Corgi against the Fire Dragon

"Hah! Hah! Hah! Hah! Styclemo!"

A bolt of blue light shoots from the tip of my wand, slamming into a nearby demon minion, who collapses. Right now, I manage to find a way down to the dungeon where Anya is being held by chance. It's located deep within the tower, a spiral staircase leading down into endless darkness. I decided to jump out into the void, plummeting downwards before using the Levitation Charm to make myself float momentarily before dropping towards the ground again. This method helps reduce the danger and lessen the injuries from falling from such a great height to some extent.

Once I reach the bottom, I see a demon guard standing there, startled. But there's enough time for me to cast a red-light beam spell, sending the other guy flying back against the wall, unconscious. The atmosphere around here is noticeably thinner than upstairs. There are about five prison cells lining the area, and in one of them, I sense a life sign.

One of the barred cells is secured with a magical padlock. I peer through the thick metal bars and see a small figure muttering something. Listening closely, I immediately recognized that the person in front of me is my beloved mistress.

"Anya! Is that Anya?" My front paws grip the bars, and I try to squeeze my face through the gaps to get a clearer view.

The muttering stops, followed by rapid breathing. The eyes of the person in the cell gleam in the darkness.

"That voice... Nappo... is that you?" The familiar voice, though sounding tired, is solid proof that the person I'm looking for is definitely here. Then, the voice begins to tremble, as if on the verge of tears. "I knew you'd come."

"Just wait... Disculbore!"

Silence... the padlock refuses to unlock.

"It's locked with advanced magic. Basic spells won't work," Anya says in a weary voice. Those demons must have done terrible things to her. Thinking that makes me furious, and I shoot a red light beam at the padlock, causing it to explode. I crash through the metal bars. Small, slender hands, stained with dirty soil, stroke my soft fur. She bursts into heart-wrenching sobs. All I can do is nuzzle her with my soft paws and whisper in her ear, "The little dog prince has come to help."

"Thank you... Thank you so much... thank you for coming to help me," she says, burying her face in my body. Her soft fur becomes damp with the young girl's tears.

I use a spell to unlock the chains binding both her wrists, revealing small wounds where the shackles had bitten into her skin. This pain is insignificant compared to the hunger she's endured, having barely eaten anything for over three days. She mentions that every day, the Demon Emperor comes in to cast a spell to prolong her life, which temporarily makes her body forget hunger. But when the magic wears off, her stomach clenches and churns violently. As for the food the demon minions bring, it contains some kind of substance that transforms the body into a demon, with acidic properties. So, I kick the food bowl over, spilling the soup onto the cell floor. But the cell floor actually melts like butter under heat, making both Anya and me pale with shock.

Then, I cast a spell to open my dimensional ring, retrieving emergency food and water. She devours everything with extreme hunger – bread, canned fish, sausage, plain water, and the sweet drink I'd reserved for five days are all sucked down her small stomach in a matter of minutes. Just like that, her body starts to recover. I hand back the wand I snatched from the demon minion. She hugs me tightly, expressing her deepest gratitude.

"Let's get out of here first," I say, and she manages to push herself up to stand, then slowly walks out of the cell.

Suddenly, the atmosphere starts to feel ominous. As we step out of the cell door, hundreds of dark magic demons stand ready, along with the Demon Emperor wearing an iron helmet. They raise their wands, pointing them at the two of us, including Drogadres in his human form, who stands there with his arms crossed, completely unconcerned. I know he's a demon now, but it's heartbreaking that someone I once knew has become an enemy.

"In peaceful times, we were good friends. But now that we stand on opposite sides, it's only natural that we fight to the death," his words echo in my mind, making me stop dwelling on irrelevant thoughts.

"Excellent work, you corgi dog, for surviving until now," the Demon Emperor says in a powerful voice. "I truly commend you for being able to break out of prison with your mistress. Many of my minions have fallen to you, but this is where it ends, for you will die here."

"Let Drogadres and I handle this. No need for the Emperor to exert himself," says a plump middle-aged woman in black, wrinkles starting to appear around her eyes but concealed by makeup.

"Hey! Better not, Keela. My daughter is no pushover," the Demon Emperor even warns, but the arrogant menopause woman retorts, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. Keela, the Sin of Wrath, will take care of it before the crimson moon rises." Ignoring her superior's warning, she flicks her beloved wand, firing a Stasis Charm at Anya with full force, intending to turn her into a sleeping beauty.

