73 Chapter 73: Starligh (1/2)

”Hey! Don't do anything crazy!” Sanada shouted a warning to Hoshizaki Kozue, but she ignored him and was floating on a huge star-shaped magic flying carpet-thing.

”Let her go,” Makoto told him with a shake of his head. ”You can't stop her.”

Hoshizaki rode on her star-shaped magic flying carpet-thing and sped toward Suzuki, golden light shining around her hands as she called upon stars.

”Oh?”

Suzuki smirked as he watched Hoshizaki approach him.

My plan to stall for time failed…well, not that I ever planned to stall for time the moment Tanaka came out to fight me, but…

”But what?” I asked. Suzuki glared at me.

”Stop reading my mind!”

”No way. Privilege of being a first-person protagonist. I call dibs on reading your minds whenever appropriate.”

”Oh, shut up!”

Suzuki turned away from me, annoyed, and focused his attention on the incoming Hoshizaki. As she neared, he leered mockingly.

”What can a little girl do against me?”

”What are you, a male chauvinist?” I yelled even as I stayed on the ground, trying to regenerate. ”Who cares if Hoshizaki is a girl or not?! It doesn't have to do with anything! Girls can still be more powerful than guys! You'll regret underestimating her!”

”Tanaka!” Makoto snapped at me, his eyes narrowed into a glare. ”Are you fine with getting yourself beaten up into a pathetic state like that? Or else maybe Hoshizaki will defeat Suzuki in your stead!”

”I don't think so,” Sanada said seriously. ”This time, her opponent is strong. Suzuki-kun is known for his brute strength and genius battle sense.”

”Kekeke…I can take care of you without even moving a single step from here!”

Suzuki was so arrogant that he didn't deign to even move a single step from where he was standing. Instead, he generated a gigantic lightning dragon that roared and descended from the heavens, its massive jaws dwarfing the hovering Hoshizaki.

”You've got to be kidding me…”

My jaw dropped when I saw the awesome figure of the golden, crackling dragon that emanated such powerful electricity that I was feeling numb even from where I was half-sitting. Bloody guy, Suzuki didn't pull out this technique at all when fighting me, and he decided to suddenly unleash this technique against poor Hoshizaki?! How was that fair?!

It was obvious that Suzuki never took me seriously from the start.

”Damn it…”

I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists in frustration, feeling rage build up inside me. That bastard…I will definitely make him pay for underestimating me.

Big words and all, but how are you going to do that? You couldn't beat him even when he was going easy on you.

Even if I used Thousand Astral Graves, would my enhanced zombies still be able to stand a chance against his devastating lightning? Not to mention that Thousand Divine Lightning Spears that he is charging up…

I didn't know. I guess I had no choice but to try it later…if Hoshizaki didn't defeat him first. Right now she was facing down the colossal lightning dragon that Suzuki had conjured. The monster was bearing down on her, its jaws open wide.

”Starlight Barrier.”

Raising a hand casually, Hoshizaki summoned a golden barrier of starlight that solidified in front of her. The lightning dragon smashed into the Starlight Barrier with immense force, its ephemeral form crumbling and flattening against such a stalwart shield.

However, Hoshizaki wasn't unaffected by the tremendous impact, which was sending violent shockwaves across her barrier. She flinched as she was buffeted by the immense impact, even as her golden barrier cracked.

”Annoying dragon,” she muttered angrily.

”Kekeke…not bad.”

Suzuki was grinning when he saw that Hoshizaki had endured the devastating hit. Below, Nishida looked up in awe.

”Hoshizaki…I can't believe she dared to go up against the boss's lightning dragon in the air. I guess she has no idea what she is up against.”

”Kozue-san is actually being beld back,” Makoto remarked grimly as he watched the intense aerial battle. ”Perhaps because there is no manuverability in the air?”

”Do you need me to heal you?” Aoyama asked as he hurried over, but I shook my head and raised my hand to gesture for him to stay where he was. While Hoshizaki engaged Suzuki in combat, I made my way back behind the wall of wood and sought safety behind the elemental barrier, much to Makoto's disgust.

Yeah, look at me all you want. I didn't care if Makoto thought I was a coward.

”I'm all right.”

”Did you just cast a healing spell on yourself?” Sanada asked, amazed, when he noticed that all my injuries had disappeared. I was about to shake my head, but I thought the better of it and merely nodded. It would be troublesome to explain the truth.

”Yeah…sort of.”

I stood back up and glanced at Hoshizaki.

”While Hoshizaki-san is holding Suzuki back, I'm going to use the time to summon something.” I slowly smiled when I saw the lightning dragon in the sky. ”And I might just have the thing.”

