LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 86
Roseha closed her eyes and shared her vision with the doll.
The northern hero party was still in battle.
They had hoped for support from the eastern lieutenant, but that too was out of the question.
‘This is hopeless.’
Once again, troops surged towards them, binding their feet.
These insignificant undead poured in endlessly.
Their driving force wasn’t malice but rather tenacity and obsession. They were simply consuming their forces to buy time.
Of course, Calandas wouldn’t miss this opportunity that isolated him.
When she opened her eyes, the hexagonal Bond Dragon filled her sight.
It was a matter of holding out against this beast.
Or waiting for assistance from the lieutenant or hero party to arrive.
Holding onto hope, Roseha raised her longsword.
“Dream Escape, Illusory Vision.”
The commanders’ pupils turned pink.
Just as she was about to command them to attack the Bond Dragon—
“─────!!”
The Dragon’s Fear howled loudly.
The shockwave caused their pupils to revert back to red.
Freed from the brainwashing, the two raised their staff and great swords towards Roseha.
The supreme dragon’s fear could identify friend from foe.
Roxanne was an example of this. The fear awakened allies’ spirits while simultaneously restricting the enemy’s movements.
All of Roseha’s movements came to a halt due to the fear.
Though it was only for an instant, that instant was fatal.
Crack— The Bond Dragon opened its huge maw, three rings forming in a straight line from its throat.
The commanders stepped back a few paces to avoid getting caught in it.
A low hum began—
Unbelievable magical power condensed at the first ring.
By the time it passed the second ring, the energy density had increased, and by the time it reached the third ring, it had changed from blue to a muddy hue.
Just when Roseha finally regained her freedom of movement—
───!
A highly condensed breath was expelled, shaking the ground.
In that split second, not even the faintest sound could be heard. Only vibrations reverberated in the silence.
The impact of the hit caused chaos and kicked up clouds of dust everywhere. Following closely was a sonic boom that threatened to deafen.
The muddy breath couldn’t pierce the curtain of air and split into two.
Even though she had blocked the first hit, the breath continued relentlessly for another round.
Roseha gritted her teeth in despair.
She could only perceive the initial breath.
This wasn’t some ordinary Bond Dragon. It wielded a power that could rival that of the Seven Lairs’ Lords.
The intuition in her mind and the sensation in her skin sent waves of shock.
Crack! The barrier that surrounded Roseha creaked. Before she had a chance to overlay more layers, dozens of barriers shattered.
At the same time, the barrage of breath from the Bond Dragon stopped.
Roseha let out a hollow laugh.
“I didn’t think it’d come to this without even being Calandas…”
The Lord of the Seven Lairs always concealed his full power due to his natural intimidating presence.
He would only bring out his full strength when faced with another Lord of the Seven Lairs.
Logically, she had intended to handle Calandas like this, but this was almost indistinguishable from a crisis.
Fighting the Bond Dragon was more than enough challenge; even surviving an hour felt like an impossibility.
“Well, my husband will manage the rest.”
She entrusted the final Calandas to Barugore.
Swish—
A violet aura surrounded Roseha, twisting the air around her.
Her internal mana surged. Her body felt light as if floating.
The longsword she held was sharpened, and its blade began to mesh together rapidly.
Crack—
Another set of wings sprouted from the Bond Dragon’s back.
The hexagonal shape above its head had now become octagonal, and its pupils had grown more ferocious.
Roseha’s eyes widened unnaturally.
“…You too?”
Instead of answering, a giant body surged forward like a fortress.
Roseha spread her wings and took to the air. The Bond Dragon also prepared to ascend, flapping its four pairs of wings.
Whoosh!
Kicking up a storm and clouds of sand, they floated through the air.
In an instant, a massive magic circle cast its shadow across the sky.
Chains hailed down in torrents at Roseha’s beckoning gesture.
Swoosh!
The chains constricted the Bond Dragon tightly.
Roseha swung the enlarged longsword at it. The air was slit apart as the blade struck like a whip.
But it hit nothing but empty air.
A mound of earth sprang from the ground, obstructing her attack.
“Ugh.”
Roseha clicked her tongue and looked down.
Magic circles appeared to the left and right of the Archlich. Meanwhile, a corpse golem bent its knees and exploded forward.
The golem, approaching Roseha in an instant, attempted to envelop her.
Screech—
Before it could, the longsword glided through its entire form. Limbs severed, the corpse golem crashed down to the ground.
Oddly out of place, it wore an unpleasant grin. It felt it had done its job simply by stealing a moment from Roseha.
Roseha’s gaze sharpened as she looked ahead.
The Bond Dragon had already closed in.
Boom!
She was barreled into and sent flying several meters, crashing into the ground.
