Book 7 Chapter 24

Episode 173

The Bellisor Great River splits into two directions across the continent from the violet city of <Aurelinople>.

The great river flowing southwest reaches the Yellow Sea at the indigo city of <Aristapo>, and the great river crossing the southeast merges with the South Sea at the blue city of <Terbenople>.

Due to these geographical characteristics, <Aurelinople> became the central trade city of the Northern Republic, serving as a natural canal.

In that bustling trade city, filled with riverboats traveling up and down the river from dawn and oceangoing ships trying to reach other major cities, Valensidis moved busily.

"I see. Understood. I'll discuss it with the others."

After meeting with a dozen captains, inquiring about the condition of the waterways and the boat fares, Valensidis had to tilt his head.

"Aki."

"Aboot."

"Don't pretend you can't speak."

Rain was holding his brow, as if his head was throbbing, and Aki, clinging tightly to his leg, was trembling all over as if terrified.

The creature that was gloriously receiving the gaze of both a dragon's guardian and a true dragon was a turtle.

"I don't expect much. I'm not asking you to fight against guys like Shar'kas or Nariaduk already."

"Fight, fight, fight."

"But seriously… even if it's a juvenile, isn't being scared of a turtle a bit much? You're an absolute life-form, by name! It's not even a sea turtle or a snapping turtle, it's just a river turtle! How cute is that!"

Thereupon, Aki bit her lip as if steeling her resolve, and stealthily approached the turtle.

Did the poor turtle instinctively sense a threat to its life from the absolute vitality and prestige commanded by the true dragon?

The poor turtle, preemptively terrified, hid itself inside its shell, and Aki, startled by this, quickly scurried back behind Rain's leg.

"Aki, sc-sc-scared-!"

As soon as Aki moved away, the turtle slowly crawled and escaped back into the river.

The young man sighed, looking up at the sky.

He thought that if Alakish had seen this, he might have chastised him, saying, "I trusted you with my daughter, and this is what happens?"

"A true dragon scared of a turtle, indeed. Even a passing slime wouldn't laugh at this. They'd die of laughter, their insides bursting."

As Valensidis taunted with his characteristic sneer, Pipi laughed wildly.

"Burst, burst, burst, insides, Pih, pih, pipipipih!"

When Aki was insulted, for some reason Rain felt several times more offended than when he himself was insulted (in truth, he had never felt any particular emotion no matter what insults he received), and his face flushed hot.

"This won't do. After experiencing this incident, I've realized Aki needs self-defense skills. At the very least, she should be able to protect herself against ruffians."

"Hmm, how do you mean? She can't even do basic addition and subtraction properly yet, so she won't be able to use magic."

Valensidis teaching incantations was also out of the question.

Incantations were a lesser ability derived from dragonic language, simply put, they were merely lengthy interpretations of dragonic language into human tongue.

Making Aki, who had just begun to speak human language and was better at dragonic than human language, use incantations? It was absurd.

"Can't you teach her dragonic? You've probably finished most of the Dragon Scriptures by now, haven't you?"

"I learned it through translations. To properly teach dragonic, we would need to bring in a shrine maiden. They are the only ones who can read the Dragon Scriptures in their original text."

Ask Juliana, who must be overwhelmed dealing with the current situation? That would truly be a shameless request.

And Aki, even though she hadn't been specifically taught, helped Valensidis in this battle using dragonic language.

Does that mean her dragonic language abilities will grow on their own? But we can't wait until they're fully developed.

'Wouldn't it be best to take her to the Red Mountains as quickly as possible? So she can learn dragonic systematically from other dragons.'

As he let out a bitter sigh born of helplessness and stroked Aki's head, Aki, who had been timidly expecting a scolding, made a pleasant "Appu" sound.

"Then, how about teaching her martial arts?"

"Martial arts?"

"Red Dragons have physical abilities far superior to the other two dragon races. They would use the Manaheart (心), which draws power from the body's essence, hundreds of times more powerfully than humans."

Without needing to think long, he unconsciously slapped his palm with his fist hammer as soon as he heard those words.

Martial arts.

