The Crystal Dragon was a type of dragon that stood at the pinnacle of all monsters.
Even among the creatures classified as S-Rank Monsters, it could unquestionably be called one of the strongest.
But even for a creature of such power, it naturally could not train its internal organs.
"GUGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
With Deep Flame exploding inside its stomach and the resulting flames roasting it from within, the Crystal Dragon exposed a figure utterly at odds with its status as a creature at the pinnacle of monsters—rolling around on the ground like a wounded beast.
Even as it thrashed, the wings growing from its back showed no signs of damage. That was only natural for a creature that was, after all, a type of dragon.
As the Crystal Dragon rolled across the ground, the surrounding trees were snapped and toppled one after another.
Yet even so, the Crystal Dragon paid no heed to its surroundings, thrashing wildly as it tried to do something about the flames consuming it from inside.
"Troublesome."
Rei muttered at the unexpected—no, the sight that had exceeded his expectations.
From Rei's perspective, even when he sliced through the Crystal Dragon's armor with external attacks, the wounds simply regenerated.
That was exactly why he had chosen to unleash Deep Flame inside its body.
Additionally, the fact that the dragon had opened its mouth wide to fire its Crystal Breath made it the perfect opportunity to burn its insides.
...The only drawback was that burning its internal organs would make harvesting them as materials difficult, but that was still better than failing to bring it down.
He had acted with that in mind, but he never expected the Crystal Dragon to do something like rolling around on the ground. That was completely beyond his expectations.
Set, who had been trying to circle around from the side, apparently judged that attacking was inadvisable given the Crystal Dragon's behavior. He stopped midway and observed the situation.
"Well now, what to do. If I attack now, I'm fairly confident I can deal significant damage."
If the strike that had stopped his blow while using the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor was indeed due to Dragon Language Magic, then the Crystal Dragon—now rolling around on the ground, completely beside itself—had undoubtedly let that effect lapse.
Rei knew from personal experience that magic required concentration.
...The magic Rei used and Dragon Language Magic were vastly different, even though both were fundamentally magic. There was a possibility that Dragon Language Magic, once activated, continued to exert its effect without requiring concentration.
Even so, seeing the Crystal Dragon's current state, it was only natural to want to attack and confirm whether that was the case.
"Suu... haa... suu... haa..."
Taking deep breaths to concentrate his mind, Rei stepped forward while still clad in the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor.
Waiting for the Crystal Dragon to calm down was also an option, but that would likely only happen after it had dealt with the Deep Flame inside its body.
In other words, there was no guarantee it wouldn't use Dragon Language Magic again.
If so, it was better to attack while the opportunity presented itself.
Then again, attacking in its current state might prove meaningless, but there was a world of difference between trying and not trying.
That said, an overwhelmingly massive body was rolling around on the ground before him.
Thinking of that, even Rei felt a strong sense of pressure.
If he carelessly approached and the Crystal Dragon rolled toward him... with that in mind, being told not to feel tense would be unreasonable.
But Rei stepped forward nonetheless.
Considering the enemy's capabilities, this was without a doubt a perfect opportunity.
Keeping that in mind, he approached carefully.
While using the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor, he could close the distance in a single burst, but considering the Crystal Dragon rolling around on the ground, doing so carried the risk of a fatal injury.
That was exactly why he advanced while staying ready to respond instantly if anything happened—but...
"It's coming, just as I thought!"
Taking time to approach naturally meant that the likelihood of the Crystal Dragon rolling toward him increased.
As a result, Rei's concern proved spectacularly accurate.
He leapt swiftly, using his Sleipnir boots to kick off the air and ascend into the sky.
If he had moved backward, there was a risk that the Crystal Dragon's movement wouldn't stop and it would close the distance in one go. The same applied if he jumped to the side.
Of course, even jumping into the sky, given the Crystal Dragon's size, there was ample possibility of an unintended follow-up coming his way. And, exactly as Rei predicted, the tail of the Crystal Dragon rolling on the ground was swung toward his position.
It wasn't an attack the Crystal Dragon had intentionally launched—a strike unleashed as a result of its wild thrashing.
That was exactly why it caught Rei off guard, but since he had anticipated such an attack coming, dealing with it was not difficult.
"That tail is in the way!"
Along with Rei's shout, the strike from Death Scythe successfully severed the swung tail at the midpoint.
(Just as I thought.)
That was Rei's honest impression after severing the tail.
In the early stages of the battle, Rei's attack had succeeded in wounding the tail, but the Death Scythe strike unleashed while the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor was activated had, for some reason, been unable to even scratch it.
Rei had judged that to be Dragon Language Magic or some Skill the Crystal Dragon possessed, and used Deep Flame to cause an explosion inside the Crystal Dragon's body, putting it in a state where continuing to use Dragon Language Magic or Skills would be impossible.
He had expected that this would allow him to deal damage to the Crystal Dragon... and that prediction had proven brilliantly correct.
The Crystal Dragon's tail, severed by Death Scythe and sent flying, snapped surrounding trees as it went before stopping and crashing to the ground.
Watching it from the corner of his eye, Rei used his Sleipnir boots to kick off the air again and move to an even higher position.