Roseha grimaced as she pushed her body upright. A foreign sensation was rising in her throat. *Thud*. She spat out blood-tinged saliva and tightened her grip on the sword.
Undead were closing in around her. The longsword carved a half-circle.
Scrape!
In the wake of the slicing sound, the undead fell like autumn leaves.
Whoosh! Suddenly, a fierce wind surged towards Roseha.
A massive tail, akin to a spear, was in motion. Roseha quickly raised both arms.
Thud!
Withstands that impact, Roseha was pushed back dozens of steps. The ground below her caved in, and the dust clouded her view.
Amidst the swirling dust, a dark spot loomed into view. An omen from the breath. Just as Roseha instinctively unfurled her barrier.
Whoosh!
A black magic circle appeared at her feet.
The moment she glimpsed the magic’s structure and scale, realization dawned on her.
This wasn’t a spell from the Archlich.
‘Calandas.’
As if remotely demonstrating the sealing magic, it was now time for Roseha to be obstructed.
Clang! A series of needles suddenly sprang upward and pierced through the barrier. Immediately, chains rained down from above, ensnaring an unprotected Roseha.
Boom───!
Coming together, the muddy breath was unleashed.
Crackling!
The breath engulfed Roseha, and a pit opened at its epicenter.
Naturally, smoke billowed up all around. As the backdraft cleared, the bloodied Roseha emerged.
“Ha…”
Heavy breaths seeped through her lips.
She thought she could somehow hold out against the two commanders and the Bond Dragon.
But Calandas’s remote magic was beyond her capacity to endure…
Roseha couldn’t maintain her confidence.
An internal tally revealed that a little over 30 minutes had passed.
She felt like she was dying, yet there was still half of the battle remaining.
Pop!
Without warning, a magic circle appeared in the sky.
With its appearance as a high-level ninth circle spell, it was once again Calandas’s remote magic.
Whoosh—
A dark spot was condensing at the Bond Dragon’s mouth.
Several magic circles had also sprung up around it.
“…I might actually die.”
After receiving support magic from Calandas, she no longer thought about returning alive.
Even if she tried escaping, she’d perish at the end of a chase.
She didn’t want to die in vain. It would be risky for Barugore if that happened.
So, she could only choose to die with some value.
‘Better deal with the pesky nuisances first.’
Roseha locked her eyes on the Archlich directing the magic.
In an instant, she propelled herself towards it.
As Roseha rushed in, magic was expelled from the multitude of seals filling the area.
Boom──!
Even directly hit, Roseha swallowed her blood and charged ahead.
Though the chains binding her paused momentarily, her mana was ignited, and she broke free.
After closing the distance, she made contact with the Archlich.
The lich, however, used teleportation magic to create separation. Roseha expected nothing less.
In turn, Roseha vanished after teleporting, landing behind the lich.
Just before the lich turned around.
Clang!
The longsword coiled around it like a snake. Saw-like blades tore its entire body apart.
Thud— In the end, it shattered into pieces, scattering like fertilizer across the ground.
There was no time to rest. No time even to catch her breath.
Without pausing, she barreled towards the corpse golem.
Whoosh—
From the earth, a magic circle burst forth. Roseha disregarded it and propelled herself forward.
Just before reaching it, the golem swung its massive sword. However, it cleaved nothing but air. Like before, Roseha had teleported behind it.
Clang!
The golem too was turned to dust, scattered over the ground.
Swish! Roseha flicked the blood off her longsword.
She had removed the annoying obstacles.
But that alone didn’t suffice for her.
The Bond Dragon was still in a prime state.
Before her eyes, the Bond Dragon charged forward relentlessly.
Just as she was about to react, another barrage of magical chains descended from the sky.
“Damn skeleton—”
Boom!
Roseha was helplessly thrown away.
As she tumbled to the ground, the Bond Dragon aimed to swallow her whole.
Roseha faintly opened her eyes. Blood trickled down from her head, blurring her vision.
Boom──!
A streak of black breath shot straight out, engulfing Roseha.
Roseha unfurled her barrier and barely managed to block it.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The Bond Dragon flapped its wings violently.
Only the pressure from the wind caused her body to sway.
What Barugore would have to face wasn’t just the Bond Dragon.
There was also Calandas’s remote magic. It was essentially a 2-on-1 against a Lord of the Seven Lairs.
Right at that moment, Roseha couldn’t even think about fleeing; she was barely holding on.
No matter how formidable Barugore was, victory was out of the question.
So, the best she could do was to create circumstances for him to win.
“At least take down a leg….”
She needed to sever one limb to lighten Barugore’s burden.
Taking one leg from a Lord of the Seven Lairs would be absurdly expensive.
