Editing Leviathan:Volume 7 Chapter 3 (section)

===Part 3===

Tokyo was meant to be protected by four witches.

However, they had all fallen victim to Pavel Galad's mystic technique, disappearing from Tokyo Bay together with their four partners, the "serpents."

At the same time, the witches also gradually lost consciousness&mdash;This went on for a few minutes.

When they woke up, they first jumped in surprise. The situation was completely unexpected.

"Weren't we at Tokyo Bay? When did we teleport to these whatever sand dunes? Sand dunes of a certain prefecture where major cafe chains and convenience stores are pitifully lacking."

Luna Francois was grumbling with displeasure.

The four girls were currently on sandy ground.

White sand dominated the view as far as the eye could see, looking as though it stretched all the way to the other side of the horizon. It was vast enough that one could call it a desert. Instead of Tokyo Bay, this was a sea of sand.

"That being said, it is doubtful whether this is within the borders of Japan itself," Luna remarked sardonically.

The sky was gray.

However, this was not due to overcast weather, because there was not a single cloud in the sky. As though painted by watercolors, the sky itself was wholly gray without even a sun.

The air temperature was around twenty-eight degrees Celsius. Definitely not cool but not unbearably hot either.

It was impossible for a desert to have no wind, yet the air was completely still here. This was an anomalous world lacking in this thing and that.

Luna Francois shrugged and said to her fellow master-class witch, "Asya, can you send Rushalka out to scout?"

"Understood. But instinct tells me... Don't get your hopes up about finding useful information about this extremely bizarre space."

"I agree. I'm willing to bet a hundred US dollars that this ins't Earth."

"Because this place is definitely too weird."

While the two witches were discussing this anomalous world, next to them, Juujouji Orihime said to her cousin Hazumi, "Hazumi, have you noticed anything?"

"Well, Nee-sama, Minadzuki says that this place is very similar to Solomon-san's barrier that trapped Senpai and me during the summer vacation. The feeling seems to be the same..." The introverted Hazumi reported timidly.

Asya and Luna Francois nodded and remarked poignantly with a look of comprehension.

"Well, there you have it."

"We've been rendered captives in a dragon's castle?"

"Separating us from Haruomi so as to defeat each in isolation. Although it doesn't match the battle maniac style of the dragons, it's definitely a commonly used and wise tactic."

King Solomon had created an astoundingly vast barrier inside his ark and invited Haruga Haruomi as his guest. Pavel Galad was a Tyrannos like King Solomon, but his power level was thoroughly superior.

Even if he was using the same kind of barrier as King Solomon did, it would not be strange at all.

Ten-odd minutes passed.

"Anyway, I'll have Rushalka make one round."

The blue wyvern flew over Asya and the witches' heads.

Rushalka's flying speed was especially fast among "serpents," possibly unparalleled. Precisely because of that, she had been chosen for reconnaissance.

"A few dozen kilometers to the northwest, there's something resembling a set of ruins. Fairly large. No creatures such as dragons."

"Even if there aren't any right now, any number of them could be summoned if magic is used," Luna Francois replied.

Asya concurred, "I agree. Also, this is a completely barren land with nothing apart from that set of ruins, just as we suspected."

"I suppose the only way to break out of our predicament is to pay this place a visit? Let's take potential trouble into consideration."

"There is also the option of staying here, waiting for a rescue that may or may not arrive, but without food and water, who knows how long we can hold out for."

"With neither a roof nor walls, plus sand everywhere, personally, I'd rather not do that."

The two master-class witches reached a consensus and decided to take a gamble.

The two Japanese witches respected their seniors' opinion, hence it was decided immediately. The four girls summoned the rest of their leviathans.

A body length of ten-odd meters was the default size for "serpents."

They shrank their leviathans down to around one third of their original size. This was a command available to experienced witches. Riding their miniaturized partners, the girls began to move.

The quadrupedal Akuro-Ou and Glinda ran over the sand.

In contrast, Rushalka and Minadzuki flew at low altitude to avoid detection.

It was a journey across a plain of sand. With no particular obstacles, all they needed to do was move in a straight line. Boring and uneventful.

After roughly twenty minutes, the witches finally reached their destination.

"According to what Rushalka saw from the air, these ruins cover quite a wide area. You can put a dozen or so Tokyo Domes in it."

Asya was able to convert the scenery seen by her partner into visual information.

This set of ruins inside Pavel Galad's barrier&mdash;

Simply stated, it resembled an "open-pit mine."

With a bowl-shaped depression gouged out of the ground, underground veins of red-brown minerals were exposed. This open pit for mining probably had a diameter reaching two kilometers.

