Book 21 Chapter 18
To the land of decisive battle!
City of beginning and end,
Raptas Decisive Battle (12)
Shuan, protected by the Sasadan, was able to enter the central downtown area of <Raptas>.
Reptilians…….
Mimicking their bodies in the sandstorm, soundless and traceless, those who endlessly pressed in were truly silent hunters.
‘How did Father and Mother manage against creatures like these…!’
However, ancient legacies were not only with hostile forces.
“Two demons appearing from both sides of the front intersection! Their hierarchy is low-ranking!”
HoltRankz formation.
This, meaning ‘hedgehog’, was the invincible formation of the infantry operated by <The Ones That Came>.
Elves who revered <The Ones That Came> had perfectly succeeded their traditions and methods even to the present day.
“Sasadan, if you fall behind the might of the Samiguls, how can you be called the first chosen descendants! HoltRankz, deploy your battle formation! Five-column horizontal!”
As Paladin Riven commanded the Sasadan to form ranks, Simian took out a scripture scroll and spoke to Shuan.
“Leave this to us and go, Samiguls! The watchtower is in sight!”
Leaving behind the shouts, battle cries, and screams of the elf soldiers, the presence of the Reptilians was pressing in even at the watchtower they reached.
“Keep running, Senru! Never stop! Horu, you follow too and protect that shepherd!”
“Roar (Got it)!”
“If anything happens to that shepherd, I won’t be able to face Lin!”
Leonia and Ryuminique stood guarding the entrance of that watchtower.
Leonia, of Archmage lineage, was born with an enormous absolute amount of magic power, a master of the Lion’s Roar (獅子吼), which means she excels in one-on-many combat.
Ryuminique, also a ronin befitting his moniker ‘Moo-cheon’, even if he has to face numerous predators from before the Origin, his skill does not falter.
“For our princess, I’m thinking of opening ‘Ryuminique’s Heart-Pounding Archmage Seduction Class’, for just 100 gold coins.”
“What, really?”
“Of course it’s real. If you learn this, you could perhaps seduce any archmage in an instant? Perhaps there’s no chance as it’s first-come, first-served for one person? Perhaps it’s a little risky if you don’t book now?”
Leonia intensely activated all the magic power in her body, concentrated all that power into her vocal cords, and then unleashed it as if exploding it in an instant.
“I’ll book it─────!”
The pinnacle of the Lion’s Roar.
The Reptilians surging towards the watchtower entrance fell into sensory confusion and staggered.
As they instantly started to subdue those Reptilians with a double-edged axe and solar waves, true masters inherently require no prior coordination for their cooperation.
“───Hahaha! If you cancel the reservation, you have to pay half as a cancellation fee! 50 gold coins!”
Meanwhile, the lioness Senru climbed the spiral staircase of the ‘Bisk Watchtower’, which was 40 cheok high to its top.
Bisk Watchtower.
A watchtower of the highest altitude, located at the core of <Raptas>'s inner fortress, which the Dragonkin melted a rocky mountain to create for a desperate struggle when the outer wall's defenses collapsed.
“Roar (Switch with me)!”
“Roar (Thanks)!”
Because its height was abnormal, in place of the exhausted Senru mid-way, the eldest, Horu, carried Shuan and bounded up the stairs.
“Thank you, if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have made it this far in such a short time….”
When they reached the top, the lionesses who had taken turns carrying Shuan were exhausted, but thanks to them, Shuan’s stamina and vitality were intact.
“Now, then….”
The strong wind currents from above fiercely brought a storm of volcanic ash, making his eyes sting and his throat feel rough as if burning.
From here, beyond the veil of volcanic ash, all directions of the city were clearly visible, and the landscape transforming into a city of pillars was truly a nightmare.
Before the sand calamity that surged in with an unmanageable breadth, Shuan gasped for breath and widely spread out a blank paper using the artifact’s hologram function.
‘Father, now I think I understand a little why you always shed tears like blood throughout your military service.’
War…….
How can it be so horrific…….
How utterly miserable is the helplessness when one must drive comrades into such a horrific death trap…….
‘Father, Mother… Please lend me strength…!’
So that I can live up to the expectations of those who trusted me and staked their lives…….
‘Please, so that it’s not too late… Please, so that no one dies…!’
Referring to a satellite map from 6 years ago, the speed at which he moved his pen at high velocity was truly divine penmanship (神筆).
Pictorial Embodiment.
The authority of Genesis that spread the land of the created world and set the boundaries of the sea, now interferes with providence through that blank paper… and everything is being completely restored within waves of light.
「Oh, the rotten stench emanating from the dregs of light is defiling my kingdom…….」
The boy’s hand movements, which had been performing such a miracle, stopped for an instant.
Ultimate killing intent and royal intimidation.
Flying to this Bisk Watchtower in an instant with its hideously twisted wings, and ramming its massive body into the mid-section, Shuan felt a shock as if the entire world had been shaken.
‘Mauna Loa… How is this creature here?’
Given that flight beyond a certain altitude and duration was impossible with that mass, it seemed to be the result of that.
