Editing Leviathan:Volume 1 Chapter 3 (section)

===Part 4===

"On further thought, out of all the people I know, I guess you're the only one who brings forth miracles. I wouldn't be too surprised even if you suddenly appeared..."

The helper who had "taken him out" of the vehicle consumed by flames...

...was most likely this spirit who took the form of a kimono-clad girl, Hal deduced while he spoke. At the same time, he secretly guessed that she must have used something akin to Teleportation magic.

"If you're responsible for why I was acting weird the last two times, maybe I don't need to thank you. So what exactly is the truth?"

"Well, I do admit that I employed some petty tricks to test you."

Like last time, the girl was speaking in an arrogant tone of voice.

The station did not even have any electrical lighting but moonlight illuminated the area near the entrance where the two of them were at. Thanks to that, Hal was able to observe carefully.

Very child-like indeed. However, there was a kind of bewitching quality to that adorable face.

"The first time we met, I toyed slightly with your eyes and your mind. Fufu, not a bad trick, was it not?"

"What are you testing by putting me in a state of panic in front of a dragon..."

Although she was confessing with a proud smile, her true nature was that of a mysterious spirit.

Too exasperated to get angry, Hal spoke a little helplessly, "If it's just something like haunting or a curse, I'd actually be able to accept it readily. After all, I've had experience with that before."

"Had I the intention to haunt you, I would have killed you in one breath. After all, I do still possess that level of power. What I wish to see is your 'limit.' Confronted with a life or death situation against a monster impossible to defeat, do you still have the capacity to struggle in search of survival until the very moment of death..."

Saying that lightly, the girl pointed to Hal's feet.

"Were this bit of minimum capacity absent in you, then even having ''that thing'' would be futile."

Hal looked down at his feet.

Located there were the possessions he had dumped out of his pouch just now.

The girl was pointing at the small black stone. The mysterious stone hidden in his father's pocket watch&mdash;

"You mean this?"

"Yes, the flint."

That odd-sounding term was apparently referring to this small black stone.

"Fufu, the fragment of the flint star pouring flames into the conqueror's secret runes... All sapient dragons would surely be outraged were they to find out it had fallen into the hands of a human, jealous to the point of insanity. Truly ludicrous."

Watching the girl's smile, Hal revisited his memories.

The conqueror's secret runes, fragment of the star&mdash;She had mentioned these before.

"By the way, brat, that dragon seems serious in wanting to hunt you down."

The girl turned her gaze outside the station.

Hal peered again at the sky from a dark spot at the Tokyo Station's entrance. Folding his wings, Soth was landing on the roof of a high-rise building.

But he was clearly not just taking a simple break.

There were spheres of white light hovering over his head.

Not just one or two but hundreds at least. Countless spheres of light were decorating the night sky like a radiant galaxy of stars.

"I command all 'eyes' to report back after seeking my prey far and wide!"

In response to Soth's incantation, the white lights scattered in all directions.

They even descended slowly to the ground like snowflakes.

"Those are all spies for locating you. To think he would go so far as to search every corner for a mere human, he must be mad."

Facing the girl who was commenting in amusement, Hal suddenly noticed something.

Despite having a dragon so near, right before his eyes, he was not having any issues at all. He did not see any fiery hallucinations. Neither did his body become paralyzed. Evidently, the girl's "petty tricks" had already been dispelled.

But the fact that he was in a hopeless situation still remained the same.

Sighing deeply, Hal turned to face the girl again.

"What is your aim in testing me on purpose? But then again, even though I have a ton of complaints about this matter, it is also thanks to you that I didn't get burned to death, so I guess I still have to thank you&mdash;"

"You need not express your gratitude. I only did it out of ulterior motives."

Staring at Hal, the girl interrupted Hal's thanks.

Unlike her child-like appearance, the girl's eyes could be described as mysterious and seductive.

Those eyes were golden and felt reptilian. Then Hal suddenly realized.

The girl's eyes greatly resembled those of dragons&mdash;

"Realized finally? Brat. You have now met the devil indeed."

