The time for conserving resources was over.

  Adama immediately pointed the fire dagger at the pursuing Plague Dragon, unleashing every last bit of its magic in a mighty blast. The dragon had been prepared for this kind of thing, and it swiftly presented an intact flank, taking the attack on the toughest portion of its body. Adama was already calling out orders to the others:

  “Stop running! Emi, shield! Archers, explosive arrows on the dragon. Don’t hold back!”

  He didn’t further elaborate as he dashed right at the Salamander horde, summoning the Hidden blade in his empty hand as the magic dagger crumbled to dust. The others obeyed him instantly, standing their ground and turning to target the dragon. Emi began her chant as Lilli and the elves unloaded their explosives on the Plague dragon, which remained in a defensive posture. As the explosives roared to life behind him, Adama dove headfirst into the army of red lizards, swinging his blades in powerful arcs. He stabbed a Hidden Blade into one monster, only to abandon it and summon another by calling out its chant. Their blood burned, and he was forced to take some of their fiery breath directly, but Adama blocked out the pain and focused on killing as many monsters as he could. His dragon’s hide robe would keep him alive. This strategy was so effective that he managed to call the whole group’s attention to himself.

  Exactly as planned.

  On the other side of things, the dragon faced a heavy bombardment. The elves had brought quite a few explosive arrows, and Lilli had replenished her stock of explosive bolts at the village, and they’d been told not to hold back. Their rapid-fire fusillade lit up the valley, forcing the dragon to simply hunker down and weather the storm. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to last, as this rapid assault thinned their explosive supply considerably. Eventually, the last explosive detonated onto the creature’s hide, and things were suddenly much quieter. The bombs had kicked up a large cloud of dust and smoke, which lingered for a few breaths until rapid movement dispelled it in dramatic fashion.

  The Plague Dragon emerged, badly burnt on one side of its body and visibly livid, yet clearly more motivated than ever to tear the party apart. It gave that horrible cough once again, pulling back its neck and making a special effort to gather its energy. Before it could turn the party into a puddle of goo, a determined feminine voice announced their salvation:

  “Rock of Ages!”

  A single, flat shield, limited in size to increase its effectiveness, appeared between the warriors and the Plague Dragon. At the same time, the monster spat a long stream of dark black gunk straight at them. It foundered on the powerful protection, Emi gritting her teeth as she held the barrier fast. Despite this determination, the poison seemed to have no end, slowly eroding the barrier even as Emi poured more and more magic into it. Her Mage ability, Chant Connection, and iron will allowed her to punch above her Level for a certain period of time. It wouldn’t last as the dragon poured on the pressure, but it didn’t have to.

  Valar and the others had already switched gears. Valar took command as Adama dealt with the group behind them, ordering the others to retrieve another special arrow. These had tips that glittered a soft, bluish white, and the elves took aim at the monster’s open mouth at Valar’s command. They unleashed at the same time, sending the projectiles into the creature’s jaws and throat. They broke on impact, and the temperature promptly plummeted. In a matter of moments, the dragon’s entire mouth was frozen solid, its powerful breath attack trickling to a halt. The elves poured on the pressure, unleashing more ice arrows on the dragon’s head. They’d been hoping to save these for the Sun Dragon, but it couldn’t be helped.

  In no time, the dragon’s head was frozen solid. It continued to move, albeit in a disoriented fashion. Swinging its neck around, it crashed its head into the canyon’s walls in an attempt to break free. Valar and the others didn’t give it any rest, aiming at the beast’s body with incendiary arrows. For a short time, the fiend was in agony as it was simultaneously burned and frozen on both ends. That ended when the ice finally shattered, and it was able to brush off the fire that had been covering its body. The Plague Dragon took a moment to glare hatefully at the fighters who’d given it so much grief. The elves were now officially tapped out for special arrows. They could only load up mundane arrows with grim expressions, taking aim even as they knew full well that these would hardly do anything. Lilli grimaced as she reached into her bag, preparing to use her last resort. The Plague Dragon stalked over, unleashing its toxic breath against the shield with a vengeance. Just as things seemed to reach their darkest, another voice called out:

  Stolen story; please report.

  “Endless Sword.”