"I-It's huge, Nee-sama!"

"My goodness! How can it be so big!?"

The four witches were standing at the edge of the "bowl-shaped open-pit mine."

The sight was so grand that it would probably be listed as a world heritage site if it existed on Earth. Due to overwhelming emotion, Hazumi and Orihime had their eyes widened, looking down upon these ruins that resembled an open-pit mine.

By visual estimates, the depth exceeded five hundred meters.

Furthermore, there was a building on the bowl's sloping surface.

The building resembled a temple given the style of its roof and tower. The building material seemed to be a kind of stone with a texture similar to obsidian. Using structures from the human world as a comparison, the architectural style most resembled Greek.

In the sky over this open-pit mine, there was a transparent crystal ball hovering midair.

With nothing supporting it underneath or suspended from above, it was floating motionlessly in the air. With a diameter of fourteen or fifteen meters, it was roughly the size of a leviathan.

"That crystal ball looks very suspicious."

"...Oh. Could you all listen to me, everybody?" Orihime suddenly spoke stiffly after Asya gave her comment. "That hole&mdash;Something smells ominous about it. Akuro-Ou suddenly tensed up. It feels like this could be the enemy's scent."

" " "......" " "

Akuro-Ou was the nine-tailed fox-wolf leviathan.

A member of the canid family in form, Orihime's partner had the keenest sense of smell among the four leviathans here.

Carrying Orihime, she started to growl softly.

Next&mdash;Dragons surged out of the red-brown slopes of the bowl-shaped open-pit mine. Not from a single location but emerging from every corner like bamboo shoots in spring after rain.

A large number of lesser dragons, Raptors, showed up.

Before the girls' eyes, five of them popped out, then seven, followed by another nine&mdash;It was endless.

The newborn Raptors did not spring into action right away. Instead, they were spacing out without moving from their spot.

However, if they were to attack at the same time... The witches could not help but gasp at the thought of that.

"Prepare for battle, everyone!"

Asya swiftly jumped down from her partner's back.

In the next instant, Rushalka soared through the sky, gradually increasing in size. Her miniaturized body returned to its full size of ten-odd meters.

The other three girls followed suit, letting the three leviathans expand in size.

The quadrupedal Glinda and Akuro-Ou remained on the ground, standing by near the outskirts of the open-pit mine. Minadzuki stayed motionless in the air overhead, watching over the witches.

"But there are too may of them."

As though trying to encourage herself and her companions, Orihime said, "Raptors can't use runes, so we will manage somehow!"

"Wait, Orihime-san, that's...!"

In a rare moment, Luna Francois showed a frozen expression.

She was staring at the bottom of the pit. A blue spark shot out from there, striking the hovering crystal ball in the air&mdash;causing the suspicious sphere to explode.

The fragments scattered, leaving a magical symbol in the air.

Platinum light traced out a rune consisting of three inequality signs, "<" in a series.

"It's the Rune of the Sword!?"

The same instant as Asya exclaimed in shock&mdash;

The endless stream of Raptors emerging from the open-pit mine finally increased to around five hundred. Like a brand, the Rune of the Sword appeared on the forehead of each Raptor.

Originally very weak, these lesser dragons began to transform.

Their mouths and snouts merged, turning into what resembled swordfish bills. Sharp at the tip and sword-like in shape.

Dragonslaying swords were equipped on the snouts of the Raptors!

Next, the army of five hundred Raptors flapped their wings at last, intending to fly into the sky to attack their enemies.

One after another, the dragons took flight, aiming to exit the open-pit mine.

The enemy army was like a flock of feeble butterflies, flying unsteadily, but even so, they still made their way to the vast sky outside the pit, gradually raising their altitude. Although their speed had yet to go up, one could tell that they were going to awaken completely sooner or later.

And they were even fitted with dragonslaying swords too.

Asya said to her comrades, "Do we have a way of using the Rune of the Bow?"

"Doesn't seem to work, probably because Harry isn't here. As humans, we're not capable of magic that can pass through this kind of barrier and communicate with him&mdash;"

When witches obtained the power of dragonbane, the corresponding rune would appear on the back of their left hand.

Currently, no emblem could be seen. Whether the Bow, the Twin Katana, or the Ring, no dragonslaying rune appeared.

It was the same for Orihime and Hazumi in addition to Asya and Luna Francois.

"W-We clearly can't use the runes, but why can those dragons use the Rune of the Sword&mdash;!?"

"This is the enemy's home field, after all. Surely it must be related to the crystal and the spark we just saw... We'll have to look into it later."

Ignoring the panicking Hazumi, Luna shouted, "Glinda, pin them to the ground! Gravity Pressure!"

