Chapter 5 - Maybe I can finally be free...
Facing an enemy that exuded unprecedented ferocity, Ais trembled uncontrollably before her fear gave way to an incredible fighting spirit.
She tightly grasped the azure sword in her hand, its blade emitting a sharp luster, and rushed toward the Wyvern.
As she closed the distance, Ais dodged the claws that could have easily torn her apart at the last possible second, simultaneously slashing at the base of the Wyvern's wing and creating a small gap in its black scales.
The wound was insignificant on the dragon's five-meter-long body, but it roared in anger and turned to charge at Ais with even greater ferocity.
Noticing the Wyvern had lost all caution, Ais revealed a confident smile brimming with fighting spirit.
She turned and ran. When the dragon was less than ten meters behind her, she leaped onto a large boulder, spun around, and slashed at the stone with her sword.
Countless stone shards shot toward the Wyvern's only weak point..its eyes.
Caught off guard, the dragon subconsciously closed its eyes, slightly slowing its dive.
Now is the time!
Ais leaped into the air and brought her sword down with all her strength on the joint connecting the Wyvern's huge wing to its body.
The attack penetrated the dragon's scale defense, sending a spray of bright red blood across its wing.
The Wyvern lost its balance and, roaring, made an emergency landing on the ground.
Ignoring all else, Ais focused her attacks on the injured wing, intending to sever the Wyvern's means of flight.
When the dragon swiped at her with its claws, she would only dodge the vital spots by the smallest possible margin, ignoring any lesser injuries.
With every clash, sparks flew alongside a shower of dragon scale fragments and droplets of blood, making it impossible to tell whose was whose.
Just as Ais retreated again to avoid a fatal blow and launch another attack, the Wyvern suddenly turned with an agility that defied its massive size.
Its scaly tail whipped up a cyclone, sweeping away everything in its path.
Caught off guard, Ais's golden eyes widened. She could only hold her sword across her chest and brace for the immense impact, which felt like being hit by a battering ram.
The enormous force rendered all of her techniques useless. Her armor deformed and shattered, and she heard the sickening sound of her own bones twisting and breaking.
Blood spurted from her mouth as the girl's thin body was sent flying as easily as a fallen leaf.
"Cough, cough…"
When Ais came to her senses and struggled to raise her head, she found herself surrounded by a wall of fire, like a scene from hell.
The Wyvern looked down at her with its bright red, vertical pupils, and crimson flames began to condense in its mouth.
The light completely filled her vision, and the burning pain throughout her body sent a clear message of death.
Am I going to die here?
How could I... I still have unfinished business...
But... maybe I can finally be free...
In the red world created by the raging heat, everything before Ais, including herself, seemed to be slowly melting. Her consciousness grew hazy, and time slowed down.
Just as she slowly closed her eyes, waiting for the end—
The next moment, the clear ring of a sword cut through the rumbling noise, pierced the sorrow, anger, and despair, and reached the girl's heart.
It was like a cool breeze on a midsummer afternoon sweeping across a boundless grassland, blowing dazzling white clouds across a deep blue sky.
It dispelled the flames, quelled the chaos, healed her sorrow, suppressed the darkness, and pulled her consciousness back from the brink.
A sword light, like a sliver of moonlight, slid past, illuminating Ais's eyes.
She raised her head and took in the swift figure that moved like a moonbeam.
It was a swordsmanship completely different from her own and from any she had ever seen before.
No powerful aura, no sound, no brilliance.
Only a single, unassuming yet eye-catching streak of silver light.
But with just that one strike, the blade accurately pierced the Wyvern's eye and penetrated its skull.
The Wyvern roared violently in pain. The breath of fire that had been building up in its throat could not be released and instead exploded in its fanged mouth, blowing large holes in its palate and upper jaw as drops of magma fell to the ground.
The scene overlapped with a memory deep in Ais's mind: the sight of a man with the body of a mortal, using his superb swordsmanship to inflict such grievous pain on the Black Dragon that it was forced to flee in a panic.
"Father... Dad..."
In an instant, an inexplicable feeling ran through her body.
The fortress Ais had built for herself through bloody battles over the past year collapsed, revealing the little girl hidden under the mask of an adventurer. Feelings of grievance and weakness surged forth, and the hot tears she thought had long since dried up blurred her vision.