BSS 91

Chapter 91

In that single moment, most of the mana I had was drained away. It had been a very long time since I’d ever felt this short on mana.

An eerie sound flowed out around Rai, and a massive gray form rose up, blocking the people’s view.

Shuuuwaaang.

It was an ear‑splitting sound.

Like metal being scraped—yet deeper, stranger.

The bright scene that had been lit by the breath attack was suddenly swallowed by a deep shadow.

That shadow was a gigantic shield—one that I could only assume was Rai.

With a tremendous roar, Rai had transformed into a massive shield.

“A shield?”

It looked to be about half the size of a dragon’s body. There were no patterns, no decorations—just a plain, round shape. Only its sheer size was overwhelming.

The ugly, dark‑colored shield looked unbelievable, but it was actually blocking the breath.

From the edges where the shield collided with the light of the breath, white remnants leaked out.

Where that light touched the ground, it turned everything into a handful of dust, without leaving even a fragment behind.

I stared in shock and awe at the power of the breath I was witnessing, then gasped again at Rai for stopping it. First things first, I grabbed the king by the wrist and pulled him back.

“What in the world is that…?!”

“Please, get up!”

The king rose awkwardly, following me. But Rai, pushed back by the force of the breath, was scraping along the ground and steadily being forced backward.

Kagagagak!

“What is that?!”

“Gah—get out of the way! Move back!”

Startled by the sudden appearance of the giant shield, people panicked and scattered.

Did they realize that the crude shield was actually saving their lives?

The despair briefly faded from their faces, replaced by shallow relief at being alive. But the limit came quickly.

A breath attack wasn’t something fired once and then stopped.

“What is that thing doing?!”

So that’s why it’s called the strongest weapon of the Middle Realm.

As the breath continued relentlessly, I shoved the king roughly toward the outskirts and ran toward Rai.

Cracks began to spread across the enormous shield Rai had become.

“Rai! Don’t die!”

[Ma… mas‑ter, ngh…!]

I wanted to live. But that didn’t mean I wanted Rai to die so I could survive alone.

To others, it might have looked like nothing more than a lump of metal, but to my eyes, I could see Rai desperately straining, pushing himself beyond his limits.

No matter how cruel I might be, I couldn’t abandon my spirit and run away.

Standing there felt like an act of defying gravity itself.

I forced myself forward through the crushing pressure—when someone grabbed my arm.

It was Ratshamu.

“What are you doing?! Why aren’t you running?!”

While Rai blocked the breath, most of the people had managed to escape.

Seeing them scatter in all directions eased me a little. And at the same time, I wished everyone could recognize how incredible Rai was.

The situation had flipped—now it was the dragon and Rai facing each other head‑on.

“Ratshamu!”

“I said let’s run!”

“I’m fine! Please take care of His Majesty!”

“What?!”

A little ways away, I could see the king desperately gesturing to me.

But I couldn’t leave Rai behind.

“I have to stay with Rai… with that shield!”

—Pakagak!

It was an ominous sound.

Unable to withstand the continuous pressure of the breath, the outer edge of the shield began to crumble.

If Rai shattered like that… what would happen? Would he be reverse‑summoned to the spirit realm like Undine? But Rai had said… that this was his real body.

He was different from Undine.

“Rai!”

I shook off Ratshamu’s hand and ran behind the shield.

I’d long since kicked off my shoes—I was barefoot.

[Ma, mas‑ter! I… can’t… anymore!]

“Stop it! Just because you’re a dragon, you think you can do whatever you want?! How long are you planning to keep this up?! Stop it!”

Rai’s going to die!

I shouted at the top of my lungs—and like a lie, the breath stopped.

At the same time, Rai melted down into a limp, viscous liquid and pooled at my feet.

[This time… you’ll praise me… right…?]

You little—making me cry at a time like this!

Without realizing it, my eyes filled with tears as I scooped up Rai, who had already returned to his snake form.

