Just how detached from reality are these people?
I was already at the limit of my patience. Once the penalty period ended, I intended to quit this party immediately.
Since the forced evacuation was already complete, I figured there was no harm in finally speaking my mind.
"Since you still don't seem to understand, I will say it plainly," I began. "Currently, we are the weakest of all the S-Rank parties. There is no way a group like ours could ever hope to defeat a Black Dragon."
"Hah?! The weakest S-Rank?!" Derrick snapped back, his temper flaring as usual. "We're the Hero Party! There's no way we'd lose to any other party!"
"I already told you, the only reason we were ever able to maintain the status of 'Hero Party' was because Orun-san was with us! You and Anneri especially—without Orun-san's support, you only have the skills of an average A-Rank! Know your place!"
"Ghh...! You're the one who needs to know her place! Stop talking like you're stronger than me!"
Derrick's face turned a violent shade of crimson as he lost his temper. Honestly, he really is a man who boils over in an instant. Perhaps I went a bit too far with that last comment...
Though, I wasn't lying. If I felt like it, I could probably kill someone of Derrick's caliber in the blink of an eye.
Derrick and the others were vehemently against Orun-san rejoining us, but I had no desire to die. That was why I wouldn't yield on this point. If we challenged the Black Dragon in our current state, we would all simply be slaughtered.
"I am merely stating the truth. Even if you and I were to duel one-on-one, I would be the victor."
"You've got a lot of nerve. Don't come crying to me for an apology when this is over!"
Derrick drew his sword.
To think he could be this foolish. My estimation of Derrick was plummeting so fast it felt like it could bore a hole straight through the Great Labyrinth.
"Sigh... 'Pixie,' if you would."
"—Wha!? My body won't move..."
Derrick's movements froze instantly under the influence of my Ability. Without missing a beat, I constructed the formula for an advanced magic spell, infused it with a tiny fragment of mana, and manifested a glowing magic circle directly in front of his face.
"...The match is decided. Do you truly believe you would walk away unscathed if you took an advanced spell at this range?"
"Gugh... is this your Ability too? I never heard you could use it like this."
"Even I don't fully understand the true extent of my own Ability. Though it seems Orun-san does—"
"That's enough."
Oliver-san, who had been silent until now, finally intervened. Far too late, in my opinion.
"First we find Orun, then we'll decide what to do next. I won't hear any objections."
The atmosphere among the party members remained abysmal, but it seemed they were willing to follow Oliver-san’s lead for now.
We began making our way toward the plaza near the Great Labyrinth entrance. As the area came into view, I found myself gasping for air.
In the center of the plaza lay a massive black shape, surrounded by a dense crowd of people. There was no way I could mistake what that black thing was.
"Why is the Black Dragon here?! Dammit!"
Oliver-san instinctively drew his sword, preparing to charge into the fray.
"Wait!" I shouted, grabbing him to hold him back.
"Why are you stopping me?! If we don't suppress it now, the city will be devastated!"
Oliver-san had lost his composure. Normally, he was far more calculated than this.
"Something is wrong! Look at the crowd—if the Black Dragon were a threat, people wouldn't be standing around it like this. Let's approach, but keep your guard up."
We reached the plaza. As the people surrounding the beast noticed us, they parted to make a path, allowing us to reach the center without resistance.
"Wha—"
I was rendered speechless by the sight before me.
The Black Dragon lay there with its scales shattered and its body covered in deep gashes. Most shocking of all, its head had been completely severed from its neck.
Beside the corpse stood Orun-san. He was leaning heavily against a black, wicked-looking greatsword the likes of which I had never seen.
If Orun-san is here... does that mean the "Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky" actually managed to subjugate the Black Dragon?
"...Orun-san," I whispered.
He reacted to my voice. He turned his head toward us, his eyes appearing hollow and unfocused. He didn't have any obvious wounds, but his entire body was caked in grime and dust.
Judging by those vacant eyes and the dried blood from a nosebleed he had roughly wiped away, he must have cast an absurd number of spells. I had never seen Orun-san look this exhausted in all the time I had known him.
"...Ah, Luna. You're here. Good timing."
His voice was barely a whisper. As he let go of the greatsword, the weapon simply crumbled into dust. Orun-san began to stagger toward me.
Normally, I should have rushed forward to support him, but my mind was so clouded with confusion that I couldn't move. Orun-san stopped right in front of me and placed a heavy hand on my right shoulder.
"Handle the rest for me."
"..................Eh?"
Leaving only those words behind, Orun-san walked right past me and headed off toward the city.
None of us could grasp the situation. I desperately wanted to chase after him and ask for an explanation, but I had been entrusted with the aftermath. Besides, our party was partially responsible for this mess. We couldn't just walk away.
"U-Umm... does this mean the Black Dragon has already been defeated?" Oliver-san asked, his voice trembling.
"...It would seem so," I replied.
It went without saying that as we handled the paperwork and spoke to witnesses, the realization that Orun-san had slain the Black Dragon all on his own would eventually hit the rest of the party like a physical blow...