"D-Devil?"

"Yes, the devil who will tempt you into the path of carnage. The devil who deliberately rescued you from an instantaneous death of incineration, so as to watch you perish in a more unsightly manner."

The girl smiled. A malevolent smile.

"Let us make a deal."

Then the devil who led people to hell proposed without holding back.

"I shall confer to you the power of dragonbane&mdash;the conqueror's runes that dragonkind unquestionably reveres and seeks out. The special privilege of the dragonslayer shall be bestowed upon you."

Dragonbane. Dragonslayer. Hal could not help but doubt his hearing. In other words, killing dragons.<!--dragonslayer rendered in katakana in the original JP for the final mention-->

Didn't all such terms mean the slaughtering of dragons?

"It is a power that can exterminate even that dragon with ease. Hence, you shall now submit that stone and give up on ''dying respectably''."

"...What did you say?"

"Abandon living and dying as a mortal. Instead&mdash;"

The girl's lips twisted from her smile. For some reason, the shape was slightly reminiscent of a crack.

A smile that not only seemed non-human but even felt a bit reptilian. Hal could not help but stare in mesmerization.

"You shall become a war god... Or perhaps the devil who will destroy the world. But should you lack the corresponding capacity, then you shall simply die pitifully."

"Y-Your proposal is way too shady..."

"Form a covenant with me, brat. You shall become king&mdash;the one to rule over all 'serpents' in this world and bear the brunt of dragonkind's fear and hatred."

Hal felt troubled. This was way too sinister.

He understood that her invitation was too unusual. Besides, no one could guarantee that things would proceed as smoothly as described by this girl&mdash;no, this monster.

Be that as it may...

Hal could not completely reject the proposal's value in taking the gamble.

Right now, he was indeed cornered. He was backed into a critical situation where death only lay ahead.

In that case, he could only follow the whims of fate... However&mdash;

"Ah yes, by the way. About the dragon rampaging outside, suppose he proceeded to kill you directly but if that were not enough to sate him, what would then result?"

"..."

"If memory serves me correctly, you apparently brought two little ladies with you. Will a bloodthirsty and violent member of the deplorable dragon race let them go free? Hmm, now that would be a gamble."

Hearing the girl's pretentious murmurings, Hal really wanted to click his tongue.

As expected of a self-styled devil would be his sarcastic response. However, Hal's mind was greatly shaken by the possibility she pointed out that he had overlooked.

Hal sighed again and took a deep breath. After ten seconds or so of deep thought, Hal let go of his hesitation.

Mustering his emotions of reckless self-abandonment, he chanted the magical incantation of "whatever, even if it fails."

"You, self-styled devil or whatever, although there's a mountain of problems I'd like to point out..."

Hal glared at the girl and said, "Since a dragon is hunting me anyway, I might as well go all-in and take a gamble. I accept your invitation."

This decision was enterprising yet passive.
[[image:Leviathan 01 163.jpg|thumb]]

In a certain sense, it was very much in Haruga Haruomi's style. Picking up the small black stone again, Hal gripped it tightly. The heat gradually spread in his palm.

"Very well, brat! In that case, you shall continue to advance!"

The girl in the scarlet garment nodded emphatically then suddenly vanished like a puff of smoke.

There was no lighting inside the devastated interior of Tokyo Station. Vast darkness stretched out in front of Hal, making him feel like he was located before the underworld's entrance that was sealed by darkness.

But at the same time as the girl's departure, a light source illuminating this darkness was born.

A blazing crimson flame appeared in the dark. Thanks to that, the interior of Tokyo Station's Marunouchi entrance became clearly visible.

Overhead was a tall dome-shaped ceiling. An old relic made of duralumin.

The entrance portion was very wide, rather fitting for a terminal that reputedly handled the daily throughput of a million passengers in the past.

And in the center, an intense flame was burning.

Hal approached the source of heat and light.

As a result, the blazing flame burned even more intensely, instantly expanding to a height that almost touched the ceiling.

