Gradually, but steadily, the output of the “Inferno Armored Train Cannon Argonaut” continued to increase, generating a heat so intense it could instantly turn a living human to ash. Amidst the seething inferno that swirled with temperature and flames akin to that of purgatory, the demonized Fiona floated quietly in the fire, her eyes gently closed as if she were swaying above a serene lake.
“I can feel it…”
Although Fiona appeared motionless, as if sleeping, in reality, it was quite the opposite. She felt as if she had just awakened.
Along with her sharpened sixth sense, the five senses that had been cut off were now returning.
“The outside seems a bit noisy.”
It seemed that the enemies had begun their assault here. The Dark Knight Corps, on guard, was making fierce shooting sounds.
“Has Chrono also arrived?”
An unusually large black presence. Fiona definitely saw the figure of her beloved man among the massive dragon shadow flying in the sky.
Yes, she could see. Not only Chrono but everyone in the vicinity. She could hear them and feel them.
“Ah, with this, it seems we can proceed smoothly.”
She had been waiting for her senses to connect like this. Now, Fiona was harmonizing her senses with the earth veins of this land, namely, Balrog Mountain Range.
High-level summoners and spirit mages can share or merge their senses with the monsters and spirits they control. In theory, it was the same with her, but for an ordinary human to synchronize with the earth veins flowing through the land was not a rational act. Those who were expert in the field would assert it was impossible.
However, making it a reality was one of the many witch secrets Fiona had mastered.
Reproducing it was challenging, even for a genius like Fiona. It wasn’t something that could activate just by reciting an incantation with a single staff.
The wisdom of witches, her brilliant magical techniques, and the top-tier craftsmen who boasted unparalleled skills, all combined to create the “Inferno Armored Train Cannon Argonaut.” It was a means to make the impossible possible.
“The sun has already set. We must hurry.”
At that moment, everyone was waiting. Chrono had come all this way to protect her, who had become defenseless in harmony with the earth.
Even Fiona felt it would be rude to take any longer.
With her synchronization with the earth at this point, the launch preparations were nearly complete. All that was left was to fire, just like always.
Thus, finally, the Argonaut’s giant cannon began to move, letting out a steel roar as it aimed————
“The sun has set…”
The sun completely disappeared behind the massive shadow of Balrog, and finally, the veil of night descended.
However, the Rogentaria army, assaulting the train cannon position from both the ground and the air, lit up the sky with brilliant flashes, and countless attack magic spells flew about, sweeping through the darkness.
“My master, do we still need to buy time?”
“I think we just need a little more time— ‘Magic Sword: Rending Blade.'”
As Bell expressed a thought like a grunt, I spread flames across the night sky and scattered the “Magic Sword” like missiles.
As expected of the elite Pegasus Knights, they dodged our attacks with swift evasive actions and their own defensive magic. However, they had no room for a counterattack, and they seemed too cowardly to close the distance any further.
I was nearly single-handedly dealing with the Pegasus Knights. I had Sariel on Shiro in reserve in case any of them got past to launch a suicide attack on the train cannon.
While fighting a large number of foes alone and needing to defend, I couldn’t pursue them too deeply either. Maintaining a certain line and keeping the enemy at bay with a defensive strategy might have seemed dull to Bell.
“Yes, this is boring.”
“This time, Fiona is the main character, so bear with it.”
“They’re all cowering as well.”
“They probably don’t want to fall here.”
The moment the Demon King stepped out alone presented an opportunity to take down their commander! But after diving in with enthusiasm and hitting them hard once, they were no longer willing to close the distance and resorted to casting attack magic in return.
They wanted my head, but they lacked the guts to challenge the Black Dragon, knowing they wouldn’t survive if they failed. Their judgment stemmed from that reality.
The Rogentaria was simply occupying Adamantoria for resource purposes. They were not fighting us by order of the god commanding them to slay the evil Demon King Chrono. They likely had no desire to take my head at any cost.
However, being bombarded with attack spells from overwhelming numbers still kept me quite busy. They were coordinating and shooting at intervals, making sure not to leave openings for evasion.
Moreover, the Black Dragon Belkrosen boasted a massive frame that far exceeded a wyvern. The larger the target, the easier it was to hit.
“This level of magic won’t do anything even if it hits.”
“But I see no reason to take it willingly—’Devourer.'”
With a swing of my right hand, I invoked the “Heavenly Devourer.”
Then, a swirling crimson aura erupted from the blade, roaring fiercely. To the Pegasus Knights, it might appear merely as a red wind-element area attack magic.
Yet it was hardly a mere blade of wind; it was the fang of a beast that devoured magical power.
A barrage of attack magic rushed toward us—fire, lightning, ice. Without regard for their attributes, the moment they came into contact with the aura of the Devourer, they dissipated as if magic was nothing but an illusion.