Yet, Roseha was now at her limit.
Over the course of relentless attacks, her injuries were evident. Her internal injuries were just as significant, thrown her mana circuits into chaos.
Her consciousness was growing increasingly faint. Her eyelids began to droop.
Roseha narrowed her eyes and spat out blood-tinged saliva.
***
Ten minutes remaining.
Thudd. Roseha’s knees hit the ground.
She propped herself up with the pommel but was already on the verge of collapse.
Blood gushed from her mouth. The lethargy that surged through her entire body threatened to extinguish her life force.
With trembling hands, Roseha weakly grasped the earth.
She had thought she could sever one leg, but that too was greed.
Holding out against Calandas and the Bond Dragon’s relentless coordinated attacks was an ordeal in itself.
Frankly, just remaining alive until now was a feat.
In her limited vision, she spotted the Bond Dragon soaring towards her.
Boom! Out of nowhere, a mound of earth rose.
Startled, Roseha turned her head.
“I’m sorry. I’m late.”
“We did our best to come quickly— huh? Why is your condition…?”
Isabella gasped, covering her mouth in shock.
Charlotte’s eyes widened significantly as well.
Roseha’s condition was utterly devastating.
From no one else but the Lord of the Seven Lairs. Seeing her like this was a great shock.
Roseha let out a hollow laugh.
She had revealed a sight unbecoming of her.
At this point, she didn’t even have the luxury to make such comments.
Struggling, Roseha opened her mouth.
With a gurgle, blood spilled out. The words followed after.
“…Ten minutes.”
Her trembling fingertips pointed at one spot.
“Barugore, the sealing gem. Ten minutes….”
Her strength had faded to the point where she could barely form sentences.
Realizing it, Charlotte nodded.
“It’ll be hard.”
It was tough to last even five minutes.
But there was no other choice. They had to expect something to happen.
With that last thought, Roseha lost her strength and collapsed.
Crack!
The Bond Dragon burst through the mound of earth, surveying the surroundings.
Everywhere, the magic circles formed by Charlotte and Isabella’s blood magic rose without a gap.
─!
They released piercing sounds all at once, yet the Bond Dragon didn’t budge.
Even after being struck directly, there wasn’t a single scratch.
Just as Charlotte activated her follow-up magic.
Whoosh!
The Bond Dragon’s flapping wings halted the magic lances instantly and the energy dissipated into the air.
The crimson daggers conjured from the blood magic fared no better.
Charlotte bit down hard on her lips.
This was the Bond Dragon that had pushed Roseha to the brink of death.
While they had anticipated its might, they hadn’t expected their attacks to be utterly ineffective.
It was then that chains of magic rained down upon them from above.
The origin of the magic was unmistakable. At that moment, Charlotte deduced who the caster was.
It was definitely Calandas’s remote magic.
“Be careful—”
Roseha’s warning got drowned out in the impending chaos.
─!
The muddy breath descended relentlessly.
Clang! The five layers of barriers surrounding Charlotte shattered in an instant.
She quickly made a decision.
She had to pour all her energy into defense. Even that wasn’t easy for ten minutes now.
No, was it now eight minutes?
Charlotte hastily built up mounds of earth and unfurled her barriers.
Swoosh, swoosh.
Meanwhile, the fallen Roseha gasped heavily.
“Isabella, please take care of the Lord.”
“Yes!”
The vampire lacked practical methods for defense.
On top of that, salvaging a Lord’s noble blood through a mere transfusion was simply insufficient.
Tending to her wounds would likely be an arduous task as well.
Succubi were of the demon lineage. Due to their physical traits, healing magic wouldn’t work on them.
They had to rely solely on natural healing, and judging by Roseha’s condition, there was little hope.
At this point, worrying about others felt like a luxury.
Charlotte’s eyes widened in horror as she looked ahead.
‘It broke through already?’
The Bond Dragon had crashed through the mounds of earth in a single burst.
Before Charlotte could raise her hands again, the giant body barreled into her.
In a single blow, the barrier shattered and Charlotte’s body was launched into the air without resistance.
Finally landing on the ground, she coughed up blood.
“Gah! Ugh…!”
Boom!
A tail, akin to a spear, crushed her previous position.
Charlotte, her consciousness dimming, blinked desperately to wake.
The Bond Dragon was preparing its breath attack.
Strangely, it wasn’t aiming at Roseha or Isabella; it was targeting the gem.
It soon dawned on Charlotte with a gleam in her eye.
It was clearly targeting the boss that would soon be freed.
Creak.
Charlotte bit down hard on her teeth, shaking off her despondency and gathering all her magic.
Boom!
Despite the barrage of spells released, the Bond Dragon didn’t even twitch.