"Ha! Just stay still, you little brat!"

Anya flicks her wand, creating a shield that blocks the magic bullet without even blinking.

"Three days in that cruel prison went by so fast, but it was enough to strengthen my spirit enough to fight these demons," Anya says in a low voice, making me whip my head around in disbelief. Her hard, cold gaze doesn't seem like the same Anya.

"Three days did this to you?" Keela's eyes widen before she unleashes a barrage of spells.

Of course, the young girl is able to dodge and deflect every attack, greatly exciting the Demon Emperor.

"Truly worthy of being my daughter," the helmeted man mutters under his breath, his eyes widening as he sees his daughter shedding her early teenage skin.

"Drogadres! Deal with that girl!" Keela orders. Of course, the human-formed dragon springs forward, using his claws like weapons to prevent any resistance. But that damn lizard forgets I'm still here.

His claws are stopped by my grabbing his wrist with considerable force. As my nerves register the powerful muscles of the human-transformed dragon, I realize the difference in our levels. Of course, a corgi dog can't fight a fire dragon, but right now, both he and I are in human form. I tighten my grip on his wrist, and a soft cracking sound echoes.

"I'll handle this guy. Anya, go deal with Keela," I say before unleashing a large Stasis Charm with my bare hand, sending him flying over the Demon Emperor's head. Now that Keela is gone, the young girl runs after her. The fire lizard reverts to his medium-sized dragon form, flying up into the air before spewing a large fireball after the girl. I vanish to protect her and use a water control spell, gathering the moisture in the air into droplets before expanding them into a massive stream of water that slams into the fireball. Of course, the heat of the hellfire causes the water to evaporate into steam. Eventually, Drogadres returns to his human form and then lunges at me with a series of moves.

Whether it's attacks with feet, fists, or elbows, no matter how fast they come, I can see them. The other guy's movements seem to slow down, making it easy for me to dodge before I use the momentum to spin in mid-air and lash out with a kick to his torso like a whip.

"Ugh!" Blood spurts from his mouth, staining his face. But he stubbornly refuses to give up, doing a backflip to land on his feet, ready to fight.

I notice his strange demeanor. I don't even know if it's my imagination or if I'm seeing things, but it feels like he's struggling against something within himself.

"That fire lizard... his body isn't fully responding, is it?"

"..." Drogadres doesn't answer but clenches his teeth tightly, as if in extreme agony.

"H...help me... pl...please!"

"I don't quite understand, but... oof!" The young dragon lunges forward, slamming an elbow into my face. The attack is incredibly heavy, like being hit with a brick. He doesn't give me a moment to recover before swinging around and punching me squarely in the face. The force of this blow is equal to the previous one, causing my brain to rattle, making me unable to raise my arms in defense. Then, Drogadres kicks me in the lower ribs, and I hear a soft 'crack!' The pain is searing, spreading throughout my body, and I can't help but cry out.

"Agh!" I quickly cast a healing spell as soon as I had the chance. The advantage of this form is that I can cast spells without needing to speak incantations or use a wand, but there's probably still a weakness in the durability of my body compared to his, being a dragon.

I clench my teeth, enduring the various injuries, and bite my tongue to quickly regain focus. Everything starts to slow down again. He somersaults in mid-air and swings his leg, aiming to kill me by striking the center of my head, a major nerve cluster. I jump back, narrowly avoiding the blow, panting heavily. The wind whips past my face, making me instinctively close my eyes for a moment. In that instant, I realized I'd made a huge mistake. Drogadres could have finished me in seconds. While I wait for the inevitable death, several seconds pass without anything happening, just like when I was hit by the garbage truck.

Am I dead again?

But when I open my eyes, I see the young dragon's dark claws trembling just centimeters from my eyes. His face is contorted in agony, struggling against something.

"I...I don't want...to k...kill my friend," Drogadres says with difficulty. "D...don't force me...anymore, please...I've had enough. I don't want to hurt anyone else anymore."

My eyes widen, stunned by the young dragon's words. Tears well up in his crimson eyes, eventually overflowing and streaming down his face. His body trembles violently, and large veins bulge beneath his skin.

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To Be Continue Ep.36