◇Perspective of the white dragon Helpmelk.

　I've been in this world for thousands of years.
　...the dragons of the dragon tribe have a reputation for being ten thousand years old.
　I'm not that old yet, but that's okay.

　I don't like to fight, and I spend my time quietly in the deepest levels of the Great Labyrinth (Labyrinthus).
　I'm not happy about the lack of sunshine, but the ground is covered with clouds of abominable darkness.
　So I can't even bask in the sun on earth, which is utterly depressing.

　A life without change.
　We spend our days in boredom and depravity.
　I didn't hate it, but I was tired of it.

　One day, a curious intruder appears.

　One of them is a half-vampire.
　One is a goddess of courage.
　One is a wizened woman who contains a vast amount of magic (mana).
　The other one is........what is this thing?　A man who feels no power whatsoever.
　Is he a follower of the brave?

　It was an unusual group (party).
　Adventurers, I guess.
　Well, I didn't have to deal with them.......but of all things, the weakest man asked me to help him.
　This is ridiculous.
　Why should I help a human being?

　I ignored the human's words.
　It seems the mortal has realized its futility and is ready to leave.
　That's well.
　The deepest level is no place for humans.
　It was time.
　The youngest of the dragon tribe started messing with the humans.
　When you think that the youngest of the dragon tribe was bullying the human, in the blink of an eye, the dragon tribe was covered in ice.
　The one who did it was a female wizard.

(Huh?!)

　That's when I realized.
　That female wizard she is not human.
　That was an Undine.
　But this genie is........incarnate?
　No way ... that technique should be a long-lost magic.
　Even I had never seen the real thing.

　The person who uses that lost magic is the Messenger of the Evil God.
　But that was a long time ago.
　The wielder of that magic should not exist.

　But the Great Spirit calls the man "My King".
　A remnant of the time when the gods were once at war.
　One who controls the spirits at will.
　This man has the Great Spirit at his back?
　And this is the messenger of Satan?
　No, no.
　If it's the messenger of the evil god, there's another one.　

　Lately, the 'Black Knight (Cain)' that is rampaging on earth.
　He calls himself the messenger of the evil god Noah.
　I've seen him once.
　I've seen him once, and he was broken.
　He couldn't bear the love of God.

　The apostle who received the favor of the evil gods in one piece will either 'break' or 'come to fruition'.

　What about this guy in front of me?
　From the looks of it, it's just a human being.
　However, he has a great spirit next to him.
　It can't be a simple human.
　Could this be the Messenger of the Evil One?
　No, that's not the point.
　Whether or not it's right to antagonize this guy here........
　Such a question ran through my head and was blown away the next moment.

　The Great Spirit of Water (Undine) had 'five' appeared.

　Oh, that's impossible!
　The Great Spirit is the incarnation of the raging nature.
That's another name for "natural disaster.
　There are five such things.
　That means there are five natural disasters occurring at the same time.
　The whole labyrinth will be submerged!
　I can't deal with this stuff!

Everybody stop.
　Too late.


　--Hahahahahahahahaha!
　--Hmmm.............
　--Couscous.........
　--.....................

　The merry laughter of the great spirits resounded.
　And a rush of magical power (mana) that could swallow the deepest layer of the Great Labyrinth.
　It was horrifying.
　No, this is no longer magic power (mana).
　It's the life (anima) that the gods deal with, and the power that's so evil you wonder if it's life (anima).
　And then the ridiculous magic (Kiseki) is activated.　



　--XXXXXXXXXXXXX (Still World).



　An ancient spell (word) in spirit language.
　It was the first time I had ever heard of this magic after living for thousands of years.
　The deepest layer of the Great Labyrinth is covered in "white" all over.
　The ground, the walls and even the air froze.
　I can't hear the breathing sounds of the dragon tribe.
　You can't even hear the heartbeat of the dragon tribe.
　It became a silent.......dead world.

(Oh, that was a close one...)
　I deployed my warding magic before I was attacked.
　By doing so, I managed to avoid magical damage.
　However, my dragon tribe (family).........

(Mi, guys.........ha.......)
　I looked around and saw that all of the dragonkind (kazoku) were all iced over except for me.

　I slowly turned my gaze to the person who caused it.
　Standing there is the Apostle of the Evil God surrounded by six great spirits of water (Undine).
　A man who can hardly sense any magic power from himself, but he is definitely the man leading the great spirits.
　With icy eyes, he was staring at me.

　--Oh, you........

　That's when I was about to speak to the man in a trembling voice.

'You!
　The first, young red dragon that received the magic, has revived.
　We, the old dragons, don't die like this.
　But..........

