Editing Leviathan:Volume 6 Chapter 1 (section)

===Part 3===

"Kyahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

It was rare for the obedient and gentle Hazumi to scream like this.

One could hardly blame her. This was because she was currently skydiving without a parachute or a lifeline, holding hands with Hal.

The location was the starting point where Hal and Hazumi had just woken up&mdash;A sky island.

Standing on the edge, they took a great leap into the air.

Naturally, the two of them began to free fall, crashing down headfirst. The intense howling of strong wind rushed past their ears.

"Don't worry, we'll land safely!"

Hugging Hazumi, Hal yelled out.

Naturally, he was falling together with his protege, which was why Hal used Feather Fall magic. Thrown off Akuro-Ou mid-flight, Asya had used the same magic in the past.

Immediately, their rate of fall decelerated sharply.

Hal and Hazumi floated downwards lightly like a falling feather.

This speed could not be called free fall anymore. Used to counter gravity, the magic felt like a giant's hand, setting the two of them down gently.

"Senpai! We're flying in the sky!"

Hazumi's screaming instantly turned into words of joy.

The magic developed by the modern magic association, SAURU, could not control a skill as high-level as ''flight''.

But it could allow one to take on the sky a bit in this manner.

"If possible, I'd like to try ascending in addition to landing," Hal muttered while concentrating.

This was to correct their falling direction. A number of sky islands were floating in the air within their view.

However, there was no telling which island they would land on if they simply allowed themselves to fall. In such a situation, the two of them would drift left like a dandelion seed as soon as Hal thought "to the left a bit" to himself.

They enjoyed a very buoyant and unusual free fall for about five minutes.

Then they landed on a certain sky island.

Like the island at their starting point, this one had a "temple" too.

Its size and appearance resembled a "grand stadium" except built entirely with white marble.

There were ancient ruins of temples in the Mediterranean and Middle East&mdash;

This temple was reminiscent of that kind of architecture. Perhaps this was the architectural style of the ancient Kingdom of Israel.

"Anyway, let's search this place too."

"Yes!"

After the first island, Hal and Hazumi stepped into the temple on the second island.


Roughly one hour passed...

Walking out of the temple, Hal looked dissatisfied while Hazumi had a confused expression.

The brilliant sun hanging up high continued to radiate heat and light, illuminating the blue sky where hundreds of islands were drifting in the air. Even so&mdash;

The mood was gloomy.

"Let alone food, we can't even find water..."

"I am a bit hungry..."

"Given her poor fuel efficiency, Asya would surely be raising a fuss by now if she were here. But then again, she might be able to find food using her beast-like sense of smell..."

Inside the building that was styled like a solemn temple, there were no usable supplies at all.

If anything counted as something they found&mdash;

"Although the search wasn't a waste of time, we still need a way to handle hunger."

From his pocket, Hal took out the result of their search.

It was a piece of pure gold, but only as big as the tip of one's little finger.

Gold, silver, treasure and gemstones could be found all over the temple on this sky island.

Hal had chosen "something that looks very valuable, but the smaller the better" and pocketed it. To avoid it getting in the way during their escape, he did not take very much.

"B-But Senpai, is this really okay? Taking things without permission..."

"I think so. This is inside Solomon-senpai's ark and I'm legitimately inheriting his fortune as the successor."

He replied decisively to the apologetic Hazumi.

Prior to the battle against Hannibal in New York, Hal had carried out the Legacy Inheritance ritual, which resulted in Solomon's ark flying over from space.

In a certain sense, one could say that Hal had already obtained the original owner's consent.

Completely unfazed, he continued, "Of course, a proper archaeologist wouldn't do this, but I&mdash;We treasure hunters rely on these things to supplement our incomes, because our work necessitates many expenses."

"You're right... I guess."

Hazumi smiled immediately after a moment's hesitation.

"Perhaps that is how things work. Fufu."

