Editing Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume13 Chapter5 (section)

===Part 2===

"&mdash;Wha!?"

He frantically looked up.

Ripping apart the dark-gray clouds, a giant winged silhouette was flying in approach.

"&mdash;That's an ice dragon!?"

Rinslet yelled.

Talons as sharp as blades. Ice-like scales covering the entire body. A breed of flying dragon.

A pair of crimson eyes flashed with blazing light, locking down on Kamito and Rinslet below.

"So it looks like the rumors of a monster are true!"

Gripping the Demon Slayer tightly, Kamito prepared for battle.

The ice dragon was not intimidated and descended rapidly from the air, posturing its massive talons for attack.

The attack powered by overwhelming weight was parried by Kamito's sword. The talons were shattered while the ice dragon smashed into a wall of ice with its original momentum. The ice wall shattered, producing scattering ice debris that blocked Kamito's view.

"Kamito-san, be careful of the ground!"

Hearing Rinslet's warning, Kamito hastily jumped backwards.

Immediately, the path along the cliff collapsed. The place he had been standing was instantly turned into shattered ice, rolling into the valley. Kamito broke out with cold sweat in fright.

(...Fighting here is way too risky!)

Among all dragons, ice dragons were only ranked in the middle. Under normal conditions, for Kamito who was able to solo high-level demonic dragons, ice dragons would not count as terrifying enemies.

But under such adverse terrain and weather, there was no way for him to bring out his original power.

After crashing into the ice wall, the ice dragon shook its giant body and flew into the sky again.

"Freezing fangs of ice, go forth and pierce -- Freezing Arrow!"

Having released her elemental waffe, Rinslet swiftly fired arrows.

However, they were almost all dodged by the ice dragon circling in the blizzard.

"...It's totally impossible to aim properly in such a heavy blizzard!"

Meanwhile, the ice dragon was a breed of dragon blessed with the protection of ice. Even in this kind of weather, they were capable of flying freely without problems.

The ice dragon flew towards Rinslet while she was firing with her bow, opening its jaws lined with sharp teeth.

Its mouth began to glow&mdash;

Kamito jumped and stood in front of Rinslet to shield her&mdash;

"&mdash;Est, I'm counting on you!"

'&mdash;Yes, Kamito.'

The Demon Slayer released its full power.

At the same time, countless sword-like shards of ice were brought by the howling blizzard.

Dragon's Breath&mdash;One of the reasons why dragons were considered the most terrifying of all magic beasts.

"...! Ohhhhhhhhhhh!"

The sacred blade released silver-white radiance. The flash of light erupting from the Demon Slayer melted and destroyed the countless ice blades blown by the rampaging wind.

"Kamito-san&mdash;"

"Rinslet, let's retreat back to the place we were just now. Otherwise, it's impossible to fight properly here."

"I understand&mdash;Freezing Rain!"

Rinslet nocked five arrows and fired them into the sky.

The arrows suddenly split apart in the air, turning into countless blades flying towards the ice dragon's scales. Since dragons possessed high magic resistance, this kind of attack was probably quite ineffective, but at least it was enough to halt the ice dragon for now.

While the ice dragon was hindered, the two of them swiftly returned along the path they had came.

They could still hear the sound of wings flapping behind them. Shaking off the ice adhering to its body, the ice dragon made an ear-splitting roar and flew high in the sky.

"The ice dragon is escaping!"

"No, that's not right&mdash;!"

Almost entirely through instinct, Kamito grabbed Rinslet's arm while she was running alongside him.

At the same time, there was the sound of something slicing through the air, enough to shake the atmosphere.

The ice dragon was making a rapid dive at the ice cliff above Kamito and Rinslet. The impact broke off a large chunk of the cliff and giant blocks of ice were rolling from above.

(Damn it&mdash;!)

Kamito forcefully pulled Rinslet's arm that he was holding and hit the ground while covering her. Then he immediately drew out the Demon Slayer to smash apart the falling blocks of ice.

Falling down one after another, the ice blocked their path completely.

"...Our retreat has been cut off entirely."

Dragons had the highest intelligence among all magic beast, even to the point that there existed some among high-level dragons that were capable of human speech.

This ice dragon was also very crafty.

Flying to the air once more, the ice dragon looked like it intended to continue breaking the ice cliff.

"...Go here!"

Pulling Rinslet's hand, he returned to the path they had been walking along. Finding his body unable to move freely at will, Kamito was greatly anxious, for his entire body's muscles had grown sluggish due to the air temperature together with the thick winter clothing that was difficult to move in. The accumulated fatigue instantly erupted all at once.

(...Also, this air here is so thin.)

Trying to get more oxygen was making him take large breaths through his mouth irregularly, causing his divine power to become unstable. Without highly concentrated divine power, the Demon Slayer would be nothing more than a blunt blade.

"Kamito-san, the Fire Magic's Protection is almost over!"

Rinslet yelled.

The fire spirit crystal's barrier effect shrunk greatly in area.

"At this rate, the situation will get worse and worse&mdash;"

Kamito suddenly halted and stared at the ice dragon circling in the air above.

"...Do you have a plan?"

"Even if only for an instant, can you find a way to suppress that thing?"

"Then what are you planning to do then?"

"Well, you'll see when the time comes."

Hearing Kamito's answer&mdash;

"&mdash;In that case, I shall try!"

The platinum blonde hair fluttered forcefully.

Rinslet nodded with an expression filled with confidence.

"Freezing fangs of ice, go forth and pierce&mdash;Freezing Arrow!" 

Readying her elemental waffe, the bow, she shot an arrow to the sky.

Rather than the ice dragon's body that possessed high magical resistance, the target was above its head&mdash;

Freezing the air over the ice dragon, she created a giant block of ice.