  Adama had been spending this entire time cutting through the Salamanders with precision and force. He’d been regularly creating Hidden blades at maximum power, planting them in the bodies of the Salamanders and allowing those victims to rampage around, blades still stuck in their flesh. Since they were max power, the Hidden blades had a lot of staying power, and once Adama felt he’d planted enough seeds he uncorked his ultimate attack. A max power Endless Sword that resonated with the Hidden blades dispersed throughout the crowd of monsters by their ambling carriers. The enemies surrounding Adama were turned into a fine mist, with numerous others even further away being butchered as well. The battlefield was drenched in a lake of blood, the army of monsters suddenly decimated. Satisfied, Adama turned and sprinted away, shouting at the others:

  “Pivot!”

  The elves quickly grasped his meaning, pivoting to shoot at the few Salamanders who still had some fight left in them. Adama subtly signaled at Lilli to hold off, and she happily took her hand out of her bag. Legs pumping, Adama sprinted across the ravine’s rocky floor before leaping up and running across the valley’s wall. He ran through Emi’s shield, surprising the Plague Dragon with a Rippling sword straight to its face as he dashed sideways. The monster flinched away, saving its vulnerable eye at the cost of letting up on its breath attack. Adama dropped back on the ground, shooting off more Rippling swords even as he closed the distance.

  Hearthblade flashing, Adama drew the dragon into a close quarters battle. Were it in perfect health, this would have been a tough duel. As it was, the swordsman was supremely confident as he laid on the pressure, waiting for the heavily wounded dragon to make a mistake. He got exactly what he wanted when the monster’s weakened left side struck out with a relatively feeble claw strike. Adama muscled it aside, throwing the beast off balance as he stepped inside its guard. His first swing neatly severed the weakened leg’s tendons, his next three tore up its already mangled chest. Adama jumped back before too much blood could get on his body, shaking it off what did get on him even as he kept his eyes on his opponent. The dragon tried to pursue, seemingly forgetting what had just been done to its leg. When the limb inevitably buckled, Adama closed the distance again.

  Jumping, he kicked off the wall, hurtling toward the beast’s head. Snarling, the dragon’s jaws opened up, biting at the flying adventurer even as his momentum carried him over its head. The leap had been a feint, bating it into overextending, and Adama flipped over the dragons attack harmlessly. He turned around in mid-air, landing on the other wall of the canyon and kicking off it. In a single, neat stroke, Adama sliced right through the monster’s spine as he hurtled through the air.

  Soon after this fatal attack, the elves drove off the last of the Salamander army. Adama punctuated things by taking a swig from an antidote and a health potion, swiftly rejuvenating back into full fighting form.

  Some investigation turned up the bait bags, and Adama and Valar traded glances. Fortunately, they’d been ready for this kind of thing ever since the fiasco at the banquet. Adama was a bit surprised that the lurking assassins hadn’t tried something sooner, but it did make a kind of sense that they would wait until the party reached the most dangerous location before making their move. These kinds of traps were low risk, high reward, as using the monsters to do their dirty work allowed the enemy to remain in the shadows. Adama briefly considered trying to track down their pursuers, but they were usually careful to remain outside of his range of perception. Chasing them down would be akin to chasing after shadows, and he didn’t have time for that.

  Their team could only remain alert and forge onward.

  …

  A cool evening rain pattered against the windows of Take Familia’s homebase, a low rumble of thunder just over the horizon. Mikoto breathed softly on her warm tea, sipping it carefully as she watched over her Familia’s sleeping charges. Downstairs, Chigusa and Asuka played a game of Go, the duo keeping an eye on the lower floors and an ear open in case Mikoto called for help. Ouka was asleep in the other room, the big man taking some well-earned rest after guarding their charges for more than two days straight. Mikoto took another sip of her tea, eyes flickering around watchfully, though she was a bit sleepy.

  Suddenly, her ears perked up, the soft creak of a floorboard in the hallway outside catching her attention. It was a creaky house, but there was something about that sound that seemed a bit unnatural. Mikoto swiftly set down her tea and clapped her hands, eyes narrowing in focus. In a blur of movement, she unsheathed her katana and let out a cry of warning.

  As she did, a knife came flying through the door, slicing through the soft wood and appearing in front of her face.