She seemed to realize Hal's reason for saying "we."

Despite some weight on her conscience, the girl who loved adventure stories about the likes of gentleman thieves and grave robbers set in ancient ruins still chose to become an "accomplice."

"But right now, I'd rather find bread and wine than treasure&mdash;That's my honest opinion. If only investigative magic was working."

Hal specialized in magic including Sense Magical Power, Heat Sensing, Enemy Detection, etc.

Probably because the interior of the ark was within King Solomon's barrier, Hal could not gather any information even when using those spells.

That was why they had to charge into the temple without knowing anything.

In the end, they did not see any humans, animals, magical creatures or mechanical lifeforms. Even the most necessary food and water could not be found.

At this rate, they were going to faint from malnutrition and lack of calories.

"If you think about it, this place is the coffin and graveyard for the long dead Solomon-senpai. The serpent souls placed along with him are like non-corporeal ghosts. Even if gold, silver and treasure were put in as grave goods, I suppose they wouldn't prepare stuff like food, right...?"

Hal made an ominous deduction.

They were originally hoping to find the exit at least, but that was in vain too.

"The only method left is to catch Solomon-senpai and make him release us through either brute force or negotiation. But that requires locating Senpai first."

"Senpai, wouldn't it be better to fly by using Minadzuki as a mount?"

"That's definitely more efficient than floating down slowly."

Hal began to ponder Hazumi's suggestion.

However, there was a problem with that method too.

'Serpents' were extremely conspicuous due to their strong magical power and great size. Flying in the sky with virtually no obstructions, they would be discovered sooner or later. Even if they used stealth magic like during the infiltration of the Dragon Palace Court, effectiveness would still be unknown.

That being said, flying would definitely make movement and exploration much easier. Hal nodded in agreement.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Solomon-senpai has discovered that we've lifted the sleeping spell. In that case, let's pick the fastest method to get us out of here. Counting on you, Shirasaka."

"Yes!

Thus, Hazumi summoned her partner.

The emerald serpentine dragon leviathan, Minadzuki, featured a pair of wings glowing with golden radiance. Despite using up substantial stamina during the Hannibal battle, her physical condition and magical power had recovered during the time when Hazumi had been imprisoned by the dream magic.

Originally over twenty meters in length, Minadzuki was currently much smaller.

She had shrunk down to five meters or so at Hazumi's request.

Even so, she was still a size larger than the majority of large reptiles such as crocodiles.

Hal and Hazumi mounted the miniaturized Minadzuki together near the spot where the pair of wings sprouted.

As a side note, Hazumi was sitting in front as the "pilot" with Hal behind her.

"I'd like to get a grasp on the overall situation inside the ark. Can we fly up first?"

"Very well. Please do that, Minadzuki."

Responding to the witch's request, the serpentine dragon leviathan began to soar.

Speaking of which, Minadzuki apparently used unbelievable magic during the battle earlier&mdash;

Hal remembered. Back then, Hannibal was about to deliver a fatal blow to the battered Crimson Queen. However, Minadzuki's use of healing magic had helped the Crimson Queen to recover slightly and launch a counterattack with her blade...

Carrying Hal while he contemplated, the emerald serpentine dragon flew into the sky.

She twisted her body while moving forward, resembling swimming more than flying.

However, about ten minutes after she started flying, a creature came out from nowhere and blocked in front of their graceful journey in the air.

Simply stated, it was a ''gray winged dragon''.

Like Rushalka that Hal and Hazumi knew so well, it was a gigantic winged creature.

It lacked forelimbs despite resembling the bodies of dragonkind. Instead of arms, a pair of wings were connected to the shoulders. Furthermore, this wyvern featured even more striking characteristics.

Its head had a crest and the beak was also extraordinarily sharp.

As it result, its entire head looked like a triangle to Hal.

"A pteranodon...?"

The appearance of this flying creature was very similar to the most famous species of pterosaur.

