To think that the clouds veiling the skies above were never clouds at all, but the pure-white scales of a great Dragon...

Traveling with Dante, I've had the chance to see so many marvelous sights, but...

... I never once imagined that I would come face-to-face with a Dragon like the ones I heard about when I was little.

But... with the noble Dragon staying so far up in the sky, attacking it will be rather hard, won't it?

It's not impossibly distant, so as long as we continue patiently, I'm sure the fight will eventually come to an end—wait, isn't that...

It took a bit of time, but luckily, I think I came up with a decent idea, everyone!

Every so often, the Dragon would let out a great roar and lift its head high toward the sky.

And when that happens, red stakes would come falling down from the sky, almost as if heavenly retribution were raining down on us...

Turns out, the stakes could be sent right back to it if deflected at just the right moment.

Fuhu. I must say, I'm glad things seem to be off to a smooth start!

→ I keep tellin' ya, don't I? Every. Single. Time~! Saying stuff like that's gonna jinx the whole thing!

→ Huh... didn't seem like we took that much damage from where I was standing. What happened up front?

→ Well... There was this scale on its neck, pointing upside down. Figured it might be a weak point, so I took a swing at it.

→ And when I did, every stake that'd been floating up in the sky just started coming down at us like a loose cannon...

→ We cannot rule out the possibility that the scale was indeed a weak point. It's worth noting that the dragon reacted rather violently once we attacked it and left it with fewer wedges—which noticeably weakened the target's subsequent offense.

→ Where both advantage and disadvantage are present, the decision rests with the Manager.

When the noble Dragon suddenly rose straight into the sky, I really did think it was going to fly off just like that...

But my, I never expected it to swallow us down in one gulp!

After what happened at the Great Lake, I suppose this makes the second time we've ended up inside a gigantic monster, doesn't it?

Fuhu. I'm glad we don't seem to have landed in the stomach this time~

Thinking back, maybe the Dragon thought we were bad people because we kept refusing to accept its divine punishment.

In every story I know, the dragons on high always seem to loathe the wicked.

If so, could that crimson jade over there... have been something bad in the noble Dragon's eyes?

→ G. or B., it's got an ominous aura. Best cut the damn thing down.

→ Well... Just one look at the bloody thing, and I can tell it's made for proper smashin', lads. It'd be daft not to put it in bits.

→ H-hang on! Both of you, please just hold on a second! M-maybe it's something we're supposed to keep from getting smashed...

→ We still have to deal with the Peccatula in front of us, so... Let's just leave it alone for now, guys. Won't be too late to bust it up when we notice it doing something weird.

We cut off the Dragon's head and stabbed its body, but it still didn't die.

We tried attacking all at once, just as Heathcliff suggested...

And following Outis's strategy, even tried cauterizing the parts we cut off...

... but nothing we did seemed to work!

And then, all of a sudden... I noticed the wedge embedded in the noble Dragon's body.

When we'd been outside before we were swallowed, the Dragon didn't have any huge stakes driven into its body.

So I asked Dante, who'd remained outside the whole time without getting swallowed along with us.

Dante said it was an enormous wedge that came down from the layer of the heavens even higher than the one the Dragon had been floating in.

Once I heard that, I began to understand, just a little.

You know, when the Dragon directs its gaze up toward the heavens, it may seem angry at first glance, but look a little closer and you can tell its eyes are actually really, really sad.

Perhaps the Dragon isn't even allowed to die even if it wanted to.

At least not before Heaven's decree is canceled... not before the wedge is removed.

→ ... Looks like Hong Lu guessed right.

→ Mhm! Soon as we smashed all the stakes, it went away just like that~ Didn't even look back. No regrets, nothing clingy, just went <i>fwoosh</i>~