Editing Leviathan:Volume 1 Chapter 1 (section)

===Part 5===

Orihime's beautiful face was filled with surprise.

In contrast, Hal hid his inner thoughts and simply shrugged with a mutter of "Who would have thought." Life was full of unpredictable futures.

On the other hand, Asya stared at Orihime with suspicion before turning her gaze towards Hal.

"Looks like it's someone you know, Haruomi. Did you arrange to meet up here by any chance? After helping me with my task, then roaming town with this person at night, keeping her up until morning... You wouldn't happen to have made such shameless plans, would you?"

For some reason, the childhood friend's tone of voice and eyes were filled with accusatory reprimand.

Despite the inexplicable sense of discomfort, Hal still answered quietly, "She's my classmate in high school. Running into each other here is pure coincidence... No, I guess it might be inevitable after all. Sigh, Juujouji-san, seeing as you're able to enter this place, are you also a witch?"

Hal's question prompted Orihime to recover her usual demeanor and said, "I shall tell you if you would agree to answer my question, Haruga-kun. To my understanding, this library can only be used by women such as witches or people with magic-related knowledge, isn't that correct? Why are you here with that person over there, Haruga-kun?"

Her stately tone of voice was making Hal force a wry smile. His attempt to obtain information from her without giving up anything in return was apparently not working.

"Excuse me for the late introductions. This is who we are."

After searching around in his pocket, Hal fished out a black card the size of a name card.

This card served as proof of his membership in SAURU, identical to what Asya had presented at the reception except for the fact that the card had become crumpled and creased inside his pocket.

"The surface of this card is totally black without any words... Does this kind of thing hold some kind of meaning in the world of magi? Sorry, I actually don't understand the rules in this domain."

However, Orihime simply tilted her head in puzzlement. She was apparently unable to see the SAURU emblem.

A witch would be able to invoke magical sight just by using the naked eye, but Orihime could not do it. In that case, the most likely reason was&mdash;Just as Hal figured out Orihime's background...

Hal, Asya and Orihime's cellphones all vibrated simultaneously. They had all received a text at the same time.

"Emergency evacuation announcement... Four lesser dragons have flown into Tokyo Bay's airspace&mdash;"

Asya looked over the text message she had received on her cellphone and read out its contents quietly.

"Haruomi and the lady over there, let's find shelter first and save the talking for later."

Hal and Orihime immediately responded with the same action. They both nodded.

Twenty years prior, dragonkind had "returned" to the planet Earth.

However, these super lifeforms did not choose to make Earth their place of residence.

Instead, they lived far on the other end of the sky&mdash;

Crossing the atmosphere, they had colonized satellite orbits and the moon's surface.

The dragons all possessed flight capability and survivability enabling them to break through the atmosphere by their own power. Humans were no longer surprised even after learning of this fact. But after learning of dragonkind's certain habits, people probably prayed to their worshiped gods or cursed their own fates.

Dragons frequently attacked, spurred by impromptu destructive impulses.

They would then descend upon Earth from either the moon's surface or satellite orbits, visiting human settlements.

Then they proceeded to destroy everything mercilessly. The winged attackers demolished cities, trampled towns and incinerated villages, thereby satiating their destructive urges.

Furthermore, these attacks were mostly conducted collectively...

Humanity had protested against these vicious "Dragon Strikes" with extreme anger.

These grievances were aired at the giant red dragon who had called himself the representative of dragonkind and customarily established an "embassy" at New York.

This resulted in that particular "king" appearing in front of CNN's cameras and generously declaring in an astounding tenor voice:

"It is truly regrettable that such problems have arisen. Consequently, as the representative of dragonkind, I promise you all, humans, we shall refrain absolutely from interfering if you were to exercise your right to self-defense against berserk members of our kind. I hereby swear upon my title as king."

Despite the clearly solemn tone of voice, the words coming from his mouth were absolutely irresponsible.

In short, his message was "I don't intend to take up the responsibility of overseeing my kind, so do your best to defend yourselves."

Hence, humans in the twenty-first century had no choice but to coexist with terrifying predators&mdash;the dragons that attacked from the air.

However, one saving grace could be considered a blessing mixed in the curse.

Lesser dragons, forming the majority of dragonkind, were relatively easy to defeat.

That being said, that assessment was based on expert perspectives and differed somewhat from common perceptions. In the process of evacuating from the library's fifth floor underground to the ground surface, Orihime murmured with worry, "Dragons... will reach New Town?"

"Judging by common logic, chances should be very low seeing as there are only four of them," answered Hal. 

As a side note, they were rapidly ascending the stairs instead of taking the elevator because getting trapped in the event of a power failure would be problematic.

Asya was leading the way with Orihime in the middle and Hal holding the rear.

"If the swarm of dragons number less than twenty, they can still be exterminated by deploying a squadron of fighter jets at a hundred million USD apiece or billion-dollar aircraft carriers and destroyers in a desperate struggle to deliver missiles or artillery shells extravagantly at hundreds of thousands of dollars per barrage. Compared to what you see in monster movies in the past, this method of fighting works much better although it's admittedly quite low in cost effectiveness."

