What Rei pictured was footage he had seen on TV back in Japan.
The image of a rocket launching toward space.
Or perhaps a scene straight out of an anime or manga.
"Deep Flame."
Normally, there was no need to voice the name when using Deep Flame.
This time, however, the image he needed to construct was considerably difficult.
That was precisely why he spoke the name—to reinforce the mental image even slightly and transmit it more smoothly.
The Deep Flame released from his crimson mana flew straight toward the seven-colored scaled Dragonias hovering upright in the sky... and before it could even land a hit, it exploded in mid-air.
(Don't run away just yet.)
Watching the scattered flames burn at the site of the explosion, Rei willed it so.
Just as Rei hoped, the seven-colored scaled Dragonias showed no signs of moving for the moment.
Normally, the instant it registered an attack, it wouldn't have been strange for it to teleport away immediately. But perhaps because the Deep Flame had detonated the very moment the creature sensed danger—leaving the sky above ablaze—it apparently still judged itself safe, for it remained motionless.
The flames burning in mid-air continued to do so without falling to the ground, creating an inexplicable silence between Rei, the seven-colored scaled Dragonias, and everyone else present.
Even in that frozen moment, the flames kept burning in the sky... and eventually, it came.
With a deafening roar, a single spear burst forth from within the flames.
Of course, since it was born of Deep Flame, it was not a physical spear but a flame shaped like one.
That spear, however, was slightly too thick to truly be called one... or rather, the only ones who perceived it as a spear were everyone except Rei. To Rei, it was not a spear but a slender rocket.
The rocket of flame surged forward with a roar... no, it outran even its own roar, and in the next instant, it struck the seven-colored scaled Dragonias.
And then... its sharply pointed tip pierced through the Dragonias's torso with effortless ease.
"Tch, it just pierced through? I didn't have enough image."
Watching the scene unfold, Rei muttered in irritation.
Rei had envisioned the flame rocket not merely piercing the seven-colored scaled Dragonias but detonating its torso in a spectacular explosion.
But whether his imagery was insufficient or some other factor was at play, it ended with nothing more than a clean penetration.
Under normal circumstances, having one's torso pierced would unquestionably be a fatal wound.
But the opponent was a seven-colored scaled Dragonias.
While not to the same degree as the black-scaled Dragonias, it stood at the pinnacle of its kind. It wouldn't be strange for it to possess some Regeneration Ability, and indeed, the creature in Rei's line of sight was raining literal blood toward the ground from its pierced torso, yet showed no signs of dying.
If that was the case, he couldn't assume the last strike had finished it off...
"Set, attack!"
At Rei's shout, Set took a few running steps and launched skyward, wings beating hard.
Rei, having already dismounted, shot a glance at Set, tossed Death Scythe to the ground, and shifted the Twilight Spear to his right hand. Then, with the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor still active, he hurled it.
Even without the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor enhancing him, Rei's spear throws were fast.
With the Armor active—boosting his physical capabilities—the speed naturally increased far beyond a normal throw.
That said, the seven-colored scaled Dragonias knew the power of Rei's throws. The moment he took a throwing stance, it would have teleported away instantly.
No matter how fast the throw, it meant nothing unless the spear actually left his hand.
If it escaped via teleportation the instant he shifted into form, the speed was meaningless.
Of course, with its torso pierced by Rei's Deep Flame, the seven-colored scaled Dragonias was in no condition to move properly, so such concerns were unnecessary this time.
The thrown Twilight Spear flew at a speed that rivaled, perhaps surpassed, the flame rocket... and struck the seven-colored scaled Dragonias's torso—specifically the chest, above where the rocket had pierced through the abdomen—and shattered it.
"Guru!?"
The one who let out a startled cry at Rei's attack was Set.
Following Rei's order, Set had been about to attack the seven-colored scaled Dragonias when the Twilight Spear whizzed past at uncomfortably close range.
This world was reality, not a game—even attacks from allies would deal damage if they connected.
In that sense, Rei's Twilight Spear was devastatingly powerful, and a direct hit on an ally would have inflicted catastrophic damage.
Set hastily flapped his wings to slow down, caught the seven-colored scaled Dragonias's corpse as it fell from above with his front legs, and turned his gaze toward the ground.
Rei bowed his head in apology.
Seeing this, Set let out a purr that seemed to say it can't be helped and descended to the ground.
"Gurururu..."
The seven-colored scaled Dragonias's corpse could potentially yield important materials.
As such, there was no way Rei could simply leave it behind.
Even if it was missing its upper body.
(Though the head tends to make for valuable materials... If I could bestow the seven-colored scaled Dragonias's teleportation ability onto a Magic Item, it would be incredibly convenient.)
So he thought, but to do that, he first needed to properly prepare the Dragonias's corpse as usable material.
Since that wasn't possible right now, all Rei could do was store the body in his Misty Ring.
(The other Dragonias had various special abilities too. If those could be crafted into Magic Items, the results would be extraordinary.)
What particularly interested Rei were the black-scaled Dragonias's powerful Regeneration Ability and the transparent-scaled Dragonias's Optical Camouflage.
