Editing Leviathan:Volume 4 Chapter 5 (section)

===Part 4===

Hal and Luna Francois first made their way towards the beam's source.

There were many palace buildings, but it was not difficult to reach the plaza where Akuro-Ou and Orihime were located by following the continual howling.

"You two came to save me! Thanks!"

"I'm glad we met up successfully... Say, Juujouji, what's with your getup?"

At their reunion, Orihime thanked the two of them, but Hal raised a question.

When abducted by the Gray Aristocrat, all she had was a bath towel wrapped around herself.

Currently, Orihime was dressed in a red garment somewhat like a belly dancer. That being said, it was not proper clothing. She had probably found some silk cloth nearby and wrapped strips of it around her bust then tied a larger piece of fabric around her waist to serve as a skirt.

By tying the fabric tightly to prevent it from sliding off, an impromptu garment was finished.

As a side note, Orihime also had a rectangular piece of silk cloth draped over her shoulder to serve as a shawl.

"B-Because I had no clothing to wear, I went into a nearby building to search. All I could find was this cloth, so I tried to make the best of it..."

Orihime huddled herself in embarrassment and explained to Hal.

The fabric of her new garment was very thin while her belly and navel were totally exposed. This ended up emphasizing her wonderful figure even more. Orihime was probably embarrassed because of that.

However, Hal was very touched. Magnificent.

"Oh no, I think this is well-made. Yes, it's awesome."

"H-Hearing that from a closet pervert like you, Haruga-kun, makes me even more embarrassed!"

"But good stuff is good stuff. Besides, it's not that different from a swimsuit in how much skin is bared..."

"You're right, but this outfit is like cosplay, I find it very embarrassing! I forbid you to check me out!"

While Hal and Orihime were arguing...

Luna Francois suddenly removed her clothing&mdash;the black one-piece dress&mdash;leaving just the purple camisole underneath. For a girl, this would be quite improper.

Naturally, Hal did not know where to look. Despite the turmoil in his heart, he still found his gaze involuntarily drawn to her.

Luna Francois' figure boasted voluptuousness surpassing Orihime.

"L-Luna-san, what are you doing!?"

"I was thinking I should change to match you, Orihime-san."

In front of the surprised junior witch, the blonde witch in the camisole smiled seductively. Then she winked at Hal and said casually, "How is this, Harry? With this, I don't lose to her at all, do I?"

"Oh no. That goes without saying."
[[image:Leviathan 04 213.jpg|thumb]]

Completely altering her image simply by shedding one article of clothing, Luna's skill was setting Hal's heart pounding.

"B-But this isn't the bedroom, it feels a bit too uninhibited..."

"However, you are the only boy present, Harry. It's not like you're the type to be troubled by the sight of this."

Luna smiled and continued, "Fufu. In order to oppose Orihime-san, who is already a formidable foe simply by acting her usual self, even someone like me cannot be complacent at all. Sure enough, it's essential to maintain a battlefield mindset at all times."

"Formidable foe... Aren't we on the same side?"

Confronted by the rapidly changing human relationships, Hal was at a loss, Luna remained elegant and marching at the beat of her own drum, while Orihime had her head tilted in puzzlement with a wry smile, unable to make heads or tails of the issue.

In a tone of voice too elegant for a declaration of war, Luna Francois continued, "On a professional level, of course. But in private&mdash;as one of the ladies hanging around Harry, Orihime-san, you will surely become the most powerful enemy. Let us both do our best, okay?"

"...H-Haruga-kun. Was Luna-san speaking in English just now?"

A rival's sudden declaration apparently made Orihime very flustered. She turned to converse with Hal.

"I-I don't really understand her. Please help me to translate!"

"Don't worry, she was speaking Japanese the whole time. Uh, well, how should I put it...?"

"It is exceedingly simple. Forget about calculations and ploys, I have fallen in love with Harry. Consequently, Orihime-san, you are the boss character, being the girl currently closest to Harry."

"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!?"

Hal empathized completely with Orihime's shock.

To think that such a surreal development could happen suddenly in his life. In a certain sense, it was a surprise no less than the occasion when he obtained his dragonslaying rune.

Meanwhile, Luna Francois continued on her own, calmly.

"By the way, Orihime-san, weren't you restrained?"

"Y-Yes. Until just now, I was still bound by that unbelievable chain. However, it vanished together with the gray Draconian so I signaled to you two."

