The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

“Gah, how’d you even get so insanely strong…?!”

“Hah… hah… whew… didn’t you know? This whole world… is made of macho…!”

“Yeah, no, it’s not. You’re a real pain in the ass, you know that?”

That’s a compliment… right? Hey, I mean, even if it’s conveyed through sarcasm, I always appreciated being appreciated. Also, this is just a sample of a Holy Warrior’s power… The boost that just this one title can give truly is terrifying.

Still, stronger as I may have become, I’ll inevitably struggle whenever the Cobalt Dragon joins the fight for real. I kept my hand behind me, drawing up a Teleportation Spell Circle. It should be done by the time Dīnō fixed his stance and got back into position.

“I’ll leave this to you, Blue! The rest of you, get away!”

Blue. That’s the Cobalt Dragon’s name.

It nodded quietly to Chiquiata’s instruction. Not exactly a talkative one, unlike Dīnō, huh?

…Anyway, now I’ve got my Circle drawn. Just gotta control it and deploy it behind me…

Man, Blue really is staring hard at me.

Better use this instead of Remote Control, then…

“Rise, Ground Spell Delivery!”

Seeing how Chiquiata was caught by surprise by my magecraft again, I couldn’t help but grin.

“…What are you trying to pull this time?”

“It’s a trap.”

“You’re an annoying man, you know that?”

“More like an annoying MANCHILD! Oh, what I wouldn’t do to tear you apart…”

Welp, now Dīnō’s rejoined the action.

A Kaiser Dyno and a Cobalt Dragon, both fearsome monsters out to kill me, both pairs of eyes locked on to me…

Why must you contain so many scary things, world? Hurry up and become peaceful already, damn it.

“Now you’re laughing at me, huh?!”

“This is different! I’m only expressing my anticipation!”

…Huh? Why do I feel like I’ve been through this before, but on a different side?

Ngh, Dīnō and Blue are opening their mouths. Probably gonna use the Zenith Breath attack.

Works for me. I can let the impact push me into the Teleportation spell circle-

“GAAAHHHHHH!!”

-Now!

I jumped backward, and the blast sent me over the hillside, after which I twisted my body into a suitable landing position.

…Huh? Is it just me, or was it just Dīnō that unleashed a Zenith Breath?

Just as I was about to land, my eyes caught sight of Blue flying high in the sky.

Damn it, so this one’s got Chiquiata’s cool-headedness as well?!

It’s trying to catch me the exact moment I land!

Blue’s mouth opened wide, and from it came a Zenith Breath that was definitely more powerful than Dīnō’s.

With no way to deal with the incoming attack, all I could do was stick my hands out in front of me.

Damn it, what am I even thinking!

There’s no way in hell I can stop THAT with my bare hands…!

Not that I could do anything else. At least I’m charging up my hands with a bit of arcane energy, I guess.

As the Zenith Breath made its impact, I started seeing flashes of memories from last year – like a random selection, but not really.

-So there’s that one time… soon after we first arrived in this era, when we were headed to Brunnera together with Giorno and Lylia.

That one time, Giorno showed me one of his special moves, ‘Brave Blade’, and made short work of a wave of monsters.

I was quite amazed and awed by his method of detailed arcane energy manipulation.

I had given up on trying it back then, knowing that it was impossible then… but what about now?

It’s kind of the same as the Zenith Breath – a powerful special technique involving a monster or beast gathering its arcane energy into a concentrated mass, then unleashing it from its mouth.

How it works, for Pochi as well, is that either a part of the creature’s body or mind first forms a Spell Circle, and the opening of its mouth triggers the energy release – that’s what makes the technique special. Many years of research have shown that the sword techniques used by warriors also run off this set of general principles.

Which means-

“You’re through!”

By the time Chiquiata’s voice reached my ears, I’d already adjusted the arcane energy in my hands to equal the amount contained in the incoming Zenith Breath.

As the incoming impact made contact with my body, I sent my arcane energy flowing through to my muscles, letting it form a swirl in my being without resisting nor holding it together. Through that process, and also years of knowledge and experience, I got a grasp on Blue’s arcane energy signature.

Okay, I DON’T actually know how I understood it. But what I do know is that I couldn’t have done it without seeing Giorno’s technique and if I hadn’t done my silly and-or apparently nonsensical researches. Those and the experience I’ve gained in this era, the training I’ve received from Tūs… and above all, the fact that I’m ‘isolated and helpless,’ facing the danger alone. All those factors have helped and-or forced me to understand Blue’s Zenith Breath as if it was a spell I had invoked myself. So much so that I could just… hold it in my hands.

…And yes, I meant that in a literal sense.

“-! Hah-hah! RIGHT BACK AT YA!!”

“”WHAT?!””

Holding the Zenith Breath in my hands, I used a special arcane energy manipulation technique to pour more power into it before throwing it back.

Faced with a larger and more powerful Zenith Breath, Chiquiata and Dīnō’s faces cramped up.

To them, all that was detailed in the previous paragraph had happened in but an instant, so they probably didn’t know how to react.

