Editing Leviathan:Volume 6 Chapter 3 (section)

===Part 2===

The ark was a legacy of the late King Solomon of the ancient Kingdom of Israel.

Hal had no idea specifically how large was the "sky" inside it. In any case, Hal's party finally reached the airspace that was the center of this sky.

It was their ultimate destination.

Shamiram had told them that ''the ark's control room'' was there.

"It's shaped like a ship..." Hazumi murmured.

She and Hal were still riding the miniaturized Minadzuki's back.

The red dragon&mdash;the Crimson Queen&mdash;was leading the emerald serpentine dragon. Meanwhile, Hinokagutsuchi had de-materialized and returned to the magic gun.

Unlike previous times, what awaited them ahead was not a sky island.

It was a giant rectilinear ship hovering in the air.

The ship was roughly a hundred meters from prow to aft with a width of thirty meters or so.

"This size feels similar to Noah's Ark."

The Old Testament of the Bible had mentioned the legendary ship.

Hal brought up the very famous name. In order to escape the deadly flood, Noah and his family&mdash;and all animals&mdash;had taken refuge on that ship.

The Ark's dimensions were given as "300 cubits in length, 50 cubits in width and 30 cubits in height."

There were many interpretations on the correct length of the "cubit" mentioned in the Bible.

However, according to the current prevailing view, "300 cubits x 50 cubits x 30 cubits" would basically match the size of the box-shaped ship before Hal and Hazumi's eyes...

The deck did featured neither a mast nor a cabin. It was all flat.

It looked like a ship but actually was not.

Shamiram had called it "the magic device for controlling Solomon's ark."

"As expected, it's not gonna be unguarded huh!"

With the Crimson Queen in the lead, Hal's party would reach the "ship" in about 200m.

At that moment, dragons&mdash;bronze statues shaped like them&mdash;surrounded the "ship."

These dragonoid sculptures spread their wings and started flying like living beasts.

They bore a great resemblance to lesser dragons in size and appearance. The motions of their necks, bodies and limbs were also the same as Raptors. These were no ordinary statues.

They were gargoyles granted temporary life by magic.

Deciding that Hal's party must be intercepted, the twelve gargoyles flew towards them!

"Senpai, let's have Minadzuki grow big!"

"Don't worry, it won't be necessary."

Hal and Hazumi were both riding Minadzuki's back.

Sitting in front as the rider in control, Hazumi had looked back and spoken nervously. Hal remained calm.

Minadzuki had shrank herself to a body length of five meters or so to serve as their flying mount.

It was not necessary to undo miniaturization yet. Despite lacking Asya's special skill of using wild instincts to detect danger from the enemy, Hal still knew.

The magical power released by the twelve gargoyles were not that strong.

"Even someone like Solomon-senpai won't be able to magically craft subordinates capable of matching leviathans. The queen is enough to take care of them."

Hal's past formidable foe, Pavel Galad, had used alchemy to create powerful minions.

However, King Solomon had remained within "human" boundaries during his lifetime. Hence, his magical power could not reach that level of potency.

One could surmise that he went to develop the techniques for synthesizing leviathans for the purpose of bridging this gap.

In front of the confident Hal, the Crimson Queen was the first to unleash fiery breath. The dragon king-class body discharged flames that swirled through the sky with a blast of scorching air.

The twelve gargoyles were completely incinerated by the flames into ash.

The entire process took no more than a few seconds. Engulfed in flames, the gargoyles did not even have enough time to struggle against the fire, vaporizing with a sizzle.

"Now that he has become a ghost, he should be much weaker than during his prime when he was still alive..."

Even if Hal chose a direct showdown, it was more than likely that he would not be stuck in a difficult battle.

Deduction gradually turned to certainty. Hal silently thought to himself, "hence&mdash;I expect Senpai to devise a surprising tactic to counterattack..."

In any case, Hal's party eliminated the obstructions and approached the "ship."

Just like the main ark that had descended upon the Hudson River, this control device was also a wooden ship.

Like satellites, the Crimson Queen and Minadzuki, who had returned to normal size, circled the wooden ship on high alert. Next, Hal and Hazumi finally stepped onto the wooden deck.

