I hurriedly unfastened the magic lantern from my waist and shattered it with the hilt of my wakizashi. A sharp, resounding noise echoed, prompting Ilga to anxiously question me.

“Eremia!? What are you doing!?”

“……”

What I had retrieved was a light crystal stone—a type of magic-infused crystal classified under light.

With the lantern’s cover and adjustment mechanisms gone, the crystal radiated a blinding glow.

I discarded the remaining parts behind me, then smashed the fist-sized crystal against the ground, shattering it further. One by one, I picked up the scattered fragments.

Noticing my intent, Oujin stepped in to assist.

“W-what are you two doing? If we’re going to flee, now’s the time!”

Ilga whispered urgently, his voice laced with panic.

It was pointless to lower his voice. We had already been detected.

Oujin quickly responded.

“I told you, we can’t escape anymore. If you’re staying, then help.”

“Help with what…?”

“We’re scattering these crystal fragments across the entire floor. Right, Eremia?”

“Yeah.”

We were turning this place into our battleground. Fortunately, it was a spacious hall. Unlike narrow corridors where dodging a charge would be impossible, this ogre dwelling offered ample space for maneuvering.

However, we were neither goblins nor ogres. Without light, our vision would be useless. Even when shattered, light crystal stones retained their glow. The smaller the fragments, the dimmer the light, but the overall illumination range wouldn’t change significantly.

“Oujin, you handle the left side. Spread them as evenly as possible towards the front, up to the walls, within the light’s reach.”

“Got it.”

Oujin and I scattered the collected fragments throughout the hall, ensuring even distribution across the floor, the sides, and at regular intervals.

Dim light spread through the previously engulfed darkness. The light didn’t reach the walls—the ogres’ dwelling was indeed vast. Numerous stone pillars stood tall, seemingly supporting the ceiling.

Ilga, his expression filled with distress, shouted.

“But if you destroy the magic lantern like that, even if we escape this hall, Eremia won’t be able to get out! Without light, escaping the dungeon is—”

“I’ll take Eremia back. Ilga, you should retreat ahead.”

A dragging sound. A slow, deliberate movement scraping against stone.

It was approaching.

Perhaps because it dragged itself over bloodstained rock, the sound occasionally took on a sticky, wet quality.

The stench of blood and viscera thickened.

I clutched an especially large fragment of light crystal stone in my right hand.

“We’ve already decided to fight. We’ll determine whether to retreat after we’ve clashed. If we decide we can’t win, I’ll grab Eremia by the scruff of his neck and drag him out myself. You go ahead first. Someone with their heart set on running will only be a hindrance.”

“Tch…”

Despite his youthful face, Oujin spoke bluntly and decisively.

Meanwhile, Ilga furrowed his brows, his expression torn with frustration. He clenched his teeth but eventually let out a long breath before drawing his longsword.

“There’s no way I can retreat now…”

“We won’t be able to protect you.”

“I know that! I’ve made up my mind! A knight falling behind a mere ten-year-old? I won’t allow it!”

There are plenty of knights who would, though. Fools like Lawrence Givley, for example. Ilga had too much idealism about knights.

Still, I kept that thought to myself.

Instead, I grinned and said, “Run around if you have to. Just survive.”

“Of course! If I die, I’ll make my father and mother cry all over again!”

With that said, there was no room left for mockery.

Oujin and I exchanged glances and nodded.

“Throwing it now. Showtime.”

“Understood. Let’s do this… Let’s do this!”

“Anytime.”

Ilga raised his longsword before his eyes, assuming an upright stance. Oujin stepped forward with his left foot, lowering his posture while twisting his body, his sword drawn back.

With all my strength, I hurled the largest crystal fragment forward.

A strong light cleaved through the darkness, soaring just below the ceiling. The glowing fragment traced an arc before gradually descending.

With a sharp clink, it landed on the ground.

The pale light spread, illuminating the depths of the darkness.

Within that light stood a figure.

Even I was bewildered by its full form.

“W-what… is that…?”

Oujin and Ilga were at a loss for words.

Its long neck bore something resembling wings, albeit vestigial. Its face and body had draconic features, yet I couldn’t immediately recognize it as a dragon.

It was… distorted. As a living being. Even its massive frame, tall enough to graze the high ceiling, was warped.

Dragons had scales that aligned in even rows, giving them an almost beautiful appearance. But this thing’s scales were rotting, half-melted. They weren’t uniform—big ones, small ones, piled up like a haphazardly built stone wall.

And it had only one eye. Not because the other had been destroyed—there was no trace that it had ever existed. Yet, it wasn’t a cyclops with a central eye either.

Its forelimbs, which should have been draconic, were covered in black fur, resembling human arms instead.

Its wings were asymmetrical, with two extra ones growing only on its right side. Half of its sharp fangs were missing, and a thick, oily fluid oozed from its body, reflecting light with a slick sheen.

An aberration. Nothing else could describe it.

As though it had failed to become a dragon.

I recoiled at the sight. Goosebumps ran across my skin.

Ilga covered his mouth.

“Urgh…”

A putrid stench. So strong it drowned out the smell of ogre entrails.

“Eremia, what is that?”

“I don’t know. At first, I thought it was a dragon zombie, but it’s different.”

Dragon zombies were dead dragons whose bodies continued to function long after death, driven by residual magic until they fully decayed—essentially, undead dragons.

“That thing is alive. Despite its deformities, I can feel its life force.”

“I agree. I can sense intent from it… Killing intent.”

“Yeah.”

Drool dripped from its maw as its single eye glared at us. It only had its right eye, so it turned its neck leftward to look at us.

Then—

――GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!

A deafening roar.

The air trembled. The sound waves struck our bodies like a physical force.

“Ghh…!”

“…!!”

“Tch…!”

The impact was nearly painful, as if hit by a raging gust.

A dragon’s roar—!

I instinctively clamped my hands over my ears. If I didn’t, my eardrums would rupture. The dungeon’s enclosed space only amplified the reverberations. My skull ached, and my vision blurred.

And in the next instant, it was already lunging at us.