348 Chapter 348: Toxic Waste (2/2)
The third Frost Dragon broke out of the ice, driving both Hydra and Cetus back. By now, I had Green Dragon materialize and bind the poor thing in vines and plants. The Frost Dragon took only a few seconds to freeze the wooden restraints and burst free.
…only for Anastasia to step in and blast it with her poison magic.
Turning around, I took note of the other Frost Dragon's demise. It was lying in a toxic wasteland, its body atrophying and fuming profusely. Blood was oozing out of its eyes and nose, and it was clear that the once great beast was slowly dying. Whatever toxins Anastasia had pumped into its body, they were working. The Frost Dragon couldn't even get up, its body going into sporadic spasms.
”Sorry…I'm running out of mana.”
While Anastasia somehow managed to keep up a constant stream of poison on the Frost Dragon, which caused what few of Green Dragon's plants that still remained to wither, she was gradually sinking to her knees from exhaustion. While the Frost Dragon was visibly weakened, it was far from dead.
”That's enough,” I told her as I approached. Anastasia glanced up with a jolt and frantically gestured for me to keep my distance.
”Careful! Don't come near me, or you'll get poisoned too!”
”Don't worry about that. I won't be harmed by your poison.”
”Don't joke about that! I'm serious!”
”So am I…”
I wasn't able to finish my sentence because one of the other dragons had joined in the fray. A Sapphire Dragon was accumulating a tremendous amount of azure mana into its mouth, converting it into destructive energy.
”Scutum Sobiescianum!”
The Constellation shield manifested between Anastasia and the Sapphire Dragon, but intuitively I knew that it wasn't going to be enough. I was going to need a stronger defensive spell than Scutum Sobiescianum.
”I am the soul of my sword.”
Muttering an incantation, I began sprinting toward where Anastasia was. Having witnessed her lethal abilities, the Sapphire Dragon had chosen her as its prime target, and was aiming its gradually coalescing beam at her. Unfortunately, the ex-Assassin was too exhausted to evade. She was on her knees, and wouldn't make it in time.
Even so, she was still somehow able to glare at me.
”Why are you ripping off Fate/Stay Night?” She demanded. Ignoring her, I vaulted over to stand beside her as the Sapphire Dragon unleashed its colossal spell in the form of a beam. As I expected, Scutum Sobiescianum didn't last for more than a few seconds. The Sapphire Dragon's devastating spell obliterated it almost instantly, shattering and disintegrating the Constellation shield with raw might. Damn it.
Fortunately, I still had another defensive spell up my sleeve. I had to make sure I cast it in time!
”Fear is my body, Frost is my blood.”
Raising my right hand up, I gathered as much azure mana as I could into my palm and hurriedly constructed an ice barrier.
”Discarded by Life, Embraced by Death…”
Taking a deep breath, I continued in the face of the approaching spell, which was leaving a trail of molten lava and boiling snow in its wake as it streaked toward us.
”I have frozen over a thousand fortresses…”
”Richard!” Anastasia was shouting at me to move…to save myself. But I refused and stood firm, finishing off my incantation with the name of my spell.
”Snow Aegis!”
A gigantic snowflake materialized in front of me, about five meters in width. Possessing six petals, the azure shield solidified just in time before the colossal azure beam struck it, causing the snowflake-shaped armament to shudder violently from the impact. The ground around us crumbled under the immense power, rocks, snow and everything disintegrating almost instantly.
But I held. My Snow Aegis held.
Withstanding the terrifying onslaught, Snow Aegis endured for almost half a minute before it finally cracked. First, one petal cracked and gradually shattered, frosty fragments breaking apart and drifting away from the hurricane force before disintegrating fully. Then the second petal. The third. And the fourth…
Boom!
The resulting explosion seemed to engulf the both of us, but I let out a bellow as I infused the rest of my mana into my crumbling snowflake shield to withstand the last of the blast. Nonetheless, Snow Aegis blew apart along with the last vestiges of the beam.
Bloodied, battered and bruised, I dropped to my knees. Blood streamed over my face, and my right arm flopped uselessly at my side, almost broken. Coughing out some blood, I threw out my left hand to break my fall when I flopped forward, but Anastasia quickly seized me before my face could hit the ground.
”Richard! Are you all right?”
”I've been better,” I admitted groggily. That took almost all of my mana. And even then I was no longer in fighting shape.
The Sapphire Dragon, the poisoned Frost Dragon that was still alive and kicking, and a couple of blue dragons closed in on us, snarling vengefully as they finally deigned to join the battle.