While the Holy Human Empire, as a nation of weaponry, saw the One Star Seven Swords and Three Palaces display their martial prowess, the Dragonian Republic, which emphasized the inherent training of the body, had martial arts sects holding hegemony.

"Then our destination is set. We'll follow the southeastern waterway down to the blue city. We should be able to invite a suitable warrior-drifter as a teacher there."

It was a perfect judgment, beyond question.

<Terbenople> was the holy land of Terbel, the Sun of the Azure Sky, and was considered the foremost among the Republic's seven great cities in terms of scale and prestige.

There were many reasons, but undoubtedly the biggest one was the existence of the martial arts sanctuary, the Sky Fighting Arena 'Palaceum'.

"That's right. The greatest martial arts tournament in the world is also held at the Palaceum in <Terbenople>."

"It's held annually in mid-April. Still a long way off."

"Even so, disciples from the Six Great Sects and other mid-tier sects will be there looking for odd jobs or accepting new students, won't they?"

Valensidis playfully raised an eyebrow, as if to say, "That's exactly the basis of my judgment," and Rain also nodded in satisfaction.

"Good, we'll learn martial arts there, then immediately find a ship and cross the continent. Let's go."

Soon, Valensidis found a captain with a brightly yellow-dyed beard at the dockside tavern.

He said he was going down to <Terbenople> with a full cargo of pine nuts, honey, furs, and other goods.

In this kind of life, he was indeed several years Rain's senior. Having him as a companion would make the journey several times more comfortable.

"We'll get there quickly. Very fast. My ship, the Chwirang-ho, has two sails and also oars. The oarsmen row exceptionally well."

"You mean serfs."

"Is there a problem? This honest free citizen, Smanlang, pays wages very fairly and justly. The oarsmen love Smanlang so much that they always want to keep working for me."

Smanlang boasted for a long time about how fast his ship was, and then said he wouldn't charge them any special boat fare.

"Do you know Lake Beltino on the great river? Aquatic monsters there have been very aggressive lately. Even the witches are having trouble subduing them."

"You want us to protect the ship there."

"That's right. As expected, the Empire's mages have refined speech and sharp minds."

Those words were merely the artificial flattery typical of a merchant.

Because the people of the Republic, who had enjoyed a mighty golden age under the rule of dragons for a long time, not only in national defense but also in various cultural arts, all subtly looked down upon and ignored imperial citizens.

Around the time they were having that conversation, something sharp and chilling brushed past his nape.

'Killing intent.'

Valensidis, who had been leaning against the stone wall and sipping wine with one arm, seemed to have felt it too.

He subtly placed his glass on the table and mouthed words.

'I'll handle it. Keep talking.'

'No, it seems to be targeting me. Aki, stay next to Valensidis.'

The moment he was about to leisurely rise from the table… a huge crack appeared in the tavern's outer wall, and flames surged through the gap.

Flames…?

The flames shattered the outer wall as if melting it away, and a shadow leaped out from amidst the fiery debris, scattered stones, and dust of the collapse.

"…!"

By the time people had barely registered it, the owner of the shadow had already charged directly at Rain.

The moment he pulled his body back, flames concentrated and swirling in a fist whizzed past Rain's eyes.

Plates and glasses on the table, immediately swept into the fiery vortex, shattered chaotically, and the inside of the tavern became boisterous.

"Ugh, ack!"

"It's a mad warrior-drifter!"

"Guards, call the guards!"

Smanlang and his navigators, sitting opposite him, froze instantly as if turned to stone, while Rain skillfully took a stance as soon as he summoned his Stone Staff of Flame.

'Who is it?'

The assailant wore the wide-sleeved, loose-fitting martial arts uniform typical of warrior-drifters, and their dark ivory hair was disheveled.

The face revealed beneath was gaunt and emaciated, but their eyes held a terrifyingly sharp glint.

A strange tremor ran through Valensidis's mind as he registered the same information as Rain.

"Rain, you mustn't kill that guy!"

"What are you talking about? Who attacked first?"

The warrior-drifter recovered their stance with astonishing speed even with their fist extended.

