I followed Rain-san’s lead, unleashing intermediate attack magic of my own.
Then, I set [Raise Repeat] along our line of fire.
The black mists were clever, intercepting our spells with practiced ease, but they were simply outnumbered. Gradually, our magic began to find its mark, scorching the Black Dragon’s hide.
The beast tried to reposition, but Wil’s exquisite footwork and relentless pressure kept it pinned exactly where we wanted it.
『Interval! Resuming attack in five seconds!』
Rain-san’s voice echoed in my mind. Hearing the signal, I immediately transitioned to close-quarters combat.
I cast [Sharpness Up] on Schwarzhase and closed the distance, darting toward the dragon's rear left leg. Once I was within range, I unleashed a flurry of slashes, striking the same spot repeatedly from multiple angles in a single heartbeat.
In our previous encounter, the sword I’d used had been ordinary, for better or worse. Back then, simply shattering a few scales and leaving shallow grazes was the absolute limit of what I could achieve.
This blade, however, was forged for my hands alone, perfectly optimized to my needs. Furthermore, there was a world of difference in the quality of the materials. With Schwarzhase—its performance pushed even further by my support magic—it was actually possible to carve through the dragon's iron-hard flesh.
Several black streaks blurred through the air before my eyes until, finally, I severed the Black Dragon’s rear left leg.
The dragon let out a piercing shriek.
The three remaining mists lunged at me. (Wil, for his part, had already neutralized the second mist moments ago.) I dodged them without breaking a sweat, and by the time I had put some distance between myself and the beast, Rain-san’s interval had ended.
Attack magic began raining down from above once more.
Despite having lost its leg and its balance, the Black Dragon manifested ten more mists. In every battle we’d fought until now, ten had been its limit.
It’s picking up the pace.
The mists rose to intercept Rain-san’s spells, acting as a shield. I took the opening to fire a [Thunder Arrow] infused with [Impact] from behind. Thunder-type magic boasted superior piercing power compared to other elements. The bolt tore into the Black Dragon’s body, dealing significant damage.
(I see. With this much power, I can punch straight through the scales.)
Rain-san entered another interval, and I prepared to close in again.
But several mists retaliated faster than I could move. I abandoned the offensive, focusing entirely on evasion while drawing back to a safer distance. In the brief lull where our attacks ceased, one of the mists coiled around the stump of the dragon’s rear left leg, forming a makeshift limb.
(It can even use them like that? Fascinating.)
Unlike our last fight, I still had plenty of strength to spare, leaving me enough mental leeway to be genuinely impressed by the mists' versatility.
The Black Dragon shifted its weight forward.
『The tail attack is coming!』
I read the beast’s intent instantly and shouted a warning to the team. The dragon’s tail lashed out at Wil with a speed that would have been impossible to track, let alone dodge, without our buffs.
"I'm not taking that hit a second time!" Wil roared.
He parried the lashing tail with his twin-bladed sword—but he didn't stop there. He manifested his Chaos Mana once again, extending his blade and driving it straight through the tail.
I timed an [Impact] cast to match Wil’s strike. With its power drastically amplified, the blade pierced through the tail and pinned it firmly to the ground.
Seeing the tail fixed in place, I darted toward the base of it and swung Schwarzhase. I triggered [Impact] a fraction of a second before the edge made contact, severing the tail in a single, clean stroke.
The Black Dragon let out a roar that was equal parts fury and agony.
『Fireball incoming!』 Selma-san’s voice rang in my head.
I repositioned myself to get a clear view of the dragon’s head. I could see the flames licking out from between its teeth. The beast drew in a breath, charging its attack, but just as it prepared to unleash the blast, I deployed [Reflective Wall] directly in front of its face.
The fireball erupted from the dragon’s throat only to be sent backtracking instantly. It detonated right inside the beast's own maw.
◇
From that point on, the battle remained entirely one-sided.
Wil drew all of the Black Dragon’s hate, parrying every strike that came his way. Whenever he took a graze, Lucre was there to heal him instantly. Lucre wasn't participating in the attack at all this time, dedicating herself entirely to recovery. This was only possible because Rain-san was keeping up a relentless barrage of high-powered magic with only the briefest of intervals.
Selma-san stayed focused on managing everyone’s buffs and monitoring the dragon’s movements. For Wil and me, being so close to such a massive creature meant we couldn't see the whole picture. Our blind spots were numerous, but Selma-san provided a constant stream of information, allowing us to handle the dragon’s attacks without a hitch.
For an entire year, the four of them had mentally simulated this fight over and over. Even after I joined, we never stopped refining our strategy.
This was the result.
The Black Dragon was helpless before us. This party already possessed the raw strength to win, and by accounting for every possible pattern and countermeasure, we had left nothing to chance.
There was no negligence.
◇
Then, the Black Dragon manifested twenty mists.
"What the—?!" Wil cried out in shock.
It was a reasonable reaction. Between my two previous encounters and the First Unit’s one prior attempt, the dragon had never produced more than eleven mists at once. Even the Guild’s historical records contained no precedent for such a feat.
Ten of the mists split off, five charging toward me and five toward Wil. The remaining ten warped into a flurry of countless needles, which were fired simultaneously at our rearguard.
(Dammit! No time to play it safe!)
If an attack of that scale hit our backline, even their combined magic barriers wouldn't hold. I frantically began constructing a spell formula while weaving through the mists closing in on me.
"[Alteration]!"
Once the formula was set, I triggered a new function of my storage magic tool.
Magic only activates when mana is channeled into a constructed formula. My storage magic tool had been steadily drawing in and condensing mana from the environment; now, I flooded that stored energy into the formula, activating an unfinished original magic.
That mana fused with Schwarzhase. The black blade dissolved, losing its physical form to become a mass of condensed mana—a fluid yet solid obsidian essence that mimicked the shape of a sword.
"Heavenly Flash...!"
Because Schwarzhase was already composed of converged mana, there was no need to wait for a charge-up. I unleashed the Heavenly Flash toward the incoming needles, the resulting shockwave obliterating the vast majority of them.
However, I couldn't catch them all.
A handful of the needles slipped through the blast, streaking toward the three in the back. I pivoted immediately, already moving toward my next play.