Chapter 999
999: Identity Revealed
Fran and Urushi healed themselves after disabling Velmeria, then went for Tilanaria.
Though she’s enhanced too, she did not have Divine Dragon Form active. That meant we could take her down in the blink of an eye.
We followed the same procedure we did with Velmeria. After inflicting some damage, we locked her up tightly with land magic.
「Urushi, keep an eye on those two!」
「Woof!」
Now only Georg the Dragon King remains.
But…
「GRUAAAHHHH!」
「Haaah!」
The battle between Georg and Izario was simply too intense.
A golden shadow darted through the air with repeated teleportation, as one of the world’s greatest adventurers defended himself with an explosion of flames.
Simply approaching them would expose ourselves to the aftermath of their clash. Either we would be torn apart by gusts left in Georg’s wake, or turned to ash within Ignis’ flames.
Their battlefield was a hellscape that we would have to risk our lives to enter.
『Georg’s strength is…… It’s just too crazy.』
Though Velmeria had also been using Divine Dragon Form, Georg was simply in an entirely different dimension. Was this just a difference in their base power levels?
Even if we wanted to help, I couldn’t find any chance to break into their fight.
But I won’t be able to maintain my Divine Dragon Form state if we wait any longer. My durability was already draining away.
Since I’m no dragonkin, the skill didn’t seem to be working at full power, which also meant the recoil would be weaker than normal too. That said, I won’t be able to maintain it much longer.
Divine Dragon Form was definitely giving a tremendous boost to my ability for controlling the divine attribute. The current me could probably focus more divine energy than ever before, but that means I have to work fast.
「……」
Fran was not moving a muscle, still refining her power. She simply quietly braced herself while scanning for any opening.
『As for the robe guy……』
Still no movement from his side. Despite us capturing Velmeria and Tilanaria, he seemed completely ambivalent, as if he didn’t care to help them at all.
I considered launching an attack at the robe guy, but I wanted to avoid poking the hornet’s nest. We should take Georg down first while he’s still ignoring us.
『Fran, ready?』
（……Mmm. A little more.）
It seems she was attempting to figure out Georg’s movement patterns, and was starting to get a feel for it.
If we can dish out a significant blow, we might be able to turn the tables. Izario certainly wouldn’t miss the opportunity.
Fran, however, knew that we only had one chance at this, so she wanted to make it perfect.
（Master.）
『Ready to go?』
（Not yet. Instead, can we tell Izario about your identity?）
『Huh? You mean reveal my existence to him?』
（Nn. Then you can use telepathy to tell him the plan.）
『Oh, I see what you’re getting at.』
Fran wanted to focus literally everything into her strike, avoiding even the tiniest amount of concentration that would be required for speaking.
（I think it’s okay to tell Izario about you.）
『……True, I think we can trust him with my identity too.』
（Nn.）
Even the slightest lapse in teamwork between us and Izario might have fatal consequences. If Fran couldn’t speak, our best option would be to coordinate the timing via telepathy.
I could do that while hiding my true identity, but I might as well reveal everything to gain Izario’s trust. Fran probably thought the same way. Well, I guess she didn’t want to continue keeping secrets from Izario, who she respected a lot.
However, suddenly speaking up out of the blue might surprise him. I think Izario would probably be fine, but I don’t want to take any chances.
Fran took a small step forward without hiding her presence. Just by that, both Izario and Georg would have caught her at the edge of their field of view.
Then, Fran shouted.
「Izario! You might be surprised by this, but don’t be!」
Was that really the best way to say it? Well, I could see Izario giving a slight nod. He could tell Fran’s intention at making some kind of intervention.
After a short pause, I quietly called out to him.
『Izario, can you hear me?』
（Huh? A man’s voice?）
『Yeah, I’m Master. Please no comments on the name, I get enough of those. Oh, and you don’t need to reply to me. I’ll just keep talking, and you keep concentrating on the fight.』
Izario seemed slightly shaken up at first, but there was no major impact on the battle. Good, things are going smoothly.
『I’m on your side. You probably won’t be able to believe my words alone, so I’ll reveal my identity. I’m an Intelligence Weapon, the sword in Fran’s hands.』
（Hah? Whoa!）
『I know it might be hard to believe, but you have to trust me right now.』
Izario glanced over at Fran, but she was already concentrating too hard to react.
I responded in her place and transformed my cord into the shape of a hand, giving Izario a thumbs up. It seems like he noticed it.
（You serious?）
『Quite serious. Anyways, Fran is gonna dive in soon. You follow her up.』
（……Roger that.）
Okay, now all that’s left is for Fran to give Georg everything she’s got.
Fran was still concentrating, so heavily that she couldn’t even sense her surroundings.
Her eyes were closed, so she was completely trapped in her inner world. Is it really okay for us to ignore Georg like this?
However, speaking to her might disturb her concentration. All I could do was to believe in Fran, and protect her.