The Chaotic Stone Sauna

by Nagaharu Hibihana

  “What’s that?”

  “I can hear something... is it an earthquake?”

  There was a low tremor beyond the barrier of our water veil. We would normally have Rulitora scout out the area ahead, but that wasn’t possible now with all the poison gas. For the time being, we had no choice but to stay alert and keep walking.

  We hid ourselves in the shade of a nearby boulder and slowly approached the shadow until its silhouette barely came into view. It was fairly large—about the size of an elephant.

  “I-is that a...?!” Roni was the first to recognize the silhouette’s shape. She readied her sword and stood in front of Clena. It was a magic short sword, one of the many weapons we had retrieved from Hadesopolis.

  Pardoe and the other ketolts had their hammers in hand. You could tell they were alarmed from the way their tails pointed upward. I couldn’t blame them for that reaction, though. If I had a tail, that would have been my instinct, too. Rakti was the only one looking ahead with her eyes glistening in wonder.

  “Is that... a dragon...?!”

  Yes, the shadow formed the shape of a dragon. Scales covered its gigantic body. It might have been a dinosaur too, but I opted for the more fantasy-like possibility.

  It had a wide and stout torso, a short neck, and a huge head. Its arms and legs were also short and stout, making it seem slow—almost like a hippopotamus. Though it had an even larger chin than a hippopotamus would. Its chin was the largest feature on its head, drooping all the way down to the ground. It was moving slowly right now because it was eating the enoki mushrooms. Still, it must have possessed amazing strength purely from being able to hold its head up. The scales on its body were covered in moss.

  We continued watching it from the shade of the boulder. The dragon slowly ate up the giant enoki mushrooms growing off the rocks.

  “...Is it eating up the entire rock, too?”

  “Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.”

  Just as Rulitora said, the dragon was gulping down entire rocks along with the enoki mushroom it was munching on.

  “It sure sounds like that, too.”

  The crunching sounds as the dragon chewed on the rocks and mushrooms were impressively loud. Its jaw was strong enough to easily break down entire boulders. Its teeth must have been incredibly sturdy as well.

  “...Look at that, Touya.” Rium was pointing to the dragon’s back. Six protrusions ran along its spine. They looked like horns at first, but I noticed that yellow fumes were puffing out the tip of each one. Each protrusion looked like a chimney.

  “Is that poison gas coming out of there?”

  “...Spores, probably.”

  “Spores? You mean from the mushrooms? Don’t tell me that dragon’s a mushroom, too?”

  So it looked like a dragon, but was actually a plant? I thought that might have been within the realm of possibility for monsters here, but Rium shook her head.

  “I read about it in a book before... There are some monsters that can change their environment to suit their own needs...”

  “...I see.” That dragon was exactly one of those types of monsters. It could spread spores and make the mushrooms thrive, and was the very cause of all the poison gas in this basin.

  According to Rium, the dragons in this world were a variety of monsters that could alter their environments in various ways. Even if this was a plant monster, calling it a “dragon” would have been accurate considering it had the power to turn this basin into a poison gas dump.

  That would explain a few other things, too. For example, how the demon general managed to find a hideout under such perfect conditions. The location seemed like it had almost been custom-made. I had wondered how they’d managed to find this place, but it was a different story if some being had created it for them. If that dragon had the power to change its environment, then all the person at the hideout had to do was set it off into the basin. The dragon would diligently spread the spores and fill the basin with poison gas. And just like that, this somewhat obscure mountain hideout transformed into an impregnable stronghold. The only question was how they had managed to lure the dragon along, but considering this was a demon general we were talking about, they must have found a way.

  And then the dragon suddenly stopped moving. It slowly looked around, then stopped again in one direction. No good, it was looking at us. We braced ourselves to start running at any second, but then heard an abrupt blast, and the top half of the boulder we were hiding under got blown to smithereens.

  “Wh-what was that?!”