The three-headed lion leviathan invoked pseudo-divinity.

In the next instant, the more than five hundred Raptors that were flying unsteadily, almost about to fly beyond the open-pit mine, fell down swiftly, crashing hard into the pit's sloping surface.

Glinda had used her Gravity attribute to pull them down by force.

Drawing the Raptors downward from the sky, she smashed them into the ground.

The reason was quite simple, but targeting every single one of these five hundred Raptors and achieving this feat effortlessly was only possible due to the skills of the master-class witch Luna Francois.

"Luna-san, you're so amazing!"

"B-But those dragons still look energetic...!"

Orihime praised in admiration but Hazumi voiced her worries.

Immobilized inside the pit by gravity, the five hundred Raptors were struggling, flapping their wings and thrashing their limbs, but could not even lift their bodies up from the ground. However, it was true that their movements were strong and forceful with plenty of vitality.

The force of the fall evidently did not inflict much damage to the overly resilient Raptors.

This was most likely the blessing of the Rune of the Sword. Creatures granted the power of dragonbane would become extremely durable. Haruga Haruomi had experienced it firsthand himself, but&mdash;

"Although I don't know how long I can keep them restrained without Harry's help, I will pin them down for as long as possible. I leave the rest to you!"

Luna Francois called out loudly.

In the process of using pseudo-divinity, Glinda the three-headed lion had her limbs extended, stomping the ground at ful force, roaring fiercely.

ROOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!

Glinda's entire body was releasing magical power.

This was to reinforce the potency of the pseudo-divinity imprisoning the Raptors inside the pit. Among the five hundred Raptors, ten-odd of them struggled desperately, broke free, and were about to take flight again.

However, the gravity crushing the dragons to the ground increased again.

Even the Raptors about to fly crashed with a thud, their chins and upper torsoes smashed against the sand, unable to move.

Orihime was the first to take action next.

"In that case... Akuro-Ou!"

The nine-tailed fox-wolf leviathan&mdash;Akuro-Ou.

Orihime's partner used the pseudo-divinity of Fire, discharging vortexes of flame from the tips of her nine tails, immolating the Raptors that were trapped inside the pit!

This attack succeeded in burning around fifty of them to ash.

The strong Raptors were reaching the limit of their stamina too.

"Minadzuki will help out too!"

The emerald serpentine dragon leviathan&mdash;Minadzuki&mdash;opened her mouth, firing a white heat beam at the Raptors.

Seven Raptors perished at the same time. Having her partner refrain from using pseudo-divinity was evidence of Shiasaka Hazumi's growth as a witch.

Among them, Minadzuki was the only one capable of relying on "goddess power" to use healing magic.

Hazumi had learned how to decide the timing of pseudo-divinity, so as to be ready when her comrades were injured. In past battles, before she gained mastery in the realm of magic, she had never thought this far ahead.

"Rushalka, begin the attack. One hit one kill."

Asya issued orders calmly and mercilessly.

Currently, Glinda's pseudo-divinity was keeping every Raptor pinned to the ground.

To make the best of this opportunity, Rushalka descended swiftly from the air then ascended rapidly, repeating this over a dozen times. Using her hind legs to grab the heads of the immobilized Raptors, she twisted and broke their necks, causing fatal injuries.

However, the Raptors continued to struggle, trying to break free of their restraints.

Luna Francois and Glinda's magical power and concentration were not limitless. The shackles of gravity began to weaken. The number of Raptors dragging these shackles while taking flight unsteadily increased one by one.

The situation was getting more dangerous, but Asya remained calm and composed.

She issued orders one after another. "Rushalka, enter dogfighting range. Blitz them."

Seeing Raptors flying unsteadily, Rushalka approached swiftly.

Using her body, she knocked them away, crushing the startled enemies' heads with her jaws, instantly rendering her enemies dead or incapacitated.

However, the restraints of gravity control were gradually weakening while Rushalka continued to fight.

More and more Raptors recovered their agility, looking so menacing that their prior sluggishness seemed like a lie. Charging at Rushalka, they tried to stab her with their sword-like bills.

Unfortunately for them, the pair of Shootdown Aces remained calm and merciless.

"Rushalka, avoid head-on confrontations and prioritize attacking from behind."

"Rushalka, I allow you to use your breath, but only in emergencies."

"Rushalka, prepare to attack with your horn."

Every time the situation changed, Asya instantly issued commands.

Moving spectacularly, Rushalka circled behind the backs of Raptors, biting her prey's necks instead of attacking with her breath, then stabbed them using the horn on her forehead. Repeating this almost like a flow process, she kept slaughtering the Raptors.

Asya the seasoned warrior and her partner Rushalka.