The warrior-drifter swung their arm with the centrifugal force of their spinning body, aiming to strike Rain's face, but Rain raised his stone staff to block it…

They were a formidable practitioner, not only in magic but also in physical abilities.

Rain's feet, pushed back in the struggle against that fierce pressure, slid backward, creating friction.

"Who are you? Why are you attacking me?"

At that moment, the warrior-drifter's unfocused eyes and gasping shout made his body stiffen.

"I'll cut off your breath, Tureyna…!"

This emotional outburst could only stem from immeasurable rage and hatred…

'Did he mistake me for Tureyna because of this old bamboo hat?'

What had gripped Rain's ankle was the hostility directed at Tureyna.

He knew it well.

Knowing it, yet finding it difficult to acknowledge… which was why, even though several fatal opportunities appeared, he couldn't attack.

Valensidis's eyes narrowed.

'Not being controlled, then surely.'

Valensidis swung Kashasur. A sharply rotating vacuum wind blade flew forth and completely demolished the tavern's outer wall.

As soon as that happened, he appeared.

The sight of a puppet, sitting on the pier railing, crunching deliciously on an apple that must have come from a mountain village.

"Well, well, well, who do we have here? If it isn't Valensidis, who outrageously resigned and ran away before me."

Zernix…!

In an instant, countless emotions grew cold in Rain's mind. For a moment, as he turned towards that direction and constructed a magic circle.

"Your opponent is me…!"

Flames violently swirled and exploded from the fist impaled on the stone staff.

"──!"

Rain, momentarily letting go of the stone staff, immediately put his hand on the table behind him and performed a somersault, landing on the other side.

"Mages like you can't use your power if you can't create distance…!"

As soon as he said that, a fiery mark appeared in the air above the table.

'A mark?'

The warrior-drifter imbued the power of the Manaheart into his shoulder. He twisted his waist and ankle. And the moment he thrust his fist into that mark.

"…!"

The mark amplified that power into flames of explosive heat, the flames tore up the ground, burned away the table and liquor stand, and engulfed Rain.

"Hmph, a warrior-drifter indeed. A natural predator for mediocre mages and witches."

The puppet, chewing on an apple as if quite pleased, and Valensidis, with Kashasur unfolded, stood in its way.

"What are you plotting again, Zernix?"

"Look at this insolent brat, already forgetting his manners just because he submitted a resignation."

The moment the puppet threw the apple core onto the river, four magic circles instantly intertwined on its right palm.

"I haven't plotted anything in particular. I merely told them Tureyna and her disciple were eating here."

"…!"

"Hey, little dragon. That woman is the last survivor of the Cheonhwa Sect, which was annihilated by Tureyna. What are you going to do?"

The type of magic power used by warrior-drifters is Manaheart.

It is a well-known fact that the majority of the six ways to use this energy, called Manaheart, focus on close combat.

Even a mage of considerable skill should ideally avoid close combat due to type advantage. The problem, however, was that Rain was no ordinary mage.

He had received staff fighting training from a hero, and with that staff fighting, he had faced absolutes twice.

"I'll end it with this──!"

The warrior-drifter, kicking off the blackened ground and rushing towards Rain, who was enveloped in the explosion, opened his eyes wide.

"──?!"

This, pushing away the flame-wreathed fist… wasn't this the stone staff he had just let go of?

The moment he realized this, Rain spun his body and accurately struck the warrior-drifter's lower abdomen with the butt of the stone staff.

It was a direct hit to the stomach, but seeing as nothing but gastric fluid and saliva came out, let alone vomit, it was impossible to guess how many days he had starved.

Rain's eyes narrowed.

'He's incredibly skilled. But despite that skill, he's far too desperate, to the point where his moves are obvious. What could be making him so desperate?'

Bell Quirias.

He opened his vision to red, and in an instant, read the structure of the extraordinary power entwining the staggering warrior-drifter.

As expected…

'Is it some kind of possessing spirit? It's somewhat different, though…'

A blood-clot-like parasite, something that might emerge from the depths of a nightmare, was squirming in the warrior-drifter's heart.