However, what made Shuan’s hand stop was neither the violent impact nor the unrealistic presence.
What it meant for that creature to be here now, the terrifying implications surged into his mind.
‘No way, it can’t be. Did they, did Rista’s party, get wiped out?’
As Mauna Loa crawled up the watchtower, with the surge of malevolent energy, it was then that despair was about to darken his heart.
Before they parted…….
No, even before that…….
That is to say, during the <Shuriganakus> Naval Battle, the smiles ‘they’ had worn swept through his mind like a raging wave.
- It’s not over until we say it’s over.
- Believe in us.
- We are a hero party.
Shuan started to move his pen again. Even as the ancient malevolence approached, without even a tremor in his fingertips, calmly yet swiftly.
‘Yes, what I can do is… believe in them.’
To believe in them, and to do my best to finish what I must do now.
That was it.
The path that Father and Mother had walked, and the mission I had to inherit.
‘They believed in me. They believed I would restore this city. So I too must repay that trust!’
* * *
The place that was originally a downtown area transformed in a single instant as if it were a volcanic crater.
At the bottom of that vast pit, lava seethed, and all the structures that originally formed the downtown area lost their original form, melting into a viscous mass and flowing down the slopes.
Numerous bone fragments were scattered around, and these, which dissolved slower than stone structures, were dragon bones (龍骨).
Remains of the White Dragon Legion…….
Corpses that could only be described as such lay scattered across the area, and in the midst of that catastrophe, a blue barrier glowed.
“L-Lageldaran, Your Excellency…!”
The Blue True Dragon, Lageldaran.
At the very moment when malevolence (悖惡) took form and brought forth disaster, Lageldaran protected Lin, Kies, and Fride.
「Have you come to your senses…?」
From the savagery that swallowed everything in crimson and black, he chose to protect them, not his own kin.
「It is truly fortunate…….」
The Blue True Dragon Tazirmum rescued Rista, Nils, and Link, and because he was closer to the volcanic eruption’s impact zone, the burden on his power was immense, making his appearance even more grotesque than Lageldaran’s.
“Why us… when there were so many wyverns….”
Rista said, her voice choked with emotion.
「We are those who have received the mission to protect… Protecting you is the very reason for our lives… Do not ask the reason, nor doubt it…….」
Tazirmum soon collapsed on the spot as if sliding, and Rista, rushing over, checked his pulse but he had already stopped breathing.
‘Am I going mad?’
At that moment, Lin was staring blankly at Tazirmum, but her gaze was only in that direction; her thoughts were on a different trajectory.
‘At this very moment, at this moment when the Dragonkin were wiped out defending us… How can I be only thinking about how to solve the absolute despair I just faced with a mathematical formula and come up with an answer?’
Enough… it’s a distraction.
Even such guilt is a distraction.
Right now, no extraneous thoughts should be allowed to enter my mind.
‘An idea (發想)… and the switch of perception (知覺) has been flipped on.’
She realized that in the recent engagement there had been a tremendous error.
‘The Ice Ring Pressure Heaven Bow used on Kies didn’t even reach him. Before the volcano could even explode, before it could even reach him, the ice couldn’t withstand it and melted away.’
Then how?
What should I do?
With just a 'Brain-Blood Discharge' that wields only destructive power, I can't penetrate its outer skin.
‘The breakthrough lies in freezing magic.’
What is it? Then what do I need?
What rune? What equation?
To extinguish (消火) the heat from the lava itself, what on earth should I use?
‘What? What kind? What sort?’
All the journeys so far…….
Perhaps the experiences accumulated over half the boy's lifetime raced through his mind. Correct and appropriate answers were derived from various sources, and only the best solutions were selected.
The next moment, Lin suddenly raised her head.
“Yes, that’s it.”
Just then, there were beings coloring the sky above with red light.
The Red Squadron of the Red Dragon Legion.
The vanguard of the squadron was the True Dragon Pyras, and from the way he flew, he seemed to be staggering unsteadily, until…….
“Your Excellency, Pyras!”
Having transformed into a dragon-human state, his appearance upon landing, almost as if he had crashed, was as terrible as Tazirmum’s.
「Fride, Mauna Loa… Where is the descendant of Light now…?」
“He… pursued Shuan. We tried our best to stop him here, but it was beyond our capabilities….”
「Lageldaran… How is it that you are here in such a dire situation? When the celestial ritual ends, Mauna Loa will soon become the vessel for the king’s descent… Even at this very moment, he is growing stronger and reclaiming the king’s abyss…!」
Since Lageldaran was not a White True Dragon but its substitute, a Blue True Dragon, his hierarchical rank was lower than that of the Red True Dragon.
「I… have no face to show…….」
Lageldaran, who had spoken thus, collapsed like Tazirmum, but his breath still clung to him.
“Your Excellency, Lageldaran was trying to protect us….”
Just as Fride was about to defend Lageldaran, Lin suddenly spoke.
“I have an idea. Everyone, follow my plan.”
「……?」
“Ten seconds. Just ten seconds is enough… If you can buy me just that much time against Mauna Loa, I will completely seal off its lava.”