In the end, the Neutral Faction managed to create a perimeter around the city and evacuated the civilians. Arata, Natsumi, Date, and Angie all met up back at the heart of the city.

"Do we have any way to get up there?"

"I could try to fly but..."

Natsumi looked at the flying monsters and immediately shook off the idea. If she had an absurd amount of mana, she could try, but she'd run out if she had to fight monsters and carry everyone with her too.

"No matter which of them I follow, I can't seem to find out how they're getting down here..."

Angie groaned. She had spent an hour following monsters and tracing their steps but there wasn't anything she could find. It was also strange that no monsters appeared from the south. If they were just dropping from the air, then why couldn't they go through the mountain in the south?

The only way they could think of to reach the tortoise other than flight, which was unlikely was if there were something that connected it to the ground.

"Then again... Where the heck did that giant tortoise come from?"

They had never heard of any flying tortoises. Granted, this was the Demon Continent so their information wasn't perfect.

"They told me that it's a beast that has appeared many times in history. It's generally harmless so there have been few people hunting it. They called it 'The Unconquerable Tortoise' or something."

Date recalled what he was told.

It had been several millennia since it first appeared but nobody in history had even come close to injuring it. There was even a legend that a demon monarch once fought it for an entire month, only to come back empty-handed. They couldn't even damage its shell.

"I guess taking it down's not an option."

Angie had confidence in her strength. After all, she had taken down dragons, what was a tortoise going to do?

Kai's Slayer Arts were skills that were more effective against who they were made for, but that didn't mean they were useless against other enemies.

After all, if dragons, one of the strongest beasts in existence were to crumble before it, why would anyone else be able to withstand it?

"Then again, I guess a monster that size is just way too much..."

Just its leg alone looked like it was the size of three castles. Maybe Kai would be able to do something against it if he was here but... if even a demon monarch isn't able to do so, then it was doubtful.

A normal person could beat another person. But, they wouldn't be able to crush concrete or break steel with just their strength.

And, while Kai and the others could destroy an entire city if they wanted to, a beast of that level was different. To them, it was like steel. Even if they did everything they could, they wouldn't be able to break it with just willpower alone.

"Hm?"

Natsumi perked her ears and she looked up at the tortoise.

"I hear it... Someone up there is playing the flute!"

"Eh?"

Natsumi's words made everyone confused. The tortoise was up in the sky, how was she able to hear it?

...Were her ears that good? No, of course not.

She used the wind which reacted to the sound. Kai had told her about it before but there hadn't been any good opportunities to use it. She couldn't figure out the tune, but she could at least tell that someone was playing an instrument.

It was difficult to discern it with all the noise from the beasts and the fighting but she managed to do it. Just then, they heard something else. It was the sound they feared the most.

ROOOOAAAARRRR!

A roar made by one of the mightiest beasts, a dragon. It didn't take Natsumi's magic to hear it, the dragon's roar was loud enough to reach from the tortoise.

Angie's face changed a few times which wasn't left unnoticed by everyone else.

"What's wrong?"

Arata asked with a frown.

"...I can think of one way to get up there."

"Really? What is it?"

They all leaned in closer.

"Has anyone here rode a dragon before?"

"...?"

They knew what she was trying to imply. She wanted to ride the dragon to go up the tortoise. But, who would even think about riding a dragon?

"Believe it or not... The reason I got to Goetia first is because I rode a dragon with Date. It was pretty expensive, but we managed to scrape through with the funds we had from the arena. We asked about how he managed to tame one, but he just said that it was actually from his great grandfather."

Angie looked for any signs of the dragon coming down before continuing.

"Dragons are prideful creatures. Save them at a weak moment, and they'll want to repay the debt many times over. It's just a big 'what if' but... if we manage to snap the dragon out of the anomaly's control, then wouldn't we be able to ride it? Or maybe, we could even tame it..."

The pride of dragons can't take being saved by a weaker race. Unless they feel that the debt is repaid in full, they will never be satisfied. That was what the rider had told Angie and Date.

The dragon they rode was apparently on the brink of death when it was a child because its parents were killed in a territorial dispute. A baby dragon wouldn't survive even against weak beasts as they had no control over their own abilities nor could they fly. It was his ancestor that took care of the dragon.

They just brushed it off at first because where would they find a dragon like that?

But if the dragon under the anomaly's control were to realize that it was being controlled and wished to be freed... Then, it was very possible.

"Maybe it IS possible..."

Date muttered.

"It's most likely going down in the next few minutes, we have to prepare to receive it."

It was this time that the title of Dragon Slayer showed. She knew about the habits of dragons, they were all ingrained in her by Kai. Even if this was the Demon Continent, dragons were still dragons. There wasn't much of a difference between them.

A beast would adapt to its surroundings and evolve accordingly. Dark beasts are more abundant in the Demon Realm because of the darkness being dominant here, and it was the opposite for the Angel Continent.