"But Haruga-kun, you said 'by common logic' just now, didn't you?"

Orihime had caught the ambiguous part of Hal's statement.

She still seemed calm despite the current situation. Hal could not help but feel impressed by her excellent courage.

"If we don't go by common logic, how would that change your earlier prediction?"

"Hmm... The dragons were detected in Tokyo Bay's airspace, quite near the shore. Even if only a single dragon slips past and flies to Tokyo, it could easily turn into a serious emergency."

"Something will inevitably slip through..." whispered Asya as well.

Coming from her, an experienced combatant, these words felt even more real.

"In addition, although it's quite rare, if instead of lesser dragons&mdash;Raptors&mdash;we have the Equites that are capable of human speech... in other words, elite dragons, then the danger level will immediately rise to Code Red."

"Raptors? What are they?"

Hal's intentional use of technical jargon in his explanation left Orihime tilting her head in puzzlement.

As expected, she was a layperson&mdash;At least currently still. Hal nodded secretly to himself before supplementing his explanation.

"It's a shortened form of the scientific nomenclature used for dragonkind. You should be learning it in the near future... How's the situation on the surface now?"

The trio had finally finished climbing stairs, arriving at the ground floor.

They quickened their pace and ran, swiftly rushing to the emergency exit. The man at the reception had disappeared somewhere, most likely gone to seek refuge.

The trio instantly left the building then expressed their emotions in their respective ways.

"This has turned troublesome," said Hal, scratching his head.

"Raptor..." whispered Asya, her gaze turning sharp.

"No way. Why here out of all places?" Orihime was wholly stunned.

The three of them looked up into the night sky. The sun had set a long time ago.

Illuminated by the crescent moon's especially vivid radiance, the starlight from the spring constellations and the street lighting, a ferocious winged beast was currently circling in the air above&mdash;

Seven meters or so in length, its body displayed the color of steel.

Reptilian head, body and limbs. A snake for a tail. The bat-like wings were flapping strenuously. These details matched that of the creature occupying the depths of Hal's memories.

A dragon. Lesser dragons: Raptor Draconis.

Hal, Asya and Orihime's worries had come true.

Penetrating the defensive net formed from the Trans-Pacific Defense Organization (TPDO), the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) and the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), this dragon had finally arrived in Tokyo New Town.

Hal also knew why it was flying over the Mansion.

"If I had to imagine a reason, that thing flew here because it was attracted by the magical presence exuded by the Mansion..."

Dragons had a crazed obsession for rare metals, precious metals and things containing magic.

Growing wiser as they aged, Raptors would sometimes gather such objects the way certain birds liked to collect shiny articles.

"How annoying. What a keen nose for a mere Raptor..."

No sooner had Hal grumbled when the dragon immediately roared from the sky.

ROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAR!

A ferocious beast's roar. Sadism firing up its eyes, the dragon stared down at the Mansion on the ground.

"Hurry and run, everyone! Now that things have come to this, we can only flee and pray that our luck holds out!"

"I'll summon Rushalka if the situation gets dire, but for now, let's flee first!"

Asya concurred as soon as Orihime finished speaking.

Hal's childhood friend was capable of eliminating lesser dragons in an instant if she had the intention.

However, it looked like she wanted to save her final trump card. Or perhaps, Rushalka's condition was already so poor that Asya wanted to avoid summoning her even in this kind of predicament? Hal was curious but there was no time to explore the matter.

Hal sprinted as fast as he could while Asya and Orihime began to run at the same time as well. However&mdash;

"...Weird?"

Unbelievably, Hal felt perplexed.

His legs refused to obey him and he tripped himself, falling over forwards.

For better or worse, Haruga Haruomi had already experienced close encounters with dragons many times, confronted with the brink of life and death a number of times at that. But what was up with this?

Lying on the ground, Hal looked up into the sky.

The dragon was still circling in the sky above the Mansion. However, it was flapping its wings even harder than before while its face grew even more savage.

Wrinkling its nose severely, baring its sharp teeth, the dragon displayed its wild appearance.

Such vigor was the expression of a predator about to pounce upon its prey.

Nevertheless, Hal's body remained immobile, almost like an automobile that has exhausted its gasoline.

"W-What the heck...?"

Hal desperately squeezed out the last of his strength, trying to stand up, but did not succeed.

He wanted to sit up at least, but even that was beyond him. He could not even lift a finger. Resembling forcibly halted machinery, his body could not move at all. Was his body frozen stiff from fear?

On the other hand, his mind could ponder such useless matters with exceptional lucidity.

What was going on with himself? While feeling stunned, Hal was greatly surprised again.

Circling in the night sky, the dragon occupied his field of vision.

Red firelight suddenly lit up this scene.

Flames. Crimson flames. Blazing flames had turned the scenery before Hal's eyes into an astounding shade of red!

Then overhead, in the center of Hal's flame-filled field of view...

The strenuously flying dragon opened its jaws.

The light of blue-white flames could be seen in the depths of its throat.

The dragon was attempting to spew out Fire Breath that had cruelly incinerated many human cities. In all likelihood, the dragon probably found Hal to be an eyesore and wanted to burn him to oblivion!

