Aozaki Aoko Case File [208]

The dragon… was truly hideous. This was the first impression Aoko had of the dragon when she ran out of the inn.

Its teeth were crooked and protruding, and its scales were a murky black color. Its body was covered in scars of various sizes, likely the result of the abuse it had suffered during its time with the Dragonfang Bandit Group.

Furthermore, this dragon was a bipedal winged dragon with atrophied secondary wings on its main wings, not the kind of majestic dragon with strong limbs and a powerful build.

Aoko didn't know how dragons were categorized in this world, but she had once seen a dragon skeleton model in the Clock Tower. That kind of dragon had all four limbs and a pair of wings, and the model was said to be based on a magical entity from the spirit tomb of Albion. Presumably, it didn't deviate too much from the real thing.

This black dragon swooped down over the town like a bomber, wreaking havoc with the wind and shockwaves it created. The townspeople's glass windows (in this magical medieval setting, there was surprisingly glass!) shattered in succession amidst their screams.

In Aoko's perception, although the black dragon seemed imposing, she didn't sense any magical resistance on its body. Presumably, it wasn't particularly mysterious or powerful. However, just as she raised her staff to prepare for a spell, she was stopped.

Lina tugged at the hem of Aoko's clothes from behind and subtly shook her head, signaling her to wait.

After thinking for a moment, Aoko understood what Lina meant. She lowered her staff and stood aside with Gourry, watching Lina take the stage.

"Hurry up and deal with that black dragon for us!" the village elder yelled as he ran over to Lina. "If you delay any longer, our town will be completely burned down!"

"Well then, how much are you willing to pay us, Elder?" Lina asked in a sweet, innocent voice, but her tone was sly. "We're, of course, happy to take down the dragon for you, but we don't work for free."

"T-Twenty gold coins, how about that?" The elder held up two trembling fingers, his expression pained.

"No way, thirty coins. There are three of us, after all," Lina immediately raised the price, making it clear that if they didn't pay up, they could watch their town get destroyed by the dragon.

Seeing Lina's greedy demeanor, Gourry sighed heavily beside her, but he didn't interrupt her actions.

After all, even the noblest of swordsmen needed to eat.

"If you keep hesitating, your town will be destroyed," Lina said with a sly grin. "Time's almost up~"

"How about twenty-five coins?" the elder reluctantly countered, unwilling to go higher. "I can't offer any more than that."

"Well then, let's go, Gourry, Miss Aoko," Lina said, acting as if she didn't care whether the town survived and was ready to leave.

"All right! You devil! Thirty coins it is!" the elder finally relented, his voice filled with despair. "Just hurry up and kill that dragon! It's already destroyed so many houses!"

"Great, leave it to us! It's just a black dragon—taking it down won't take long!" Lina said confidently with a smile.

At this point, Aoko moved closer to Lina, ready to act. However, the black dragon was still too far away for them to engage. If they tried to use a flying spell, their speed wouldn't match that of the flying dragon, and they'd just end up being outmaneuvered in the air.

So Aoko decided they should approach the dragon from the ground and lure it down to kill it.

"You're right," Lina agreed with Aoko's suggestion. "We need to get closer to it to lure it to the ground. Otherwise, it'll keep attacking from the air."

Perhaps hearing Lina's words, the black dragon circled twice more before suddenly landing on the ground and spewing fire all around, reducing the central square of the town to ashes.

Lina was furious. She felt the dragon was completely disrespecting her, and she was determined to teach it a lesson.

Aoko cast a speed-enhancing spell on Lina and Gourry, allowing them to move faster. For herself, she used a body-strengthening spell to match their speed (since physical enhancement magecraft couldn't be used on people without magic circuits).

When the three of them, along with the elder, arrived at the square, the black dragon was standing among the ruins of the houses, roaring and spewing fire arrogantly.

"It's huge!" Lina exclaimed in surprise. "It's about ten meters tall! How could such a pathetic bandit group raise something like this?!"

"Well, actually, it hatched from a dragon egg that the leader of the Dragonfang Bandit Group bought at a night market when he was a kid. He only spent three copper coins," the elder said awkwardly. "At the time, we thought it was just some strange bird egg, so we didn't pay much attention. But then…"

"Is there anything you don't sell at your night markets?!" Lina retorted sharply.

"Well, the dragon egg was only about the size of a palm back then," the elder defended himself. "How could anyone have guessed it was a dragon egg?!"

"Gourry, you go distract the black dragon. The two of us will use magic to take it down!" Lina commanded Gourry, the only melee fighter among them.

"Me?" Gourry pointed at himself, then glanced at the ferocious black dragon, looking a bit lost.

"You've been buffed—get moving!" Aoko quickly tapped Gourry on the head with her staff, casting a series of transformation buffs (the kind from a magical "zoo") and then an energy-resistance spell (fire). She signaled to him that he was ready to go.

Gourry stretched his limbs a bit, feeling the effects of Aoko's powerful magic. Instantly filled with confidence, he drew his sword and dashed forward, becoming a blur as he appeared at the dragon's feet in an instant, slashing at its toes.

Gourry's attack was effective. From their position, Aoko and Lina could see blood dripping from the dragon's toes.

The black dragon roared in pain from the injury, and it rolled on the ground like an enraged beast. Gourry had to nimbly dodge its massive body as it thrashed among the ruins.

The black dragon glared at the little yellow-haired warrior that had hurt it, and with all its might, unleashed a fiery breath. Gourry couldn't dodge entirely and was hit by part of the flames, but thanks to Aoko's fire resistance spell, he only suffered minor burns.

Seizing the moment when the dragon was recovering from its fiery attack, Gourry rushed forward and slashed at the tendons in the dragon's leg, crippling its mobility on the ground.

However, to Gourry's surprise, the dragon, realizing its leg was injured, immediately took off into the air instead of continuing to fight on the ground. It planned to show these pesky insects what it was truly capable of from above…