BXBX NOVEL Chapter 644: Fire Drake
The Amrap noticed the attack and leapt away mere moments before the dragon smashed its foreleg into the ground at where she had been.
As though it was offended that Odeta had managed to dodge its attack, it immediately opened its jaws and spat out a gout of flames at her.
Odeta reacted by slamming both her fists into the ground, causing a chunk of earth to rise up to form a defensive wall that protected her against the flames.
On the other side, Katsuki had managed to take advantage of the distraction to leap on top of the drake, her daggers shimmering in the light as she raised them into the air before plunging them down to stab into the monster\'s neck.
The fire was cut off as the drake let out a roar of pain while rearing up on its hind legs, trying to shake her off.
Emilia and Delmare realised that this exposed its underbelly and immediately moved in to slash and stab their blades into its underside, leaving streaks of red from where their blades struck.
Lisa had also just finished chanting her spell and let loose her [Laser] that struck against the dragon\'s side.
I thought that it would burn a hole through its chest but it seemed like it had resistance against magic since it only left a small burn mark on it.
The Fire Drake then slammed back down on the ground, causing a small shockwave that almost made me lose my footing had I not stabilised myself with my tail.
Katsuki managed to hold on to her impaled daggers and was thus still on the dragon while Odeta was leaping towards the Fire Drake with her fists raised overhead.
The drake saw her coming and swiped its claws at her, this time managing to smack her down into the ground with a loud crash.
I had already teleported myself using [Link Portal] to rush to her side, placing my hand on her to cast [Close Wounds] on her.
"Ugh… That got me," Odeta groaned, already getting up on her feet as if getting slapped by a drake was no big deal.
"Aster!!" Lisa shouted out a warning.
I looked up to see the drake rearing its head up with its jaws open, no doubt it was intending to try and snap us up in its mouth in one bite.
Odeta shoved me out of the way and pulled up a large chunk of earth that she threw at the drake\'s mouth, the monster biting down on the mound and pulverising it.
Fortunately, that was enough to slow the drake down that Odeta managed to side step it and wrap her arms around its snout, preventing it from opening it again.
I decided to jump in and buff myself with two layers of [Strength] thanks to Eins and Zwei, before landing on top of the Fire Drake\'s head and punching down.
The impact sent the drake crashing into the ground and dazed it for a brief moment before it reared up again, carrying both Odeta and I into the air.
Odeta still had her arms wrapped around its snout and was kicking at its chin from below while I spread my wings to take to the skies.
I conjured up a spear using [Shadow Forge] and dove down to stab it into its back, just a short distance away from where Katsuki was still stabbing her own daggers into the drake\'s neck.
Below me, I could hear the sounds of metal cutting against flesh as Emilia and Delmare continued to slash their swords against the drake\'s sides while Lisa continued to fire her spells at a distance.
I was also dimly aware of Eins and the others using support magic whenever needed like firing [Static Bolt] at the drake to stop its movements momentarily.
That was when I felt a sudden lurch as the drake lowered itself while it spread open its wings.
I realised what it wanted to do a moment before it did and stabbed my shadow spear into its back before clinging to it with both hands.
The drake then leapt into the air, its wings flapping once to propel it up towards the hole in the ceiling as it took the fight into the air.
Emilia sheathed her sword and switched to using her magic while Delmare could only look up at the drake in annoyance.
I waited until the drake levelled itself before I found my footing on its back to continue stabbing the spear into its back.
The drake roared before it started to buck around in the air in an attempt to shake us off.
Katsuki and I managed to stay on just fine but Odeta did not have as much leverage as we did and ended up being thrown off the drake\'s snout.
The sight of her falling towards the ground prompted me to leap off the drake and dive towards her.
Unfortunately, that seemed to piss off the drake as it also tucked its wings and dove after me, its jaws opened wide and its intentions clear.
It did not get very far before Katsuki kicked off her perch on its neck to land on top of the drake\'s head, plunging her dagger into the side of its neck.
The drake roared and spiralled away from me to crash back into the ground, throwing up another dust cloud.
Silently thanking Katsuki in my heart, I caught up to Odeta and sweeped her up in my arms in a princess carry before flaring my wings and slowing our descent.
Once Odeta was safely back on the ground, I rushed towards where the drake had crashed, hoping that Katsuki was alright from that.
Before I could even reach the dust cloud, something came out of it and smashed into my side, sending me flying away to crash into the cavern wall.
I let out a groan as I held my side, Eins already using her healing magic on me which eased the debilitating pain into a dull ache.
It took me a moment to realise that the drake had spun around and it was its tail that had sent me flying away.
Unfortunately, I wasn\'t the only one that was sent flying as I spotted a familiar Inugami maid also tumbling through the air, most likely sent airborne from the drake\'s spin.
I was about to launch myself into the air to catch her but she had flipped around mid air and pointed her palm towards the ground.
"Heat and flames burn my enemies, render them all to ashes and witness my burning passion! [Fire Blast]!"
The gout of flames served to slow her descent and she landed on her feet safely, not even wasting a moment before she leapt towards the drake again.
She\'s really serious huh?
The rest of us also charged the drake behind her, restarting the fight again.
The Fire Drake reared its head back once again and I could see embers starting to form near its mouth.
"Sister! Throw me!!" Odeta requested.
Wait, really?
Ah, fuck it.
I buffed myself before picking her up and throwing her at the drake.
She soared through the air before crashing into the underside of the drake\'s jaw and forcing it to face upwards.
The fire breath it shot out ended up being blasted at the ceiling instead, leaving us unharmed.
But really? Using yourself as an improvised missile? You know what? I\'m not even going to comment.
Odeta fell back towards the ground after her stunt and I managed to snatch her out of the air before she reached the ground, the Amrap laughing mirthfully in my arms.
"Wahahaha! That was awesome, Aster!! We should do that more often!!"
I didn\'t get to answer her before the drake flared its wings and a gale buffeted us from above.
I had to dig my heels in to avoid being sent flying, but the rest weren\'t as fortunate as the wind blew them skidding back to where they had started.
There was another roar as the drake opened its jaws again and the back of its throat glowed bright orange.
Once again, I conjured another wall of water but with Eins and the others helping me as well.
The flames shot out from its mouth bathed our water shield with its searing heat, our shield bubbling from the contact with the flames.
It seemed like the drake was really determined to burn us because the fire continued for a good long minute or two before it finally dissipated, allowing me to drop the shield to inspect the damage.
Everyone was safe behind my shield so I prepared to engage the Fire Drake to attack again… Only to see that it was flying up towards the ceiling and disappearing inside the hole.
Wait… What the heck?! It\'s running away!!!