Editing Leviathan:Volume 1 Chapter 3 (section)

===Part 1===

"As an endless traveler hailing from dragonkind, I hereby offer my greetings to all of you."

The small bronze dragon landed lightly on a streetlight like a bird of prey.

This lighting equipment was never going to light up again. However, the moon was especially clear tonight and fully substituted for the streetlight's function.

The voice emitted by the dragon was both clear and intellectual.

"Using a pronunciation easier for your comprehension, my name is Raak Al Soth. Although my dealings with you shall conclude in an instant, I do hope that every one of you will remember my name firmly until the final moment."

"Rather than conclude, you are going to terminate..." muttered Hal quietly.

His heart felt like it was about to explode from terror.

Elite dragons were capable of cursing humans to death with nothing but a stare.

Nearby, Orihime and Asya who had interrupted the ritual were both staring up in wide-eyed shock at the dragon. However, Hal's childhood friend stiffened her expression further when she saw the dragon speak.

Since Asya was a witch who had survived countless battles, this reaction of hers most likely stemmed from personal experience regarding the threat posed by elite dragons.

"Next, race that is more closely related to apes than snakes..."

The dragon Soth was speaking in a calm voice that did not match his curled up body.

"May I mutter to myself for a little while? Until a few days ago, I was still in slumber. Does everyone here know that hibernation periods exist for my race? Well, using your calendar system, it means slumbering continuously for ''several years''."

Unbelievably, there was a sense of humor in the dragon's tone of voice.

Humor was a sign of intelligence.

However&mdash;Hal frowned. No matter how much mental cogency and powerful magic they possessed, the true nature of dragons was ultimately that of terrifying creatures.

"We get a little excited when coming out of hibernation. Trivial things can turn into stimulus provoking me to attack the ground surface and revel in the joy of violence and destruction."

At this rate, the dragon was undoubtedly going to start a fight&mdash;

Hal signaled with his eyes to Asya who nodded lightly in response.

"But right now, another bad habit of mine is bothering me. Once provoked, I cannot suppress my vice of avarice no matter what. Excuse me, everyone, but I wish to rob you of that treasure there. Would you allow me to do so?"

Treasure. The dragon was probably referring to the white copper mirror Hal's group had brought.

Compared to Raptors, elite dragons experienced a much stronger desire to gather precious metals, rare metals and objects carrying magical power.

Previously, Hal had called Asya "a beast in human clothing"&mdash;

However, elites were "demonic beasts wearing guises of intellect." The real thing instead of a metaphor.

While Hal and his group were so shocked that they gasped, the dragon Soth spread his wings and hovered into the air.

Then he suddenly started to expand. Within the blink of an eye, the physique that was almost the size of Stellar's sea eagle extended itself to a giant body ten-odd meters in length.

Enlargement&mdash;No, this was the dispelling of Miniaturization magic.

The elite's gigantic body spread its pair of wings wide, blocking moonlight from reaching the ground.

"Hold on! There is no need for you to rob us. If you want this thing, just take it!" declared Orihime suddenly without warning while she stared sternly at the dragon.

"Although I've heard that it's very expensive... In the end, it's just an object."

Under Hal's surprised gaze, this was the answer Orihime gave. There was nothing worth agonizing over if the trio's lives could be saved in exchange for a single mirror. That was probably what went through Orihime's mind. Her beautiful face was filled with acuity.

"And aren't you an expert in finding objects like this one, Haruga-kun? I just need to hire you to find another one, so losing the mirror isn't regrettable at all."

At the end, her lips twisted stiffly in an effort to force a smile.

Even while resisting the pressure brought about by a giant elite dragon, she was still forcing herself to smile and trying not to let Hal and Asya worry too much.

Damn it. For some reason, Hal really wanted to click his tongue.

Why was this girl making a full display of her dazzling aspects so frequently?

And why must someone like her be sent to the front lines to fight dragons that were impossible to measure with common sense?

After all, this deal proposed to the dragon would ultimately&mdash;

"Do not get the wrong idea, girl. I said 'I wish to rob' and have no intention of profiting without labor."

As expected. Hal gnashed his teeth.

This was his first time encountering an elite dragon up close, but as an "expert," he was already familiar with the belligerent and sadistic nature of their race.

As though corroborating his knowledge, the elite dragon Raak Al Soth laughed.

"I wish to trample you viciously together with that shadow of an ''imitation'' you have created, thereby satiating my avarice! For us dragons, there is no greater joy than conflict, extermination and devastation! Hahahahaha!"

Soth laughed while flapping his wings.

Instantly, a raging gale swept forth, blowing the trio over backwards.

Then there was the shadow behind Hal's group.

The leviathan about to be born&mdash;the shadow of a quadrupedal beast&mdash;was blown and scattered by the wind, vanishing like a mirage!

"M-My serpent!?"

"Dispel... He used a countermagic spell! Watch out, Juujouji&mdash;Urgh!?"

No sooner had he issued a warning, Hal knelt down. That was because his legs suddenly lost strength.

In the corner of his field of vision, Hal could catch a faint glimpse of red ''flames''. The hallucination seemed to be acting up again.

Was he still unable to overcome it?

"Haruga-kun!"

Like last time, Orihime rushed over to him. That girl never minded her own business nor feared for her own life.

Why did she choose the path of shared destruction instead of abandoning deadweight? Just like last time, Hal burned with fury at his own ineptitude.

However, the only difference in situation this time was Asya's presence.

"I pray to the ancient divine seal of purity!"

She was chanting a song of summoning, a hymn for calling forth her partner, Blue Rushalka.

"Send the transient blue dragon to the ground! Let the star of purification manifest over our heads!"