To a place where the Crystal Dragon's flailing limbs could not reach him, no matter how wildly it swung.
"GUGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
The Crystal Dragon's scream echoed through the surroundings once more.
Its internal organs were already being burned by the flames created by Deep Flame, and on top of that, its tail had been severed at the midpoint.
Rei didn't have a tail, so he didn't know exactly what kind of pain that was.
But he could imagine it was probably similar to having a limb severed. He had never experienced such a thing himself, so that too was pain born of imagination.
Being burned from the inside while suffering pain equivalent to having a limb severed.
Even for a Crystal Dragon, being told not to scream from such pain would be unreasonable.
(This confirms I can cut through its armor. In that case, rather than attacking other areas carelessly, it's more efficient to just sever its neck outright.)
Making that judgment, Rei dove toward the ground—toward the place where the Crystal Dragon's neck was.
However, the Crystal Dragon was still rolling around on the ground.
Given that, he needed to carefully adjust his landing point and timing.
This part depended heavily on Rei's skill, but also on luck.
That said, as long as he had his Sleipnir boots, adjusting the timing and location was possible.
The added power from falling speed would be reduced in that case, but considering when he severed the tail, there was no need to increase his power beyond what he already had.
That was why Rei had dove toward the ground to sever the Crystal Dragon's neck—but... when he descended to a certain altitude, the Crystal Dragon's movement suddenly stopped.
(What?)
Rei found that suspicious.
The Crystal Dragon had stopped moving directly below him—in a position where, if he continued his descent, he could sever its neck.
Given that it was far too convenient for him, it would be unreasonable to tell Rei not to feel suspicious.
"Magic Shield!"
Seeing that state, Rei instantly deployed Magic Shield.
That was likely the result of the experience Rei had accumulated up to now.
The next moment, his prediction was proven correct.
The Crystal Dragon had stopped moving in a prone position with the back of its neck facing Rei.
Being prone naturally meant that not only its neck but also its back was facing him. And suddenly, with an impact as if its back had exploded, numerous crystals were ejected from it.
Their sizes varied—some were as small as pebbles, while others were enormous like shields.
The only commonality was that they were all launched simultaneously upward... in other words, toward Rei.
"UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Magic Shield was a shield with an ability that could be called absolute defense, capable of blocking any attack.
In reality, an attack more powerful than Rei could imagine might not be blocked, but so far, no attack had ever existed that Magic Shield failed to stop.
However... that absolute defense was only effective against a single strike.
The Shield of Light would vanish after blocking that one blow.
In that sense, the attack the Crystal Dragon had unleashed this time was the most optimal for breaking through Magic Shield.
The barrage of countless crystal shards fired from the Crystal Dragon's back managed to block the first strike, but upon blocking it, the shield disappeared.
And what remained was Rei, defenseless and floating in the air.
Fortunately, those crystal shards were a continuous attack over a wide area, but the power of each individual strike was not that strong.
At the very least, they could not pierce the Dragon Robe, which had been crafted by the Zephyle Clan's alchemist Esta Nor using dragon hide and scales. But even so, the Dragon Robe did not cover Rei's entire body.
At the same time, while the Dragon Robe was not slashed or pierced by the crystal shards, it could not completely absorb the impact of being struck, and Rei's body beneath it received shocks as if he had been pummeled countless times by small fists.
But that was still fortunate.
It was precisely because those areas were covered by the Dragon Robe that he escaped with only that much.
However, the areas not covered by the Dragon Robe were slashed, pierced, and battered by the numerous crystal shards, blood spewing from the wounds.
Since he had activated Magic Shield and worn the Dragon Robe's hood, his head was safe, but the rest of his body had sustained fairly deep wounds.
That he hadn't suffered any fractures was partly luck, but largely because Rei's body had been created using the Zephyle Clan's technology.
More than that, the fact that the crystal shards' power had been reduced by the mana of the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor was also significant.
"GURURURURURURURURURURUU!"
Toward Rei, who had taken the crystal shards head-on, Set charged in while flapping his wings.
Naturally, charging into the rain—no, the storm—of crystal shards unleashed from the ground would cause Set to take damage as well.
Set was also an S-Rank equivalent monster.
The fur and feathers covering his body possessed considerable defensive power, contrary to his appearance.
An attack from a Low-Rank Adventurer wouldn't even be able to cut through his fur.
But that was only if the opponent was a Low-Rank Adventurer.
What Rei and his companions were currently fighting was not an S-Rank equivalent... but an S-Rank Monster—the Crystal Dragon.
The fired crystal shards carved into Set's body from below.
However, Set showed no sign of concern for his own wounds. While his entire body became drenched in blood, he grabbed Rei in his beak and broke through the storm of crystal shards.
Then, after flying to a place sufficiently far from the Crystal Dragon, he somehow managed to land on the ground.
"Guh... Set!"
Rei, who realized his current situation from the shock of falling from the beak, took out potions from his Misty Ring and sprinkled them over Set.
"Ow! ...Damn it!"
His hands also had numerous slash wounds on them, and furrowing his brow at the sharp pain, Rei applied the potions to Set.