Published at 28th of November 2019 8:08 am

Volume 4 Chapter 19: Dragon-san Stands Her Ground

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I let out a loud roar to get my thoughts up to speed and to break through the waves of pain and nausea that were shaking my body.

「Aru! I’m going to save you!」

「Mother!」

I gave up on fueling my body with magic power, instead shifting it all into my offensive power, so that I could interrupt Ten-san’s teleportation circle.

Seeing that, Ten-san’s face was tinged with irritation for the first time ever.

「Umm, hey, what the hell!?」

Temporarily gaining the upper hand, I divert some of my magic so that I could properly analyze the circle at Ten-san’s feet.

Teleportation is a complex and delicate spell.

Just a slight error or disturbance would cause its magic to run rampart, rendering the spell ineffective.

However, it would all be for nothing if Ten-san managed to cancel the spell and cast another one right after that.

But I had to do something! Otherwise, I know that I’m going to regret it my entire life!

While doing my best to interfere with the teleportation spell, I could see that Aru’s hair began to sway gently, as if the wind was blowing through here.

「Mother, I’ll be waiting!」

At that time, tears began to spill from Aru’s eyes and fall onto the magic circle.

Instantly, a huge amount of magic power was poured into the distorted circle, forcing it to expand tremendously.

The magic began to run berserk because there was so much of it, and it was hard to control.

We were all being swallowed into the circle, as it tried to send us somewhere.

It was an unforeseen event, but I immediately tried to stabilize the circle and force it under control, but I couldn’t do it fast enough.

I think I also saw Ten-san taking a firm hold of both Aru and Mikoto, trying to prevent them from running away and bracing herself for the inevitable.

But before I could make sure of that, there was a blinding flash of light and the circle activated, forcing us all into transition to God-knows-where.

*********

Even when the teleportation spell gets disturbed somehow, the transition is instantaneous.

So when I felt that the transition ended, immediately after that my body hit the ground.

From the smell of grass and leaves and the feeling of soft soil under my body I realize that we were transported into a forest somewhere.

One of the scariest things about teleportation was that when things went wrong, you could have even be thrown into the space in between dimensions, never to return to your own world again. Luckily, it seems that we managed to avoid that.

Judging by the warm sunlight shining on us from above, it was still daytime, but it was too early for us to relax just yet.

Because we still didn’t know if the time wasn’t distorted as well when we made the forced transition.

Oh well, I might as well leave that be for now.

First order of business for me to do was to get a feel of the local leylines, to see where we were.

If you get a hold of the magic around you, you can more or less establish your current position, but unfortunately for me, the magic that was surrounding us was unknown to me

Also, the smell of the air was totally unknown to me as well.

Instead, I could feel both Nectar and Senjiro’s magic waves nearby.

I tried to stand up on my feet, but I was feeling so weak that I needed to sit back down right after that.

It seems that the effects of Ten-san’s magic were still taking a hold over me.

So while I was trying to put my magic back together, it was Senjiro who appeared in front of my eyes.

But, huh? Why are you carrying Nectar on your back, eh? Nectar!?

「Lava! Are you alright!?」

「I’m fine, but why are you carrying Nectar on your back?」

I ask him that while my eyes shine with worry, and Senjiro puts Nectar down like a sack of potatoes.

「Nectar-dono managed to locate you, but it looks like he is too exhausted to move on his own. So I offered to carry him, just so we could get to you as fast as possible. But aside from that, Nectar-dono seems fine.」

「I see…… And it looks like you’re okay as well, Sen-san.」

I suspected as much given that he was moving normally, but I asked him just to be on the safe side, to which Senjiro immediately became irritated.

「I’m fine because of my training. However, it was a rather painful experience, having my movements restricted by magic.」

I could very well understand the reason for Senjiro’s anger and regret.

Because I was feeling in the exact same way.

Nectar crawled his way to my side and leaned against me. The sight of him in such a state was simply heartbreaking.

「Lava, are you really alright? Your face is all blue.」

He said that, but Nectar’s face was as white as a sheet as well.

It didn’t take me that long to find out that the circulation of my magic was still messed up a little.

But still, I let Nectar touch my skin, so that way he could recover faster.

「Thank you so much, Lava.」

「No, I should be the one thanking you, Nectar. Could you try to locate Aru and Mikoto now?」

While I was trying to interfere with Ten-san’s teleportation circle, Nectar managed to place several spells on her that would technically be able to help us locate the Mikoto and Aru.

It was extremely difficult to construct several complex spells like that under such pressure, but I was proud of him since he succeeded.