"That was probably when we were targeting the Dragon Palace Court's heart with the Rune of the Bow."

Hal agreed with Luna's guess.

At the time, the Gray Aristocrat had probably gathered all his magical power to block the sun-shooting divine bow. Due to insufficient magical power, he probably became unable to sustain his Draconian body and the chain, which was also why the interference with investigative magic also ended temporarily.

"In that case, the interloper has gone out of sight&mdash;"

After a while, they went back to discussing their original purpose for coming here.

Hal looked at the magic gun that Luna had just returned to him and asked "Are you awake?"

"Now I am. Quit asking me to sleep and wake up. It is very bothersome."

Hinokagutsuchi's voice from the magic gun sounded like a murmur, both displeased and drowsy.

However, she still responded to Hal's demand and told them the required direction, location and target.

Thus, the trio walked for ten-odd minutes&mdash;

Hal and company arrived at a beautiful garden. Although there was probably no one in charge of looking after the place, the garden was blooming with a large number of colorful flowers. In a corner of the garden, there was a piece of black stone dropped on the ground.

An uneven stone with almost no curves.

It was very similar to quartz but Hal knew that it was not quartz.

"A flint huh...? A fragment of the flint star to pour power into the conqueror's rune&mdash;"

A mystical rock and absolute treasure that all sapient dragons sought after.

The starting point where the dragonslaying adventure revolved around. Haruga Haruomi's father had for some reason hidden this mysterious stone.

Leaving it lying in a corner of a garden like this instead of keeping it in a treasure chest ostentatiously&mdash;Should one say that this was very much in Hinokagutsuchi's eccentric style?

In fact, it probably would not have occurred to them to hunt for treasure here had they not been informed by Hinokagutsuchi in advance.

"This is quite suitable for hiding things as long as you've got the guts to leave it unattended..."

Hal tried to observe the flint using magical sight but could not see anything.

This stone's magical properties could not be detected using such means? Nothing less expected from a secret treasure that proved challenging for dragonkind to find despite their best efforts.

Hal moved the flint and nodded to his companions.

"Akuro-Ou, dig open the ground here. I'm counting on you, make it quick!"

"Glinda, you help out too!"

The white fox-wolf and the three-headed lion materialized in response to the witches' voices.

They were at their smallest size, around three meters in length. Even so, their size and power still far surpassed any domesticated animal in the human world. The quadrupedal beasts, Akuro-Ou and Glinda, used their forelimbs competently, digging up the garden's surface with astounding speed.

Several minutes later, a sarcophagus was unearthed.

The stone lid covering the sarcophagus was very heavy so they had Akuro-Ou use one of her nine tails to move it aside. Inside the sarcophagus was a dried up mummy, except it was not human.

Half human half dragon. It was the mummified appearance of an elite dragon in Draconian form.

"This guy was probably a Tyrannos that had died in battle somewhere in the past. Hinokagutsuchi took his corpse and rune to preserve. This was to have a backup weapon to use in case anything unexpected befell the Rune of the Bow."

Hal looked at the mummy's right hand. On the palm was a cross-shaped emblem.

After the Bow, the Sword, the Arrow and the Chain, this was the fifth dragonslaying rune that Hal and company had found.

"When robbing a dragonslaying rune from someone by force&mdash;even if the target is a corpse&mdash;the success probability is only 40%. But for many long years, magic for improving the odds of a transplant has been cast on him..."

"Haruga-kun, then what does that make the probability of success...?"

"Roughly 60 or 70%."

"Judging from the odds, this is not a bad gamble."

Luna Francois heard Hal and Orihime's conversation and nodded. Hal continued, "Yeah. With the goddess of fortune, Juujouji, here this time, I'm very looking forward to it."

"Huh? I am the goddess of fortune? Why?"

"Think about it, during the battle against Galad, it was thanks to seeing ''that part'' of yours that many things happened smoothly. Coincidentally, yesterday at the open-air hot spring too&mdash;"

"Haruga-kun! I will be mad if you say weird things even when Luna-san is present!"

"...I am impressed, Orihime-san. How terrifying of you to gradually increase Harry's affection for you unbeknownst to the rest of us."

"Y-You have it wrong! Hazumi was present at the time too~!"

Listening to the two girls' heated discussion, Hal picked up the flint.

He pressed the flint into the palm of the mummified Draconian's right hand. Whether he could acquire the cross-shaped emblem here would depend on luck and magical power&mdash;

Hal needed to pour magical power into the flint in his hand. He took a breath.

