Suddenly, a large monster appeared from above, flying toward us. I could see it resembled a dragon, but with three heads. Everyone who was resting suddenly felt despair.
"T-that's impossible. Why would that monster fly this way?" Sulfi said.
"Sorry to bother you, but is that monster dangerous?" I asked.
"Of course, more dangerous than the three monsters we faced earlier. That's the Disaster Dragon," Oxo replied in a panicked tone.
"Damn, it has three heads too," Natori added.
"We're finished," Fosufa said, tears streaming down her face.
"We can't possibly fight that thing," Magensi added.
"Kalusi, do you know what the Disaster Dragon is capable of?" I asked.
"It can breathe fire. However, as far as I know, the more heads it has, the more things it can spray. I think it can breathe ice and poison," Kalusi replied.
"Besides, it's physically very strong. Even the powers of the Alkali and Elkali families couldn't scratch its skin," Neus added.
This was like facing the final boss in a game. Of course, I wasn't going to give up so easily. I immediately formulated a strategy.
"Okay, I know you all feel hopeless. But I have a plan," I said.
"DON'T BE IDIOTIC. DON'T YOU KNOW HOW POWERFUL THE DISASTER DRAGON IS?" Oxo said angrily.
"I know. But are you just going to give up without trying?" I asked.
Suddenly, the atmosphere fell silent. They considered what I said. They immediately realized that despair before trying was useless. Finally, they were willing to listen to my strategy.
I explained my strategy to them. The Alkali and Elkali families focused on distracting the Disaster Dragon from close range so its sights were focused on them. Then, Argus focused on creating a barrier for the Alkali and Elkali families so that if they were hit by the Disaster Dragon's attacks, they wouldn't suffer fatal injuries. Nitaro focused on the Disaster Dragon's fire or ice blasts. Chloe focused on the Disaster Dragon's poison blasts.
"Hmm, Chloe. Can you purify the charcoal Caribo created?" I asked.
"I'll try," Chloe replied enthusiastically.
I didn't expect Chloe's magic to purify more than just poison, but also various other things. The purified charcoal would form crystals, which would be the primary weapon in this battle. Knowing this, Caribo immediately cast magic to create as much charcoal as possible. Without further ado, Chloe immediately purified the charcoal into crystals. Alumin immediately arranged the crystals so they could be easily thrown by Kali and Kalusi.
Neus's job was to distract the Disaster Dragon with his light. Furthermore, when the crystal was thrown, I asked Neus to cast his magic to create a sparkling crystal that would interfere with the Disaster Dragon's vision.
"Okay, I have a task for you two. Can you create some kind of acid rain?" I asked Oxo and Sulfi.
"Hmm, I'm not sure. But I'll try," Sulfi replied.
"All I did was hold the magic Sulfi cast in the sky, right?" Oxo asked.
"Yes," I replied.
Oxo immediately agreed to my request. Then, Fosufa and Bram collaborated to create a plant that could emit a pungent gas. The goal was to disrupt the Disaster Dragon's sense of smell.
"Okay, does everyone understand?" I asked loudly.
"Understood," they all replied.
Finally, we put our plan into action. The Alkali and Elkali families immediately lured the Disaster Dragon by hitting its legs. As I expected, its skin was incredibly tough. Then, the Disaster Dragon began to breathe fire. Nitaro immediately cast a spell that could freeze objects. Nitaro extinguished the flames. Shortly afterward, the Disaster Dragon lashed out with its tail. The attack hit Natori and Magnesi. However, they weren't fatally injured because they were protected by Argus' barrier. Argus had secretly created a large-scale barrier to prevent the Disaster Dragon from escaping its attack range or flying freely. Seeing this, the Disaster Dragon seemed enraged. It immediately spat out fire, ice, and poison all at once. Nitaro looked panicked, unable to withstand two attacks at once. Argus immediately took over, blocking the ice blast. This calmed Nitaro. Chloe quickly purified the poison blast.
"Alright, on my command. 1... 2... 3... Get away from there, everyone," I said.