But Nectar only shook his head, his eyes filled with despair.

「I’m sorry, that woman must have noticed my spells. I can’t feel anything. I have no idea where they are.」

Both Senjiro and I gasped upon hearing that.

For me, it was an exceptionally hard blow.

Every dragon was supposed to be equal to the rest of its brethren in terms of both physical power and magic, but as it turned out, there was one additional factor that was turning this equilibrium upside down: experience.

In other words, Ten-san is on the same level as me…… But all of the experience she accumulated throughout the years gives her tremendous advantage.

I can’t be sure what’s on her mind or why is she doing all this, but maybe it is exactly because of my lack of experience.

「At least there’s one thing we know for sure: she wasn’t intend on harming Aru or Mikoto in any way.」

Senjiro’s face was still upset, but his words surprised me.

「That is also why we were sent to Towa.」

All of her actions were wrong and reckless. So what that there was no sense of hostility behind them? As a result, both Mikoto and Aru ended up getting kidnapped.

It was something I couldn’t possibly forgive.

「Lava, please calm down.」

Both my mind and my vision were being swallowed by the red and hot flames of hatred, but it was then that I heard Nectar’s voice.

It seems that he could clearly feel my emotions, because they were being transmitted together with my magic.

My face became hot, but it also ceased to be that way in an instant, as my face turned blue again.

「I’m sorry, Nectar! I’m so, so sorry! Are you alright!?」

Since Nectar was training under the Great Plant Spirit, his magic had an affinity towards nature. This also means that he’s extremely vulnerable to heat.

I checked him thoroughly to make sure he wasn’t burned anywhere, and then embraced him tightly.

The heat was not yet gone from him, so I tried to put some distance between us, but he kept me in place by force.

「It’s alright. Aru and Mikoto are definitely safe. So let’s think about our next move without getting impatient, alright?」

I am amazed that he could remain calm in a situation like this, whereas I was close to losing my mind.

But I could definitely tell that he was also ridden with sorrow and regret.

His words made me feel a little bit relieved, and I began to calm down.

So instead of trying to resist it, I embraced Nectar once more.

「Yes. Yes, you’re right, Nectar.」

Running around aimlessly will get us nowhere right now.

Letting out a sigh, Nectar smiled and kissed me on the forehead.

I wanted to return the gesture, but just then……

「……Umm, you two? I know how you feel, but could you stop being so clingy for a minute?」

Upon hearing Senjiro’s voice, we finally separated from each other.

Looking at him now, he had a slight blush on his face while he was facing away from us.

Ahh, geez! You know that I’m happy, but what’s with that disappointed look on your face, Nectar!?

「No, no, everything’s fine here! If anything, I should be the one to apologize!?」

「No, no, if you’ve managed to calm down then there’s no problem!」

Senjiro sighed and his face tightened.

「I have no idea why Makoto let that whole Ten-san possess her. But what I do know is that my family has caused you problems. So to compensate, please allow me to help you get Aru and Mikoto back.」

「We appreciate it, Senjiro-san.」

Said Nectar, and I nodded my head. I felt the same way.

「Do we have any idea where Aru and Mikoto could have been taken?」

Thinking that everything will eventually play out fine, we ask ourselves that question, and after a moment of silence Nectar closed his eyes and concentrated.

Nectar cast a spell and his hair swayed for a bit, but after a few seconds he opened his eyes and looked genuinely astonished.

「Because the spell was incomplete and it was interrupted, I can only guess the rough direction and distance. But it seems that we are still on the same continent, at least.」

「So, does that mean we’re in Towa?」

That would mean that despite all our interference, Ten-san ultimately managed to achieve her goal.

Her destination was Towa, so if we were on the same continent, we must have been in Towa.

The fur on Senjiro’s ears and tails stood up, in a clear gesture of surprise.

Sure, it was surprising to be transported right into the enemy’s territory, but this time around it was more than convenient for us.

It was a good thing that we had Senjiro on our side. With him, we at least have some knowledge of the territory on which we were right now. What better ally to have when on a rescue mission?

Nectar cast a quick glance at Senjiro and sigh.

「Umu, I hope that you are ready for what’s to come.」

「Of course. Our goal remains the same.」

I could see a tint of irritation in Nectar’s eyes at that moment.

It was still a mystery why would Ten-san view herself as a villain here.

We might be right in the middle of the enemy’s territory, but that fact changed nothing.

「We shall get those two back to safety. I promise.」

I watched as Nectar and Senjiro looked at one another and then they squeezed each other’s hands.

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