"So Harry, what kind of weapon does this rune represent?"

"It's the katana. According to Hinokagutsuchi, this rune is apparently quite hard to use."

"A katana rune... Doesn't that feel like a relative of the Rune of the Sword?"

Luna's interest was piqued while Orihime stared at the cross-shaped symbol uneasily.

This precise instant was the decisive moment.

As soon as Hal poured in magical power and exerted pressure on the new rune, the flint crumbled into dust while flames enveloped Hal's right arm up to his elbow area...


Then dozens of minutes went by.

Hal and company had reached the deepest level by traveling down the massive tunnel created by the sun-shooting divine bow's shot. Sitting on the miniaturized Glinda's back, he was accompanied by Orihime and Luna Francois.

The mobile fortress, Dragon Palace Court, was a gigantic turtle creature whose size far surpassed normal parameters.

Just as Hal, the shooter of the divine bow, had sensed earlier, the cardiac chamber was as big as the Tokyo Dome.

Since the cardiac chamber's walls and ceiling were glowing faintly, the interior was surprisingly bright. Near the center of the cardiac chamber was a spherical object ten-odd meters in diameter. Its color was deep green. The Dragon Palace Court's heartmetal.

Roughly twenty or thirty narrow tubes were sprouting from the cardiac chamber's floor, entangling and connecting to the heartmetal.

That could very well be the analog to a human's blood vessels.

Hal, Luna and Orihime activated magical sight and looked at the heartmetal's vicinity.

The ghost of the former dragon king, the Gray Aristocrat. His spiritual body was there.

"Just to err on the side of caution, I'll ask this first. Have you ever thought about having a ceasefire now and co-exist with us?"

"Truly a foolish question, Tyrannos of the Bow. Such as gesture would hardly befit the ways of dragonkind."

The gray Draconian materialized and answered Hal.

It was probably a state similar to Hinokagutsuchi's young girl form. Using the precious magical power lingering in his spiritual body, the Gray Aristocrat had restored his living appearance temporarily. Hence, back when he was using all his magical power to defend against the sun-shooting divine bow, this figure had vanished...

"Our fight has begun long ago. So long as you and I are in sound health, do not make any proposal as foolish as a ceasefire."

"I figured. That being said, it's quite bizarre to call a ghost like you sound in health."

"Fufufu. Thank you, Tyrannos. Revived as a spirit, I drifted to this castle, making it my residence, yet several centuries passed during my slumber...It was only due to you and your entourage's calls that I finally awoke..."

"Meaning that you were still dormant until a few days ago?"

Hal really wanted to sigh.

He never expected it was because of their visit that a dragon king was awakened...

"Let me proceed by taking your female dragon minions for myself, to use their blood to synthesize a resurrection elixir. Fufu, this will be the revival of my path of conquest."

"To revive your dragon body? I think that's kind of pointless."

Hal dismissed the former dragon king's declaration and muttered.

"Although I don't know how many portions of elixir you can make from a single leviathan, but no matter what, it'll simply be a resurrection with a time limit, right? If you're going to fight a real dragon king, just surviving one round will take everything you've got."

This was what his magic wand&mdash;the magic gun&mdash;had told him.

Resurrection elixir. This possessed mystical potency that was even able to resurrect a dragon king's corpse temporarily. However, its effect was simply on the same level as the magic Hal and Hinokagutsuchi used to revive the queen...

However, the Gray Aristocrat laughed upon hearing him.

"No matter! To lose my life in another battle is my longtime wish!"

"As expected of a dragon king-class enemy. A battle maniac that cannot be measured with common sense."

"It will be dangerous if he targets witches and 'serpents' apart from us, so we must fight here..."

Standing by behind Hal, Luna and Orihime whispered in commentary.

Upon rescuing Orihime successfully, Hal and company could have chosen to retreat. However, the Gray Aristocrat could very likely turn into a source of future calamity. Also, there was the risk that the Gray Aristocrat would launch surprise attacks every night to target "serpents."

Hence, Hal and company had gone out of their way to enter the enemy camp.

"In that case, a fight can't be avoided huh... Juujouji, take a bit of a break first."

"S-Sure!"

"Harry! I am ready to begin any time. Let us proceed!"

Orihime nodded stiffly whereas Luna Francois spoke valorously.

Then the three-headed lion that had materialized at minimum size, Glinda, suddenly expanded, gradually returning to her original size.

