Chapter 42 (1/2)

43: The Man Called ‘Massacre Maddox’

Raws:

Confused as ere, we still made it doo floors

Maybe because it was the principal section of the fortress, the construction varied frouess But screw invading, anted to escape — and this set-up was one huge pain in the ass

If sorab them and ask, but le person in sight For a fortress of this size, its population was really small

Isn’t it awfully careless to leave all the posts unmanned in a situation like this?

Even so, we took the stairs down, and as I was trying to guess where the next flight ht be, I spotted a familiar face

“Lady Chris!”

It was the fortress’s adjutant, Percival Once he saw us, he dashed toward us as he called out

He was alone

I didn’t knohy the adjutant wasn’t with his commander at a time like this, but I was thankful anyway He was the only one around who could act as our guide

“We owe you one…”

Percival had been bent forward, panting and out of breath, but now he straightened up I didn’t notice because there’d been too many people around me, but he was pretty tall

I had to look up a bit to see his face

“Well, I was searching for you as well,”

he said, s A bit stiff, but it was a smile

“Uff–”

In this situation, my relief only lasted a moment before the nth shock — I’ve already lost count — hit us

The entire structure quaked and shook

“Wh–What’s happening right now?”

Dragged all the way here without knohy, a pallid Aira pressed Percival for answers

Cos later and left it at that That ht’ve been a bit unkind to her

“We haven’t been able to get a clear grasp of the situation either, but it’s a flying dragon It see just noas the ion’s direct hit on the control tower”

Percival didn’t have ti in ain

“What about L… uh, everyone else?”

I was about to ask ‘What about Leon?’, but I quickly fixedFor some reason

“Yes, well, right now, everyone should have been evacuated underground Given the nature of our adversary, even requesting reinforce, let’s evacuate We’ll talk on the way”

Percival urged us on

Yeah, with the continuous roaring and rocking, this wasn’t the ti away came first

With Percival taking the lead, we started to run down the hallway

“Can you… defeat it? The dragon?”

Whether Palmira meant to ask if the fortress could withstand the attack, or if she intended to try killing it by herself at some point, I wasn’t sure But she asked a pretty basic question

If it’s the second, that’s soht there

“Given the nature of this area, the fortress is stocked with anti-dragon equipment However, because it has never weathered combat in its capacity as a fortress until no effective it will be… we’re in the ht now”

“Its capacity as a fortress?”

“Yes, its potential in subduing dragons I have no experience yet ation of stray dragons obstructing the highways Therefore, it is possible to defeat thee for a stray… Whether we can defeat it remains to be seen”

It was clear fro his brains as he ran

The truth is, like he said, the fortress had been prepared to oppose dragons up to this point

And yet, now that it was forced into a bitter struggle that even had the control tower rocking on its foundations, now that ain, there was no choice but the evacuate That had to be disappointing

We ran down another flight of stairs Howthis one?

The loent, the ri blood as they desperately stayed on the move Froarrison, without any ht have finished evacuating underground as Percival said

Leon got hiht? Suddenly, worry sprang up my heart

That said, Leopard and Rupert should be there, so as long as they ith hier

For a ht now, noIn any case, I was in the process ofup with them as soon as possible

“Are we at the bottom yet?”

The control tower shook with increasing force It was clear to those inside that it was starting to take dae

Visible cracks ran along the walls and ceiling Part of the latter already had all but caved in on itself Now that it’d reached this point, it seemed that the entire tower’s collapse was only a matter of time

Even so, why’s this dragon attacking the tower so relentlessly? I’ist, but they’re creatures that rarely reveal themselves to humans in the first place –why is it so obsessed with this tower?

It was that shadow that called the dragon, I’ the monster’s behavior since then, too?

If so, then what’s its objective?

“We’re almost there — it’s just up ahead”

I had no idea how many stairs we’d already taken We ran down a hallway littered with debris falling fro When I checked behindbehind a bit

“Aira!”

“B–Big Sister — !”

I slowed down and grabbed her hand

Pal in front Like a herald

Anyhoere all running for dear life Since when did things turn this desperate?

I’onna be honest

Being in a pinch — and this was definitely a pinch — I was just a tiny bit excited

“Here it is!”

shouted Percival as he opened the large door at the end of the hallway Palh Then Aira and I leapt inside

“Oof!”

It was pitch-black I had Aira’s hand in ure of Palmira, who should have entered before me

Where the hell are we?