''Oh, lizard. You are very energetic. But you are disrespectful to my king?
　The great spirit of water has deprived him of his physical freedom again.

''Gu........Ugh, don't move.......''
　A young red dragon would be no match for the Great Spirit of Water (Undine).

''My king, what shall we do with this cocky lizard?''
'Well let's make up for lost life expectancy.
　The silent man said with a grunt and pulled out the dagger at his waist.
　As soon as I saw the blade, I was struck with fear as if a stake had been driven into my heart.
　What the hell is that dagger!

　It was a tiny blade.
　However, the fearlessly magical power that clung to that blade.
　It's different from a brave man's holy sword.
　It is not a weapon that can be held by an earthly creature that is beyond the control of a human being.
　It's like a weapon held by the god of the heavenly realm, whom I once met only once....

　The man with a dagger in his hand slowly approached the red dragon.
''Hee!　Shit, don't come...!
　The red dragon also tried to escape, as if he had a bad feeling about something, but the great spirit's magic wouldn't allow it.
　What in the world........

　In my eyes, I see the future.
　In the past, the goddess of the heavenly realm gave me a blessing.
　It's the magical eye of future vision.

　It was activated, and I was able to see a little bit into the future.
　For some reason I couldn't see the man's future.
　But I could see our future.


"Today, our tribe of dragons will be destroyed by XXXXXXX.


　The moment I saw it, I was on the ground.

　--Wait!　Don't kill my family!

　I hung my head in shame to the Messenger of the Evil One.



　◇Takatsuki Makoto's point of view ◇.



　--Please don't kill my family!

　The white dragon's thoughts (voice) resounded loudly in his head.
　It wasn't a voice full of dignity like the previous one, but a panicked voice.
　I looked at the Great Spirit of Water (Dea).

''What shall we do, my king?''
I don't want to do that anymore.
　You don't want to continue when your opponent has no intention of fighting.

'Dea, use your magic to thaw out the frozen dragons.
"Aye, my king.
　Dea gave instructions to the other great water spirits.
　Not long after, the old dragons came to life.
　The resurrected old dragons looked at us in the distance as if they were scared of the water great spirits.

　''Is this the right thing to do?　When I looked at the white dragon, he bowed his head in relief.

　--Thank you. You can use my power as you wish. Whatever you need, I'm here to help.

　Oh, I was able to fulfill my promise.
　It wasn't the plan, but it looks like I'll be able to get help from Holy Dragon.

''Then, I'll be looking forward to working with you. ''Holy Dragon-sama.''

　--Uh-huh....

　For my part, I tried to greet him as friendly as I could, but his reply sounded confused.
　It was awkward until a while ago, so I guess it can't be helped.
　Let's get to know each other a little better.

''Then, about the plans for the future........''
　When I was about to continue.

'Shh, Master! Oh my God.
Hmm?
　Momo pulled me by my clothes.
　When I turned around, I saw Abel, the brave one, lying there with white eyes.
　'What?

I'm not sure.　What's the matter with you?
Master Abel is not breathing!
...................What?
　Wait a minute.
　What's going on?
　No way, was it an attack by an old dragon?
　You have to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

　--Ki, I think it's because of your magic. Aside from that child of a vampire (vampire), your body won't be able to withstand the magic of a great spirit up close and personal!

"What?
　The cause was me.
　I mean, is the Water Spirit's magic a self-destructing technique that doesn't involve friend or foe?

What do we do now?　Momo!
'I don't know, Master!　What shall we do!
　As the Great Sage-sama and I were panicking, we heard a voice from Mr. White Dragon.

　--I'm sure you'll be able to find it.

　When the white dragon muttered, the body of the brave Abel began to shine.　
　A blush gradually appeared on his bright blue face.
　The sound of breathing could be heard quietly.

''Yo, good........''
　If my magic kills Abel it's a joke.
　The world is about to end.
　I'm going to get blasted by the Sun Goddess Althena.

"You're saved my life my Saint Dragon.
　When I thanked him, the white dragon gave me a doubtful look.

　--I've been wondering since a while ago, what is that 'holy dragon'?

　He asked in a puzzled voice.
　'Huh?'　Isn't this white dragon the legendary Holy Dragon?
　You've got the wrong dragon?

Can you tell us your name, by the way?

　--My name is Helmemelk the White Dragon. I am the master of the deepest layer of this great labyrinth.

　Helpmelk.........
　That name is the same as the name of the legendary Holy Dragon.
　In other words, holy dragon is the name of the later generation?