However, dragons were already at the top of the food chain. They didn't need to mind their environment as very few could actually threaten them.

If not for Kai's Arts that took advantage of the dragons' weaknesses, Angie wouldn't even be close to defeating one as an A-class. An S-class could defeat a lesser dragon, but a mid-class dragon should be out of the question.

"Dragons don't attack the biggest source of power, they attack everything in their path. We have to make sure to stop it as it swoops down."

Angie began to ask some members of the Neutral Faction for pikes and ropes.

"...Can these actually hold the dragon in place?"

Date was doubtful.

"Of course not. We're just setting these up to anger it a bit."

"Eh? Anger it? What do you mean—?"

Natsumi's question was cut off when they heard the dragon's roar once more. This time, it wasn't as far as before. They could hear the sound getting closer.

"It's coming down from the north! Hurry and tie the ropes to the pikes and throw it over the dragon when it swoops down!"

They didn't have much time to prepare. The four of them quickly got to work and followed Angie's instructions to the letter. They had no trouble throwing a pike a hundred meters into the air so after making sure the rope was tight, they all got into position.

'Dragons only have to weaknesses on the outside. Their wings and their underside. But because we want to make it fly us to the tortoise, injuring its wings is out of the question...'

At the same time, injuring it gravely was also out of the question. Then, how were they gonna make it snap out of the mind control?

'If I just smack it hard enough, it'll be alright.'

The others didn't know what Angie's plan was, she just told them what they needed to do. If they had known that she didn't actually know how to remove the mind control and that she just planned to go at it like Kai, they would've stopped her with all their might.

Soon enough, there was a dot in the distance. In the span of a few seconds, the dot became larger and larger until they could see wings.

"It's coming!"

They all readied their pikes.

As soon as it reached the area outside the city walls, they all threw the pikes as hard as they could. The dragon ignored them but once it saw the ropes, it extended its wings to brush them off.

Because of that maneuver, its momentum decreased and it couldn't crash into the city wall. Angie jumped at the dragon with her superhuman strength and stretched out her arms to the side.

Then, with all her might, she slammed her hands onto the side of the dragon's head.

"""?!?!?"""

Natsumi and the others couldn't believe their eyes. What the heck was she doing?!

BOOM

There was an explosion of sound. It was the stupidest thing that they ever saw a person attempt but it somehow worked. The dragon paused and was moving its head around in a weird way.

It was disoriented.

"Alright!"

Angie pumped her fist under the disbelieving gazes of her comrades.

They couldn't stay dumbfounded for long, however. The dragon wouldn't stay dazed for long.

Arata quickly created giant forks of earth and pinned the dragon to the ground. Natsumi also helped with her limited mastery.

"ROOOAAR!"

The dragon roared in anger. Seeing that it was taking a deep breath, Date forced it to drink a huge amount of water. It was about to use its breath attack in a situation where it could damage itself but for some reason, it didn't care.

With its breath attack stopped, the dragon began to struggle out of the restraints but Angie launched another attack on its head to disorient it.

"What do we do now?!"

"We need to make it lose its sense of self!"

Right now, the dragon should be focused on a single objective: to wreak havoc. Its goal was to kill everyone in the city, much like the other beasts. However, a dragon was still a dragon.

If it were angered, then they hoped that it would be enough to snap it out of its hypnosis.

With that, they all launched a series of non-lethal attacks. Most of them were aimed at the dragon's ears, eyes, and other vulnerable spots. Arata and Natsumi put dust in its eyes, enough to make it cloud the dragon's vision.

The dragon roared. Its struggle was getting fiercer by the second and Arata's restraints could no longer suffice.

"It's going to break free!"

Arata stopped trying to anger it and put on more restraints but he couldn't win against the power of a dragon. According to Angie, it was at least a mid-class dragon, and it had the potential to be a high-class dragon.

Meaning that the dragon was at least S-class, and could be SS-class if left alone.

Finally unable to bear the annoyance, the dragon spread its wings forcefully and blew everyone except Angie, who was on top of it, away.

"Woah!"

Angie couldn't help but exclaim. The force her body experienced just by being near it when its wings flapped made her stagger for a second. She was already using Body Enhancement to her upper limit.

In terms of its use, she was confident that apart from Kai, she was the most proficient with it. She's able to withstand a dragon's attacks as long as they aren't at point-blank range.

She bundled a bunch of ropes together and did her best to wrap it around the dragon's neck. She would've used it on its mouth but just using its breath slightly would tear the ropes.

"Kuh...!"

Angie's hands were trembling from trying to pull the dragon upwards. She was exerting a force that no human could do but the dragon was just far too strong. If she hadn't bundled a bunch of ropes together, they would've ripped near instantly.