  “They were rocks! It shot rocks from its mouth!”

  “You mean the ones it was eating with the mushroom just now?!”

  Rulitora had managed to follow what just transpired. The dragon had stopped and stared at us, then spat out several rocks it had just been chewing up in our direction. The power of the blast was enough to pulverize the upper half of our boulder. Even a shotgun couldn’t compare.

  We had underestimated it. Its sluggish movements made us assume we could run away anytime with time to spare. The water veil protected us against the poison gas, but it was ineffective against physical damage. We’d be goners if the barrage of rocks hit the barrier.

  “We’re running away!”

  “Got it!”

  Fortunately the lower half of the boulder we were hiding under was still intact. The dragon had also fired off all the rocks it had been chewing, so there shouldn’t have been any left in its mouth now. Using the boulder as our shield, we could gain some distance and then retreat inside the Unlimited Bath.

  ...Is what we thought, but the next moment, the lower half of the boulder also got blown to smithereens. I quickly used my Magic Eater to shield everyone against the blast. The armor prevented me from taking any damage against the rocks, but I could feel my MP seeping away.

  “What did it shoot out this time?!”

  “The same as last time!”

  “Rocks? Were there still some left in its mouth?”

  “Touya, its jaw...!”

  “Wait a minute!” I finally realized from Rium’s words. The barrage of rocks would be the strongest and fastest weapon for this enormous, sluggish dragon. Not to mention its giant, heavy jaw. It had the ability to chew up and store rocks inside its jaw whenever it ate those mushrooms, so that it could shoot them back out at any time. Or maybe it used rocks as its weapon because it had that kind of jaw in the first place, but that was a “what came first” kind of question.

  “Tsk! Summon spirit!” I noticed it was preparing for another attack and pressed my left foot into the ground, summoning earth spirits from the sole of my foot. A wall of dirt shot up before us, which I compressed until it turned black. The sound of multiple rocks slamming against the wall arose not a moment later. The wall was dense enough to protect us against this first wave, but it wouldn’t hold up against more streams of attacks. We were trapped. There no way we could escape the rocks now.

  We had two choices. Either defeat the dragon right here and now, or escape inside the Unlimited Bath. I didn’t know whether it was by sight or sound, but it managed to detect our presence while we were hiding behind the boulder. And it attacked us without any provocation, maybe because this was its territory. Even if we hid inside the Unlimited Bath for now, it might chase us down again now that it recognized us as enemies. In that case, we’d have to constantly stay on guard against a possible bombardment of flying rocks from beyond the thick veil of gas. We’d have to defeat it right now. Our options were limited inside this water veil, but we had to do something.

  First, I summoned earth spirits from the ground, formed several black spears, and threw them in the direction I estimated the dragon to be. In the next moment, I heard an anguished roar. Bull’s-eye. Now I knew that physical attacks worked against this thing.

  The dragon picked up its attacks, probably angry now. My wall looked like it was about to break, so I summoned another black wall to cover us. But its attacks were powerful. The new wall formed c
racks in an instant, almost collapsing from the barrage.

  This didn’t look good. Its attacks were faster than mine. Unless I could handle both firing my spells off and defending against the attacks on my own, we’d eventually be overwhelmed. I had considered having Rulitora and the others put up their shields as well, but even my wall couldn’t hold up against that attack, so what could a few shields do?

  I had just one option left. I summoned one more black wall, then used fire cleric magic to shoot a ball of fire off in another direction and made it explode, drawing the dragon’s attention. Just as I had planned, the barrage of rocks ceased. I couldn’t tell because of the wall between us, but the dragon was probably looking in another direction right now. Now was my chance.

  “Clena, I’ll leave the veil to you!”

  “Huh? Wait!”

  Before she could react, I jumped away in the opposite direction I had fired the explosion. I crossed the water veil’s barrier into the sea of poison gas. This wasn’t just some desperate attempt. The poison gas was nothing to me right now.

