“… It’s about time.” [Ryner]

Lying on his bed, Ryner muttered to himself and got up. He put on his black jacket, donned his mask, pulled the hood up and left his room.

A week had passed since he had Evelyn isolated on the Avalon. Meanwhile, he stayed at the town, Edon, and passed his time by either getting information out of his errand boy, Anter, or taking up a quest without authorization. Furthermore, for the past five days, Elsa and Ellis would be at the adventurer guild and he would start quarreling with the older sister. He managed to make her blush out of anger and humiliation for a third time, which earned him a slap to the back of his head. The days were quite peaceful, but it was about time for him to start moving again.

That was why Ryner was heading for the Heaven’s Blade that had been steadily approaching Edon. Out of the seven weapons, three were already in his possession. He had recovered two of the remaining four and the one he was aiming for was the last one under someone’s ownership. The seventh Heaven’s Blade was inside his fortress, left untouched. Once he retrieved the sixth, he could take his time to get it. For now, he decided to rush to the sixth’s location by plane.

Having left the town behind, Ryner was high in the sky.

“Calm down, Elsa. We’ll be there soon~.” [Ellis]

Ellis was doing his best to cheer up his moody sister who was sitting in a wagon with him.

“I’ve already told you numerous times, I am alright and am not thinking about him.” [Elsa]

Elsa replied and turned her face away, looking outside. A dozen more wagons could be seen. There were men and women, all armed and ready for a fight, escorting them. She and her brother had taken up an escort mission and joined up with the caravan where nearly sixty adventurers were present. They were heading for Edon, which was where the twins were currently operating from. This caravan required a large number of forces to protect it because of what they were carrying.

“No need to lie. You miss him, right~?” [Ellis]

“Every moment that I do not see his ridiculous mask is a blessed moment of my life. Now, cease your useless chatter and keep vigilant.” [Elsa]

“Alright, alright. It’s true that we should be on guard. Our luggage is quite flashy.” [Ellis]

Oddly, Ellis’ eyes sharpened and his voice lowered by a pitch. Rather, his normal voice slipped out as he looked behind him. Hidden by the wagons between them was their “package”, the corpse of a red dragon. Carried on a huge cart and pulled by four large oxen that had a horn sticking out of their foreheads, the carcass laid unmoving. It didn’t have four eyes, like the dragoons that resemble it, but two. This single physical difference made it a completely different creature as well as a much worst threat.

Yet, a party of four adventurers managed to take it down by themselves. Rather, it would be more accurate to say that one man defeated it.

“Dragon materials can make the best weapons and armors. Those four will get a fortune from this… If we can get it back to town safe and sound.” [Ellis]

Elsa agreed with her little brother’s muttering, but didn’t say a word. Traveling was dangerous and one never knew when monsters or bandits would attack them. They had a dead dragon that would bring in a pile of gold, an appetizing prey. That was why, hiding behind the trees, a number of people were spying on them.

“Damn. Someone really did go to the mountains and kill a dragon.” [???]

“No way. A dragon. A real dead dragon. It could solve all our money problems for a good while.” [???]

“If we get our hands on it, we could get a fortune and new weapons. Heh, who said being a bandit wasn’t profitable?” [???]

“There’re a lot of guards. Can we slaughter them all?” [???]

“Don’t chicken out. We’re twice their numbers after merging with that other group, Shuron, Shufon, or whatever their name was. Anyway, our boss killed theirs and now there’s over a hundred of us. We can take them.” [???]

“Yeah, *Slurp* I’d like to take some women too, if you know what I mean.” [???]

Although the caravan had been steadily advancing on the road without issue, danger soon struck. What they feared came true.

“BANDITS ON THE RIGHT!!!” [Adventurer]

One person screamed as a large group of bandits twice their numbers charged at them from out of the dense forest. They had dirty, used equipment, but all were well-maintained. Seeing the huge prize before their eyes, they ignored the dangerous security force and chose to raid them. Furthermore, if they won, they could get their hands on new gear and some prisoners.

