CHAPTER 8
THE FALLEN DIVINE DRAGON
…What in the blasted hells is Veira doing here? Leonis suspiciously regarded the red dragon from atop the building.
He thought she was away, pursuing the Devil of the Underworld and the Azure Fort.
“…Leo, where were you during all this?!” Leonis heard Veira’s voice ring in his head telepathically.
“I went back to the Rognas Kingdom. But forget that, what is this monster…?” He turned his eyes to the undead dragon that was regenerating even as they spoke.
“This is Gisark, the Divine Dragon of the Six Heroes. Or what’s left of him, anyway.”
“…What?”
Leonis looked at the dead dragon creeping across the earth. Some of its rotting flesh was still covered in golden scales that did look like Gisark’s.
“This is an intense aura of death. He’s undead,” said the black wolf standing behind him.
“Blackas, do you have any idea who might be able to turn such a hero into an undead minion?”
“…Yes. I know only one that would be capable of such a feat.”
“Yes, I think so, too.” Leonis glared at the seal mark glowing on the Divine Dragon’s forehead. This was the mark the Undead King, Leonis Death Magnus, branded his minions with.
…So he sent him as a vanguard. Interesting.
Leonis landed on the ground and chanted a spell.
“All death is mine to wield. Sixth-order spell—Vraz Ochur!”
A skull appeared around Gisark and crept into its body. This was a spell that forcibly usurped control over an undead creature. However…
■■■■■■!
Gisark raised his large body and fired off a ray of heat that swept through the air, cutting down buildings that collapsed with a rumble.
…He resisted the spell. Not an unexpected outcome, Leonis whispered to himself as he strode through the shadows atop Blackas’s back.
He wasn’t under the impression he’d succeed at usurping control over Gisark, but this did serve as proof that it was him who had transformed him into an undead.
I can’t inflict too much damage on my kingdom.
This area was evacuated of its civilians, but it was only a matter of time until Excalibur Academy would send a unit to dispatch the Void Lord. Fighting one of the Six Heroes while defending them would be difficult.
“Blackas, can we drag him into the Realm of Shadows?”
“My apologies, Lord Magnus, but the Realm of Shadows is unusable after the Deus Machina self-destructed inside it. Even if you were to drag him in, it would likely collapse from the inside out.”
“Blast…,” Leonis grumbled and contemplated other options.
Gisark reared his head and blew another ray of heat at them. Blackas hopped into the rubble’s shadow and emerged out of another.
“Another idea, then. Would it be possible to use the shadow corridors to transfer anyone trying to enter this battlefield to another area?”
“Transferring anyone who tries to enter… It’s possible, but it will be a difficult task.” Blackas snorted. “And it won’t work against anyone airborne.”
“That’s good enough. Please do it.”
“Understood. However, I won’t be able to guard you, Lord Magnus—”
“That’s fine. There’s another dragon here, and though she makes for a fearsome opponent, she’s the most reliable ally when she’s on my side.”
With a roar, Veira’s red dragon form bit into the Divine Dragon’s neck. Her fangs crunched on his windpipe, spewing hellfire directly at him.
Divine Dragon Gisark’s body shined like a burning furnace.
Leonis hopped off Blackas’s back.
“Good luck, Lord Magnus—”
“Yeah. I’m counting on you.”
Blackas crept into the shadows.
“Veira, keep him pinned down…!”
“…Who do you think you are to boss me around?!”
Leonis spread his arms and began chanting.
Doing it without a staff doesn’t feel right…
Reconsidering, he reached into his shadow and pulled out the Staff of Death’s Eye. It was a special staff with a Reaper’s eye sitting on its tip. This was a Legend Class item, a considerable step down from the Staff of Sealed Sins, but it was still the second-strongest item in Leonis’s possession. Given Leonis’s overwhelming power, the amplified effect it had on its spells was negligible, but at the moment, he needed it mostly to stay in form.
“Earth, become a raging spear and run my foe through…!”
Leonis’s field of expertise were spells from the Realm of Death, but those were ineffective against an undead opponent.
“Tactical class eighth-order spell—Graz Garud!”
Countless stone pillars surged up from the ground, stabbing through the undead dragon’s body.
■■■■■■…!
With a roar, Gisark flapped his wings, shaking his large body to shatter the stone pillars and fly off. However—
“You’re not getting away!”
Leonis used an eighth-order gravity spell, Vira Zuo, forming a gravity sphere over Gisark’s head that slammed the dragon into the ground.
“Hey, are you trying to hit me with those spells, too?!”
