“But Lady Ripple…! Prime Minister Rigriff’s reasoning makes sense. I—!”
“N-no… what you should follow is the will of the Hyrule Menace… After all, without unity between wielder and weapon, the Hyrule Menace won’t demonstrate its true power…”
“Even so, Sir Rochefort!”
In the midst of the argument, the giant formed from Mana Essence began moving violently. Its neck extended unnaturally, and Echidna’s face appeared with a gaping mouth, chasing and trying to devour the knights.
“Kh…! But I can’t just stand here and watch!”
“No one’s saying you have to… here, use this, Sir Raphael Wilford…!”
Rochefort removed the sword from his waist, scabbard and all, and handed it to Raphael. It was the Dragon Claw, a top-tier Artifact and the counterpart to Raphael’s Dragon Fang.
King Charleas had bestowed it upon Rochefort when he swore service to Charalia.
“This is your path. A way to reach new heights apart from the Hyrule Menace… Master it! You felt its potential, didn’t you?” Get full chapters from ɴovelfire.net
The Dragon Fang and Dragon Claw were the most powerful Artifacts in Charalia, aside from the Hyrule Menace. Infused with the mighty power of dragons, they weren’t merely weapons, they granted power to their wielders.
That was the proof of the glowing red armor currently enveloping Raphael, evidence that the Dragon Fang had lent him its power.
Now, with the addition of the Dragon Claw, he would wield dual blades. Rochefort handing over the Dragon Claw signified this union.
“Yeah—I understand! I’ll master it!”
Raphael recalled the time he had sparred with Rochefort, then already a trainer at the knight academy. When Dragon Fang and Dragon Claw clashed, their powers mixed and exploded.
In other words, combining the two would unleash an entirely new, greater force. He had sensed it back then. The only question was whether Raphael could control that power.
He drew the Dragon Claw from its sheath, its blade glowing icy blue.
The Dragon Fang bore the power of a red fire dragon. The Dragon Claw held the power of a blue ice dragon.
“Lady Ripple! I’ll handle this! Take everyone and escape!”
Raphael, now wielding twin swords of red and blue, called out to Ripple.
“Y-yeah! Everyone, evacuate—now! Get the working flygears moving! Liselotte, use your Gift to get outside safely, okay?!”
“Y-yes! Understood! Meltina, grab Sir Rochefort! Prime Minister Rigriff as well!”
Liselotte, carrying Meltina, Rochefort, and Prime Minister Rigriff, soared toward the ship’s exterior.
Echidna’s head lunged in response, but Raphael quickly cut in.
The red blade blocked Echidna’s thrusting neck, but it bit down on the Dragon Fang, halting the motion. Then, without a moment’s delay, massive Mana Essence hands extended rapidly to envelop Raphael.
“Don’t look back! Go, Liselotte!”
As Raphael shouted, a blue glow—not the red from earlier—began to surround him. That was the last image Liselotte saw before she flew out of the ship.
She obeyed his order to the letter. So she didn’t see the fusion of red and blue light rapidly swell and explode. Nor did she see Raphael’s body grow and transform with it. From within the giant’s grasp, he broke free, his body ballooning and morphing.
**GUOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHH!**
Liselotte finally turned around after hearing the massive roar of a dragon. Bursting through the ship from below was an enormous dragon. Its body was covered in shimmering scales, red on the right, blue on the left.
“EeEEeeeHHH!? W-where did that massive dragon come from!?”
“Th-that’s Sir Raphael! He transformed…!”
Meltina pointed to the dragon, wide-eyed.
“Th-that’s Sir Raphael!?”
Liselotte was astonished. The dragon rivaled the Dragon God Vufailbane in size. Because it had emerged from within the flying battleship, the hull was further damaged, almost half-destroyed.
The two-colored dragon itself looked confused, glancing around nervously as if surprised by its own strength.
“Kukuku… to think mastering an Artifact blessed by dragons would… turn you into a dragon… That’s definitely Sir Raphael Wilford. Look, he’s flustered about damaging the ship. Such an earnest fellow.”
“Hahaha… Yes, it does seem like him.”
But the hesitation was brief. The giant dragon tore through the rest of the ship’s wall and soared skyward. Clutched tightly in its tree-trunk-sized hind legs was the Mana Essence giant—it had dragged the enemy along.
“He’s pulling it away…!”
“So it won’t damage the ship any further!”
If they could distance the enemy, the battleship could be landed safely. And it seemed to be going well.
Now, only one thing remained, to destroy the enemy. The two-colored dragon curled its body and brought its hind legs up to its snout. In its claws was the captured Mana Essence giant.
It brought the giant close to its gaping maw, lined with rows of razor-sharp teeth—
**GOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH!**
A torrent of flames and icy mist swirled together in a devastating breath attack. Its power was immense, but even more astonishing was its sheer range and scale.
In a single breath, the Mana Essence giant was engulfed, incinerated, frozen, then shattered. It was gone, without a trace.
“He did it! Amazing…!”
Its Breath rivaled—no, surpassed—that of the Dragon God Vufailbane.
“Yes… truly incredible! And what a beautiful form…” To Meltina, it was a dazzling sight, unlike anything she’d ever seen.
“Th-that’s Raphael…? He took it down in one blow!” Ripple, who had just caught up on a flygear, exclaimed in shock.
“Yes, without a doubt. Lahti ate so much dragon meat that he gained the ability to transform too… I think something similar happened to Sir Raphael. But the scale and power are incomparable—”
Raphael and Lahti’s dragon forms weren’t even close in size. Compared to this, Lahti’s once-imposing transformation now seemed… adorably small.
“A-amazing. If he can do that… maybe I’m not needed after all…”
Despite the words, Ripple’s tone and expression were oddly cheerful.
“You sound pleased despite what you’re saying, Lady Ripple.”
“Hehe… Do I? Maybe I am?”
Liselotte and Ripple exchanged a warm smile. Meanwhile, the two-colored dragon—Raphael—flew under the ship’s hull.
The battleship was billowing smoke and its flight seemed unstable. He was trying to support it for a safe landing.
“Ah… yeah, that’s so Raphael. I’m just glad it all worked out. If something had happened to him while Eris was away, she’d be furious at me.”
“It’s all thanks to Sir Rochefort. Truly… thank you!”
“Now we just wait for Miss Arles and the others… right, Sir Rochefort?”
But when Liselotte and Meltina looked at him, he didn’t respond.
Panicked, they rushed to check on him.
Ripple also turned, alarmed.
“He’s unconscious…! He’s breathing, barely…!”
“A-at this rate, we won’t make it until Miss Arles arrives…!”
Liselotte and Meltina looked down in despair. But then—
“Ah…! Hey, I have an idea!”
Ripple, suddenly inspired, clapped her hands.