How to Raise Your Skeletons

Chapter 125: Aranballon vs. the Giant Magic Dragon (2)

“Grraaaaaaaah!”

Aranballon roared.

The balance that had seemed unbreakable was shattered. In a tense tug-of-war, the moment one side lost its footing and faltered, the balance would break rapidly—Aranballon was in a similar situation. Because of the bitter defeat of his spartoi, Aranballon was surrounded by drakes.

“You damn pests! Annoying creatures! Get out of my sight!”

Even though they were mere insects compared to the Dragon of Greed, minor changes in the balance of power turned out to be more important than expected.

“Perish!”

After enduring and enduring, Aranballon finally twisted its body and whipped its tail. In a standoff where even the slightest mistake was unforgivable, letting them cling any longer would only ruin its movement and coordination.

“Screeeech!”

Aranballon spun 360 degrees, fiercely swatting away the clinging drakes.

—Boom!

With an earth-shaking sound, the drakes exploded. Blood splattered, and chunks of flesh rained down. The force of the swings was so great that even the drakes further back flinched and stopped charging. However…

“Hehehe, so you finally left an opening.”

At that moment, a sinister whisper from the Giant Magic Dragon came from behind Aranballon.

“…!”

Aranballon urgently gathered up energy. It instinctively knew that there was no avoiding the incoming attack. It had never been struck by such a slow attack, but now there was no choice but to take it.

—Vwooom!

Gathering all its strength and energy, Aranballon glared at the Giant Magic Dragon.

“Come at me, invader!”

—Boom!

At that moment, the Giant Magic Dragon’s right claw struck Aranballon’s torso.

“Krrgh!”

Before it could regain its senses from the unexpected shock, a barrage of follow-up attacks came in succession.

—Bam! Boom! Bam!

Slow but precise and powerful strikes, one after another!

Stronger than I thought.

Aranballon had to admit it was being pushed back. The slightly shifted balance was now becoming too much to handle.

Damn it, because of those otherworldly beings…

Individually, they weren’t much of a threat. But when they took the Giant Magic Dragon’s side, it was a different story. The balance between the two dragons had been golden.

—Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

“Grrr…”

The Giant Magic Dragon’s relentless flurry of attacks was fierce. Even with its guard raised, the penetrating shock shook Aranballon to the core.

Damn it, this is maddening.

Dealing with the Giant Magic Dragon’s barrage was hard enough, but then the drakes started clinging again on the other side. Their interference gave the Giant Magic Dragon far more room for maneuvers.

I’m stuck in a situation where I can’t do anything.

If it focused on the drakes, it would inevitably allow an attack from the Giant Magic Dragon. If it only focused on defense, it would be overwhelmed by the sheer number of drakes.

Moreover, the Giant Magic Dragon was cunning. Rather than acting recklessly, it slowly built up momentum like a snowball.

“You’ve gone silent, haven’t you?”

The Giant Magic Dragon grinned. It struck carefully without overextending itself.

“As expected!”

—Bam! Bam!

Each landed hit caused Aranballon’s massive body to retreat. Dust billowed up in thick clouds.

“The saying that excessive greed leads to one’s downfall is an eternal truth in any world!”

The Giant Magic Dragon maintained focus, relentlessly delivering powerful blows.

Faster.

[The Giant Magic Dragon roars.]

Faster still.

[The Giant Magic Dragon amplifies gravity magic.]

Even faster.

[The Giant Magic Dragon amplifies gravity magic.]

A tangible aura radiated from the Giant Magic Dragon’s eyes. As if striking to a rhythm, the attacks reached their peak just as a thunderous roar erupted from Aranballon’s mouth.

“Begone!”

[Aranballon used ‘Dragon Fear.’]

—Boom!

A massive wave of pressure spread out in a circular pattern, blasting away the drakes and the Giant Magic Dragon surrounding it.

—Rumble!

The shockwave churned up the ground and sent thick clouds of dust flying far away.

“Oh? So you still have some strength left?”

The Giant Magic Dragon frowned. Tilting its head, it observed Aranballon’s condition. Then its expression grew even darker.

“No way, are you…?”

—Whoosh…

Tremendous energy surged into Aranballon’s body, drawing in energy from all directions like a black hole.

“Are you thinking of using a breath attack?”

The breath attack—a dragon’s breath. It was the most powerful technique of all dragons, unleashing all their might in a single, destructive blast. However, using it would almost completely drain their strength, so it wasn’t preferable to use in any case.

This just shows how desperate it is right now.

The Giant Magic Dragon nodded. Even it had considered using a breath attack earlier when it was being pushed back. It wasn’t an incomprehensible decision. It was just a bitter one.

“Very well.”

Acknowledging this, the Giant Magic Dragon opened its mouth wide.

“I won’t lose in a contest of strength.”

—Growlllll…

The Giant Magic Dragon also began gathering all its power in its mouth.

[Aranballon prepares its breath.]

[The Giant Magic Dragon prepares its breath.]

As time passed, the intensity of their power grew fiercer.

—Rumble!

The ground and walls crumbled into fragments, and the shattered corpses of spartoi and drakes began to melt away. It was an unyielding confrontation between the two dragons.

The team members watching the scene wore astonished expressions.

“Is everyone okay? Damn it! The shield is completely broken!” Olena shouted urgently.

“Damn it! Hold on tight!” Vladimir shouted as well. He was tightly gripping the Spear of Judgment’s spear planted in the ground. “This wind is insane! We’ll all be sucked in if we’re not careful!”

