Skeleton Knight in Another World Vol. 4

by Ennki Hakari

  As I fell, my eyes fixed on what I’d thought was a blue stone below. It had grown four wings. A long neck with an enormous, angular head rose from one end. The creature opened his large mouth and let out a loud roar, displaying rows of intimidating fangs. The air itself shook, and the birds in nearby trees took to the sky in unison.

  I managed to twist my body around as I dropped, rolling as soon as I hit the ground. Even so, the impact hit me far harder than when I’d fallen at the elven outpost, sending me into a coughing fit.

  “Nnngh! Gah… That hurt…”

  I cast a recovery spell on myself before turning my attention to the thing that hurt me in the first place.

  In front of me stood a huge dragon.

  Blue-tinged scales covered his body completely, and four large wings protruded from his back. On top of his head were four long, black horns—two on each side. His neck, marked with a striped pattern, led down to four powerful-looking limbs supporting his body. From his snout to the tip of his long tail, the dragon had to be at least thirty meters long.

  Despite his size, however, he was surprisingly agile. He stretched out nimbly, knocking trees over as he moved, opening up the grasslands even further. It was quite an intimidating sight.

  Was this the Dragon Lord Ariane told me about?

  The dragon’s eyes narrowed as he glared at me, pupils vertical slits. He let out another loud roar. The soundwave knocked me backward, although I managed to remain standing. I shook my head to clear the ringing in my ears.

  So, you were able to take that, huh? Well, if you’re here to challenge me, runt, a challenge is what you’ll get.

  Once again, I heard a voice speaking in my head. The dragon’s lip twisted upward slightly, baring his fangs.

  He seemed to be smiling.

  The voice came from the Dragon Lord himself, using some sort of telepathy to speak to me directly.

  If I was facing an intelligent creature, you’d imagine we might start our conversation with introductions. Apparently, however, I’d inadvertently given the impression that I was here to challenge the Dragon Lord.

  How was I supposed to know that what I thought was a rock was the Dragon Lord’s back? I’d been too lost in excitement at seeing the torii to think straight.

  From the Dragon Lord’s point of view, it might have seemed that I’d stepped on him in a show of defiance. Honestly, however, I had no desire to face off against one of this world’s strongest dragons.

  “Please, wait! I have no desire to fight,” I tried to explain.

  There will be no discussion! I will show you the folly of your actions! The Dragon Lord’s thoughts boomed through my head as his massive body moved.

  He spun around, lashing his long tail like a whip.

  For some reason, my mind was stuck on the fact that this was the first enemy I’d met who came out of the gate swinging, without discussion. I came to my senses an instant before the impact, grabbing the Holy Shield of Teutates off my back with my left hand, and taking the blow from the dragon’s tail head-on.

  The attack reverberated up my arm, causing untold damage, but I didn’t have time to worry about that just then. The Dragon Lord repositioned himself and reared his head.

  From where I stood below, I couldn’t quite see what he was doing, but I caught a glimpse of green light growing around his mouth. A tingle ran up my spine.

  Anyone who’d faced a dragon in-game would know immediately what attack he was preparing.

  A moment later, the dragon opened his mouth wide, swung his head down, and let out a massive roar as he shot a glowing energy ball at me.

  “Ngruuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!”

  The air vibrated as the energy beam rushed toward me, obliterating the few remaining trees in its path and tearing a trench in the earth. I dodged to the side, but the shockwave still flung me helplessly through the air. I felt like a skipping stone as I bounced along the ground, my vision rapidly flipping between earth, sky, and earth again.

  I hit something with a solid smack. Staggering to my feet, I tried to survey my surroundings, but the world was completely black.

  “No… Did the dragon’s breath somehow inflict a Darkness status effect on me?”

  My heart raced as I reached up to touch my face.

  Then I realized what had happened.

  “Oh, my helmet just got turned backward.”

  After readjusting my helmet, I shook my head to make sure it was on properly, then looked around.

