Aozaki Aoko Case File [209]

What neither Gourry nor Aoko knew was that the dragon's decision to fly back into the sky again wasn't just because of its injured leg. Rather, it was because it had unintentionally caught sight of the orange-red-haired woman standing next to Aoko. In that instant, painful memories surged into its mind...

Within its inherited dragon memories, it vaguely recalled that there was once an orange-red-haired female sorceress who had used terrifying magic to massacre countless fellow dragons. And the woman before it looked remarkably similar to her.

Thus, it decided to breathe one last blast of dragon fire before fleeing into the sky. Once they left, it planned to recover from its injuries in the mountains and then return to the village for revenge!

"Hey! You can't run away!" Lina, noticing the black dragon attempting to escape, immediately became anxious. "Our living expenses depend on your dragon head!"

With that, Lina hurled a fireball into the sky, causing a massive explosion. However, for the black dragon, which specialized in fire-based dragon breath, the flames were no more than warm bathwater—completely ineffective.

"Hmph looks like this level of magic won't cut it," Lina glared at the black dragon circling in the air and said viciously, "Let me hit it with something bigger!"

"Darkness darker than twilight, crimson redder than blood, appear in the flow of time..."

As Lina chanted her spell, Aoko could feel the immense magical energy gathering around her. The magic she was about to unleash was bound to be incredibly destructive—this was something Aoko, as an experienced user of bombardment magic, could tell at a glance.

"Wait, hold on!" Aoko grabbed Lina, interrupting her spell and pulling her to a halt.

"Don't interrupt my spellcasting like that! It's dangerous!" Lina steadied herself and complained to Aoko, clearly annoyed.

"If you use such a destructive spell here, aren't you worried you'll blow up the entire village too?" Aoko patiently explained. "The dragon isn't flying very high. If your magic detonates in midair, most of the village's buildings will be destroyed, some villagers will likely die, and our reward will go up in smoke."

"You're right..." Lina suddenly deflated and said dejectedly, "Then what should we do? My lower-level spells don't work on this dragon—it's just too tough!"

"Leave it to me!" Aoko winked at Lina confidently. "Time to show you some magic from another world!"

Aoko set her staff aside, letting it float in the air, and rolled up the sleeves of her robe, ready to act.

First, she activated the magic circuits covering her body. A torrent of magical energy coursed through her, creating crackling magical sparks around her that sizzled audibly in the air.

"Spindle activation!" At Aoko's command, six spindle-like objects appeared behind her, spinning rapidly. Threads of magical energy connected these spindles to a three-dimensional magic array that materialized around her, accelerating the flow of magical power.

"Grand Eclipse—ignite the burning furnace!" Aoko's strongest bombardment technique was fully charged. She intended to take this opportunity to test how much power her Type-Moon magic system could still unleash in this world.

"Earthlight Starbow!"

Surrounding Aoko's body and her clasped hands, dozens of layers of spinning magic arrays compressed and accelerated her fiery magical energy. With a single burst, it was released in one overwhelming shot!

A streak of cross-shaped blue starlight flashed briefly in front of Aoko before a massive torrent of magical energy, several meters in diameter, surged toward the sky.

In an instant, the blast struck the black dragon, which was flying at high speed. Its wings and upper body were completely vaporized.

The magic cannon didn't stop after hitting the black dragon. Instead, it pierced through the clouds in the sky, dispersing the overcast gloom above the small town and revealing the day's last rays of sunset.

"Phew, that felt good!" Aoko clapped her hands and stood up from her previous half-kneeling position. This was her first time firing her magic bombardment technique in an anti-air manner. Judging by the results, it worked pretty well. At least her magic circuit's reduced performance didn't seem to affect her power much—she was still formidable.

The black dragon's half-destroyed corpse plummeted from the sky, crashing into the village and destroying a building. It seemed the villagers who owned that house could only count themselves unlucky.

Fortunately, due to the intense heat of Aoko's magic cannon, the severed parts of the dragon's body were already cauterized, so not much dragon blood spilled out—a small consolation amidst the disaster.

"Can I learn that spell?!" Lina suddenly rushed over, grabbing Aoko's arm and shaking it excitedly. "That was so cool! I want to learn it too!"

Nearby, Gourry was also impressed by Aoko's strength, though he didn't seem too surprised—almost as if he had expected it. His calm demeanor suggested that even a fool's intuition could sometimes be sharp.

As for the village elder, he was so shocked by Aoko's display of power that he couldn't even speak. If that magic cannon had hit the village...

"Ah, sorry, I can't teach you this spell," Aoko scratched her head awkwardly. "It's one of those magic systems I mentioned earlier—it relies on hereditary traits. Without specific magic circuits, it's almost impossible to learn. It's my unique trump card."

"Eh? That's such a shame..." Lina looked disappointed but quickly perked up again. "Anyway, never mind that. Elder, our reward—hurry up and hand it over!"

The old man trembled as he pulled a small pouch of gold coins from his robe and handed it to Lina. After witnessing the trio's immense power, this experienced elder dared not defy them. He was eager for them to take the money and leave the village as soon as possible.

Lina carefully counted the coins several times before dividing them equally among Aoko, Gourry, and herself. Each person received ten gold coins. This was Aoko's first earnings in this world, and she tucked them into her pouch.

Gourry originally planned to return to the inn for a good night's rest. But when the three of them arrived, they discovered that the building crushed by the dragon's corpse was the very inn they had booked earlier. The owner and the guests had all fled, leaving no chance for lodging.

With no other options, they had to camp somewhere near the town. Fortunately, Aoko's backpack contained a two-person tent. Poor Gourry had to take the night watch outside.