His once pure white body was gone, replaced by a pitiful, crumbling form with his tail missing—so grotesque it made my chest ache.

“Rai…”

[I… tried really hard… so please… stop calling me a snake… hehe…]

Muttering incoherently, Rai clearly had no idea what he was saying anymore.

I held him carefully, afraid he might fall apart.

Forgetting about the dragon, even for a moment, was incredibly stupid.

[…What’s that? Huh? What is that?]

“Uh…?”

The dragon—who had been spewing breath with murderous fury just moments ago—now leaned his head toward me, eyes sparkling.

He was panting like a huge puppy, heh‑heh, though the sound was painfully loud.

[What is that? It’s insanely hard, isn’t it?]

I had planned never to reveal Rai’s true nature to anyone. But everyone had fled far away, and the one asking wasn’t human—it was a dragon.

So in the end, I opened my mouth.

Reluctantly. Because I didn’t want to die.

“H‑He’s… a spirit.”

[A spirit?!]

“A metal spirit. His name is Rai…”

[Give him to me!]

There wasn’t even time to process the dragon’s sudden change in attitude.

A massive hand grabbed me. My bones ached. For a moment, it felt like my body lifted—

“Gyaaaah!”

In an instant, I was far from the ground.

I was being held in the dragon’s hand.

Wait! This is way too high!

Why did you grab me?!

I couldn’t even process what was happening, and suddenly being flung into the air made my stomach churn.

When I looked down, feeling like I was about to throw up, the royal palace looked no bigger than a fingernail.

And beneath my feet, mountains of jewels stretched out like the Milky Way, floating upward.

One by one, the jewels were sucked into a black hole.

To think I’d see that many gems and mithril in my lifetime.

No—before that, to think I’d see a dragon! No—being held by one… huh? Is this even real?

Did I fall asleep in the bath this morning or something?

Honestly, a dream would make more sense.

[Teleport.]

Tele—warp?! Huh?! Aaaaah!

Nooooo!

[Hey! Wake up.]

At the sudden voice, my eyes flew open—as if I hadn’t even realized I’d been unconscious.

The awareness that had sunk to the bottom surged back to the surface, and my body began to move without my consent.

For a brief moment, my body felt foreign, as if it didn’t belong to me.

Before I knew it, I was sitting upright with my eyes open.

“Ueugh…”

But my vision spun wildly, my head reeling so badly I couldn’t see anything clearly.

I didn’t even have the mental space to figure out where I was.

I wasn’t in my right mind—this was the aftereffect of movement magic, something that was practically forbidden to me.

Nonsensical sounds kept slipping from my mouth, and my neck wobbled uncontrollably like a newborn’s. I couldn’t even support my own body.

“What’s wrong with her? Why’s she like that?”

Do I need to wear a sign or something?

Warp prohibited, like this?

Just how far did we move for it to feel this awful?

[Get a hold of yourself!]

That voice again.

There was an overwhelming force in it—one I couldn’t resist.

It was as if every cell in my body obeyed that voice completely.

Like instinctively flattening yourself when you sense mortal danger.

Ignoring my will, my body did exactly what the voice commanded.

I see. This must be Dragon Speech.

That forcibly binding magical language dragons use.

“Huh?”

As if by magic, my mind cleared completely. My dulled senses came back to life, and everything around me flooded into my vision at once.

Still sitting, I rolled my eyes around.

I was inside what seemed to be a cave—an unimaginably vast one, so wide that its far end was swallowed by darkness.

It was large enough to fit dozens of royal banquet halls.

The ceiling, towering far above, was studded with countless glowing magic stones.

‘Could this be… the Dragon Lair I’ve only ever heard rumors about?’

Then where’s the dragon? And Rai?

The moment I realized that the thing that should always be by my side was missing, I heard Rai’s voice.

[Master!]

“Hah… using Dragon Speech twice really wears me out. Hey! Human!”

A thick, hoarse, rumbling voice joined in.

It had to be the dragon.

Tensing up, I looked around nervously.