Even though the rope was slipping out of her grip at a pace that could rip her skin clean off her hands, her hands weren't being burned by the rope. After all, they were extraordinarily tough.

"Natsumi!"

"Got it! Arata!"

Arata moved as soon as Natsumi called him out. He gathered a huge amount of dust and along with Natsumi's help, gathered it into a vacuum. She aimed it at the dragon and after warning Angie, she used it.

A dust explosion.

BOOOOOOOOOM

Using the dust gathered from the area, along with the closed space created by Natsumi's wind and fire to ignite it, the dragon suffered damage. It raised its head while leaning back in pain.

Angie didn't miss the opportunity.

"!"

Using the language of dragons, Angie tried her best to get the dragon to listen to her but it just continued to rampage. Soon, she would lose the reins and they'd have no other choice but to fight it for real.

All they had done was wear it out a bit and give it superficial wounds. It was nowhere near weak enough to be underestimated. Not to mention that this dragon is stronger than the one in Amber Mountain.

"Dragon Slayer Art... Sensory Confusion!"

Along with the activation of her art, her presence vanished. The dragon couldn't sense her on its back anymore, but the rope that was wrapped around its neck didn't loosen in the slightest.

It was then that it finally broke free of the restraints. Even under constant attack, there was nothing they could do to its tough body and scales. It jumped off the ground and slammed its back into the city wall.

"Kah!"

All of the air inside Angie's lungs were forcefully expelled by the force of the dragon. The hands that were holding onto the rope loosened and the dragon finally got free. It looked at Date and the others who were attacking it with anger burning in its eyes.

"Guess there's no other way!"

Date took the lead. He raised his sword and seven water snakes rose from behind him. They all aimed their fangs at the dragon and shot out at frightening speed simultaneously.

The dragon defended itself with its arm. It swung it at the water snakes and after biting into its scales—dispersed.

Next, it was Arata's turn. He kicked the ground and used rocks to shoot himself upward. A pillar of earth rose next to him and after putting his hand on it, it began to crumble.

"[Mountain Sword]!"

A giant sword over twenty-five meters appeared from within the pillar. Arata held it with one arm effortlessly and slammed it into the body of the dragon. It wasn't sharp, it was more akin to a club than a sword in terms of use.

But it worked.

The dragon couldn't handle the force of twenty-five meters of earth slamming into it and lost its balance. Natsumi created another dust explosion and aimed it at the same side Arata had hit.

BOOM

With that, the dragon completely lost its footing. At the same time, a massive amount of water slammed into the dragon from the sky. If that amount of water slammed into a normal human, they'd be completely crushed.

However, the opponent was a dragon.

All of their attacks only proved to irk it more. It was damaged, sure, but it wasn't enough to say that they had damaged it.

"As expected of a dragon..."

Dragon scales to block attacks, thick skin to absorb the impact, and tough bones to survive even the toughest hits that get through its defense.

Without Kai's Arts, it would be impossible for them to kill it without attacking from the inside.

"Dragon Slayer Art: Pulverize!"

Angie stabbed her sword into the dragon. Her attack seeped into the gaps of the dragon's scales. It was the simplest attack any of them had done, but it had caused the most damage to the dragon.

In the end, magic was akin to rock paper scissors.

Wind loses to fire, fire loses to water, water loses to earth, and earth loses to wind.

A dragon would lose to another dragon or a power of similar caliber.

With that, their battle plan was set.

Arata and Date limited the dragon's movements while Angie and Natsumi attacked it.

"Unbelievable..."

One of the city guards muttered. They were all standing by because they wouldn't be able to do anything against a dragon, but they didn't leave the area. If they were needed for anything, they would be quick to respond.

They didn't expect the scene that was in front of them, however. I mean, who would?

One side was a giant monster feared by all the races—a dragon. And on the other side were just four demons whose faces they didn't recognize at all.

But the most surprising thing was that the fight was one-sided. The dragon couldn't fight back against their teamwork. They were perfectly synchronized to help each other whenever they needed it. If Angie's attacks were stopped, Natsumi would make the dragon stagger. If Arata were to fail to restrain it, Date would hold it for a few seconds and allow him to redo it.

There was nothing the dragon could do but take their attacks. It wasn't being injured all that much, but it was definitely getting pushed back. Earlier, they were fighting at the city walls but now, there was quite a bit of distance between the wall and the dragon.

Of course, the dragon could cover the distance in just a few seconds. But it didn't have the leisure of spreading its wings and flying with all the attacks that it was taking.

After a few more minutes of constant battling, the dragon couldn't take it anymore and abandoned any ideas of attacking. It braced its body to receive the next few attacks and unfurled its wings.

"This is bad! Everyone, get on!"

Angie tried to get them on the dragon but it was too late. The dragon flapped its wings using all of its power and shot into the sky with Angie desperately clutching at its scales.

"Ahhh!"

She couldn't help but scream.