“Uwooh?! You rascal, you even took a bite out of me this time too!!”
“I’m sorry.”
I apologized honestly.
Once again, I had not fully controlled the “Heavenly Devourer,” so while it was good that it consumed magical power, it was not yet refined enough to only devour what was intended.
As a result, the red aura affected Bel as well, nipping at her magical power. Even I, wielding the sword, was still being gnawed on.
“It seems like I still have a ways to go before I can fully master it.”
But the “Heavenly Devourer” was powerful, and even by simply focusing on defense, it was incredibly effective.
Wielding this practically nullified magic. Creating barriers with defensive magic would indeed seem foolish…
“Honestly, from a cocky horse to a starving dog. It seems all who oppose dragons are unaware of their own limits.”
Bell snorted, seemingly in displeasure.
The Devourer was my fault, but I thought the undead horse Merry had nothing to do with it. They were simply both riding creatures incompatible with each other. One for the skies and the other for the land; they’d better get along. If a sea creature were included, it would create a cycle of mutual restraint.
While pondering such trivial matters, it seemed the time for buying was nearing its end.
“————Oh, the train cannon has finally started to move.”
With a heavy rumble, the massive cannon mounted on the vehicle slowly rose.
The Argonaut runs across two tracks and has a huge frame, yet it’s still impossible to have that massive barrel rotate like a tank turret. The turret operates only in an elevation angle.
So when moving the cannon side to side, the vehicle itself has to move. A circular rail was laid down to allow the Argonaut to pivot in place. Only with that could it finally achieve rotation on the spot.
Even just moving the cannon required this much specialized equipment, and for firing, it had to wait for Fiona, the spellcaster, to prepare. The time it took to shoot complicated its operation, but this time, the effort would be worth it.
As the body began to move to take aim, an overwhelming wave of fire-element magical power pulsed strongly; even I flying in the sky felt the dense magic singeing my skin.
To avoid being interrupted at the last moment, I turned my back to the Argonaut and glared at the Pegasus Knights.
It appeared they chose to stand by. They seemed to have realized they could no longer stop the launch. Perhaps they thought allowing one shot wouldn’t be an issue.
Such a thought was understandable. After all, the cannon was aimed at the opposite side from the core, where the Royal Castle of Damascus stood; it was directed toward the conspicuous peak of Balrog behind them.
“Alright, we’re disengaging, Bel.”
“Understood.”
This was a time-out. I flapped my wings and flew away from the Pegasus Knights.
Glancing down to confirm, everyone had successfully retreated from the train cannon position. Only Fiona remained on the Argonaut.
The Pegasus Knights seemed to hesitate, deciding whether or not to pursue my sudden retreat, but no matter how they struggled, it was already too late.
The capital Damascus was soon to perish.
“Oh, something amazing is happening…”
As I flew leisurely through the sky, I gazed at the train cannon from a distance. The body and barrel glimmered with a brilliant crimson line. Personnel had already evacuated, and the lights in the position had gone out, leaving it shrouded in darkness.
In that darkness, the Argonaut, emitting an eerie red glow, resembled a massive monster holding its breath.
And the strongest radiance came from the giant barrel aimed at the mountaintop. The inner barrel glowed a vivid red, and the outer turret’s red lines multiplied rapidly. It was as if it were drawing a magic circle at high speed… and indeed, it was.
Had I not been informed beforehand by Fiona, with only casual knowledge of magic, I would have had no idea what was occurring.
That magic circle was not merely a formula drawn to activate magic.
The physical steel barrel alone was still insufficient for the magical control and acceleration needed to launch a projectile; it was a virtual barrel for that purpose.
In other words, the Argonaut’s cannon was not complete until the extension of magical power created by the overlapping magic circles manifested as a barrel.
Hence, this was not a weapon anyone could operate simply by learning how. It was specialized equipment only Fiona, the witch, could use.
As such, the Argonaut, with all launch preparations complete, roared forth with a roar of destruction———— main cannon fired.
Boom…
One deafening cannon fire echoed throughout the Balrog Mountain Range.
For an instant, the dazzling gunfire seemed capable of turning night into day, and at the moment it was fired, the virtual barrel’s magic circles shattered brilliantly.
Before the vibrations of the gunfire had ceased, another shockwave surged through.
Impact, now.
A pillar of fire erupted at the mountaintop that loomed high above. The massive explosion was likely visible from the front lines stationed at the South Gate. Naturally, it would also be seen by the Rogentaria army entrenched in Damascus.
Led by the Countess Belladonna, they were likely to have seen it very clearly from the Royal Castle.
No, the display would only intensify from here. They would witness the end of the capital Damascus from the Royal Castle.
Gogoo… Gogogogoo…
Firing the main gun was not the end; this was merely the beginning.