It was so damaged that it shouldn't have been able to emit even a trace of magic power, yet that thing was forcibly channeling magic power throughout its entire body.

So that he would fight so fiercely, only to die from qi deviation…

"With this, with this, I'll end it…!"

The warrior-drifter, forcing his seemingly shattered body to rise, concentrating the magic power of his death throes into his fist.

If he left him like this, he would die.

Before that fist could land, before the flickering flames from that fist could strike his face, 0100010001, the divine annihilation flames transformed the parasite's body into a meaningless collection of numbers.

"Ah…?"

The warrior-drifter's body movements stopped, and his magic power dissipated with a whoosh, as if the puppet strings had been cut.

He was just about to break his nose, but his body swayed weakly and then collapsed as if leaning onto Rain's shoulder.

After a very fleeting, faint groan and tremor, all strength completely drained from his body, as if he had lost consciousness.

"Ha, this is infuriating! I came here with a slight hope that Tureyna had been killed, but if I stay here like this…"

At that moment, the puppet grumbled irritably and replaced one runic formula of a 4-star water-attribute magic, a Lutizhen Rune, with a forbidden Orbios type.

"You still possess such a pathetic nature, that's why you haven't even been able to use the true power of Bell Quirias, you bastard!"

A dozen or so soap bubbles transformed into corrosive liquid that instantly melted the wood and stone of the pier, and surged towards Rain.

Then Valensidis stepped between Rain and the puppet, blocking.

"Open, Kashasur."

The moment he opened his fan with a rhythmic motion, a rift in spacetime opened in front of Valensidis, sucking in all the soap bubbles.

A technique that trivialy mimicked Nariaduk's spatial interference ability, utilizing all of Valensidis's knowledge of magic, incantations, and black magic.

It can only be activated by using this Kashasur as a catalyst, and it does have limitations such as a short casting range and duration.

Nevertheless, for a human to wield transcendent power was a remarkable feat.

"Oh my, that's not a technique someone like you, Valensidis, should be able to use, is it? The power of the holy relic is truly astonishing, I must say."

The moment Zernix, who knew that fact better than anyone, whistled, a hand of darkness gripped his neck.

That hand, surging from the severed stump of his left arm, was constructed with incantations and black magic, capable of exerting four times the normal physical strength.

Valensidis's voice, slowly crushing the puppet's neck bones, was as cold as frost.

"A low-grade puppet whose magic power is completely depleted after casting a single 4-star spell… You must have lost almost all of your battle-worthy puppets on the Akrad continent by now, Zernix."

"Heeheeheeheehee, it's because there's no need to use them. If I put my mind to it, I can make you one of my puppets too. You know that, don't you?"

A shiver ran down Valensidis's arm, knowing those words were true.

Due to internal pressure, the puppet's gaze, its eyeballs on the verge of popping out of their sockets, turned towards Rain. Who had rushed over here, supporting the warrior-drifter.

"I wondered where I had seen that Sun Parrot before, hmm, that staff fighting too… it's quite curious. It seems there's some inside story I don't know about, doesn't there?"

"Stop your dog-shit antics of testing the waters with puppets and come out! I'll grind that damned face of yours to dust. Are you scared of me?"

"Do you have the confidence to fight and defeat me, Zernix, one-on-one? If so, come to the Adrion Continent, to the yellow city of <Raptas>. There, this great senior will show you what true magic is."

The puppet suddenly shriveled up, and began to melt away, emitting a disgusting stench.

To prevent damage to other structures on the pier, Valensidis tore space and hurled the puppet beyond it.

When Valensidis closed the space he had opened, far from the commotion ceasing, resident soldiers who had received a report were rushing in.

'Zernix, you damned bastard…'

Rain bit his lip.

When Aki, and Pipi who was guarding Aki, came to his side, the young man was looking at the unconscious warrior-drifter on his shoulder.

He had called out his former disciple's name with hatred… Was that why he couldn't just leave him behind?

This incident, which Zernix had called the result of a pathetic nature, was precisely the beginning of the connection that led to the 'Aki Punch'.