“KILL THEM ALL!!!” [Bandit]

“CAPTURE THE WOMEN!!!” [Bandit]

Arrows and magic spells were fired from afar before they engaged in close combat.

“More than a hundred of them. I’m surprised this many bandits managed to stay hidden and fed.” [Elsa]

Elsa lowered the wide brim of her pointy hat over her eyes and stood up.

“It’s never easy, is it?” [Ellis]

Ellis said in his normal, deep, masculine voice and jumped out of the wagon as he held a short sword in one hand and a large shield in the other. The other adventurers tasked with protecting the convoy also had their weapons drawn and formed a line to intercept the attackers. The two sides clashed as roars, steel and blood were exchanged. Staying at the back was Elsa who rained magic on the enemies. She chanted, causing her mana to move intricately inside of her. Its release to the outside plane would change its nature. Taking aim, she fired her spell and a spear of flames flew through the sky. Midflight, it split in four and exploded upon piercing their targets, taking out those in the vicinity.

Arrows were shot by the bandits in retaliation at Elsa. Her brother stood before her, propping his shield in both hands and running his mana through it to strengthen its hardness. The projectiles were deflected off the tough surface. As the two sides mingled from the chaos, bandits rushed at him and his sister. He dropped the shield and raised his swords, fighting them off while keeping an eye on his sibling.

“Insects shouldn’t get close to my sister, you HEEEEEAAAARRR!!?” [Ellis]

He said in a growling voice as he stabbed one man through the chest and sliced another’s throat. Elsa shot fireballs at anyone who came for her. One enemy managed to get close enough to strike her with his sword, but she blew him away using a gust of wind. A spear of ice flew at her back, taking advantage of her blind spot. But, she already noticed it and ducked to avoid the sneak attack. Then, she raised her hand and aimed at her attacker. He was in the middle of chanting, but she didn’t need to. She shot her own ice spear and stabbed him through the throat.

The chaotic battle soon ended as most of the bandits were killed. Those still alive either fled or were captured.

“Truly, they looked and acted like stray dogs, being able to sniff out what we were escorting.” [Elsa]

“Well, it’s not that hard, Elsa. News that a dragon was killed probably spread faster than we could travel. I mean, we’re carrying its huge corpse for everyone to see~.” [Ellis]

Elsa huffed and returned to her wagon, leaving the cleanup to others. Her brother followed and spoke to her with his soft, feminine tone. He looked around, taking in the sight that was left in the wake of their skirmish.

“Quite a few of us died.” [Ellis]

Adventurers were killed and some wagons were damaged. Non-combatants had fallen as well.

“It’s because they weren’t lucky like we were. You and I are A and B ranks. If they had been born blessed like us, then they would have survived.” [Elsa]

Listening to his sister speaking, Ellis couldn’t help but smile sadly. Although she said that they were blessed, her voice had a mocking tone and he knew that it was directed not at the victims, but at herself.

“Furthermore, if we are to mention being blessed, then that man over there is an embodiment of blessings.” [Elsa]

Holding the brim of her hat, Elsa changed the subject and turned her gaze towards a group of four adventurers, or more specifically, at the only man among them. Spiky red hair, amber eyes, a sharp, handsome face and a well-trained body, he was an S rank adventurer. The three women surrounding him and flirting with him were his wives. They were all barely twenties, but possessed enough might to wield authority that many dreamt of. It was only natural since the man was the one who took down the dragon by himself.

His wives were there to support him, but being A ranks, they couldn’t do much against a S rank monster, so he handled most of the work. Elsa remembered how he had come out of his carriage during the earlier fight and tore through the bandits like it was child’s play. Running at a speed few had ever seen, he easily eliminated any misfortunate souls who were in his reach using his spear of lightning, an Artifact. The women themselves were nothing to scoff at. She wasn’t sure if she could beat any of them in a duel.

“Saaayy~, Zane~, when will we reach Edon?” [Zane’s wife]

The youngest, blonde-haired, brown-eyed woman of the group asked in a spoiled tone and clung to her husband’s arm. After the fight, the four of them were sitting on top of their carriage.