Sulfi successfully cast her magic. Then, Oxo slowly released the acid Sulfi had created. Acid rain fell. This way, the dragon's tough skin could be destroyed. Afterward, Natori and Magnesi threw crystals. Seeing this, Neus immediately cast his magic. As a result, the Disaster Dragon's vision was impaired, and it fell to the ground.
Seeing a golden opportunity, Fosufa and Bram launched their combined magic. A large plant appeared, emitting a gas with a very strong odor. This interfered with the Disaster Dragon's sense of smell. Meanwhile, Chloe cast her purification magic to prevent her friends from inhaling the pungent gas. When the Disaster Dragon was immobilized, Kali and Kalusi immediately targeted its legs. Finally, their attacks paid off. Natori and Magnesi continued throwing crystals at the Disaster Dragon, hitting its wings. Gradually, the Disaster Dragon suffered fatal injuries. The attacks continued until the Disaster Dragon was immobilized.
"We did it?" Oxo said breathlessly.
"I can't believe this," Bram replied.
We finally got a moment to rest. Actually, I had something in mind while developing a strategy to counter the Disaster Dragon. The author had mentioned periodic properties, starting with radius, ionization energy, and electron affinity. However, I didn't know if the author also mentioned electronegativity. Electronegativity is the ability of an atom to attract electrons to itself to form chemical bonds. Within a period, electronegativity increases from left to right, while within a group, electronegativity decreases from top to bottom.
I tried something unprecedented in this world: combining magic using the concept of electronegativity. In my world, there are several compounds such as carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and phosphorus tribromide (PBr3). I took the idea of combining magic power from these compounds, and it worked. Sulfur dioxide is one of the causes of acid rain, and phosphorus tribromide is a colorless liquid with a pungent odor. Both compounds can communicate with this world through magic.
After a long rest, we immediately rushed back to the palace. Along the way, my relationship with the nobles improved. Among all of them, I was closest to Kali because she was the first person I met, even though she was with Natori. Oxo, who initially disliked me, slowly seemed to accept me. Knowing that, I was very happy. However, I also missed my family and those closest to me. I didn't know if I would ever be able to return to my original world.
"You seem to be thinking about something," Kali said.
"Eh, can you see it?" I replied, surprised.
"Of course. If you have a problem, you can tell me. I'll keep it a secret," Kali said.
"Actually, I miss my family. Kali, if I told you I'm not from this world, would you believe me?" I asked, my expression slightly tense.
"Hmm, I do. Actually, I've known from the start that you're not from this world. Just looking at your clothes and knowing your name made me understand that you're not from this world. I assumed God sent you to this world to help ours," Kali said.
Hearing what Kali said brought tears to my eyes. I didn't expect Kali to truly understand me. I immediately hugged Kali. She stroked my back.
"Kali, if I return to my original world, what will you tell them?" I asked.
"Maybe I'll tell them you've returned to your hometown," Kali replied.
Hearing that, I hugged Kali even tighter. Kali returned the hug with a tight hug. Perhaps because I was too exhausted from thinking up strategies to fight the Disaster Dragon, I immediately fell asleep on Kali's shoulder.
"Miss, miss. Please wake up, the library is closing," the librarian said as she shook me awake.
I immediately woke up with a start. I pinched my cheek to check if I was dreaming. The pain was so intense that I wasn't dreaming. I immediately looked at the table. There was a book called "Periodic Kingdom." Then, I opened the book to the last page. I felt relieved when I turned the last page. The ending of "Periodic Kingdom" turned out to be a happy ending. Then, I thought about what had just happened to me.
"Could it have been a dream?" I asked.
But if it was a dream, it was the most beautiful dream ever. I tried to find the author of "Periodic Kingdom," but I couldn't find it. After that, I immediately left the library.
"Thank you, Arunika," a girl said happily.
I immediately looked back. No one was there. But, I was very familiar with the girl's voice. Could it be Kali? But, that couldn't be it. Maybe I was too tired today. I'd better go straight to the restaurant to replenish my stamina. On the way, I talked to myself about how interesting and great the book I was reading was. I never thought that chemistry could be presented in such an interesting way. In the future, I also want to write chemistry material in the form of a story like the author of the book Periodic Kingdom.