”What do you have in mind?” Sanada asked. I beamed.

”Might be faster to just show you.”

All around me, zombie wyverns and two zombie dragon – one of them being an undead ancient dragon – materialized, their massive wings fluttering and casting the entire valley in an ominous shadow. Raising my hand, which was swirling with terrifying black mana, I bound them to my will, my demeanor stern and determined.

”Oh…a summoning ability.” Sanada nodded, nonplussed.

”I see, so that's your special ability?” Makoto whistled, impressed.

”Those are…wyverns and dragons, aren't they?” Lilith observed, her crimson eyes narrowed as she studied their forms.

”They are zombies,” I replied with a grin. ”I'm a gravekeeper, after all.”

”All that black, necromantic mana swirling around them…” Lilith swallowed. ”Even I find such magic horrifying.”

”But if it's this, then perhaps Tanaka-kun can defeat Suzuki-kun,” Aoyama pointed out calmly. Unlike the residents of Restia, my former classmates still thought of magic and special abilities in terms of a game, and so they didn't share the same prejudice.

”Yeah, these are my strongest zombies.”

Black mana streamed from my hand and transformed into a dark pillar of light that pierced the heavens. I then clenched my fist and transformed the straight pillar of darkness into black chains before throwing them around the dragons – especially the ancient dragon.

The other four people in my group stared at me with bated breath, not sure what I was doing. They didn't have to wait long.

The ancient dragon lunged at me but I yanked my chain and brought the enormous creature to heel. With a single pull of the chains, I forced the gargantuan ancient dragon to kneel before me, its head groveling in the dirt as it glared at me.

”You've lost to me,” I told it. ”And as the victor, I claim my right to hold possession of you. I don't know how you're still maintaining those draconic instincts even when you're a zombie, but I guess I should have expected that from something as powerful as an ancient dragon.”

The ancient dragon growled nefariously, but I shut it up by yanking on the chains and transforming them into a black energy muzzle that wrapped around its jaws, clamping them shut. Stepping toward the immobilized ancient dragon zombie, I met its defiant gaze and pushed my glasses up my nose.

”We could do it the hard way or the easy way.” I smiled, almost as if I was trying to be reasonable. ”I know what you want. Freedom…and power. I can't grant you freedom – you're bound to my service forever. But I can grant you power. And…revenge.”

The ancient dragon went still at that. I reached out and stroked its jaws, a small strip of the muzzle peeling away to reveal dark scales.

”I know who it is you hunger vengeance against. And I promise you…as long as you serve me faithfully, I'll help you take revenge on your enemy.”

The dragon went still.

”Tomoyuki-kun tamed the ancient zombie dragon?” Lilith murmured.

I turned to her, even as I released the chains on the ancient dragon.

”Not exactly…but we've reached an agreement for now.”

Behind me, the ancient undead dragon roared in reluctant approval.

”Eh?”

Meanwhile, Hoshizaki was still clashing with Suzuki. She glanced over and saw the black pillar of light surging from behind the wall of wood and piercing the heavens.

The lightning dragon was still roaring even as it continued clashing against the Starlight Barrier. Meanwhile, a shower of comets peppered it, causing it to writhe in agony as it struggled against Hoshizaki's arcane spells.

Suzuki paid his poor dragon no attention, fixing his gaze in the same direction as Hoshizaki and staring at the black pillar of light.

”Looks like Tanaka Tomoyuki is finally ready.”

”…”

Hoshizaki didn't seem to want to let me fight, for she coolly turned around and conjured a gigantic meteor that finally obliterated the struggling lightning dragon in a single hit. As the lightning dragon crumbled and disintegrated, Suzuki smiled.

”Not bad…not bad at all! As expected of Stargazer, your spells are as mysterious as always.”

Hoshizaki merely glared at Suzuki in an almost expressionless manner, not responding to his compliment. Suzuki's grin widened.

”You killed my lightning dragon. Very powerful, Hoshizaki. You've truly gotten a lot stronger ever since you were summoned to this world.”

The golden sparks that were the last remains of the lightning dragon died out, and the illumination faded from Suzuki's face, which fell back into shadow once again. Only his white teeth seemed to gleam in the dark as he smirked.

”But too bad…”

He raised his spear and pointed it toward the sky.

”The 3 minutes are up.”

Something is off…no way!

Hoshizaki's jaw dropped when she saw the vast number of lightning spears that had arrayed themselves in the heavens.

Suzuki grinned as he readied himself to swing down his spear and rain down the lightning projectiles that blotted out the heavens through sheer numbers alone.

”Against the second round of attacks, you stand no chance!”