Exposed to the powerful gust of hot air, Hal was sweating while he muttered, "So what should I do next...?"

In that instant, a change occurred.

The blazing flame suddenly split apart and scattered. Then out of the fire appeared a giant "beast." It was as sudden as the summoning of a "serpent" by a witch.

Feeling surprised, Hal gave a brief yell.

"A dragon!?"

Beautiful, fierce, courageous, a "beast" full of solemnity and divinity.

It was the widely recognized creature known as the dragon.

Its physique was as strong and massive as an elite dragon's. From Hal's perspective, the nine sharp horns growing out of its head looked almost like a crown.

The body's surface was a brilliant red aptly called "crimson."

The dragon happened to be sitting in a posture that would be called cross-legged for humans, completely motionless.

Then in the instant Hal faced this dragon head on&mdash;

Held in his hand, the ''stone'' exploded and released a flash of light, crumbling!

"Woah!"

Then suddenly, Hal's entire body even started to burn.

Enveloped by blazing fire, Hal's whole body turned into a mass of flame, suffering the onslaught of super-high heat that almost drove him insane.

Hot. Hot hot hot hot hot hot hot.

Turned into a burning effigy, Hal collapsed and rolled all over the ground!

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!"

Just as Hal was struggling in pain, the girl's voice could be heard overhead.

(Come, brat. Let those brand-new flames pour into the sacred seal. But remember to hurry before you incinerate to death. In the event of failure, you will simply burn here until nothing is left.)

"Uh, I never heard anything about that!"

Confronted with the sudden ultimatum, Hal roared and complained, rolling randomly all over the place.

At the same time, Hal saw it. Blue-white light was appearing in front of the red dragon, tracing out a symbol in the air&mdash;

A pictograph resembling a "bow with a nocked arrow" or a "tilted half moon."

That was the kind of symbol Hal saw.

"R-Ruruk Soun's magical symbol...?"

Despite suffering from the intense heat and pain that almost rendered him unconscious, Hal still muttered.

The runic symbol felt like it belonged to the same system as the cuneiform gathering the wisdom of dragonkind, but Hal had never seen it before.

(This is a dragonslaying seal among the secret runes that only conquerors are capable of wielding... I am bestowing upon you my favorite and most trustworthy rune, that of the Bow.)

It was the girl's voice again. This time, it came from the dragon's mouth.

At the same time, the pictogram of the "bow with a nocked arrow" began to shrink, becoming roughly palm-sized before descending in front of Hal who was rolling around in pain.

The rune, traced out by light, flashed blue-white as it hovered in the air.

(With my dying breath, this Rune of the Bow also incinerated to oblivion at one point in time. However, if the flint star's fragment lights up a flame, the dragonslaying authority should be able to manifest in this world once more&mdash;)

''Simply stated, all I need to do is grab hold of this weird symbol?''

Hal screamed while rolling nonstop. Enduring the heat and pain that would drive a person mad, he almost fainted.

Facing the bow-like magical symbol that hovered just above the floor, Hal reached out with all his strength, almost betting with his life.

What motivated him to do so was his fighting spirit and the unyielding fiber of his being, as well as the terror of absolutely not wanting to die.

The usual Hal would probably have given up halfway.

But when death was lurking around the corner with the tragic situation of his entire body on fire, his willpower would naturally rise to its maximum.

(Put forth all your strength, brat. So-called power is something that one must seize by their own hand.)

The crimson dragon incited Hal irresponsibly with the girl's voice.

''Like I need you to tell me.'' Hal gritted his teeth and reached out with his right hand.

At last, he finally reached it&mdash;

In that instant, the Rune of the Bow became enveloped in flame as well and started to burn intensely.

Having succeeded at the task, Hal immediately felt his consciousness grow hazy. But in the end, his right palm was definitely experiencing astounding heat.

(Fufu&mdash;Whether or not a new Solomon will be born to usher in a new era... As temporary amusement, this is not bad.)

The girl's voice was whispering something but by this point, Hal had almost lost consciousness completely.