"Then let's begin."

Hal summoned his magic gun near the center of the deck.

Rather than shooting, his purpose was searching.

There were many secrets of Ruruk Soun hidden inside the "magic wand" of a gun...

Rapidly searching through the grimoire passed down by dragonkind since antiquity, he found a "usable incantation."

"This is the one."

Hal touched the magic gun and drew out magical power from his heart.

In the next instant, thirteen runes of Ruruk Soun appeared on the wooden ship's deck.

They signified "seize control." The act of snatching away the right to control a magical artifact or familiar, bringing it into one's possession&mdash;

This was the secret behind this spell.

King Solomon had used it repeatedly to steal the Crimson Queen.

It was time to give him a taste of his own medicine. However&mdash;

"This magic is taking effect abnormally slowly."

Hal had expected this to steal Solomon's ark in one go.

He frowned. The magic gun told him that he had currently seized only 30% control. The remaining 70% was still held by King Solomon.

However, the figure was gradually rising to 31% then 32%.

Why was it happening like this? Hal searched in puzzlement.

He instantly found the runes for "spell resistance," whose purpose was to block specific incantations. If blocking was impossible, it would reduce effectiveness as much as possible.

This was a secret technique of Ruruk Soun with magic defense as the goal.

"Did Solomon-senpai cast this magic on the control device in advance?"

A watertight defense to prevent others from imitating himself.

As expected of the great sorcerer of ancient times. Despite similar power levels, the other party still held a slight upper hand in strategy. But thanks to that, Hal learned a great spell.

Touching the magic gun again, he looked at the Crimson Queen.

Four runes appeared over the red dragon's head&mdash;"spell resistance."

Even if King Solomon tried another surprise attack, this spell should be able to protect the queen. Under unexpected circumstances, Hal learned a technique in magical combat.

"On further thought, this kind of strategic contest might be a first."

"Senpai, you are so amazing. Honestly&mdash;although this may sound weird&mdash;you are truly like a sorcerer," said Hazumi from next to the muttering Hal.

Truly like a sorcerer. Realizing the meaning behind these words, Hal could not help but smile wryly.

Indeed, every instance of SAURU magic that Haruga Haruomi had used so far was very low-key, somewhat different from how ordinary people would picture "Magic!"

However, the wisdom of Ruruk Soun was definitely not a field of study he wished to delve deep into.

Hal subconsciously said, "I don't really want to accumulate knowledge or experience in this area, that's all."

"Eh? Why is that? I believe it's a wonderful thing to be able to use magic with increasing skill."

"That isn't the whole of it, which is why I find it a nuisance."

It would probably take at least twenty minutes to seize 100% control of the ark, right?

While thinking "I wonder if Solomon-senpai might show up during this time?", Hal responded absent-mindedly to Hazumi... Then came to a sudden realization.

He had apparently made a slip of the tongue just now.

His words would expose ''a certain secret'' that he had kept concealed so far.

Furthermore, the listener was Shirasaka Hazumi&mdash;the girl who faithfully paid attention to Hal's every word, even taking notes on the side, never neglecting to study them&mdash;Had he been too careless in saying that just now...?

Hal could only hope that Hazumi had missed it.

Apprehensively, Hal examined her face.

"Excuse me, what did you mean by 'that isn't the whole of it'...?"

His hopes were dashed. Hazumi gazed at Hal, looking extremely worried.

Should he muddle through with a random excuse?

However, Orihime knew a long time ago. Luna Francois had also grown suspicious of the risks from wielding the power of dragonbane.

And Asya too&mdash;

Perhaps Hal's childhood friend might&mdash;

Making full use of her wild instincts and the miraculous powers of their inseparable bond, perhaps she might have noticed something was off, but had intentionally refrained from bringing it up. No, but it was very likely that she really had not noticed yet.

In any case, Hal sighed.

His Tyrannos level had risen to the point of being able to use the magic of Ruruk Soun.

Maybe it was time for him to confess the "bad news" to his circle, not just the good news...

"Actually," Hal prayed that his tone sounded as relaxed as possible, "it seems like I'll turn into a dragon if my power continues to grow."