A torrent of scorching fire erupted without warning. The contract, which should have been sealed in an instant, was violently terminated. Artoria turned her head and saw a massive dragon. Its entire body was pitch-black, its fearsome horns a stark, blood-red. Its enormous wings were covered in complex, maze-like veins, and every beat of them stirred up a storm. Its sharp claws shone with a black light, looking as if they could tear space itself asunder in the next moment.
"ROOOOAR—!!!"
The dragon roared once more. Under the girl's astonished gaze, it soared into the air and charged toward the spot from which the hand of contract had extended.
BOOM!
Flames, spiraling with gale-force winds, shot forth. The air was heated in an instant, solidifying until it looked like a mirror.
"..."
"How... can there be another dragon?" the unseen figure uttered. Petals scattered through the air. The ethereal hand vanished without a trace. In its place, more petals materialized within the mirror-like air. Like chains, they shot directly toward the dragon. They seized it, then twisted— The dragon's wings and four limbs were firmly bound. The seemingly fragile flowers burst forth with unimaginable power, forcefully halting the great beast in mid-air.
"This..." Everything happening before her was beyond Artoria's imagination. But she could sense that someone was engaged in a battle with this dragon on a scale she had never even conceived of. Before the girl could make sense of it all, the dragon's roars echoed once more.
"ROOOOAR—!!" "ROOOOAR—!!"
The mirrored air, as if sensing fear, began to emit the continuous sound of shattering. Then, the chains of flowers that held the dragon fast began to shake violently.
CRACK—CRACK—
The dragon was actually, through sheer force, dragging the floral chains. What incredible strength!
"You creature—" The space seemed to fill with an aura of astonishment. More chains of flowers flew out from all directions, attempting to restrain the dragon once again. However, the behemoth gave them no further chances.
"ROAR—!"
With a primal and savage cry, the dragon snapped all the floral chains that were binding it. Crimson flames surged forth, incinerating the remaining "reinforcements" that were attempting to close in. Within this powerful sea of fire, Artoria saw a silhouette. It seemed to be the owner of the hand from before. At this moment, he was clearly just as surprised by the appearance of this black dragon.
In the next instant, the mysterious figure vanished completely from the girl's sight. The chains of flowers that had tried to restrain the dragon also disappeared entirely at the same moment.
"..." Artoria felt completely lost. Everything had happened so fast that she had no time to process what was going on. But the dragon's actions did not cease. It beat its enormous wings. A fierce wind blew forth. The beautiful vision that had been presented to the girl began to fade, its colors draining away until it dissipated completely.
"..." No matter how confused she was, seeing this, Artoria could understand the dragon's intent. "Are you trying to say that all of this was fake?" "ROAR—" The dragon could not give a proper response, but the ever-intensifying gale was answer enough.
"But..." "It might not be entirely fake—" Artoria looked at the scene before her, now completely devoid of color.
"The grain harvests really are dwindling. That's a fact." "There are fewer and fewer fish to catch in the rivers." "Even the ale is starting to turn sour—" "The people... they truly are living through hard times." "If I... can really do something, then—"
Before Artoria could finish her sentence, a fireball grazed past her cheek. Though she was unharmed, the searing heat left her heart pounding with fear. "You..." Looking at the perpetrator, Artoria understood the reason.
"You don't approve of this?" "But, there's nothing wrong with it, is there?" "I become the King, I bring happiness to the people, this is..." The girl scratched her cheek. "Isn't that a good thing?"
Another fireball. This time, it landed even closer to Artoria. And before the girl could say another word, the dragon raised its foreleg.
"Hey, hey!" "Don't be angry!" Her weak words were useless as a deterrent. The dragon brought its claw down.
"Ugh—" Artoria subconsciously raised her hands to block.
WHOOSH.
The girl, asleep in her bed, shot upright, only to find that everything around her was still the familiar sight of her room.
"Eh, was it a dream?" Artoria mumbled to herself. "But it was way too real..." The image of the dragon's claw coming down was still vivid in her mind. But speaking of which... Artoria narrowed her eyes, recalling the final sensation. Just like the two fireballs before it, that final claw hadn't been aimed at her.
Instead... It had struck down in front of her. It was as if... he had shattered the entire dream itself. That's right. It had no intention of hurting her at all. It just— Didn't like her making that promise.
"Eh?"
Artoria suddenly realized something. She looked over at Ian's bed. Why do I feel it was so much like him? But— The girl held out a hand from under the covers and, with a serious expression, began to compare the size of the dragon in her dream to the Ian lying before her. Impossible. Absolutely impossible.If that dragon was him—
Then that first encounter would have been a lot more than just a bite mark on my chest. It would have been big enough to swallow me whole with plenty of room to spare.And if we're going by that scale... Artoria looked at her thumb and index finger, which she had spread apart to form a makeshift "scale ruler." Ten times bigger.No.Thirty times bigger.
To match a body of that size, it would have to be at least this big.And at that size, that 'poke' from before would have...No, no! What am I thinking?! Artoria violently shook her head, trying to cast out all those strange thoughts. But still— The girl gazed at Ian, who was lying motionless in bed, seemingly deep in sleep. It's not impossible...
After all, it's him.Mmm...I'll just ask him about it tomorrow. Artoria made her decision. "For now," she whispered. "I should just get some rest..."