  The Dragon Lord’s attack had carved a massive crater in the earth—a straight line through the plains that filled the air with dust. It had blown me far away from the torii, toward the mountain. The area was littered with uprooted trees. If the attack hit me directly, I probably wouldn’t even have been there.

  The title “Dragon Lord” clearly wasn’t just for show.

  “I probably shouldn’t try to take this guy on alone. Heal!”

  I wasn’t sure how much of my skeleton was damaged, so I used my Bishop-class healing spell. A warm, shimmering glow wrapped my body, then faded away, taking the pain with it and leaving me refreshed.

  Well, well, well. Not only did you manage to survive my first attack, you even survived a glancing blow from the second. That’s no small feat. Perhaps you are a worthy opponent.

  A stiff breeze whipped away the dust in the air, revealing the Dragon Lord in the distance. This far off, he looked small, but his ominous voice was no less clear in my head. He spread his four massive wings and took to the air, letting loose another thunderous roar.

  Even if I tried to explain myself, I figured there was no way he could hear me from that distance. He was already coming in for an attack, so I didn’t see any way out.

  I could have used Transport Gate to teleport away, but that would have meant leaving Ariane and Chiyome behind. Given the poor visibility afforded by the surrounding forest, my only option with Dimensional Step was the open plain, which wouldn’t help me escape the Dragon Lord.

  I could use short-distance teleportation to evade his attacks, at least. Getting a flying dragon off my tail seemed like it would be challenging, though, if not flat-out impossible.

  I resigned myself to my fate, looking at the Dragon Lord and summoning my sword skill.

  “Holy Thunder Sword of Caladbolg!”

  A surge of purple electricity ran up the blade as it doubled in size. There was no way I could hold back—not against an enemy like this.

  The Dragon Lord floated lazily in the sky, wings flapping to keep himself steady, stirring dirt across the plain. In the game, he’d probably be classified as a wind-elemental dragon.

  Compared to his massive wings, his body appeared rather small, his long tail curling underneath him. Still, this was a thirty-meter dragon. Even his limbs, which appeared tiny at this distance, could easily rip a human in two.

  And then, of course, there was me. My sword might seem large when facing off against fellow humans, but it was little more than a toothpick to a dragon. The sword skill upgraded it to a skewer, at best.

  In the game, the most effective attacks against wind-elemental enemies were earth-based. However, with the dragon flying around, I’d be hard-pressed to hit him with earth magic.

  I recalled the time I tried to use my Rock Shot attack on a swarm of wyverns, and how easily they dodged. Although the Dragon Lord was a lot bigger than the wyverns, I had a hard time believing Rock Shot would do anything to him. The Meteor spell, from the Sorcerer class—one of the highest classes in its tier—might work. Unfortunately, I’d never used it before. Still, that kind of attack would certainly be useful against an airborne enemy.

  Of course, this was all theoretical. I had no way of knowing if the Dragon Lord followed the same rules of elemental affinity and weakness as he would have in the game.

  Here I come, runt!

  The Dragon Lord howled and rushed at me, tearing up the forest below with a massive whirlwind.

  Hmm—another wind-based attack. I held the Holy Th
under Sword of Caladbolg close. “Dimensional Step!”

  The attack destroyed the spot I’d stood in just moments before.

  Wha—?!

  I’d teleported directly beneath the Dragon Lord. He looked around frantically, trying to get a bead on me.

  The force of the wind beneath him was incredibly strong, but I managed to keep my balance by hunching and lowering my center of gravity. I looked up, my eyes tracing the Dragon Lord’s long tail to his massive body. Trying to attack him with my sword was out of the question. Even if I could somehow teleport into the air, the powerful wind would likely blow me away.

  While I contemplated my next move, the dragon spotted me.

  When did you get there, runt?!

  His tail immediately lashed out at me, as if it had a mind of its own. It slammed into my sword with a hard, metallic clang—a sound I wouldn’t have expected from dragon scales—and a spray of blood that covered my gleaming armor.

  Evidently, even a dragon was no match for a mythical-class weapon.

  Nnngruuuuuuuuu!