"O hammer that punishes the proudly strong&mdash;Frost Fall!"

A giant block of ice, twice the size of the ice dragon, fell straight down under the action of gravity.

Struck by the overwhelming weight, the ice dragon roared in pain.

"Now is the moment!"

"Yeah!"

Yelling, Kamito had already taken off his winter coat that had snow and ice all stuck to it.

Releasing his divine power completely, he kicked the ice wall and used the crumbling cliff to move straight up.

"Th-That is way too reckless!"

Rinslet screamed shrilly.

"Don't worry, I'm counting on you to cover me!"

Kicking the wall of ice, he rose to the cliff's pinnacle in one breath.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhh...!"

Raising the Demon Slayer up high, Kamito made a thrust at the ice dragon's back along with the ice.

The dragon's scales broke and scattered with a metallic sound.

(&mdash;How hard is this thing!?)

Kamito exclaimed with surprise in his heart. Dragon scales were the hardest material on the continent. In his current state, unable to control Est's power in a stable manner, it was very difficult for Kamito to pierce the ice dragon completely.

ROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAR!

Howling angrily, the ice dragon flew up into the sky again, turning at high speed in the violent blizzard.

"Guh...!"

Kamito tightly gripped the sacred sword that was stabbed into the dragon's back.

A bottomless abyss lay below. Letting go would mean instant death.

(I'm counting on you, Rinslet&mdash;!)

Down at the cliff, Rinslet was currently chanting high-level spirit magic.

In the blizzard, Kamito could hear her clear voice resounding faintly.

"&mdash;I hereby summon thee, capable of defending against the breath of dragons and the arms of giants, the frozen shield&mdash;!"

&mdash;With that, the spirit magic was complete.

Countless giant walls of ice extended out from the silver-white shattered ground, one after another.

Kamito pulled out the Demon Slayer and jumped down from the dragon's back.

His entire body's muscles shuddering, Kamito curled up in the air, bracing himself for the impact.

In the next instant, Kamito fell down hard on the ground surface of ice.

Ice Wall&mdash;Defensive spirit magic originally used for defense had now prepared an excellent battlefield.

"Well done, Rinslet!"

"You really would have fallen directly to the bottom of the valley if this failed!"

Rinslet yelled angrily.

The wounded ice dragon's eyes shone red with wrath. Opening its jaws, it was about to release another dragon's breath.

But this was exactly the chance Kamito was waiting for.

"&mdash;Let's do it, Est!"

'&mdash;Yes, Kamito.'

Est's reply could be heard from the divine power enveloping his right hand.

"O steel wrapped in endless darkness, the Demon King's Sword&mdash;Terminus Est Zwei!"

The instant he yelled, his right hand's spirit seal gave off dazzling light.

Carved on top of the sword emblem was Restia Ashdoll's emblem.

"O endless darkness, slaughter mine enemy&mdash;Vorpal Blast!"

Aiming at the dragon's giant glowing mouth, Kamito swung the steel sword that was dyed by the color of darkness.

Dark lightning erupted, piercing the ice dragon's throat.

"Dragon scales are what possesses high magical resistance but that kind of thing can't possibly be inside the dragon's body, right?"

Roaring with wrath, the ice dragon fell straight into the abyss of the valley.

"...Is it dead?"

Rinslet walked over.

"...No, dragons have extremely powerful vitality. Before that thing recovers&mdash;"

&mdash;Mid-sentence, Kamito swallowed the rest of his words.

Suddenly, the blizzard was even stronger than before&mdash;

A giant shadow covered them from above.

(...Another one!?)

Kamito jumped in fright. Also, this one was even bigger than the ice dragon from just now.

(No way...)

It was not that Kamito had been careless. Dragons tended to be highly territorial and chances for two dragons to appear simultaneously at the same place were very low.

(...But why are there ''six more ice dragons''!)

Rumble&mdash;The six ice dragons landed on the ground neatly.

(...It's over&mdash;!)

Currently, Kamito and Rinslet were standing on a temporary foothold created by magic. Naturally, there was no way it could withstand such a great impact.

The ice underfoot cracked open and collapsed instant&mdash;!

"Kyah!"

"Rinslet, hold onto me tight!"

Saying that, Kamito reached out to catch Rinslet.

In that manner, together with the collapsing ice, they fell towards the bottomless darkness.

"...Damn it&mdash;!"

Kamito bent his body in midair and used the sword gripped tightly in his right hand to stab into the wall of ice.

Screech&mdash;Accompanied by violent scattering sparks, a trail was carved on the ice wall.

But this was not enough to halt their falling momentum. Falling straight towards the bottom of the valley in this manner&mdash;

"G-uh...!"

"Kamito-san!"

"...Don't... let go no matter what!"

Kamito pulled Rinslet with great force.

(&mdash;What am I going to do about the bottom?)

Their falling speed kept increasing. At this rate, it was impossible to stop.

(...My arm strength, is already... reaching a limit...)

"Kamito-san, hurry and look over there!"

Rinslet suddenly cried out.

Looking down, Kamito saw a place in the ice wall that could serve as a foothold.

(That's an ice cave of the Frost Giants!)

Seeing a ray of hope... A very faint ray of hope.

(...It's too far. But there's no choice but to try&mdash;)

If he failed to jump with the right timing, only death awaited them.

"Okay, hold on tight to me&mdash;"

"Y-Yes!"

Pouring his entire body's divine power into his right hand, Kamito released the Demon Slayer's power.

The blade gave off a flash of dazzling light, shattering the ice wall.

"Ohhhhhhhhh!"

Kicking at the ice wall, Kamito jumped towards the ice cave. All that remained was falling under gravity and leaving things to fate.

(This must succeed!)

&mdash;Kamito closed his eyes.