  A white light glowing from one of the horns on my helmet scattered away the poison gas as I ran. This was the antidote spell I had used to nullify the poison spores once before.

  Yes, I was conjuring an antidote from my helmet’s horn and using it to erase the poison gas around me. From the outside, I must have looked like I was spouting a white flame from my horn.

  I drew a large arc to make sure the dragon wouldn’t hit the black wall as I approached it. The dragon noticed my presence and fired another barrage of rocks, but thanks to the Magic Eater, I didn’t feel it one bit. In exchange, I felt my MP diminishing more and more. When I drew even closer, I noticed that my spears had pierced its stomach. The spears were already broken, but blood was streaming out of its belly. Now this was a matter of which would run out sooner—my MP or its life.

  I was the faster one at this range. I grabbed the hilt of my Crescent Moon magic axe, ran to the dragon’s flank, and before it could turn around to look at me, leaped toward its ribcage.

  “Eat this!” I swung my Crescent Moon down with all my might. My axe was met with tough resistance, but the swing managed to slice across the dragon’s side. Blue blood sprayed into the air, and at the same time a deafening roar pierced my eardrums.

  The dragon immediately pointed its jaw in my direction, shooting out a stream of rocks, but before that I circled around to its tail and avoided the attack. Fortunately, its tail was also similar to a hippo’s in that it didn’t have enough power to knock a human down even as it swung around. I kept slashing at it, then circling around behind it. This would be an easy victory... or so I wished. After I swung at its right leg, it focused its attention on something other than me.

  “Screech!”

  Maybe because my figure was completely out of its sight, it started preparing an attack against something still—the black dirt wall I had set up before jumping out of the water veil. Perhaps it was just trying to vent its anger onto something nearby, but if it broke down the dirt wall, then Clena and the rest would be subject to the dragon’s attacks.

  The water veil wouldn’t do a thing against an onslaught of rocks. Even Rulitora wouldn’t be able to hold up against it. Unfortunately, my slash at its side wasn’t enough to bring down this elephant-sized monster.

  “Oh no you don’t!” There was only one thing I could do. I jumped in front of the rock barrage, turning my own body into a shield. As long as I could protect my eyes, the Magic Eater would absorb all the damage in exchange for my MP. I felt the lethargy seep in as my MP was gradually shaved off. But I was the only thing that could act as a shield right now, so dodging wasn’t an option.

  My helmet was enveloped in a white flame, the cleric spell “antidote.” This allowed me to move freely within the poison gas, but it was consuming my MP as well. I could tell my MP was draining fast. It was a race between my MP and the dragon’s life—which would end first.

  My offensive spells got their power from me pouring superhuman amounts of MP into basic spells. Of course, I couldn’t risk using them now. It was the equivalent of shortening my own lifespan.

  I was in front of the dragon’s face now after turning into a shield, so I used the chance to swing my Crescent Moon into its nose. It was fairly effective, as the dragon roared and bent backward.

  “Now’s my chance!” I slashed at the dragon’s tender neck now that it was fully exposed. The blood that spurt out disappeared as soon as it touched the white flame surrounding my helmet. Since it was reacting to the antidote, the blood must have been poisonous as well.

  In any case, the cut on its throat seemed to have done a good number on it. It wouldn’t be able to breathe anymore, which meant it couldn’t use its lungs to blast another barrage of rocks at me. I slashed at its throat again after realizing that, making it writhe in agony.

  “Whoa?!”

  I thought this would be the end for the dragon, but then it slammed its large chin down at me like a hammer. I jumped to the side and just barely dodged the attack. It then tried to step on me, but I rolled back on the ground to avoid it.

  “Summon spirit!!” I immediately stood back up and summoned earth spirits to raise the ground below me, forming a slope toward the dragon’s back.

  Attacks on its neck were effective. I couldn’t aim for its throat anymore with its chin in the way, but next I’d try aiming for its neck from behind. If it had a spine, then attacks there should be potent as well.