He couldn't imagine replicating the black-scaled Dragonias's Regeneration Ability directly as a Magic Item, but even half... no, even a fraction of that regenerative power, if bestowed upon a Magic Item, would give Rei, Elena, Marina, Vihera, Ara, Byune, as well as Set and Ielo, access to powerful recovery items.
In practice, they already had recovery options like Marina's Spirit Magic and potions, but being able to heal independently was undeniably advantageous.
And as for how effective Optical Camouflage could prove—thinking back on everything Set had accomplished using that very skill—it wasn't difficult to imagine.
"I think you should be a bit more mindful of Set, though."
"...You're right. Once this Dragonias business is settled, I'll take Set somewhere fun."
"Guru!?"
Really!? As if shouting that, Set, having landed on the ground, let out a cry brimming with joy and surprise at Rei's words.
Going on an outing with Rei was the happiest event imaginable for Set.
"Yeah. All things considered, you've been working nonstop lately. We could go to the sea like last year... or would a river or lake be better?"
"Guru..."
At Rei's words, Set let out a thoughtful purr.
Summer was already in full swing.
In this world, perhaps thanks to the grassland, it wasn't particularly hot—but there was no denying that summer would be at its peak once they returned to Gilm.
That said, since only the Treant Forest connected to this world, it was reasonably cool here.
(Ah, come to think of it, if it's just a lake we're after, there's the one that teleported near the Birth Tower. Considering that, would Set prefer a river or the sea?)
With that thought, Rei stored the corpse of the last seven-colored scaled Dragonias that Set had retrieved into his Misty Ring.
"Anyway, that takes care of the last seven-colored scaled Dragonias. What remains is..."
"Only the Queen."
"Guru!"
Vihera and Set each responded to Rei's words.
Rei as well, shifting gears from the satisfaction of having vanquished every seven-colored scaled Dragonias, gazed at the Queen, visible even from this distance.
"From what I saw, the Queen didn't look particularly suited for combat... but I wonder."
"It might have troublesome abilities, just like the seven-colored scaled Dragonias did."
"Troublesome... yeah, that's a good word for it. That description fit the seven-colored scaled Dragonias perfectly."
Rei murmured the words almost absently.
The seven-colored scaled Dragonias, with its ability to teleport instantly at will and walk freely through the sky, had been an exceptionally troublesome opponent.
An opponent better described as troublesome rather than strong—there weren't many of those around.
...In truth, that assessment only held because Rei's strength was overwhelmingly greater than the seven-colored scaled Dragonias, and he had the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor active on top of that.
At the very least, had the Centaurs remaining on the ground fought the seven-colored scaled Dragonias, there was no doubt they would have been utterly crushed—just as the Dragonias had been crushed by Rei's group.
"Really? I had plenty of fun... though I'm dissatisfied that I only got to kill one."
Saying that, Vihera shot Rei a slightly sulking glare.
From Vihera's perspective, the fact that Rei had taken down four of the five seven-colored scaled Dragonias that existed was the source of her discontent.
Then again, deliberately leaving an enemy alive just so she could fight it seemed rather questionable to him.
"You had bad luck... More importantly, it's about the Queen. Should we test whether we can take it down with long-range attacks?"
With the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor active, Rei could hurl the Twilight Spear from a considerable distance.
If that worked out, they might be able to pelt the Queen with one-sided attacks.
It was only natural for Rei to think so.
"Hmm... I don't mind testing it, but this is the Dragonias Queen we're talking about. It had enough intelligence to communicate with us, so I'd expect it has countermeasures for at least that much."
Vihera replied to Rei without looking particularly serious.
Perhaps because she could already predict that Rei's go-to long-range option would be the Twilight Spear.
In other words, Vihera was guessing that even Rei's thrown Twilight Spear wouldn't land a fatal blow on the Queen.
...At the same time, since the Twilight Spear could return to his hand instantly via its own ability, she probably figured that even if it failed, it wouldn't result in one of Rei's primary weapons being destroyed or lost.
"For now, it obviously won't reach from here, so let's test it once we get closer to the Queen."
"Right... But how am I supposed to fight something that massive?"
Vihera was already working through how she would fight, operating on the premise that thrown Twilight Spears wouldn't deal damage to the Queen.
For Vihera, her strongest attack was undoubtedly Magic Impact Palm.
But while Magic Impact Palm used mana to deliver a shock directly into the enemy's body, the problem this time was the Queen's sheer size.
Even from a considerable distance, the Queen was massive enough that its enormous form was clearly recognizable.
Having approached close once before, Rei knew firsthand just how large it was.
Because of that, if asked whether even Vihera's Magic Impact Palm could deliver a fatal blow in a single strike... Rei would say, objectively, that it was difficult.
Vihera seemed to be thinking the same thing, her expression troubled as she stared at the Queen.
"For now, your attacks... including Magic Impact Palm, might not be fatal, but they should be well-suited for dealing damage. The real question is whether we can close the distance against an opponent who likely uses Earth Spirit Magic."
Unlike Rei and Set, Vihera's combat style was close-quarters, which meant she needed to get within arm's reach of the enemy.
Not just to a moderate range, but to what could honestly be called zero distance.
...In practice, true physical contact wasn't necessary, but compared to those who wielded longswords or spears, her reach was far shorter.
Vihera, as if agreeing with Rei's words... and as if to say this would be interesting, flashed a fierce, predatory smile.