Rather than a category of dragon, it was a ''winged dinosaur'' in paleobiology. However, one would have to assume there were giant pteranodons from the Cretaceous Period with wings spanning twenty meters in the first place.

This winged dragon flew directly towards them.

With its wings spread wide, it rode the wind to glide with agility.

The pair of eyes on the triangular head stared straight at Minadzuki as well as Hal and Hazumi who were riding on her back.

"Maybe we accidentally invaded that thing's territory?"

"W-What should we do, Senpai!?"

"Anyway, let's try driving it off first."

BANG!

Sitting on Minadzuki's back, Hal summoned his magic gun and casually fired a shot.

The bullet of red light traced out a curved trajectory in the air to shoot at the gigantic pteranodon. Hal had no intention of making a direct hit. He wanted the bullet to fly past the pteranodon's head and scare it.

However&mdash;

"Runes of Ruruk Soun!?"

Fifteen magic symbols appeared in front of the giant pteranodon.

This arrangement of runes formed a defensive wall to deflect the magic gun's warning shot. The fifteen elite runes signified "shield."

Hal realized.

"Something not a Raptor and not an elite but dragon-like and capable of using Ruruk Soun magic... Is it an ancient leviathan!?"

Genbu-Ou in Princess Yukikaze's service. The octopus dragon subspecies appearing at the Izu waters.

This winged dragon was one of their kind as well as the ancestor of modern leviathans like Minadzuki.

The serpent souls that had appeared during the Hannibal battle were the spirits of ancient leviathans that had lost their physical bodies. However, a leviathan had evidently survived to the present day.

In other words, she was one of King Solomon's minions&mdash;

Realizing the giant pteranodon's origin, Hal immediately commanded, "Hurry and deploy imperishable protection!"

Minadzuki instantly responded.

Pearly radiance covered the serpentine dragon leviathan's entire body as well as Hal and Hazumi riding on her back.

In the next instant, the giant pteranodon flew past Minadzuki with a "whoosh" directly above.

When passing by Minadzuki's head, the winged dragon's right hind limb&mdash;the four talons on the tip of its foot were like giant sharp swords&mdash;delivered a kick at Minadzuki.

This attack was blocked by the light of protection.

Hal felt a pain in his heart. Damage blocked by imperishable protection would accumulate bit by bit in Haruga Haruomi's heart.

"P-Please look at that!"

"As expected of Solomon-senpai's minion... It can use the same tricks as us, right?"

Hazumi pointed out hastily and Hal muttered quietly.

The ancient leviathan in pteranodon form, featuring a wingspan of twenty meters by visual estimates, was also enveloping her gigantic body in pearly light.

Indeed. King Solomon possessed the Rune of the Ring.

Conversely, Hal was the heir to the Bow and the Twin Katana. They were both holders of dragonslaying runes. However, Minadzuki had currently shrunk herself to a size of five meters or so.

There was a decisive disparity in body size.

Furthermore, she was carrying two people on her back.

Fighting a melee air battle under such circumstances could accidentally drop Hal and Hazumi.

"We have a crisis..."

"Senpai! That magic from just now, please use it again!"

Just as Hal gulped in nervousness because of the dire combat situation, Hazumi made a suggestion.

"Okay!"

Realizing her intent, Hal instantly took action.

Carrying his junior's delicate body in his arms, he jumped out. From Minadzuki's back, he leaped into the air, like jumping off the roof of a building. Hal instantly shouted, "Counting on you, Shirasaka!"

"Yes! Don't worry about us, Minadzuki!"

While falling, Hal cast Feather Fall magic on Hazumi and himself.

Meanwhile, Hazumi ordered her partner to cancel miniaturization. The serpentine dragon leviathan swiftly returned to her original size of twenty meters or so.

Hence&mdash;

Inside the ark of King Solomon's legacy, a battle began between leviathans, one ancient and one modern.

What a wondrous and unbelievable showdown.