"Darn it… so ruthless…” I said, coughing.

I hadn’t lost consciousness, but I had curled up in the fetal position as rock fell from the ceiling and the entrance collapsed. She was absolutely right. I hadn’t seen her leaving fifteen of her best men for dead. If any of them were alive in this mess, I couldn’t see it.

As my vision cleared, I realized I could see. At least one of my orbs had survived and was still transmitting light. I could see Terra standing there. She had created a dozen pillars of stone, keeping the cave from collapsing on top of us.

“Lydia? Miki? Celeste?” Before I even called their names, I had already checked their status through the party.

With great relief, I found that everyone was alright. The girls were dusty, but otherwise still alive. I created some more lights in the room. There were a few unconscious bandits, but I didn’t feel like seeing if they were alive or dead at the moment. I may not be callous enough to murder Bandits, but I was starting to grow callous enough that I didn’t care whether they lived or died.

“Master…” Celeste approached me carefully. “Shall I… execute the plan?”

I summoned a mana potion from my ring and then handed it to her. “Immediately flee. Don’t engage her. Don’t even taunt her. Just run like the wind. Caste Haste first… I don’t want to take any risks.”

“Y-yes, Master… Haste.” Her body seemed to blur as she cast the short-lasting spell on herself.

She guzzled down the mana potion, and then took a deep breath.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“What are you doing?” Miki asked curiously.

I shook my head. “Just a little payback. She decided that we couldn’t have anything. I decided to return the favor.”

“Aero-swap!” Celeste cried out into the empty cavern.

Air started to wrap around her, and then she disappeared in a puff of wind. In her place was a woman who instantly collapsed to the ground. I was waiting for it, so I managed to catch her and guide her back down into a position I deemed comfortable.

“Carmine?” Lydia called out in disbelief.

“One of her wind spells, Aeroswap, allows her to mark someone and swap with them without being in their party. Salicia is probably still scratching her head wondering why her sister suddenly turned into a Sylph that darted away.”

I did make sure to check numerous times to make sure Celeste was safe. She didn’t show herself being hurt at all. Just as I was starting to relax, there was a sudden rumble. I could hear rocks and pebbles falling, and it sounded almost like the cave was breathing.

“Wha-“ Miki let out a cry.

“The dragon!” Terra immediately locked on the rocking form moving under various boulders.

Terra had made a space to protect us when the boulders fell. That space did not incorporate the massive dragon. Suffice it to say, and the avalanche of stone had fallen on it, crushing it in dozens of places.

“Terra, can you move away some of the lighter debris.”

Terra looked uncertain, but she did as I commanded. With a few waves of her hand, she cleared off the mechanical creature. I could see crushed gears and broken exhausted. The monster’s eyes were still lite in the darkness, but it seemed to be taking staggered breaths as if it was a living creature on the verge of death. It didn’t look at us, nor did it try to struggle or move.

“He’s… dying…” Lydia said, a complicated look on her face.

“It’s just a machine.” I said, partially for myself, “It doesn’t really have a life. However, it seems that it has been destroyed.”

“No…” Terra shook her head. “There is just one more thing.”

“What is that?

“The church was able to create this thing with a dragon core from a real dragon. That is what was so dangerous. If we leave it here, the church could always find the core and rebuild the dragon. We must take the core.”