(Having said that, there doesn't seem to be anywhere to run to: ......!

　The surrounding area is a cliff-like slope to the right and left.
　The upper reaches of the shallow river are probably the lair of the dragons, and downstream is the habitat of the demons.

　And a masked dragon man approaching from the sky

...... It's one or two!

　Touch the cliff face and activate [Analysis].

　If there are tunnels stretching across this rocky mountain, then there might be tunnels running close to the rock face.

''There it is: ......!　Skill, activate!

　Quickly [Disintegrate] the several meter thick rock wall and blow the wreckage away to the other side.

　Immediately, he rolls into the hole and activates the [Repair] skill on the sand and stony wreckage that had filled the ground of the tunnel.
　He seals the freshly opened hole at maximum speed.

　Just at the moment when the hole was sealed up, I caught a glimpse of the masked dragon man landing on the riverside.

''You made it in time ...... but isn't this ...... a tunnel?

　The image that comes to mind when you hear the word "tunnel" is that of a man-made cave with bare rock.

　However, this is not the case here.
　The floor and walls are made of stone, as if it were a temple or something.

　The ceiling is filled with light like the sky in the "Demon King's Castle Realm" and illuminates every corner of the passage.

''It's like the ruins ....... ......

　As I was stunned by the unexpected scene, a tremendous impact was slammed into the thick stone wall.

''That bastard, he's going to smash through the rock!

　What a tour de force.
　If he doesn't intend to give up, then I have one of two options.

　Either I continue to [repair] the wall from the inside, hoping that Theodore and the other high-ranking adventurers will come running in, and bring it to a root contest to see which one runs out of magic power or time, which is faster.

　Or you can run to the back of the passage and hope that you'll find either a hiding place or an escape route.

'(Either way, there's no time to get lost: ......!

　The former has the advantage of the presence of magic crystals, but the unknown destructive power of the guy is a cause for concern.
　There's even a possibility that the allies who rushed to the scene would be turned back.

　The latter can be disturbed in the form of 'Which side of the passage did he run to?', but if he runs into a dead end, he won't be able to see it.

...... eeeeeeeeeeee!

　As soon as I made my decision, I used only the minimum amount of [Restoration] on the wall and immediately started running at full speed.

　In order to compete head-on with the destruction and restoration, it's too fatal that I can't read my opponent's hand.

　This one's [Restoration] with a magic crystal backup is the only card in his hand, but if the opponent has a trump card that's more than that hidden, he can't even look at it.

　He continues to run without a sideways glance and finally reaches the area at the end of the passage.

''Did this guy ...... backfire on you ......?''

　We ended up in a vast cylindrical space.

　Our current position is near the top of the cylindrical space.
　A spiral staircase continues uninterruptedly along the inside, and the bottom of the space is too dark to see.

　No matter how you look at it, it's a pathway down into the ground.

　It's even deeper than the flat part of the Demon King's Castle Realm.
　I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but I think it's a good idea.

''We can't turn back now. ......

　The sound of a rock wall smashing at the end of the aisle echoes through the air.

'Looks like you're not going to .......

　I ran down the old spiral staircase, determined to make my way down.

　The stone walls of the cylindrical space had holes at regular intervals that looked like doorways, and at the back of them was a large hollow space.

　It was like a room. It was an uninhabited house that had been cleared of all its contents.

Could this be the remains of a town?

　If those guys who love to examine the ruins and relics in the dungeon would see it, they would be surprised and delighted to the point of fainting.

　According to Noir, there are two types of demon races that inhabit the 'Demon King's Castle Realm': dwarves and dark elves.

　These ruins are built with dimensions that make it easy for me, a human, to move around, and are clearly out of proportion to the dwarf's physique.

　If so, is this a ruin created by the dark elves?

　Or is it neither, an unknown demon race--

(...... is not the time to be thinking about that.)

　I don't have the luxury of surrendering to my curiosity right now.

　I continue to run down the spiral staircase in a frenzy and finally reach the bottom of the cylindrical space.