The shockwave unleashed by the enormous train cannon had long since passed, but the heavy rumblings that had begun now indicated something abnormal to everyone present. It could even be described as a display of power.
No matter how many had gathered, it demonstrated just how insignificant humans truly were.
The earth trembled.
But it was not an earthquake.
“I’m glad I was flying on Bel. If I had been on the ground, I would have felt utterly helpless.”
“To think you would bring about such a calamity yourself… despite always being so absent-minded, you are quite the formidable witch.”
At that moment, the Balrog Mountain Range erupted.
From the mountaintop where the projectile landed, a literal eruption sent pitch-black smoke and crimson lava skyward. The black smoke darkened the night sky, while the bubbling magma painted the darkness in vivid red.
This sight, akin to the end of the world, could not possibly be dismissed as a mere natural phenomenon.
This was Fiona’s perfect strategy for conquest.
————OoooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
The molten lava shining in the night sky took the shape of a dragon and roared.
This land of Balrog was not governed by dwarves who had built kingdoms over hundreds of years, nor by humans who had taken it over.
It was I who would demonstrate myself as the ruler of Balrog—so, in a show of grandeur to the small folk, the fire dragon appeared.
“It looks just like the eight-headed serpent…”
Emerging from the mountaintop was a fire dragon, a colossal being formed of magma, eight in total. Rather, if we counted the fire dragon as an embodiment of the natural disaster known as an eruption, it might indeed be referred to as eight entities.
The raging eight-headed fire dragons collectively gazed down from the peak.
Under normal circumstances, a fire dragon emerging from an eruption of this scale would run wild as nature intended, wreaking havoc. It is a natural disaster beyond human control, and all that can be done is to pray that its fury abates as quickly as possible.
However, these fire dragons faced in the same direction, guided by a clear intention.
“I can’t believe it; she’s truly controlling the fire dragons…”
As a being created as a biological weapon, the black dragon must have been genuinely amazed by Fiona’s power to manipulate real dragons.
To control nature was an act beyond human capacity.
But in truth, the eight-headed fire dragons began to descend slowly, transforming into a roaring river of magma heading toward Damascus.
At this point, no one could stop them. Even if Fiona were to cease control at this very moment, the enraged fire dragon awakened abruptly would not halt its rampage toward Damascus.
“It’s hard to believe she can manipulate a natural disaster of this scale without the Original Monolith.”
“This is Fiona’s ‘Wrath of Balrog.'”
The massive tidal wave of sand that submerged the capital Beldoria was the “Wrath of Atlas,” manipulated by Lily.
It was only Lily’s computational ability, perfectly controlling the original monolith of Karamala, that realized this manipulation of nature. A commendable strategic weapon capable of deliberately triggering the disaster of a tsunami.
Originally, the Atlas strategy was a powerful gambit aimed at countering the two Apostles, Misa and Nero, and their fully prepared Great Expedition Army.
Yet, Fiona, as Bell said, managed to summon the colossal eight-headed fire dragons even without controlling the original monolith of this land.
This was akin to Lily’s “Wrath of Atlas.” It could be considered a strategic weapon capable of inciting calamity.
Of course, as the Demon King, I could not perform either, nor could anyone else do anything similar elsewhere.
Should Lily and Fiona truly come into conflict next, they might well unleash natural disasters upon one another. Not just the Empire; Pandora might just meet its end.
“My lord, that witch is dangerous.”
Perhaps Bell sensed my half-joking, half-serious concern, as she issued that warning in an unusually serious tone.
“Don’t worry so much. This will only be used this one time, in this location.”
It is not something that can summon fire dragons anytime, anywhere, of course.
The superweapon “Inferno Armored Train Cannon Argonaut” had been completed, and there were enough personnel to operate it. More importantly, Fiona had previously experienced controlling the Balrog fire dragons, an otherwise impossible experience, allowing for this miraculous combination.
The earth’s veins flowing with magical power, and the dragon’s lair, a collection point. The nature of the colored magical power there varies by location. Only in the Balrog Mountain Range, where fire dragons naturally reside, could such a feat be accomplished.
“That may be, but… do you remember what we discussed before?”
“About why the ancient civilization perished?”
Yes, I understood that was what Bell was most concerned about.
“Ancient civilizations were destroyed by dragons.”
“We won’t repeat the same mistake. At least, not in our era.”
Unfortunately, I lacked the mind or capacity to consider the future a hundred or even a thousand years ahead.
I could only manage to counter the imminent threat before me. The future must be left to those of the future.
“So now, we can only fight to entrust the future.”
I gazed at the colossal power of the dragon that might destroy civilization alongside Bell, watching from the skies.
The fire dragon was already in motion. No one could stop it now. From here on out, we would simply watch as the capital Damascus sank into a sea of fire————