Itto-ryu is the sword that the founder of the swordsmen's family invented to protect his own life. It is a sword to protect people from natural disasters.

　It's not limited to the demon gods.

　The reason why Gozu, Crya and Klimt tried to kill the demons (sparrows) was to prevent the possibility of the demon god, a species of illusory seed called the demon god, from attacking the present world.

　Of course, when comparing the hydra that had already made it to the present world with the sparrow that had yet to make it to the present world, the former has the higher priority in defeating it.

　Therefore, the three of them, after dispatching the Stampede, stepped into the forest of Titis without hesitation. For three days and three nights, they fought the illusory species alone (solo) to help Mikenkuu, who was holding them off, in order to defeat the illusory species.

　But a horribly ravaged forest hobbled the three of them.

　Tornadoes, earthquakes, and deadly poisons have all erupted at once, and the Titis Forest has taken on an unworldly aspect.

　The land is spiraling backwards, and the poisonous sea continues to spread. The vermilion dust that covered my vision was the result of the collision of soil, grass, trees and beasts raised by the storm, colliding with each other in the sky.

　The fierce, poisonous dust was carried by the wind and descended over a wide area, already reaching the perimeter of the city. Depending on the direction of the wind, it would reach the city of Ishka.

　While the three of them could eliminate the poison with the protection by jing, the other adventurers and citizens would not be able to do so.

　It is necessary to defeat the source of the outbreak, the illusory species, as soon as possible - just as Goz was thinking this, a black shadow leapt at him like a tear in the dust.

　It is a demon called a hellhound, and as the name "hound" implies, it looks very similar to a dog. It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get your hands on one, but also of time before you'll be able to get your hands on one.

　Nevertheless--.


Nuh-uh!


　Even the demonic beasts that can't be taken by Goz are not in the realm of stray dogs. As soon as he swung his beast Juzumaru with his spirit, the three hellhounds were blown away collectively.

　The two sisters and brothers of Kria and Klimt likewise kicked out the demonic beasts, and the fifteen that attacked them were quickly reduced to less than half of the pack. The few that barely survived literally ran away with their tails between their legs.

　Seeing that Klimt was about to unleash a jade technique on the backs of those demonic beasts, Goz let out a short restraining word.


''Klimt, hold onto your strength for now.


　An animator possesses an incomparable amount of jujin (magic power) compared to ordinary people, but even so, there is a limit.

　Even a regular battalion member could only fight for half a day with the full power of the jaw. The top-ranking bannershi could fight for more than half a day, but even so, they would not be able to continue fighting for two or three days.

　Four days had soon passed since the first dragon roar (Dragon Roar) had roared. They have been taking turns resting during the Stampede and adjusting their juju volume to fight, so they still have some energy left over, but considering the all-out battle with the illusory species that will follow, it's hard to say they have enough time to spare.

　In addition, Klimt and Goz were injured in the battle with Sora just before the stampede. The wounds are sealed, but Sora's mind-dressing abilities and apparent mental and physical ailments have reached a level that is hard to ignore.

　Based on these various factors, Goz stopped Klimt.

　In response, Klimt bent his lips and was about to say something, but his sister, Cryer, stopped him with a look in her eyes and kept his mouth shut.

　It's not so much a substitute for that, but Crya opened her mouth to address Goz.


'Shiba, there is one thing that bothers me.

Tell me.

The roar of four days ago was undoubtedly that of a dragon. Sora-dono has single-handedly held that dragon back until now. What do you think about this, Shiba?


　That may sound like a mean-spirited point, depending on how you listen to it, "The sky, which couldn't even get beyond the test rite, can't possibly stop the dragon.

　But, of course, Kuria had no intention of belittling Sora.

　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for when you're in the marketplace. Crya Berch was not foolish enough to ignore that fact. Even his younger brother Klimt, whose angles are conspicuous, is following in his sister's footsteps in this regard.

　It's not so much the fact that Kuria is worried about his abilities, but that "Sora has been fighting alone for three days and three nights". As mentioned before, even a regular blue-linen bannerman could only fight at full strength for half a day or so, so how could he continue to fight against the illusory species for three days and three nights?

　If the illusory species that appeared in Titis was only strong enough to survive for three days without the sky going all out in battle, then the mystery is solved. But that's not possible. But that's not so easy to deal with, the illusory species is not so easy to deal with. I'm not a fan of this, but I'm a fan of the fact that it's not a good idea. It's impossible for even the captain class of the Eight Blue Lined Banner to hold down a dragon without exerting all their strength.

