The Dragon's Price

“The world of magic policing is a very dangerous place. It is not for the faintest of hearts.” —Commander Kenjiro Matsumoto.

He’d delivered those words at our graduation ceremony, and I remember it like it was yesterday. However, if someone had told me back then that I’d be fighting a reanimated dragon brought to life by dark magic in only my first month, I probably would have laughed at them. But here we were.

“Girls. Get behind me. Now!”

I threw up a bubble shield just as the dragon loosed a torrent of blue flames in our direction. My barrier sizzled as the fire hit; a wall of heat that pushed me back on my feet while simultaneously keeping myself, the girls, and the unconscious hostages behind us safe from the inferno. But for how long?

The stone dragon crept forward, its relentless breath steadily washing over the shield. Sweat poured down my brow, and my hands—once steady—began to tremble. I hadn’t fully recovered from the gremlin fight. I was running out of mana. If I didn’t switch tactics now, we were all toast.

“Miko!” I shouted, turning to the shorter girl on my left. “I need that out-of-the-box thinking right about now. I can’t hold this much longer…”

The dragon didn’t relent for a second. Its azure flames continued to hammer my shield as it stalked ever closer.

“Alright, boss!” Miko responded, lifting her machine gun and twisting a knob to dial up the output. “Just pop open another hatch for me. I’ll handle the rest.”

I shot her a look. I hadn’t given her permission to tweak her weapon settings. But given the situation we were in, with multiple lives yet again in harm's way, the moment absolutely demanded overwhelming firepower. Consequences be damned.

I gave her a single, sharp nod.

“Alright, go!”

I created a small gap in the bubble shield. Miko didn’t waste a second.

“Kum gaga yamaaa!”

The first shot from her ice blaster caught the dragon square in the mouth, freezing its jaw shut. The blue flames instantly died. I nearly fell forward from the sudden relief.

“Nice one, Miko,” I said, leaning over with my hands on my knees.

“I’m not done yet, boss! Hiyaaa!”

Miko gradually began moving forward as she continued to pepper the dragon with ice blasts, freezing more parts of its body. Aki soon joined her, shooting the creature as well.

The drake growled in annoyance and lashed out, swiping at the air with its claws as the advancing girls slowly forced it back. But nothing it was doing was helping it regain its advantage.

I used the brief moment of distraction to check on the hostages behind me. They were all still unconscious. I returned my attention to the battlefield. While my agents were occupied with the dragon, I was searching the roof for any sign of… There she was.

I took off, bolting towards Voluntina, who appeared as if she was trying to escape by jumping off the edge of the roof using some kind of makeshift webbed parachute.

"Hey, stop! You’re under arrest, Miss Voluntina. Don't even think of running away again."

I shot a low-level lightning spell towards her, hitting her in the back and successfully thwarting her escape.

"Aw!" she screamed in pain.

Yes! I grinned in response. I can't believe we finally caught her.

"Boss, a little help!?"

"Ja, captain. Some help vill be very much appreciated right about now."

I skidded to a halt halfway across the roof. Glancing back, the scene I was presented with formed a knot in my stomach.

The girls were desperately pulling the triggers on their weapons, but nothing was happening. Their mana crystals were out of juice, and from the frantic look on Miko's face as she searched her backpack, there were none left.

On the other hand, the dragon was almost free. After the girls had encased most of its body in ice, it had simply ignited the flames in its mouth, slowly thawing itself out. It was just a matter of seconds before it resumed its offensive. With no protection magic, the girls would be sitting ducks. They wouldn't be able to shield themselves or the hostages behind them from its flames.

But Voluntina was right there.

She hadn't been completely incapacitated by my spell, as she was in the process of getting back up. I didn't know if I had enough mana left in me for another shot at the spider-woman, or if I should save what little magic I had left so I could rush back and help protect the girls from the dragon.

The decision threatened to split my focus and was wasting my time.

"Boss, anytime now," Miko said in panic, as both she and Aki slowly began moving back. The dragon had broken free and had resumed stalking them, preparing to douse them with fire.

I glanced back at Voluntina, who had managed to get to her feet and was about to jump off the side of the roof.

“‘Til we meet again, Cap'n,” she said, flashin' me a smile. "It's been fun an' all, but ah gotta run along, an' y'all gotta see to your friends. Ah got just what ah came for, right here in mah handbag. So… toodles, darlin'. See you 'round."

