Black Iron Magician

Chapter 383 Resistance to the Bitter End

Deris and the others are crossing the sea from the sixth island to the seventh island. Of course, the obstruction by the guardians along the way became more extreme.

「Don’t let them reach the seventh island! Their actions are restricted on the sea, so stop them now at any cost!」

「Avoid direct attacks and concentrate on long-range attacks by breath! Don’t approach them!」

「All squads, follow your leader’s instructions! Not only from the front, but attack them from all sides!」

Unlike the previous battle, the enemy dragons are now moving as a coordinated team, and they are also thoroughly engaged in a long-range battle. In this sea, most of the guardian dragons are still level 6, but even so, the level of difficulty is very different in this situation. After all, Deris and the others are on the sea, and they are clinging to Hund’s back. The situation is completely different from when on land.

「Chinatsu, your defense is leaking slightly. It’s only a little, though, so I don’t mind.」

「I’m sorry! I will fix it right away!」

「Haru, you’re too greedy. You should believe in Chinatsu and Touko and protect your territory well.」

「Yes, I’m sorry!」

「Danna, what about me? What about me!?」

「As for Touko, you’re fine. Keep up the good work.」

「Yeah!」

At the center of Hund’s back, Deris and Nell are giving instructions. On the other hand, the three disciples formed a formation, dividing the area on Hund’s back into three equal sections. In other words, each person is protecting a 120-degree area. No matter how fierce and massive the attacks are, their defense capability will increase if they could narrow down the area to a certain extent.

Haruna wields her Doggan Staff and uses its magic-repelling property to cover the right side and back. Hund has grown bones on his back for Haruna, and she skillfully grabs them while running. In a sense, it is the method that uses the most stamina among the three, but since she is enjoying herself, there seems to be no problem.

On the opposite side, Touko is in charge of the left side and back. She is using various means to intercept the attacks, such as shooting ki bullets and punching them directly. Perhaps she feels happiness in the act of protecting Deris, she is surprisingly the most stable protector.

Needless to say about Chinatsu. She deploys barriers with light magic, which is her specialty, and she is entrusted with the important role of protecting the front position where the attack is particularly intense. Nell is standing right behind her, so she’s extremely nervous. Even for Chinatsu, who loves thrill rides, this has turned into a thrilling sea tour in a different sense. It clearly looks tiresome.

「Hund-kun is swimming while fighting underwater, so you should at least defend above water perfectly.」

「「「Understood!」」」

As Deris pointed out, the dragons are also attacking relentlessly from the bottom of the sea. The intensity is not so different from that above the sea, to the point that a water pillar would frequently erupt to the surface. Hund is the King of the sea, so he hasn’t been hit yet, but he couldn’t afford to deal with the attacks from above the surface of the sea. If he were alone, he could dive underwater and concentrate on that battlefield, but he couldn’t do that because his comrades are on his back. Even his gentlemanly way of swimming, in consideration of Nell’s hangover, is almost reached its limit.

「I’m sorry, but do you mind if it shakes a little? The breath attacks become even more severe as we get closer to the land.」

「You heard him, Nell?」

「I’m fine now. I took a walk on the island earlier, so the alcohol is completely gone.」

「Okay. Hund-kun you can swim seriously.」

「Heh, got it. Be careful not to be shaken off!」

At that moment, a huge water pillar rises up. Having his limiter removed, Hund began to swim vigorously. Then, the dragons who were attacking with their breaths on the beach of the seventh island began to make a commotion.

「What!? T-They became faster!?」

「Nee-san, we can’t hit them! The target is big, but we can’t even graze it!」

「The guardians of this island don’t have to look like an idiot like Zuha. You don’t have to aim at them directly, just spread your breaths all over their path. I’ll do the rest.」

「Y-Yeah! Did you hear that!? We have Yuba-neesan with us! Don’t be afraid, keep shooting!」

Yuba’s calm and composed figure helped the dragons under her command to regain their composure. If they follow their older sister, who’s acknowledged by her Dad and Mom, they will surely be able to stop the challengers. Yuba, who’s standing behind them, has a dignity that makes them feel that way.

Unlike Zuha, who was defeated instantly on the sixth island, Yuba isn’t conceited and she doesn’t let her guard down. The complete defeat of Zuha made her recognize how dangerous the challengers this time are. That’s why she gathered all of their forces on the beach and on the sea and attacked the challengers while they have an advantageous position. She herself has already returned to the form of a giant dragon, and she’s ready for the battle. But so far, the outcome was far from what she hoped for.

(――Crap. I’ve prepared myself after I saw Zuha’s miserable state, but everything is beyond my expectations. The girls are at least as strong as me, and so is that big guy. I tried to investigate it, but to think that he’s the Great Eight Demons Hund Lind…. I and Zuha are always fooling around too much, so I think that it can’t be helped if we got scolded, but…. Dad, Mom, no matter how you see it, this is too much. Would you normally go that far? Especially the lazy old man and the real beauty in the middle, who the hell are they!? I’m sure Dad and Mom called those dangerous people here!)

Yuba acted calm, but her mind was like this. Still, as a general of the army, it’s admirable that she didn’t show her feelings outside.

「…… I will use Vesta Breath. The wind is going that way, but be careful not to get in front of me. I don’t have time to take care of idiots.」

「U-Understood! You guys, keep shooting your breaths and watch out for Yuba-neesan’s position! Notify the sea group and the sky group! Vesta Breath is incoming!」

With her pink mane swaying in the air, Yuba walks along the beach and steps forward in front of the line of dragons. Then, she opens her mouth and pink air is swirling from there.

―― Vesta Breath. The dragon’s breath she uses is extremely poisonous and causes severe painful illness to those who inhale it. It is the type of breath that does not shoot out vigorously, but spreads silently into the targeted space. It causes no physical damage, but its ability to annihilate living things is a threat.

「…… Nells-shishō, a large amount of poison is flowing from the island. The danger level is quite high.」

「Oh no, it looks bad for my skin. …. Hmm, should I burn it?」

「N-No, I’ve already taken precautions with Excious, so I don’t think it’ll be a problem. But just in case, I’ll also sterilize it. Op Room!」

At that moment, the pink threat that was approaching the Hund Ship disappeared.