  The Dragon Lord’s roar was somewhere between pain and rage. He flapped his wings, buffeting me with even more powerful winds. I lost my balance, and his long tail swung toward me once again.

  “Dimensional Step!”

  The world around me changed in a flash, and I was behind the Dragon Lord, in his blind spot. After swinging through the location where I’d just stood, his tail immediately flicked back toward me, although there was no way he could have seen where I was.

  “Whaugh?!”

  Making a split-second decision, I teleported a third time, moving farther from the Dragon Lord to give myself a better chance to observe him.

  So, you play the same tricks as Hanzo, little runt! I guess there are no more games with you, then!

  The Dragon Lord darted into the sky, flying high over the forest, then dove straight toward me, hind legs outstretched and large, sharp claws extended. There was no way I’d be able to defend with only my sword against that speed—and such strength.

  I teleported behind the Dragon Lord again. At the same time, I used earth-elemental magic in the spot where I’d stood.

  “Rock Fang!”

  The Dragon Lord slammed straight into the rocks that suddenly jutted from the earth. They shattered with a thunderous crash, sending a plume of dirt into the air. Pebbles rained everywhere. He flew through the dust cloud, spinning in midair as he climbed. Unfurling his wings, he sent out a powerful shockwave that instantly cleared the air. The ground below was a colossal hole.

  “He really is the most powerful of the dragons.”

  If I’d met him head-on, he’d have smashed me to smithereens.

  So, you plan to keep running, huh?! Next time you won’t be so lucky!

  My only chance to incapacitate the Dragon Lord was to use my most powerful Paladin-class attack. However, it would take time to invoke. I’d need to build up to it.

  I watched the Dragon Lord loop around above, waving my hands over the destroyed earth.

  “Sutekh, god of storms, I summon you to subdue this infidel who lords over your skies!”

  A large rune circle appeared in the dirt in front of me. I poured all my energy into it. It slowly transformed; wind whipped through the complex runes along its perimeter, growing into a massive tornado that threatened to uproot the surrounding trees.

  The demons available to the Summoner class tended to be overpowered against humans and monsters, but I didn’t imagine that would be the case with the Dragon Lord.

  He rocketed toward me, sparing only a passing glance for the tornado, and not slowing in the slightest. As he closed in, his body began to glow. It seemed as though he was about to use his breath attack again—the magical equivalent of carpet bombing. A moment later, a bright flash burst from his mouth and sped toward the earth. The ground trembled beneath my feet.

  The flash collided with the tornado, dissipating as if it hit an invisible wall.

  I’d pulled it off just in time.

  A five-meter-tall, human-shaped demon rose from the tornado.

  Unlike a normal human, he had squared-off ears, a long, thin face, and charcoal-gray skin. Oh, and four arms. He looked bizarre, almost like a six-limbed anteater. The demon wore simple armor marked with intricate symbols, and flashy jewelry that glinted in the sunlight. He was covered in rippling muscles and armed with a staff, a shield, and two scimitars. The tornado whipped around his legs silently, lifting him into the air.

  Sutekh was a mid-tier demon who annihilated his enemies with powerful gusts of wind. I figured that, as another wind elemental, he’d be more than a match for the Dragon Lord.

  Sutekh opened his golden eyes and glared at the Dragon Lord. Light and wind surrounded him.

  What is this embodiment of spirit energy? Is this… is this one of the spirit gods?!

  As he collided with the wind-shrouded Sutekh, the Dragon Lord’s voice boomed through my head once again. A sonic boom erupted, followed by a massive blast of air. Sutekh met the Dragon Lord’s claws with his scimitars, and a shower of sparks rained down, accompanied by an awful, metallic screech.

  The two combatants broke apart for a moment before clashing again, sending out another burst of air that rattled my bones. They broke off a second time, each resorting to long-distance attacks to keep the other from getting too close.

  Sutekh was clearly powerful enough to hold his own against the Dragon Lord. Unfortunately, even if they were a match for each other, I could only keep the demon here for so long. I needed to get the upper hand fast.