She probably jumped off the edge soon after, but I didn’t stay to look. I was already running towards Miko and Aki. My jaw clenched in frustration. She had played us.

If HQ didn't take my head for letting a criminal like her escape again, the handler certainly would. She'd use it as the final leverage to disband us. But I didn't care. Not at that moment. My team was in trouble. They came first. Always.

"Lightning strike!"

I aimed a high-level spell at the dragon as I ran back, hitting it in the face and drawing its attention away from the girls. I was acting on sheer impulse. I didn't even have a plan or know what I was doing. I just wanted its attention on me.

I wasn't even sure of the exact moment the dragon had lifted its tail. A dark blur of movement from the corner of my eye was my only warning. Then the impact, like a thunder snap.

Thwack!

I was simply swatted away.

I had never been hit by a car in my life, but in that moment, I had a good idea of what it must feel like. Hell. It felt like hell.

I crashed through flower pots and sculptures before finally tumbling to a stop. The wind was knocked out of me. My entire body felt heavy, unmoving, destroyed. The pain came on gradually, then all at once. I was certain I had broken something. Maybe many things. I couldn't even get up if I wanted to.

"Captain!"

"Boss!"

Aki and Miko were calling out to me. No, no, no, I screamed in my head.

I was supposed to help them. I was supposed to help keep them safe. But I couldn't even get up. How were they going to survive? How were they going to defend themselves from the dragon?

"Aki, are you crazy?!"

Through all of the pain and my quickly fading consciousness, I heard the familiar sound I usually hear whenever Aki shot a blast of fire from her hands.

Zwush!

This was followed by what sounded like the dragon growling in pain. Then the footsteps of someone quickly running towards me.

I had been face down on the cold concrete, but someone grabbed me by the shoulder and flipped me over. I couldn't really make out her face from all the blood pouring down my forehead. Was that…? Was that Aki?

The person instantly gasped in shock and covered her mouth. Crap, it was her. She wasn't meant to see me like this. She wasn't meant to see all the blood.

The temperature around us suddenly spiked as her eyes turned a bright orange. This time, the transformation was much faster. She couldn't have stopped it if she wanted to. With this amount of blood, it was practically impossible.

"Zon't worry, captain. Zis is intentional. We have a plan."

Wait... What?

Leaving me on the ground, Aki—or not quite Aki—casually got to her feet and began strolling towards the dragon, her hair floating around as if trapped in zero gravity, the air around her constantly cracking and sparking with flying embers. Her strides were quick, purposeful, almost as if she was in a hurry.

"Aki." I tried calling out to her, even lifting my hand to get her attention. But I could barely move my body or speak. I just watched from my spot on the ground as she continued striding toward the dragon, her balled-up fists suddenly bursting into flames. What did she think she was doing? What was this plan of theirs?

Miko stood off to the side, trying to shield the unconscious hostages with her body. She was out of ammo, out of tools, and with no magic to defend herself, out of luck. She was trying to act brave, but her entire body trembled with fear. Her legs shook, and she held her arms out, trying to cover her face from the torrent of fire she knew was coming. Was this also part of their plan? It certainly didn't look like it.

I hated the fact I was useless, unable to do anything to help. My agents were about to be killed in front of me, and I was going to be subjected to every agonizing moment of their fiery end. A sudden panic tightened my throat as the dragon raised its head. By the time it lowered its muzzle to breathe fire, my heart plummeted. I squeezed my eyes shut. I didn't want to see it. But I heard everything. I heard it all.

The roar of flames being expelled in a steady stream. The sound of the dragon growling, almost as if in pain. What the…? What was happening?

My eyes snapped open. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

Aki—or demon Aki—had launched herself into the air. She was shooting a steady burst of fire at the drake from her mouth, an inferno bigger, redder, and hotter than anything she'd ever made. The dragon staggered back from the assault, shrieking in agony and trying to make a break for it by lifting its wings. But demon Aki wasn't about to let it escape.

She intensified her mana output, dropped to the ground, and rushed the creature. Before it could react, she drove a flaming fist deep into its mouth.

"Zis is for the captain," she declared.

Following her statement, Aki then punched a heavy stream of fire down the dragon's throat. The last thing I saw before the world went dark was the stone dragon's blue veins turning a bright red, then orange, before bursting into a million flying pieces. Soon, all that was left where the dragon once stood was molten slag and tiny rocks. The drake, one of the museum's most priceless statues, was gone.

Shibuya Division strikes again.

We were so getting fired.