“Rosie! Don’t bother Zane so much. I swear, despite being seventeen, she acts just like a child… Right, Zane~?” [Zane’s other wife]

Another wife, who had red hair and blue eyes, leaned on Zane’s other side flirtatiously and pushed her breasts against him.

“Marie. Pervert.” [Zane’s final wife]

“What was that, Sylvie?! Like you can talk!” [Marie]

The red-haired, mad and embarrassed Marie snapped back at the grey-eyed wife who was leaning her head full of purple hair on Zane’s lap.

“The oldest. This is my right.” [Sylvie]

“We’re only one year apart!” [Marie]

“That’s right! And I think age doesn’t matter!” [Rosie]

While the three quarreled lively, their husband was absentmindedly patting their heads one at a time.

“We’ll be there soon, Rosie.” [Zane]

“Those bandits really delayed us, though. You were so cool when you went out to fight, Zane~.” [Rosie]

“Still, was there a need to go out yourself? Our group was winning.” [Marie]

“Marie. Good question.” [Sylvie]

“I thought of leaving it to them, but they were weaker than I thought. It was taken too long.” [Zane]

As they spoke in such a conspicuous place, many, who heard of their fame, were curiously stealing glances at them. However, after two minutes, most of the men couldn’t take it anymore and ignored the flirting party.

“““… FALL AND DIE!!!””” [Men]

A curse accidentally leaked from their mouths as well.

“Hahaha, if I was interested in women, I’d be crying tears of blood too~.” [Ellis]

Ellis remarked as he watched the powerful adventurers from his wagon. Anyone in the adventurer guild had heard about them. There was even news that Zane and his party offered an Artifact as a tournament prize to make a certain town lively. Although, they probably planned on entering and winning it back.

“What about you, sis? You interested in Zane, the S rank adventurer?” [Ellis]

He turned his sight to his sister who had taken a book out from her luggage and was busy reading it. In a world where dangerous monsters roamed, it was normal to be attracted to someone powerful. The most sought after were those who reached the threshold of S rank. The gap between S rank and A rank was huge. They stood at the summit of power.

Furthermore, amongst them, there were ridiculous individuals that could be called monsters.

Zane was one such monster. It wouldn’t be weird if he became an aristocrat in the future. He probably received marriage proposals from countless women. Most likely, even nobles wanted him to join their family, hoping that their children would inherit his mana pool. Unfortunately, it wasn’t something that could be passed on by bloodlines.

In short, he was the type of man that women fell for. That was why Ellis wondered if his sister wasn’t secretly yearning for him, but…

“Why would I be interested in such a boring-looking man?” [Elsa]

Elsa said as she sighed and shook her head.

It was needless worry from her little brother.

“That’s true~. You’re only interested in one man, but you still never asked for his name or seen his face.” [Ellis]

“… Ellis, I would like to implore you to cease your baseless insinuations on who I favor. Otherwise, this book might accidentally end up in your face.” [Elsa]

“Ohoh~? You really get agitated when I tease you about him.” [Ellis]

“… No I don’t.” [Elsa]

Elsa looked away unhappily. He could almost imagine her puffing her cheeks and pouting.

As they peacefully exchanged words, the caravan soon realized that the danger wasn’t over.

“Hmm?” [Zane]

The first to notice was Zane. His eyes sharpened and he quickly stood up with his spear in hand.

“Hey, look at that!” [Adventurer]

“The hell…?” [Adventurer]

The rest soon saw the approaching shadow.

“GRAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRR!!!” [???]

A red dragon came down from the sky.

“OH SH-!!!” [Adventurer]

A nameless adventurer cried out before he was squashed. Accompanied by its loud, furious roar, the large beast practically fell down on them. Its landing caused a shockwave that blew away anyone and anything in the vicinity. Those that were right where it now stood had become scraps or bloody pancakes.

“HUUMAAAAAANNNSSS!!!” [Dragon]

A deep, guttural voice was released from its huge maw and filled the air.