“Not my problem, just get out of the way!”
“I’ll get even with you later, Leo!”
Veira stomped on the ground, kicking off into the air. Spreading her wings, she blew fire on Gisark once more.
“Darkness, burst forth!”
Leonis swung his staff, chanting a tenth-order destruction spell. But the moment he unleashed the spell, the ground beneath them surged up.
“What?!”
Countless tree roots burst from the ground, interrupting the spell and forcing him to hop away. The roots continued extending through the air, pursuing Leonis.
Is this some kind of elf sorcery that controls tree roots? No. I know this…!
Seeing the tree roots grow with rapid, startling speed, Leonis’s eyes widened. At the end of the roots was the face of an old man, contorted in agony—a face Leonis recognized.
“How are you still here…?!”
It was the face of the Archsage of the Six Heroes—Arakael Degradios.
“It’s time for a raid!”
Regina fired her Drag Howl, blasting through the entranceway shutters. With its caterpillar track howling, the battle vehicle barreled into the tower. Alarms blared and sprinklers went off, dousing the halls in water. All of the research staff had already evacuated the building and gone to the shelters.
“Let’s head to the central control room first.” Riselia stepped down from the battle vehicle and confirmed the map Clauvia had sent her. If they looked over the building’s history, they could perhaps make a guess at where Elfiné was being kept.
But as she tried to do so, she heard the roaring of an engine approaching from down the hall.
“Here they come,” Sakuya said with a smirk, Raikirimaru in hand.
“Regina, get behind me!” Riselia held up the Bloody Sword, and just as she did, a loud rattling filled their ears.
Machine gun fire peppered them without warning. Combat machines operated by mana and loaded with machine guns on every part that could carry them drew on the group. These were Anti-Void unmanned drones—Void Simulators loaded with Phillet Artificial Elementals made for combat.
Riselia deployed blades of blood around herself, using them to deflect and cut down the bullets in midair. Sakuya was already nowhere to be seen—she parkoured around the surrounding pillars and raced across the ceiling, only to land and cut down three combat machines at once. Other machines reacted to her actions and turned their muzzles to fire on her, but—
“Too slow, you buckets of bolts.”
Raikirimaru’s blade flashed—and the combat machines were cut in half. And at the same time—
“Haaa! Bloody Petal Dance!”
Riselia slashed at a machine, deflecting the hail of bullets all the while. Stabbing the tip of her blade into its vital engine parts, she unleashed the Bloody Sword’s power—blades of blood sprouted out of its metallic frame like a flower blooming all at once, crushing the machine from the inside out.
She pulled out her sword and wheeled around, preparing to swing her blade down on the last remaining machine, but—
“…Eh?”
The machine crumbled to the ground on its own, like it had suddenly run out of power.
“—Enemy control, usurped,” a voice spoke up behind her.
Schwertleite was seated upright in the battle vehicle’s driver’s seat.
“…Erm. Did you do that?”
“Affirmative, master.” Schwertleite nodded, and the combat machine got back up on its legs and swerved around.
“…W-wow!” Riselia said, positively impressed.
But come to think of it, she had commanded thousands of magical apparatuses in the ruins, so doing this was probably effortless for her.
“Is there any chance you can seize control of this tower’s core?” Riselia asked.
“It could be possible, if I were to connect to one of the core’s devices…”
“I think we should totally bring her along,” Regina said firmly, to which Schwertleite nodded.
“Hmm, well…” Riselia brought her hand to her jaw in thought, and then looked at Schwertleite. “But what if an Artificial Elemental takes you over, like one did last time?”
“The possibility of an Artificial Elemental controlling my ego should not be a concern.” She shook her head expressionlessly. “My current self is detached from my original self, and I’m in a completely independent state. I’m greatly limited compared to my normal abilities, but in exchange, I cannot be influenced by outside sources.”
“…Really?” Riselia couldn’t quite understand the logic behind it, but apparently there was nothing to fear. “All right, then. We’ll take you along.”
With Regina’s help, Riselia removed Schwertleite from the driver’s seat and used a rope they had stored inside the car to fasten her body to Riselia’s back. She was surprisingly light, and with her Vampire Queen’s strength, Riselia could likely fight even in this condition.
“Erm… Is this comfortable for you?”
“No problems detected, Mama.”
“M-Mama?!”
“I misspoke. I meant master.”
“I’m only fifteen, you know…” Riselia pouted.
“We should hurry, Miss Selia, more of them are coming.” Sakuya strode ahead, Raikirimaru drawn in her hands.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login