All she could do was pour every ounce of mana into a spell to inflate the dark mark. Ten rings formed in series from its ferocious maw.
The plan was to expend all her mana within eight minutes to take out the boss in one fell swoop.
Yet, she knew that solely relying on her magic and Isabella’s blood spells wouldn’t be enough to stop it.
Like a fly that hardly posed a threat, it simply continued to condense its mana.
“No, no….”
Roseha struggled to rise.
Her feeble steps headed towards the Bond Dragon. Before long, she lost her balance and fell.
Whoosh─!!
The remote magic circles appeared around the gem.
Endless magic circles continued to pile up from below. Their target was only one—the gem.
Double, triple, even tenfold, the overlapping circles emitted brilliant lights.
Blood trickled from Charlotte’s lips.
At this point, even Calandas’s magic couldn’t be held back by the Bond Dragon.
“Oh….”
From mana exhaustion, Charlotte’s body crumbled.
Even though she had launched an all-out attack until her mana ran out, the Bond Dragon remained unscathed.
Squeak!
Eventually, the gem shattered.
From within, a burst of light emerged, soon taking the form of a Death Knight.
Twenty layers of remote magic circles interlocked grandly.
Moreover, the breath it unleashed was awash with untamed power.
“Oh….”
Charlotte could only watch, dumbfounded, at the scene unfolding before her.
***
…What on earth just happened?
Out of nowhere, her vision warped, and when she regained consciousness, she found herself back in reality.
Suddenly drawn into a phantom space and then abruptly thrust back out.
Her mind was left bewildered by this peculiar experience. What jolted her back to reality were the tragic sights surrounding her.
She flinched involuntarily.
Off in the distance lay Roseha, Charlotte, and Isabella, all collapsed.
While her instinct screamed to dash over and check on them, for some reason, her whole body refused to move.
Late to notice, magic circles intertwined on the ground caught her eye.
Above the ground she stood, massive circles shadowed over her.
‘Screw this, what the hell?’
She was so taken aback that she almost cursed aloud.
But there was no way to solve it with obscenities.
She couldn’t afford to panic; doing so could cost her life.
She had to find a way to fight back against that magic. There was no need for extravagant thoughts or actions.
“Anti-Magic Dragon Scale. Double.”
A spell that boasted the strongest defense against magic.
Along with that, she drew the mana eater outside, forming a barrier.
Alternating her gaze between the ground and sky’s magic circles revealed that something was amiss.
‘Screw it. Am I not going to be able to block it?’
Upon closer inspection, the circles overlapped infinitely.
Only then did she grasp Calandas’s scheme.
He had trapped her in this phantom space, exploiting that to set up an all-out attack.
It wasn’t just his magic. The Bond Dragon Briyagon, whose appearance was much later, was preparing to unleash a breath right in front of her.
‘Ah.’
This was bad. There was no way she could handle this alone.
She needed to ask the other three for help, but they were all collapsed and only gazing over here.
By the look of it, moving even seemed impossible.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, dozens of spells erupted from the ground.
The mana eater in the shape of a barrier absorbed some of the magic—but only a fraction. Higher circle magic that couldn’t be intercepted engulfed her body.
The anti-magic dragon scale broke apart, and the mana eater infiltrated her body.
Eventually, the magic circles that had once formed the ground vanished.
Thanks to the defense, the pain wasn’t severe, but it was far from over.
When she looked up to the sky, she could see magic pouring down in unison.
Along with that, the Bond Dragon’s breath attack was aimed straight at her.
The undead couldn’t close their eyes.
They could only stand there, taking in the entirety of the scene.
───!
The barrage of magic canceled out against the breath.
Remnants of mana scattered into the air. The continuous bombardment clashed with the unyielding breath.
Finally, only after all the magic had dissipated into the air did the breath come to a halt.
…What was this? Was it a misfire?
It was a situation so unbelievable it felt surreal.
The Bond Dragon’s breath didn’t even aim for her, and yet why was Calandas’s retainer targeting her?
As she stared blankly at it, she noticed it flapping its wings, soaring towards her.
For a moment, she instinctively took a step back.
[Lv. 95]
The numbers and level glowed a deep green.
……What in the world?
Before she knew it, it had landed right beside her.
To top it off, it shoved its nose right up to her.
She had seen this behavior often from Helboki, who would act like this whenever it wanted to be petted.
At that moment, a deep intake of breath echoed around her.
The three stared at her, mouths agape. For a moment, time seemed paused as they all focused solely on her.
Their gazes seemed to question her.
But she was just as clueless. She didn’t know why it was behaving like this.
“…Looks like it recognized a strong one and decided to submit.”
Oh well, whatever.
She just decided to ramble without a care.