In fact, the blue wyvern did not wait to listen until the final word in Asya's orders. The moment the silver-haired witch called her name, Rushalka would perform the action required by her partner.

Linked in mind and soul. As soon as Asya thought, her intent would reach her partner.

For the Shootdown Ace partnership renowned as Europe's strongest, words were merely an auxiliary means of communications.

Rushalka accurately put into action what the experienced Asya pictured in her mind.

Indeed. One could not rule out the possibility of Pavel Galad sending reinforcements.

The use of pseudo-divinity, with its limited usage count, had to be minimized, but complete abstinence would not be wise either.

"Asya, I'm planning to cast gravity on them again. Can I trouble you to guard Glinda while I am charging up?"

"Got it!"

Luna made her request just before the restraining gravity ran out.

Most of the Raptors had regained their freedom and were flying out of the pit again to attack the four "serpents."

It was currently the most chaotic moment of the battle.

The enemies were down to three hundred or so. A few dozen of them were wandering on the ground near the brave Glinda, about to attack her with the swords on their snouts...

Rushalka flew right into the middle of those Raptors.

With wings outspread, she stopped in the air. Asya swiftly issued orders.

"Rushalka, while flying over to take the position directly above Glinda, use pseudo-divinity and exterminate them. Frost Breath!"

Frost Breath was a killer move combining pseudo-divinity of Water with a breath attack.

Rushalka discharged white breath mixed with shards of ice and snow.

Not just in front but behind and to the side as well, the whole area surrounding the blue wyvern was turned into an enchanted territory.

When Raptors inhaled the cold air, their hearts&mdash;or rather, their heartmetals&mdash;stopped.

They were frozen to death. In the next instant, the Raptors' physical bodies immediately crumbled into dust like ice sculptures that had been smashed by a hammer...

In the end, out of the thirty-eight Raptors, thirty-six were killed instantly.

Only two Raptors that happened to be on the edge of the freezing death territory survived due to good luck without suffering much apparent damage.

They flapped their wings to dissipate the cold air and flew into the sky again to attack.

At that moment, Asya's expression changed in alarm.

"...Eh?"

Instinct had told her that her attack would crush all targets in front of her without exception.

However, her sense of judgment had been off. She failed to take care of two Raptors.

One surviving Raptor used a headbutt on Rushalka, sinking the sword on its snout deeply into her left shoulder, digging in forcefully.

Then it shook its head up and down hard.

Rushalka's wing&mdash;the wing sprouting from the left shoulder in place of an arm&mdash;was amputated at its root.

Next moment, Asya was struck by an illusory feeling... She felt like her own left arm had been chopped off.

"Ah."

Even though it was an illusion, she still felt a sharp pain from the base of her left shoulder.

The Raptor was Pavel Galad's minion and was empowered by the Rune of the Sword. When damage was inflicted to a leviathan by a dragonslaying rune, the pain would transmit to the partner too.

Losing one wing while in the sky, Rushalka was severely injured.

Kyuahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

"Owwwwwww!"

Rushalka screamed in pain and began to fall.

Asya fell upon her knees in pain, pressing her head against the ground. Her left shoulder had lost all feeling, evidently from excessive pain. Her consciousness was fading too.

As for the other surviving Raptor, it flew over Glinda, stabbing the lion leviathan deeply in the back using its snout sword the moment it was directly overhead.

"Kyahhhhh!"

This time it was Luna Francois' turn to scream. She fainted.

Like Asya, she experienced her partner's pain. Glinda also seemed to be grievously injured, collapsing on the side.

"L-Luna-san!?"

"Are you okay, Asya-san!? Hang in there!" Hazumi cried out.

Orihime was speechless too.

However, the elder Japanese witch immediately called Akuro-Ou to her side.

This was to protect the heavily injured Rushalka and Glinda, who were right beside them, and Minadzuki, who was relatively close to the four witches.

The remaining Raptors immediately converged upon them.

The circled slowly, biding their time to launch a heavy assault. Akuro-Ou and Minadzuki growled to keep them at bay.

"Looks like we are in for a last stand."

Luna Francois was unconscious on the ground. Asya was groaning, holding her left shoulder.

Orihime glanced at the two senior witches and remarked softly. Although Hazumi walked over to Orihime's side with a determined look, there was no hiding the fear and worry on her face.

"Haruga-kun, it looks like we are facing a critical moment..."

Calling to the young man who was not by her side, she clenched her left hand.

The Rune of the Bow. The Rune of the Twin Katana. Normally speaking, the dragonslaying symbols would appear here on her hand. This time, the girls were deprived of aid from the power of dragonbane&mdash;