herself.
But since the seven-colored Dragonias was targeting Rei, no matter how much Vihera wanted to fight, that wish could not be granted.
Well, if she interfered with its battle against Rei, there was a chance she could fight it, but the likelihood of a full-strength battle was low.
Above all, the seven-colored Dragonias had already lost one arm to Rei's attack, and its front leg bore an injury that, while not fatal, was severe enough to be called a heavy wound.
If Vihera was going to fight it, she wanted to face it at full strength, not while it was wounded.
"I'll leave this to you, Rei, so show me something cool, alright?"
"Yeah. ...Given the current situation, this isn't the time to hold back. In an underground space this vast, I could end up buried alive if I'm careless, so I really didn't want to use it if possible."
"A trump card? ...Ah."
Naturally, Vihera knew what trump card Rei was referring to.
Precisely because she knew, the words that he would use it sent a surge of ecstasy and pleasure through her limbs, making her spine tingle.
So much so that it would not have been surprising if she lost her grip on Set's front leg from the sheer joy and pleasure alone.
"Really?"
She wasn't lying, was she? Without even needing to see her face, Vihera asked Rei in a voice so intense—and yet unmistakably moist with excitement—that it conveyed everything.
While imagining Vihera's state, Rei decided for the time being that it would be fine as long as she directed that excitement toward the Dragonias.
"Yeah. Honestly, I don't know if it will be effective against the red-scaled Dragonias, but... I'll give it a try first. And even if it doesn't work on the red-scaled Dragonias, it should work on the intelligent Dragonias, starting with the seven-colored one. ...So, I know this is sudden, but—"
Murmuring that, Rei dropped from Set's back and fell toward the ground.
Naturally, there was a massive number of red-scaled Dragonias below, but... ignoring them as if they were of no concern, he compressed, concentrated, and thickened the vast magical power that existed within him.
Magical power was something that normally could not be seen unless one possessed a special ability.
But... as Rei condensed his vast magical power, it eventually became dense enough to become visible despite normally being invisible, turning into red magical power that clung to Rei's body.
"Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor."
A few seconds before landing on the ground, Rei activated that skill.