  I used the conductors at my feet to control the ground, riding the slope like a wave at breakneck speeds until I jumped onto the dragon’s back. Then, I swung my Crescent Moon down with all my might at its medulla, assuming it had one. A moment later, the dragon started convulsing wildly as blue blood spouted out from the open wound.

  My swing met some resistance. It was softer than I had expected, as the axe sliced past its scales into its meat, but it couldn’t cut through bone.

  Crap, I’d be shaken off at this rate. I desperately clung to the dragon’s back, kneeling down to maintain balance. I raised my Crescent Moon in an attempt to finish the dragon off, but couldn’t put strength into my arms like this. My Magic Eater could protect me against damage from a fall, but all the MP in the world wouldn’t be enough to guard me from what might happen if I fell near the panicking dragon’s feet. Or maybe I could jump off myself and try to gain some ground? I started loosening my grip at that thought, but then an idea suddenly sprung to mind. One thing could completely turn the tables in this situation. It wasn’t too late to try this out.

  This would be my last attack. I mustered up all the strength in my body, then slammed my head into the dragon’s neck. The loudest roar yet resounded in the air. It sounded like a death cry to me.

  I had stuck my head into the wound in the dragon’s neck, which was still spurting blood. The antidote that was still wafting out from my horn purified and erased any poison. And this dragon’s blood was poisonous. If you had questioned what would happen if I applied antidote to this open wound, this was the answer.

  “Disappear!!”

  My vision was all blue beyond the white light after sticking my head into the wound, but I didn’t flinch and kept clinging to the dragon’s back, pouring all my MP into casting the antidote spell. The poison was the dragon’s own form of vitality. I kept purifying it, making it vanish. This was even in an area close to the dragon’s head. If this didn’t kill it, then it shouldn’t have counted as a living being in the first place.

  Sure enough, the dragon’s cries eventually died down as it toppled over like a giant string had snapped, making the ground rumble. That sent me flying to the ground. The impact was absorbed by my Magic Eater, but I couldn’t put any more strength into my body. I hadn’t noticed at all during the fight, but my physical strength ran out before my MP did. My breathing was ragged and I couldn’t move an inch.

  Now I was in an even bigger pinch than before. If I lost consciousness, my antidote would stop wo
rking. That would leave me entirely exposed to the sea of poison gas. I had to get back to Clena somehow.

  “No...!” I somehow managed to stand up, but couldn’t put strength into my legs and was about to topple over again. However, a pair of strong arms lifted me up before that could happen. It was Rulitora.

  “Good work, Sir Touya.”

  I looked around me and noticed the gas was gone. I had entered the water veil again without realizing it.

  “...I see, so you guys got here first...”

  The water veil followed Clena’s movements. Maybe they had noticed from the dragon’s death cry or from the sound of it toppling to the ground, but they had come over to retrieve me. Pardoe and the others used water from the barrel to clean the poison from my armor, then stripped it off me. Roni made me drink some water while I looked at Rakti, who was about to cry, and Rium, who was already crying. I slowly realized that I had managed to return alive.

  “Oh no...”

  The moment I let myself relax, both the mental and physical exhaustion took its toll on me. If I let myself continue, this would become a repeat of the aftermath of the battle against Goldfish, where everyone else couldn’t recover themselves in the Unlimited Bath until I woke up again.

  “Open...!” I used the last drop of my power to open the door to the Unlimited Bath, and as soon as I confirmed it was open, let my consciousness slip away.

  And then in my dream, the Goddess of Light doted on me with a face brimming with smiles. She hugged me tight the entire time, refusing to let go. She seemed awfully pleased by the fact that I had used light cleric magic to defeat the dragon.

  “Where am I...?” When I woke up again, I was inside the tatami room in the Unlimited Bath. They had carried me here after I fainted. They had changed me into pajamas, too. I guessed that Roni had done it for me.