  It was time for the ace up my sleeve.

  The game’s highest class, Paladin, had only four fighting skills: Executioner, Savior, Guardian, and Prophet. All the skills were incredibly powerful, almost on the level of weapons of mass destruction. However, not only were they mediocre when it came to normal combat, they took at least half a day to recharge. They also used incredible amounts of magic, so I’d probably only be able to get three attacks off.

  I figured that Savior, an earth-elemental attack, would be most effective against the Dragon Lord. It would also reach him high in the air.

  Another gust of wind blasted me as I watched Sutekh and the Dragon Lord slam into each other.

  Using Savior was a huge ordeal in-game, and I had no idea what it would actually do in real life. The battle between the demon and Dragon Lord was already devastating the environment. If I invoked Savior, the destruction would likely double. However, I was out of options.

  I lifted my sword and focused my energy on opening a gate. Just then, a wolf made of water appeared below the grappling wind elementals and let out a thunderous howl.

  Chiyome flew out of the forest, executing a beautiful midair flip and landing in front of me without a sound. She looked at the sky and shouted, “I implore you, Dragon Lord! Please, put an end to this fight!”

  She must have run here in record time. Once again, I was impressed with her ninja prowess.

  The Dragon Lord’s eyes narrowed. However, he didn’t stop fighting.

  Your body… Those clothes… Are you one of Hanzo’s followers?

  It suddenly occurred to me that, if the dragon had known Hanzo, he was at least six hundred years old.

  Chiyome nodded, clearly taken aback by the Dragon Lord’s response. “I am Chiyome, one of the six top fighters of the Jinshin clan, founded on this very spot by Hanzo. I am honored to be in your presence.”

  I see that you have been entrusted with a spirit crystal, even at such a young age. Hanzo’s once-great clan has truly let its standards go.

  Surprise washed across Chiyome’s face as she looked up at the massive Dragon Lord, his voice still echoing in our minds.

  Another familiar voice chimed in. “Dragon Lord, heed my words. This man is here with us. I am Ariane Glenys Maple, one of the elves living deep within the Great Canada Forest. Please allow me to apologize for this man’s rashness, and to explain why we are here.”

  Arian
e ran out of the forest, her white hair whipping in the wind kicked up by the Dragon Lord.

  “Kyii!” Ponta, perched on her shoulder, let out an uncharacteristically cheerful cry, its tail wagging without the slightest hint of fear.

  Ariane spoke in a much more formal and polite tone than I was used to. She glanced in my direction, her eyes shooting daggers, before kneeling.

  At that moment, Sutekh faded away into mist. Apparently, he’d run out of time.

  The Dragon Lord’s desire to fight had evidently vanished as well. He landed on the ground, folding his massive wings.

  I returned my sword to its sheath.

  Ah, the clan from the forest beyond the mountains. My name is Villiers Fim, and I accept your apology. Now, I would like to hear the rest of your story.

  The Dragon Lord snorted, blowing the dust from the area. He sat back on his haunches and listened quietly as Ariane explained all that we’d been through. After a moment of silence, he let out another snort.

  I see, I see. So, as a sign of appreciation to this armored man assisting on your travels, you are leading him to the spring to partake in its powers. Yes?

  Ariane nodded. “That is correct.”

  The Dragon Lord focused his reptilian eyes on me.

  Ponta had hopped over to its usual place atop my helmet, and was now spinning in excited circles, wagging its tail. I couldn’t help but sigh inwardly at how it picked the strangest times to be brave. As I reached up to scratch Ponta under the chin, it purred, rubbing its nose against my hand.

  This scene caused Villiers Fim’s eyes to narrow even further. He cleared his throat. Hmph. Well, I suppose I’m not entirely blameless here, either, considering that I abandoned patrolling the treetops in favor of a nap in the grass. I apologize for jumping to conclusions.

  I couldn’t blame him for getting angry. Anyone would be upset if they woke up to a knight stepping on their back.

  I bowed my head. “I apologize as well. I was too focused on the torii, and I transported myself here without regard for my surroundings.”