Responding to her call, a shining pentagram materialized in front of Raak Al Soth who was hovering leisurely in midair with wings spread out.

"Fufufufu, of course I noticed. Girl sacrificed to the accursed race deserving of death, the smell of an ''imitation'' is hanging over you&mdash;"

The belligerent giant bronze creature's voice was filled with joy.

"You lot are precisely the prey that I seek, the enemies who truly ought to be crushed! Very well, hurry and summon it!"

"I'll do that even without being told by you! Fight alongside me once more, Rushalka!"

Responding to Asya's call, the light constituting the pentagram transformed into a "∞" shape.

Immediately, the "∞" then turned into a blue magical beast.

A dragon without front limbs. Sprouting from the shoulders was a large pair of long wings. Spreading its wings ferociously and leaping into the night sky of Old Tokyo was precisely a "wyvern."

The surface of her body was light blue with a blue mane on her head.

Furthermore, a long horn protruded from her forehead.

A blue wyvern with a single horn like a unicorn&mdash;

Asya's partner, the "serpent" Rushalka, had materialized.

Rushalka's build was slightly smaller than Raak Al Soth's. Elites and "serpents" were almost perfectly matched in physical size and abilities.

Kyuahhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Rushalka roared loudly and flew, hurtling straight towards Soth ahead.

Her massive body was very agile. There was even a sense of lightness to her movements. Despite clearly being a gigantic monster, Rushalka was moving around with great fluidity of motion and speed.

Closing in within an instant, Rushalka stabbed her forehead's lone horn at Soth's body.

This horn would be considered her "horn counterpart."

But speaking of agility, the elite dragon was in no way inferior at all. Relying on bestial reflexes, Raak Al Soth instantly reacted.

That being said, he was not taking any evasive measures&mdash;

"O secret runes of Ruruk Soun, turn into my mysterious shield!"

Accompanying the incantation, defensive magical power was spread out.

Soth's gigantic bronze-colored body was surrounded by cuneiform script that was hard to tell if it consisted of characters or patterns&mdash;They also slightly resembled symbols from an alphabet. These symbols numbered almost twenty.

Kyuahhhhhhhhhhh!

Moving her long and sharp horn, Rushalka stabbed.

However, the alphabet surrounding Soth blocked her direct flying charge.

Despite reaching merely meters from stabbing the target, the ''horn'' was unable to advance!

"That is rather strong for an ''imitation''. Looks like I have to exert myself to handle this opponent using my sluggish body newly risen from slumber!"

Soth roared loudly. Despite complaining about exertion, he seemed quite happy.

Then he slowly and calmly spread his wings, gradually rising in altitude.

Whether dragons or leviathans, neither lowered themselves to flying via the inelegance of hastily flapping their wings. Spreading their wings wide as though they were the sovereigns of the sky, they soared through the air by expending magic. Such was the style of these creatures.

After reaching sufficient height, Raak Al Soth opened his mouth and breathed blue flames diagonally downwards!

This was the Fire Breath that had incinerated many of humanity's cities.

The mighty flames were descending on Rushalka from overhead. Using her own nimble agility, the blue wyvern should be able to evade the attack through flowing motions like a meandering river, but&mdash;

"Rushalka!"

Asya shouted to relay her orders to her "partner."

Magi and "serpents" were connected by telepathy. Just by shouting loudly or thinking silently with concentration, the covenantees were able to transmit their will.

At this moment, Asya was probably thinking "Protect us!"

As a result, Rushalka held her position in the air, blocking Soth's fiery explosion directly.

Because she could not dodge.

Otherwise, the flames would end up reaching the ground, incinerating the trio of Hal, Orihime and Asya until nothing was left.

Kyuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!

The one-horned "serpent" roared in pain but the surface of her blue body was unharmed.

Soth's flames were not powerful enough to defeat her&mdash;At least, not yet.

"Fufu, the flames inside me are still not hot enough, apparently. But this problem shall be solved soon enough. ''Imitation'', give me a good fight until then!"

Soth's fully confident voice was heard from above.

Indeed. The power of the attack just now was clearly weak compared to the standards of flames discharged by elite dragons. Having just come out of hibernation, Soth probably needed warm-up exercise like a human athlete.

Once his body&mdash;the flames inside him&mdash;were sufficiently fired up, his attacks ought to become even stronger.

Furthermore, elites also had the option of using magic to raise the power of their flames.

Raak Al Soth still had yet to bring out his true power.

On the other hand, Asya and Rushalka...

"Don't worry... Your body should still hold for now. I will sustain you, so please endure a little longer, Rushalka..."

The use of "still" on both sides was diametrically opposite.

Despite being in the middle of an intense battle, Asya was calling to Rushalka in a gentle voice.

Upon closer examination, one could see what appeared to be small dust-like particles crumbling and falling away from Rushalka's massive body. The blue wyvern's physical body was gradually falling apart.

After persistently fighting battles all over Europe, the "serpent" had suffered incurable injuries.

Asya's partner, Blue Rushalka.

Hal last saw her a year ago, but Rushalka had evidently passed the peak power of her prime.

Flying in the air above Old Tokyo were Raak Al Soth and Rushalka.

Soth was flying even higher.

This relative positioning also happened to reflect their difference in combat strength.

Having trouble even standing steadily, Hal found his field of vision dominated by ''those flames''.

Whether the university campus they had been using as the altar or the moonlit sky where the dragon and the snake were fighting, everything was shrouded in flames. In addition, his heart was beating rapidly and he could not muster any strength in his back and legs.

Perhaps this was the end for him.

Hal sighed then said to Orihime beside him, "...Juujouji, things look bad right now, so you'd better hurry and escape. That dragon is currently interested in Rushalka only, so you might be able to escape if it's just on your own."