“W-w-w-w-why the hell is a dragon heeere?!!!” [Adventurer]

“R-run! RUN!!” [Adventurer]

The situation soon fell into pandemonium. The wise ones that knew of their limitations chose to run away. Those that believed in their strength launched several attacks on the dragon’s hard scales. A battle ensued between the monster and the adventurers, but it was closer to a one-sided slaughter. It was like dropping a wolf in a herd of sheep. The wagons and horses were abandoned. The captured bandits were forgotten. Everyone tried to escape with their lives.

Except for one person.

BAM

A powerful shockwave was created as Zane slammed his spear into the dragon’s side. The tip broke through its magic reinforced scales, but couldn’t penetrate deeper. Instead, blue lightning coursed through the red beast’s body and electrified it.

“Didn’t think I’d get to kill a second one.” [Zane]

Smiling fearlessly, Zane stepped away and pointed his Artifact at the dragon that didn’t take much damage from his attack. It turned its hate-filled eyes on him when it heard his words.

“YOOOOOUUUUUUURRRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!” [Dragon]

Its voice became a roar midway and it shot out a big ball of flame from its mouth. Zane jumped to the side to dodge it. The flaming attack expanded when it hit the ground and turned everything in its wake into a sea of fire. The heat was great enough to reduce flesh and bones into ash, and instantly melt metal like butter.

A duel between two S ranks monsters were underway as those around them did their best to avoid getting caught up in their battle. The dragon was quite fast despite its large body, but the spiky-haired man had superior speed and ran around it. He stabbed into its body and sent high voltage bolts through his Artifact. It easily turned the bandits into charred pieces of meat. Yet, besides a pained growl, it had little effect on his foe.

The dragon rampaged, trying to rip him apart with its claws and fangs. It slammed its tail in the human’s side when he jumped up and shot a fireball at his flying figure. It expanded upon contact like a bomb and engulfed him in flames, but he still stood back up. There were small burns and his black clothes were damaged, but that was it. He was still in one piece. Rosie, Marie and Sylvie cried out, worried about his condition, but he was obviously alright.

Their fight chaotically continued as casualties piled up every time they erratically relocated all over the place, dragging in bystanders. Zane made sure to keep the dragon away from his wives and even told them to stay put before his death match started. Naturally, this meant that everyone else was in danger.

“Oh shi-!!” [Ellis]

That was why, when he was repeatedly jumping away to avoid its claws, flaming balls and heavy stomps, he landed in front of Elsa and Ellis who were injured. Elsa created a wall of water to stop a wave of fire from engulfing them, but it vaporized in a moment. The two suffered severe burns and couldn’t move properly.

They turned around when they sensed death approaching behind them. The enraged dragon was right on Zane’s heels. It flapped its wings and pounced as fire leaked from its opened mouth. It was going to burn him to death, and if not, chew him in half. He swiftly jumped to the side and out of harm’s way, leaving the two unfortunate siblings to bite the bullet.

“ELSA!!!” [Ellis]

Ellis cried out desperately as he and his sister moved their feet, but it was futile. The head that was bigger than them, the burning jaws of death that were opened widely, couldn’t be avoided. At least, he couldn’t, but he knew that Elsa could. Yet, she was running towards him, fully intent on pushing him out of the way. He didn’t want her to. She would only die needlessly alongside him since neither of their body strengthening could protect them from its fangs or flames.

BAM

However, no attack came as a person fell straight down on the dragon’s head, slamming it in the ground and forcing its mouth shut. Its huge body slid on the earth for a moment, digging up the earth before coming to a stop.

The area went quiet for a moment as the dust and wind settled. The twins, Zane, his wives and the other survivors all set their eyes on the man that was kneeling on one knee on top of the ferocious monster. He slowly got up and pulled back his fist.

“Why the hell are you guys being attacked by a dragon? Did you steal his crown or something?” [Ryner]

In a voice that didn’t match the dangerous situation, Ryner casually asked his ridiculous question while staring at the dumbfounded siblings he just saved.