The they followed the direction Artoria pointed, flying ahead. The curse in the air grew heavier and heavier. Since they'd eventually have to descend and work in the swampy lake, there was no point in keeping their invisibility spells active. As they dropped in altitude, their forms became visible.
The pitch-black lake, full of rotting flesh, gave off a pungent stench of blood and decay. The trio didn't notice, as Aoko's wind shield worked perfectly as an air filter. The only possible impact was on their vision, but Aoko had already warned the others not to show any disgust, for fear of leaving a bad impression on the little cutie below.
As the three finally stood on the water's surface using their water-walking spells, the water suddenly started bubbling. Within moments, dozens, maybe hundreds of Mosses emerged, forcing the party to clear them out before proceeding.
"Aesac's Advanced Missile Storm!"
A rain of force missiles shot from Aoko's hand, each one homing in unerringly on its target and picking off every Moss that approached.
Toneriko swung her staff, summoning a torrential rain. The raindrops restored stamina for the trio but burned into the cursed bodies of the Mosses like acid, severely corroding them.
Artoria stood calmly beside the two casters, sword drawn. She cut down every enemy that came close, occasionally unleashing blasts of Invisible Air, each one wiping out swathes of Mosses.
After about ten minutes of slaughter, the lake finally stopped producing more Mosses. It seemed the party had temporarily exhausted the curse power accumulated here over the years.
"All right," Aoko clapped her hands, "I've just about pinpointed Albion's left hand. Time to get to work, just like we planned!"
The three reached the very center of the lake of dragon remains. The water here was the darkest, the curses strongest, but the surface was also the calmest—as though something beneath was forcibly freezing the water.
Arranging themselves in an equilateral triangle around the special node, they plunged their staves into the water. A massive magic circle shone up from the depths. Aoko's magic crest activated, swirling endless mana into a storm of wind and lightning. The magic circle grew ever brighter.
Artoria placed a hand over her left chest and closed her eyes, trying to resonate her dragon heart with something under the water.
The heartbeat of the Knight King grew louder and faster, echoing across the black lake, making the scenery seem even more eerie.
As the heartbeats reached a certain rhythm, Aoko noticed another faint heartbeat beneath the lake, covered by the magic circle. It started weakly but stubbornly synchronized its pace with Artoria's.
"It's time," Aoko said, increasing her output. Toneriko, maintaining the circle, gritted her teeth, trying not to let Aoko's rampaging mana break the formation.
"Lift it!"
The black, calm lake began to boil violently as if something was being dredged up from boiling water. Even the heartbeat synchronized with Artoria's grew louder.
With a huge splash, the magic circle acted like a crane, wrenching a massive dark shadow out of the lake. The mana density of this thing was so immense that even these great magus couldn't have lifted it alone.
It was a giant hunk of flesh about five meters long, mottled, and mostly still alive, though some decay was evident. Its mana was so dense that even Artoria, who had witnessed the final glory of the Age of Gods, was shocked.
"This is Albion's left hand," Aoko marveled. "It's still a small piece, but much better than I expected."
In the original timeline, Albion's left hand, after years of decay, was reduced to a tiny lump that Aurora fished out. Thanks to Aoko's intervention, this dragon corpse was much larger and more active.
The three approached the huge chunk of flesh. It began to writhe and morph uncontrollably. Aoko could sense some consciousness within, gestating, causing it to gradually reshape toward the life form it yearned to be.
Aoko dismissed the lifting spell but maintained anti-gravity magic so the transforming flesh wouldn't fall back into the swamp.
Gradually, the mass shrank, as if expelling decayed matter, becoming more round and white, until, at last, it turned into… an egg.
"Why is it an egg?" Toneriko, surprised and curious, approached and placed her palm on its shell, feeling the pulse within.
"Well, this is unexpected," Aoko said, coming over to touch the giant egg, trying to figure out why this happened. Did they need to find a way to hatch it themselves?
"Let me think…"
As Artoria, unable to resist her curiosity, also touched the egg, it suddenly trembled. A clear crack sounded at the top, several fissures appeared, and then—crack!—the egg split open by itself.
From the broken shell emerged a girl with dragon horns, wings, and tail. She had long, shining silver hair, a slender figure, and skin as white as snow, dotted with a few strange scales.
Aoko noticed her hands and feet weren't dragon claws—unlike the dragonified Melusine from her memories. Had she inherited some human traits?
While pondering, Aoko fished out a brand-new bath towel from her imaginary pocket and tossed it up, wrapping the girl's body.
Artoria reached out, intending to carry the girl princess-style. But the dragon tail and wings made it awkward, and it took her some effort to find a comfortable position to hold her.
Seeing Artoria's awkwardness, Toneriko seemed to recall something and chuckled softly.
The silver-haired girl slowly opened her eyes in the warmth of Artoria's arms. Three beautiful women appeared in her blurry vision, a sharp contrast to the ruined, decayed world around them. Even her four billion years of memories paled in comparison. The Dragon of the Ends, in this moment, was reborn.