EeDechi met with one of Dragon Island's elders, an old man with a goatee who welcomed them sincerely.
His Justice Value was –92, and the sight made her frown.
She had been through a great deal and had matured along the way. Though she disliked the elder on sight, she no longer charged up to people to grab them and rewrite their Justice Values with her pen.
The elder explained that this island in the sky had been built upon the back of an ancient wind dragon.
The dragon possessed unparalleled wind-element Wild Magic, allowing him to lift his enormous body and travel the world above the sea of clouds.
But his body was simply too vast, and he had lived for so long that dirt and debris had accumulated in the countless cracks and folds between his scales. Even with wind magic, he found it difficult to clean himself.
So he had made a pact with a group of mages who worshiped him. They were allowed to settle on his back, and in return, they were responsible for keeping his body clean.
According to the elder, the ancient dragon had lived since the distant age when dragonkind was still at the height of its power.
After they had talked for a while, the elder began hinting that it was time for them to leave. EeDechi, however, still wanted to find someone capable of building a skyship.
"It's already noon, honored guests. Why don't we have lunch first? We can discuss the skyship afterward."
The elder gently rang the brass bell on the table, and a graceful server entered carrying a platter.
She held it so high that the roasted flamingo on top concealed her face. A serpentine tail swayed beneath her long skirt, while the nest of tiny snakes that formed her hair hissed and flicked their tongues.
She was a medusa as well.
The server gently placed the platter on the table, then turned her alluring eyes toward EeDechi, Barrett, and Franco.
"Argh!"
Barrett suddenly felt a stabbing pain in his eyes. He immediately clapped both hands over them, then drew the dagger at his waist and held it defensively before his chest.
"Barrett, what's wrong?!"
Startled, EeDechi shot him a worried look before activating her Innate Talent to examine the medusa's Justice Value.
–167!
Franco pulled out his wand and conjured a strip of black cloth over his eyes. "This medusa hasn't been modified! She still has her innate Petrifying Gaze!"
EeDechi flew into a rage. "You dare launch a sneak attack on my teammate?!"
She shot to her feet. The floor split beneath her, the wooden chair shattered, and a huge giant sword appeared in her hands.
EeDechi brought the giant sword down. The impact hurled the medusa into the wall, leaving her embedded there like a mounted specimen. Every bone in her body had been broken, her heart had burst, and she was dead on the spot.
The violent shock wave from the sword strike ripped the dining table to pieces.
The elder rose to his feet, trembling. He tried to turn and flee, but EeDechi had already caught him.
She lifted him one-handed without even looking in his direction. Instead, she watched Barrett with concern.
"Barrett, how are you? Do you need healing?"
Barrett blinked hard a few times. The fact that his captain had actually shown concern for him sent a warm feeling through his chest.
"I'm fine."
He took out a mirror and examined his eyes.
"The Blood of the Dragon Progenitor greatly increased my magic resistance. At most, a medusa's gaze will cause me a little discomfort."
"That's good." EeDechi breathed a sigh of relief. "Franco, you're all right too?"
"Of course I am." Franco waved his wand with immense pride. "I'm a man who's slept with eight medusas."
"Meow, meow, meow." Cheeko meowed cheerfully to show that everything was fine.
"As long as everyone's okay." EeDechi looked around, then suddenly realized she had forgotten someone.
"Where's Kilua? Where did Kilua go?"
Barrett looked around as well and immediately sensed that something was wrong.
Kilua was gone!
The little blonde girl had vanished without a trace.
"Did you people kidnap Kilua?" EeDechi snarled, glaring at the elder in her hand.
It wasn't that the elder hadn't tried to resist. He had already cast a dozen or so spells in an attempt to kill EeDechi or break free, but he could neither harm her nor escape her one-handed grip.
"I don't know where your companion is!" The elder hurriedly shook his head and begged, "Honored heroes, what happened just now was a small misunderstanding. I didn't do it on purpose. One of my servants accidentally sent an unmodified medusa to serve you. I'll have them make amends at once!"
"That was no misunderstanding!" Barrett drew a longsword from his spatial ring, held it upright before his chest, and took up a fighting stance.
A dozen or so mages rushed into the reception hall. They drew their wands and surrounded EeDechi, Barrett, Franco, and Cheeko.
The man leading them shouted, "Release the elder, or we'll tear you to pieces!"
A pack of idiots! The elder cursed inwardly. If these fools had witnessed EeDechi's strength a moment ago, they would never have rushed in to throw away their lives.
A thin, elderly mage stepped forward and raised an amethyst staff.
"Outsiders, we cannot allow Dragon Island's secrets to spread beyond our borders! Nothing about Dragon Island may be revealed to the outside world! You have two choices. Release the elder, allow us to erase your memories, and then leave Dragon Island—or release the elder and remain on Dragon Island forever!"
"Hmph."
EeDechi gave a cold laugh. Her piercing gaze swept over the mages as she recited:
"–142. –256. –301. –341. –228. –247…"
Franco leaned toward Barrett and whispered, "What are those numbers the captain's reciting?"
"Are you stupid?" Barrett replied helplessly. "She's reading out their Justice Values."
"Those aren't Justice Values." Franco shuddered. "She's reading their death sentences."
EeDechi tossed the elder to Barrett, her voice as cold as ice.
"Evil must be eradicated above all else!"
The mages began chanting in unison, sending a barrage of multicolored spells toward EeDechi like fireworks.
EeDechi kicked off the floor and launched herself forward like a cannonball.
Her door-sized giant sword swept through the room in a single diagonal slash.
In the blink of an eye, she cut down every attacking mage as effortlessly as an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves.
The building collapsed along with them.
All of Dragon Island erupted into chaos. People rushed in from every direction, intent on surrounding and killing EeDechi's group.
EeDechi surveyed the approaching forces and found that most of them had extremely low Justice Values. More than half were in the negatives.
"There are so many dark mages here," Franco exclaimed. "This place is practically their headquarters!"
"Then we'll wipe them all out!" EeDechi declared.
Just then, a long, deep draconic roar rolled across Dragon Island from somewhere ahead.
It was the cry of the ancient wind dragon.
A long-haired old man in luxurious robes flew through the air toward them. After landing, he bowed to EeDechi and the others.
"Forgive us for failing to welcome our honored guests properly. We have gravely offended you and humbly beg your pardon."
"Grand Elder, what is the meaning of this?" The elder, whose neck was still pinned beneath Barrett's sword, stared at him in shock.
This old man was the supreme leader of the island, respectfully known as the Grand Elder.
"Whatever you require, so long as it is within Dragon Island's power, we will grant it!" the Grand Elder promised EeDechi.
The mages who had gathered to attack them hurriedly withdrew.
EeDechi and the others stared in astonishment.
Why had Dragon Island's attitude changed so suddenly?