''Thank you, Helpmelk-sama, thank you for saving Abel-san.
　I bowed deeply.

　--for letting our lives go unnoticed. There's no need to thank me. And that brave man should get some rest. I'm sure he's been pushing himself too hard. I'm tired and tired. I've created a place for humans to rest by the Fountain of Youth. Let him sleep there.

　An out-of-place bed was placed next to the fountain that glowed with strange colors next to the white dragon's (Helpmelk) huge body.
　It wasn't there earlier........
　You made it in an instant.
　Just like the recovery magic from earlier, Hakuryu-san seems to be a user of a wide variety of magic.

　I carried the brave Abel to bed with Momo.
　Abel is still asleep.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most of your time with us.

"Momo can get some rest.
'Yes, yes........ But Master looks tired, too.
Yeah, I know.
　In fact, my body has been heavy for a while now, probably due to the effects of being sucked out of life.
　I need to lie down now.

'I'll keep an eye out for you.
　The one energetic water great spirit (Dea) suggested.

''Thank you, Dea. Then can I ask for it?
"Yes, my king.
　The white dragon has magically made a bed for Momo and me as well.
　Momo lay there, slumped down and fell asleep.
　I snuggled into Momo's bed and closed my eyes.
　Immediately, I fell into a slight slumber.



　◇



　I woke up.
　I wonder how long I slept.
　I don't have a clock, so I don't know the time.
　I'm still tired, but my body has recovered some of its sluggishness.

'Soooooo.........'
　I heard a cute little sleep behind me.
　Momo is still asleep.

　--You're awake, human.

　A low voice echoed in my brain.

　Whoa!　Jesus Christ!
　The huge body of Mr. White Dragon in front of me made my body shake with a jolt.
　I woke up in my sleep, but I woke up in an instant.

''Thanks to you, I was able to get some rest. Thank you.''

　--Hmm.

　At my words, the ostentatious White Dragon nodded.
　Now, the Great Spirit of Water (that guy) who said he would keep watch while we slept........

''Huh, Dea?''
　The Great Spirit of Water (Dea) who was supposed to be on guard, is nowhere to be seen.

　--The Great Spirit of Water (Undine) has returned to the spirit world. But he said that he's watching you from the spirit world, so if you do anything strange, he'll fly right back to you.

''Huh, I see........''
　Where is the spirit world?
　Oh, well.
　I'll thank you for your help.
　Dea has done a lot for me.
　Now, all that's left to do is hope Abel, the brave one, wakes up.

　I approached the bed to check on Abel.
　The figure on the bed was still asleep.
　I peeked in close enough to see his face.


'Huh?'


　My feet stopped.
　The place where the brave Abel should have been sleeping....
　There was a woman asleep there who saw.........................


'.........What?
　For a moment, I blinked repeatedly, wondering if I was losing sleep, and shook my head, but what I saw didn't change.
　I observed, once again, the figure sleeping in the bed.

　Gleaming blonde hair.
　Silky skin.
　A sleeping face like an angel.
　The eyes of a woman with a well-formed face slowly opened.

''.........Hmm, that, what am I......what the hell?''
　She got up, rubbing her blue jade (sapphire) eyes sleepily.
　Her hair was slightly disheveled from her sleep.
　As I was exclaiming, she looked at me and said.

'Mako-san?　Whoa!　Why am I lying here, right here?　And right next to an ancient dragon!
　She jumped off the bed and her clothes were those of the brave Abel.
　Her body, which was originally slender, looked smaller than usual.
　With a gasp, that figure that stood up, that face........

(No, Princess Noel...?

　She looked just like the princess from the Sunland I remember.
　It can't be.
　This is a thousand years ago.
　Princess Noel can't be here.

　--You're awake. You're a brave human.

　Hakuryu-san's relieved voice sounded like relief.
　But I'm not in the mood for that.

''Um, Makoto-san?　What's going on?
　Right in front of me.
　A woman who looks exactly like Princess Noel, dressed in the clothes of the brave Abel, said with a pout.
　From the way she was dressed and the way she spoke, she must be Abel.
　So I had no choice but to ask.


''........are you Abel-san.......?''


　I asked her fearfully, and she said, "Ha! I looked at him.
　He looks around hurriedly and notices the fountain.
　He runs over to the fountain and checks his face.

　And then he seems to realize.
　To the change in herself.
　She turns back to us awkwardly.
　She swept her gaze over and looked at me with an upward glance.
　Her eyes were the same as the brave Abel's.

''Yes I am Abel........''
　A little fuzzy, she said, folding her hands behind her back.　

　Yup, Abel the Brave has turned into a girl!