"Haruga-kun! Hang in there, I am coming to save you now!"

"Haruomi!? Guh... I hereby dedicate my prayers to the ancient divine seal of purity!"

Girls' voices. During his attempt to run away, Hal had suddenly fallen over on his own and stopped.

Superficially, it looked as if the two girls had fled, leaving Hal behind.

But Orihime came running back. She intended to return to help Hal.

Hal was both shocked and angry. Orihime was truly courageous but had clearly made an error in judgment. She was going to get caught in the blast and die!

Meanwhile, Asya chanted the song of summoning and entered the stance for "calling" Rushalka.

She probably intended to deplete her partner's precious life for the sake of rescuing her foolish childhood friend.

&mdash;Damn it. I can't believe I'm embarrassing myself with such unsightliness.

Hal seethed with rage against his ineptitude. I must help Orihime survive at least, right? Just as Hal was thinking for solutions, in that very instant, the dragon in the air expelled blue-white flames forcefully.

Anger, despair and self-contempt surged from Hal's heart like magma.

But virtually at the same time, a radiant pentagram manifested in the air.

As though trying to protect Hal and the others, this pentagram appeared between the dragon's fire and the Mansion, blocking the super high-temperature blue-white flames.

The pentagram was the seal of sacred protectors, exorcising evil, slaying monsters and vanquishing demons.

While blocking the flames, the light forming the pentagram gradually changed in shape.

The star drawn by trails of light turned into a serpent depicted by trails of light.

The serpent swallowed its own tail, forming a "∞" symbol in the air.

The infinity symbol gradually materialized, turning from massless light into a corporeal creature. Then it transformed even further.

While Hal and the others watched, the light from the pentagram finished transforming into a "serpentine dragon."

This was a dragon whose form greatly differed from the dragonkind who stood as mankind's enemies.

Its body was long like a snake and had four extremely short limbs. There was a horn on its head that resembled a deer's antler in shape. Its entire body was covered with emerald scales. Overall, there was a kind of fish-like air to its appearance.

If anything, it was a "serpentine dragon" that was highly oriental in outward appearance.

"Minadzuki... You made it in time."

Trying to pick Hal up in her arms, Orihime whispered in a relieved tone of voice.

Minadzuki. This was apparently the name of this leviathan shaped like a serpentine dragon.

Leviathans were the artificial dragons born from occult and magic. Created for fighting dragonkind, these "serpents" possessed bodies similar to dragons and shared their lives with witches.

SAURU, of which Hal and Asya were members, was the organization overseeing the birth of leviathans and their covenants.

&mdash;Kyuahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Minadzuki cried out shrilly.

At this moment, the Raptor flapped its wings warily and suddenly flew up.

In contrast, Minadzuki's method of flying could be described as graceful. Twisting her body like that of a slender fish, she advanced through the air as though she were swimming.

Then she called out again. Kyuahhhhhhhhh!

Opening the palm of her right front limb, corresponding to a "right hand," she pushed it forward.

Her right front limb was almost twice as long as the left one and also had a massive palm. There were four fingers in total with thick talons on the fingertips that were as sharp as blades.

This right hand, much more deadly than the left hand, together with those four talons&mdash;

Hal made a realization. This was precisely Minadzuki's "horn counterpart" as a leviathan!

Kyuahhhhhhhhhhh!

Immediately, white lightning erupted from the right hand's talons. Struck by the electrical attack, the Raptor stopped in the air. Presumably, it must have suffered a substantial shock.

At this time, Minadzuki continued to fly gracefully to close the distance to the Raptor.

Then she raised her enormous right hand and swung down forcefully with the four talons. This attack produced four lacerations on the lesser dragon's chest, splattering mercury-colored blood everywhere.

The Raptor wailed, unable to bear the pain. ROOOOOOAAAAAR!

The four giant sharp claws were used in the last attack.

Horn counterparts were commonly used to attack during battle. As organs, they could be considered a leviathan's "horns."

Like Minadzuki's ''talons'', horn counterparts were especially striking in appearance for the most part.

After using its inborn weapon to suppress the Raptor, Minadzuki opened its mouth.

A blue-white heat beam was then released&mdash;!

This was a leviathan's second type of inborn weapon.

Wholly shrouded in the heat beam, the Raptor died instantly.

After the lesser dragon perished, its corpse crashed down from the air towards the ground.

Immediately, the remains underwent changes. The reptilian body gradually turned into ''stone''.

The petrification started from the extremities, proceeding along the limbs, then the body, the long neck and the head in sequence.

Instead of rigor mortis, dragons would turn into stone after death.

Furthermore, the remains of dragons also became extremely fragile, making the tough resilience from when they were alive seem fictional. In actual fact, more than half of this Raptor's body shattered from the impact of the fall.

Watching the death state unique to dragonkind, Hal thought to himself.

Amidst the misfortune of a dragon attack, how lucky it was for all of them to survive unharmed.

However, what exactly was going on with his body? His prior embarrassing display looked almost like a panic attack from seeing a dragon...

The way things looked, his new life in Tokyo seemed on course to be filled with trials and tribulations.

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