It's a dead end, or ......, or perhaps there is a hidden passage ...... somewhere.

　I touch the stone floor carved with artistic patterns and activate [Analysis] by borrowing the output of the magic crystal.

　The physical structure of the entire surrounding area flows into my mind.

　Immediately after that, a sudden impact resembling a falling stone suddenly shakes the scaffolding, forcing the skill to be interrupted.

''(No way!)　(Has it already caught up with you?!)

　The moment I turned around with that instinct, a sharp pain stabbed through my torso.

''---- phew!''

　In front of me is a masked dragon man.
　A single sword stabbed deep into his stomach.

　Fresh blood soaks the stone floor.

　The dragonman is trying to pull the sword out of my body with ease

............!

　--but it could not be pulled out.

　It was as if the flesh and the blade had been fused together, and with a light pull, it didn't even move.

'...... caught ......!

　I never dreamed that 'this usage' would live on.

　An application called [Fusion] that I thought of to create a sword that could never be pulled off, which was requested by a drunken nobleman.

　He recreated that which he had realized between the stone and the sword back then, between his own flesh and the sword.

　And this moment when the masked dragon man showed his agitation was an opportunity.

　With [Disintegration], he ripped off a piece from the sword that pierced his body and pressed it against the dragonman's armor.

''Activate!''

　Several distorted swords, which were [repaired] using armor as material, stabbed through the chest of the masked dragon man from close contact.

''Ggaaaaaaah!

　Flames erupted from the freshly pierced wound as screams echoed beneath the mask.

　I quickly pulled out the wakizashi - the hijikirocane-alloyed sword that Sakura had entrusted to me - and stopped it from absorbing the flames and preventing them.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a great deal more to say about it.

　If that's the case, there's no way it can't be prevented at this level.

''With this--how about this!

　He slashed at the dragonborn's neck with a searing armpit slash.

　The dragonborn reacted in agony and writhing, trying to defend himself by smashing the masked part of him.

　The blade of the Wakizashi melted away as the mask slid down.

　However, whether it was my lack of skill or the skillful movement of the dragonman, I was only able to pop the mask off without cutting the face deeply.

''Guo-o......!''

　The dragonborn jumped backwards.

　The blow aimed at the neck ended up failing, but the strange sword that was released from the [Restoration] from close contact with him brilliantly pierced his chest and tore off the base of one of his wings as if to gouge it out.

''Kutaku......''

　He releases the 【Fusion】 of the sword that pierced his belly and pulls it out and throws it away, then prepares himself for his next move while repairing the wound.

　Even if you cut at him head on, he definitely won't be able to communicate with you.
　Directly 【Disintegration】 of the opponent's body is impossible due to the existence of magical resistance.

　Strange tactics such as 【Restoration】 and 【Fusion】 wouldn't work twice, and the reason he was able to stop the sword with 【Fusion】 in the first place was because it wasn't an accidental fatal wound.

　Furthermore, it would have been no good if that guy hadn't been careless and tried to pull it out slowly, and had been pulled out with all his strength from the start.

　If he had done that, he would have torn off the flesh and blood around him.

(I've done everything I could ...... and if this doesn't bring you down, the only thing left to do is rely on the 'last resort' ......)

　As luck would have it, the spiral staircase was on the opposite side of the street from the dragonman.

　Just as they began to contemplate their escape and the possibility of escape, the unmasked dragonman let out a human-like cry.

''Rook!　You!　You gaaaaaaaah!

　I knew that face well, having received a slanting sword wound from a scorching armpit.

　Even though much of its skin had been eroded by scales, its eyes had been replaced by those of a dragon, and it had sharp fangs bared from its mouth - I could never mistake it for anything else.

'Are you Falcon ......?'

　Falcon the Brave.
　The man who was supposed to have left me in the Millennium Corridor of the Abyss and become a prisoner of Gandalf, the Demon King, was there, transformed into a mixture of dragons and distortion.