The only action they took was a defensive posture.

Except for one – the only one who acted differently… Blue.

Blue grabbed Dīnō by its tail and threw it backward, then turned to Chiquiata and charged at her, pinning her down.

“Ngh- damn you-! Blue?!”

The Dragon coiled its long body around her, protecting her just as it had done during our first encounter.

“”No… no! Blue!”

The huge impact shook the earth… and made a direct hit on Blue.

A whole lot of dust scattered and rained down like actual water.

An unpleasant sound lingers in my ears. In the aftermath of the blast, lying in the smoke is the body of a Cobalt Dragon… Blue.

“Blue! Blue!”

Chiquiata’s trembling voice overrode the unpleasant sound, and…

“Damn it, you flying lizard! Answer me!”

Dīnō’s voice, a mixture of anger and resentment, caused a nasty lump to form in my heart.

“…Ahh…”

Chiquiata’s trembling voice turned into a cry, and Dīnō’s rage turned my way. I approached them, scratching my head with my free hand.

Now I wonder why I still haven’t used the Teleportation spell to get myself back to Kugg Village… it’s like my feet just moved on their own, before I could think of what to do next.

“…I hope you’re ready to die, you little shit.”

“Shut up.”

“What?! You’re the one who killed Blue, damn it! I know Myans wouldn’t like this, but I’ll have you dead, even if it costs me my life!”

“The Dragon isn’t dead yet!”

I tried my best to control my emotions and tone when confronted with Dīnō’s bloodshot eyes, while Chiquiata looked at me with tears welling up in her eyes.

The latter’s look was loaded with anticipation and hope… and disgust toward me.

“Blue’s heart isn’t beating anymore……! There’s nothing you can do now!”

Chiquiata insisted to me, her voice strained.

I pointed my staff at Chiuiata, calmed my mind, and said to her,

“But I can. Here’s the deal…”

“…What?”

Dīnō blurted out, while Chiquiata gave me no reply.

“If I save this Cobalt Dragon, the Douglas household will… no, just you is fine. You won’t take any action against the Traditionalist Faction, ever again. Just promise me that.”

“You little shit, Blue is already-“

“-There’s not much time. Deal or no deal?”

I interrupted Dīnō, I asked Chiquiata again.

“…If you CAN do that…”

As soon as I heard Chiquiata’s reply, I started looking for the fatal wounds on Blue’s body.

…Four on the torso. One on the face. One on the tail. A total of six.

“Rise, A-rise, A-rise, High Cure Adjust: Count 6 & Remote Control.”

The spell is usually cast on the whole target for general recovery, but naturally, targeting specific injuries will speed up the healing of those spots.

“Six large-scale spells, cast instantly… The hell are you, a monster? But using magic on a dead body won’t-“

“Shut up, Dīnō!”

I raised my voice to keep Dīnō in line, then sat down on top of Blue, around the seventh section of its torso where its heart should be located.

“Tch-! If you can’t actually do it, I’ll rip you apart, dammit!”

Dīnō WAS right – now that Blue’s heart has stopped, recovery magic won’t work on it.

It is for use on still-living bodies, after all. All mages… and anyone who has ever been in combat, for that matter, know that it does not apply to the dead.

And so I figured out an idea – why not apply the principles of recovery magic against it?

Back when Billy taught me recovery magic at the Magic University, he had told me that ‘one whose heart beats’ is the only target recovery magic spells worked on.

Even I hadn’t known that particular point up until then.

Thinking about it now, Billy must have been doing some dangerous experiments to be able to pin down such a definition at that time.

But no, now isn’t the time to dwell on that. What’s important is that, basically, it should work if the target’s heart is made to beat, for example, with another individual’s hand.

Of course, no one can actually do that.

Simply making the heart beat with external force won’t be enough to trick the recovery magic spells’ mechanisms.

But with the arcane energy manipulation technique I just used… I can make the heart beat realistically enough!

Modern wisdom, ancient technology!

After Remote Control got all of the High Cure Adjust Circles into position, I invoked the recovery spells.

A hefty supply of arcane energy is being used to force the heart to beat. Having experienced the manipulation of Blue’s arcane energy with my own skin, I’ve understood even the Dragon’s breathing pattern.

One, two, one, two… All right, that’s the rhythm.

At that exact same moment, all six High Cure Adjust Spell Circles rang out, signaling their activation.

“No way…”

Once that was over, Blue’s fatal wounds were closed completely.

“Next up… Rise! Holy Virgin’s Boundary!”

A magecraft for healing internal wounds – I’ve used it on Pochi before.

The Dragon took one hell of an impact, so its wounds will take some time to heal… hopefully its archetype’s innately high life force will help it pull through!

Suddenly, the supply of Arcane Energy that I had been sending was momentarily pushed back.

Chiquiata, crouching down to hold a part of Blue in her arms, noticed that something was different.

“Just now… Blue moved.”

“All right…!”

I clenched my fists tightly, quietly rejoicing in the resurrection of Blue – one of my enemies.

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