I conveyed the dragon's information to the team while keeping my eyes locked with the colossal dragon; it merely peeked from the lake, as if saying, 'Bruh, I ain't coming up there. Come down and fight me!' It'd be easier to fight it on the surface. But a glance at Saeko's excitement and I denied the idea.

"Shall we?" Saeko asked, her hands clutching the katana trembled. "It's a legendary battle against a minor Yamata no Orochi!" ​​

Amphisbaena certainly resembled the mythical Orochi from Japan's mythology, albeit with only two heads.

"Hmm," Rika nodded. "How will we fight it in the water? Aerial battle?"

"My Lord."

Grayfia was as sneaky as always. She stepped past me and gasped. "A dragon…"

I tapped her shoulder. "Don't worry. It's just a cheap knockoff of the ones in your world."

Hell, even the black dragon of this world will be a mob before the heavenly dragons.

"Grayfia, you came at a fine time. Can you please freeze the lake?" Saeko asked.

A reasonable idea to create a footing.

"That's not difficult, Mistress Saeko."

Grayfia flew down to the lake and touched the water. Frost rippled across the lake, and the entire lake became frozen. The dragon leaped out before it froze along with the water and closed in on Grayfia.

"It's not my fight," Grayfia mumbled and snapped her fingers. The ice jolted and trapped the dragon in an ice prison.

"Thank you," Saeko said as she landed on the frozen lake. The others followed suit. I lifted Aimi and jumped as well, not forgetting to sneak a kiss in midair.

The girls soon took a battle formation with the Busujima sisters at the front, Aimi in the middle, and Nao and Rika in the back. I asked them to hold the attack until the dragon breaks the prison.

'Klyscha, bring up the girls' status please.'

I was curious about their growth.

(Yes, my love.)

Saeko's status appeared first.

Saeko Busujima:

—Favorability points: 249 [Sworn Companion]

—Age: 18

—Lvl. 30

—Race: Human

—Class: Samurai Warrior

Attributes:

—Strength: 50

—Dexterity: 75

—Constitution: 54

—Defense: 53

—Charm: 43

—Magic: 70

Skills:

[—Sword Mastery (B-Rank)]

[—Firearm Mastery (E-Rank)]

[—Cooking (D-Rank)]

[—Sword Oath (E-Rank): The user's proficiency with sword-based skills increases with the loyalty to their Master.]

[—Water Element (C-Rank)]

Level 30, huh. She sure became a lot stronger. Factoring in her contract with Asmodeus, she might be able to go toe to toe with the dragon on her own. Her katana might hold her back in the long run. I should upgrade their weapons.

Still, Ais had more raw strength, thanks to her Spirit Lineage. It was the difference between a normal person and a fantasy native…

(Yup. The race factors very much in the final stats.)

To match a level 5 without using Diva's powers, as expected of my crazy sword waifu.

[Shiori Busujima]

—Favorability points: 192 [Hope of her life]

—Age: 18

—Lvl. 28

—Race: Human

—Class: Swordmaiden

Attributes:

—Strength: 45

—Dexterity: 67

—Constitution: 50

—Defense: 48

—Charm: 41

—Magic: 65

Skills:

[—Sword Mastery (B-Rank)]

[—Firearm Mastery (F-Rank)]

[—Cooking (F-Rank)]

[—Wind Element (C-Rank)]

Even Shiori surpassed my level, not that I mind. In a real battle, our strengths were far apart. I improved in every prospect from sparring with God, other than my level.

I went through Nao and Rika's status as well. They had also improved tremendously after hunting these monsters. I planned to check Aimi's later since her growth will shock me the most.

The entire process of checking status barely took a minute—Saya's skill truly helped in times like these.

"My Lord should rest," Grayfia said. "Leave this to mistresses. They can take care of this pathetic monster."

She was kind of right. With how weak it was, it'd become a stomping match if I fought beside the girls. Saeko was so passionate to get a chance to fight it. All would be for nothing if I accidentally one-shotted it.

"Saeko, can I leave it to you and the girls?"

Saeko's head snapped toward me, a little disbelief in her eyes.

"Of course, I'll be here to provide support if needed."

"I'd gladly kill it for Asahi-kun."

"Yep, yep," Shiori said.

*OOOOOOO!*

The dragon roared and swung its head, shattering the ice prison.

Grayfia pulled me back, forcing my butt down on a chilly seat. Turning around, I found that it was a majestic throne crafted from pure ice.

"My Lord must get used to sitting there."

"Yeah," I said with a sigh. "Create one for yourself."

She tried to deny it, but I managed to get her by some sweet whispers. Sitting side by side, we watched the battle unfold.

Saeko reached the Amphisbaena and tried to slash, but the dragon reacted instantly with a claw attack and spat out a crimson mist out from its right head. She couldn't fool the dragon's senses with her agility, so she retreated. The dragon stretched its long neck with jaws wide-open. Saeko casually dodged the dragon's attempts and regrouped with Shiori.

"I'm gonna try shooting," Rika hollered and pulled the trigger. The mana bullet dispersed in the anti-magic mist.

The dragon's eyes glowed with unrivaled hostility before it bellowed. So deafening that visible ripples appeared in the air. The ice under us cracked. The harpies fell unconscious. The blue crystals on the ceiling fell. The intense roar shook my ears for a moment.

"Cursed thing," Grayfia cursed under her breath as she patted her rabbit familiar. She tapped the floor, refreezing the lake.

Saeko and Shiori laughed at its clear attempt to manifest domination. Knowing it failed, the monster's rage intensified as its blue-eyed head exhaled a powerful breath. The scorching blue flames rushed forth; embers melting the frost into water. The girls stepped around the flames. It was a beautiful-yet-deadly sight.

The dragon couldn't see the shadow creeping behind it. It paid big time for a small mistake, as a figure wrapped in shadow dropped on its back. It was none other than Aimi, who plunged her dagger into its neck. The blade tore down the dense mist and gouged a deep wound.

*Bang!*

Rika's bullet attacked the fresh wound. Nao's gigantic wind bullet thumped the same wound, almost severing the red-eyed head. Saeko and Saeko's instant slashes finished the job.

The dragon swung its only head to shake Aimi off. Her presence thinned until she was hardly visible to my eyes, and she approached the dragon again.

"Her stealth skills are something else," Grayfia muttered in admiration. "Nothing else from your bodyguard."

The crimson blood sputtered and dyed the glacial lake. Though it quickly stopped bleeding. Its regeneration wasn't on the black monster's level, but formidable enough to drive people crazy.

"They have to keep hitting it until it runs out of mana," Grayfia said.

The girls lacked the raw power to annihilate the monster core swiftly since they refrained from using Diva's spells. Otherwise, this would be game over in an instant.

With the red-eyed head out of the way, Rika went nuts in spamming shots while nimbly dodging or outright stopping the blue fire with her telekinesis. Saeko's grin was enough to show she was having a blast torturing this dragon.

The fight soon became a test of the monster's endurance. As soon as it tried to regrow its lost head, Rika or Nao's magic blew it off. Saeko, Shiori, and Nao bullied the hell out of the dragon.

Countless bleeding cuts and slashes broke down its scales, exposing glimmers of its core. That's all the girls needed to end this show.

—You earned 6966.66 XP for killing [Level 37 Amphisbaena]

Not bad.

The disturbance on the floor below caught my attention. Someone was coming.

***

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