　Initially when he learned that Sora was going to take on the illusory species by himself, Kuria judged his actions to be some sort of delayed combat.

　He assigned Cryer and his team to the Stampede's demons, while Sora himself took on the culprit, the illusory species. Of course, this is not an opponent that you can stop by yourself, so the goal is to slow down the invasion.

　The only way to slow down the invasion is to stop the illusory species, to reduce their physical strength, and to buy time for the citizens of Ishqa to escape. Then when the time is right, we meet up with Cryer and the others, and the four of us hit the illusory species.

　Objectively speaking, this should have been the most likely way to strike down the illusory species, yet with the least amount of casualties.

　However, the sky did not return from Titis even after half a day, which was the approximate time when the jing was exhausted, or even after a day had passed. Two days passed, three days passed, and not even a shadow could be seen. Normally, we would assume that the illusory species has been returned to us, but the continuing earthquakes and the fact that the illusory species hasn't come out of the forest for any length of time deny that possibility.

　-- eerie beyond surprise, Cryer thinks. So much so that, if anything, the sky feels more terrifying than the dragons in the present world.

　It's a good thing that you're able to get the best out of it," he said, as he hugged his own body and placed his left hand, which wasn't holding a sword, on his right elbow.

''The ability of Sora-dono's mind-dressing is probably not absorption or plunder. You should think of it as fighting while robbing the dragon of its power.

''He has enough mind gear to take away the power of the dragon, and is capable of taking away the power of the dragon. How could someone who couldn't fight a single match against a dragon tusk soldier five years ago, how could he be so--

　It was at that time that Cryer was about to reveal his inner thoughts, even though he kept his mouth shut.


''Kishuaaaa!


　A deafening shout roared out from beyond the vermilion dust.

　The moment they heard it, the three of them immediately switched their consciousness to battle and each of them held their own heart gear. At that moment, the ground shook as if it were bouncing.

　It was incomparably larger than the previous earth tremors. The bodies of Goz and the others rose up from the ground as much as three fists. The impact was as if a huge meteorite had fallen in close proximity to them, and as expected of the blue-ringed banners, their stance was shaken.

　Then the sound of multiple trees snapping together flashed into their ears. Sly, sly, sly, there is a feeling that something tremendously heavy and sticky is approaching.

　It soon turned into a constant thud, thud, thud, thud, and a constant vibrating sound.

　Sensing the approach of an enemy far more powerful than the Hellhounds, Goz and the others quickly regained their stance and jumped away from the spot.

　It was in the nick of time.

　A huge, mountain-like body leapt out of the place where the three of them had been until now. Multiple long stretched necks. An epidermis covered in poisoned blood on rotting scales.

　It was undoubtedly an immortal-killing, poisonous dragon Hydra.

　Goz nodded secretly inwardly, after all. From the venom that was enough to contaminate the vast forest of Titis and the earlier eightfold roar, it was to be expected that the dragon that had appeared was a hydra.

　However, one thing that bothered me was the fact that the Hydra had only three heads, when in lore it should have nine. But before he could think about it, the voices of the Belch sisters echoed through the place.


''Burn it down, Kuri-Kara!

No, it's not.


　Hearing the voice of the two of them pulling out their mind suits and releasing them, Goz also pulls out his sword. When the user of the Illusionary One-Day School is faced with an illusory species, there is only one option to choose from.

　You can think about how many heads you have after you kill it. I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about it later.

　The mind gear of Goz and his friends continued to twinkle. It's a good idea to have a good time. It's a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

　No matter how many times it was attacked, the three-headed man did not even glance at Goz and the others, but simply continued to move forward, facing south.

　However, because of its too huge frame, Hydra's speed is as slow as a turtle. From the point of view of the three of them, they were in a position to attack as much as they wanted.

　It is clear from the occasional roar of anguish that the attacks of Goz and the others are working. But even so, Hydra did not try to eliminate Goz and his friends. He did not even turn his eyes to them.

　Normally, Hydra would move with its huge torso floating on the earth that had been turned into a poisonous swamp, rotting the ground with the blood and miasma that spilled from its body. But now, the Hydra spared even the small amount of time that the ground was rotting, twisting its huge body and moving forward.

　No matter how inefficient the method of movement was, the illusory species simply continued to move forward, as if to say it was better than standing still.