Dust and air were being drawn into the dragons’ gaping mouths. They even tried to block it with Vladimir’s spatial magic. It wasn’t the type of force that could be stopped. Moreover…

—Crrrack!

The ground beneath them began to crack. Fragments of the floor broke apart and shot into the air, flying toward the dragons.

“Kyahhh!”

The first to lose their footing was Myoi Hana because she had the weakest strength of the team.

“Sunny!”

“Yes, my lord!”

At that moment, Sunny, who was closest to her, leaped through the air and grabbed her waist. Simultaneously, he shot downward, stabbing his spear into the ground.

—Boom!

But perhaps they were now too close to the dragons; both the spear and their bodies began to be dragged closer to the dragons.

—Creak! Creak!

Lifting Myoi Hana as well must have made it even harder.

“Huff.”

I, too, clung to the spear embedded in the ground, exhaling deeply. I was gripping it with such force that veins bulged on my neck, and my arms trembled uncontrollably. The rest of the team was holding out in their own ways, but…

At this rate…

It would be over. Before the two dragons could unleash their breath attacks, we’d all be reduced to dust. Moreover, even if we somehow managed to endure, the aftermath of their breath attacks colliding would surely sweep us away.

I guess I have no choice, huh?

Finally, I pulled out my hidden trump card.

[Item: Wish-Granting Scroll]

[Rank: S]

[Type: Scroll]

[Description: Use in moments of crisis, and it will provide exactly what you need.]

[Effect 1: Ancient magic aids you in critical moments.]

I didn’t know what kind of answer it would provide, but I’d say this was indeed a crisis.

Oh, ancient magic, please give me an answer! Even if it’s unexpected, just help me somehow!

Placing the scroll in my mouth, I tore it open with my left hand in one satisfying motion.

[Using the item: ‘Wish-Granting Scroll’ (S-rank).]

—Flash!

In that instant, the scroll in my hand began to emit a white light.

—Bzzzz! Buzzz!

It vibrated violently. Simultaneously, a message appeared.

—Ring!

[‘Ancient Magic’ (SSS-rank) recognizes the crisis.]

“…What?” My eyes widened.

Recognizing the crisis was one thing, but SSS-rank? So ancient magic had ranks? Not to mention that it was at SSS-rank. I could swear this was the first time I saw such a rank since the last time when I received the weapon as a reward.

Oh. Then this might actually be worth anticipating. I’d say this might be more helpful than most top-ranking players.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

As I entertained such hopeful thoughts…

[‘Ancient Magic’ (SSS-rank) opens its eyes wide.]

[‘Ancient Magic’ (SSS-rank) is astonished by such an amazing existence.]

[‘Ancient Magic’ (SSS-rank) reverently bows.]

…Huh? What? An amazing existence? What nonsense was this?

—Buzzzz!

At that moment, the spear in my right hand vibrated slightly.

[‘Element of Fire’ awakens.]

“Element of Fire?”

[‘Element of Fire’ asks what the occasion is.]

What was even happening?

I quickly looked around. I wanted to see if the messages appearing in my view were visible to anyone else.

“D-Damn it! My hands hurt!”

“Shield! Use whatever energy you have left to cast more!”

“If I had any left, I would’ve already used it!”

But my teammates were too busy screaming to notice anything. It seemed none of them were aware of the conversation between the Ancient Magic and the Element of Fire.

[‘Ancient Magic’ (SSS-rank) declares it has come to fulfill the ‘Ancient Covenant.’]

[It asks permission to use its power before its great presence…]

[‘Element of Fire’ tells it to shut its mouth.]

[…?!]

—Buzz!

The torn pieces of the scroll in my left hand trembled faintly.

So in summary… a ridiculously powerful entity called “Ancient Magic” was groveling before a fragment of my weapon.

“…”

I stared blankly at the spear in my right hand.

Wow. It’s truly worthy of its godslayer rank. What an incredible thing I have!

Even though it had never responded when I summoned it before. Still, for it to treat an SSS-rank being like that…

[‘Ancient Magic’ (SSS-rank) is flustered.]

[‘Ancient Magic’ (SSS-rank) asks what the problem is.]

[‘Element of Fire’ tells it to drop the unnecessary adjectives.]

[‘Element of Fire’ tells it to stop wasting time and do its job.]

…

Element of Fire, this guy… It’s tougher than I thought.

[‘Element of Fire’ shrugs indifferently and closes its eyes again.]

…

Then silence.

“Hey, excuse me? Element of Fire? If you suddenly wake up, at least talk to me. You don’t even respond when I usually call you,” I mumbled, looking at the weapon.

As expected, even after a few seconds, there was no response.

[‘Ancient Magic’ (SSS-rank) hurriedly proceeds.]

Fine. Whatever it might be, just hurry up.

“Gahh, I can’t hold on for 10 more seconds!”

“I-I’m losing grip! Ahhh! W-Wait! My hands are slipping!”

If this took any longer, we’d be doomed.

[‘Ancient Magic’ (SSS-rank) assesses the crisis.]

[The caster needs absolute defense for a limited time.]

[‘Ancient Magic’ (SSS-rank) locates the appropriate magic.]

Then the skill gifted by this never-before-seen entity was another skill I’d never seen in my life.

[‘Ancient Magic’ (SSS-rank) uses the skill ‘Space Separation’ (SSS-rank).]

[‘Ancient Magic’ (SSS-rank) wishes you good luck.]

At that moment…

—Thump!

The world flashed.