Hal shouted loudly, "Crimson Queen! Grant your power to Glinda!"

The giant red dragon, the Crimson Queen, instantly materialized before Hal.

The queen's body merged with the ten-odd-meter-long Glinda, conferring a new form upon the orange-furred three-headed lion.

Ruby armor appeared on Glinda's back and abdomen to solidify her defense.

Next, her left and right flanks were each equipped with a pitch-black cannon.

This was the Queen Form of Glinda, the "Good Witch of the South." From the two cannons on her flanks, projectiles of red light were suddenly shot, a total of two. Naturally, the Gray Aristocrat was the target.

"Oh!? The queen's power has merged with your minion!?"
[[image:Leviathan 04 223.jpg|thumb]]

Pearly light enveloped the Gray Aristocrat's Draconian body.

This was the imperishable protection that only Tyrannos and dragon kings could use. Glinda's two cannon shots were blocked by this protection.

The Gray Aristocrat laughed fearlessly.

"Hahahaha. In that case, I have no choice but to recover my former visage."

Standing at two meters tall or so, the Draconian's body began to expand.

Within the blink of an eye, the Gray Aristocrat turned into a gigantic gray dragon, ten-odd meters in body length. His upright bipedal standing posture was unexpectedly similar to humans.

He spread the gigantic wings on his back to intimidate Glinda.

However, the enemy's weak point was right before their eyes. Hal motioned to Luna beside him.

"Use that move again from just now. Ignore his actual body."

"Yes. After all, the enemy's lifeline is the Dragon Palace Court's heartmetal. Glinda!"

The Gray Aristocrat was absorbing the magical power produced by the Dragon Palace Court's heartmetal to use as an energy source.

Conversely, it meant that all they needed to do was destroy that energy source. Glinda responded to Luna Francois' command and fired two cannon blasts again.

Naturally, the target was the Dragon Palace Court's heartmetal. The dragonslaying shots hurtled at the gigantic dark-green sphere.

In the next second, the Gray Aristocrat stood sternly in front of the heartmetal, using himself as a shield to withstand the two cannon blasts.

"Hmm."

Surrounded by pearly light, the Gray Aristocrat grunted in pain. Imperishable protection.

Thanks to that protection, the gray dragon's body remained unharmed. However, Hal and company knew that imperishable protection was not a defensive tool that could be used continuously.

Just as they decided to continue the offensive, to force the Gray Aristocrat into staying on the defensive the whole time&mdash;

"O runes of Ruruk Soun. Merge this heartmetal with my body!"

"What!?"

The Gray Aristocrat extended his right forelimb and touched the Dragon Palace Court's heartmetal that was within arm's reach.

Twelve runes of Ruruk Soun appeared at the point of contact between his dragon palm and the heartmetal.

This composite arrangement signified triple meanings of "shrink, chew and assimilate."

Hal was very shocked because he saw the ten-odd-meter-diameter heartmetal of the Dragon Palace Court shrink, turning into a size that could fit on the Gray Aristocrat's palm.

Taking the magically shrunken heartmetal, the Gray Aristocrat swallowed it in one gulp.

To completely claim all the magical power produced by the Dragon Palace Court's heartmetal, to hide his weak point within his body, that was why he had swallowed it whole.

"So the same tactic no longer works huh..."

"Harry, then let us settle the battle with him directly!"

The instant Luna cried out, the Gray Aristocrat used new magic.

Eight runes of Ruruk Soun appeared over his sharp-cornered dragon head. The former dragon king said quietly, "The Crimson Queen was known for divine marksmanship. The Red Flame Emperor, his ferocious form in combat. The Black Lightning Emperor, his nefarious machinations and brilliant ploys in the use of magic. All of them are considered the strongest of the strong..."

While listening to the Gray Aristocrat's sudden reminiscing, Hal noticed.

He noticed what the latest arrangement of runes represented. "Fist Mantra Divine Power."

"A mantra of the fist? Meaning that&mdash;"

"I am the embodiment of strength, ferocity and intensity... Savor this mighty power carefully!"

The gray dragon jumped high the instant he boasted.

Instead of spreading his wings to fly, he made good use of his leg strength and the entire body's tension to leap. The movement was not only elegant and agile but also faster than the naked eye could capture.

Like a gust of wind, the Gray Aristocrat took a leap, cleverly jumping over Glinda.

Then in this manner, he landed behind the three-headed lion without making a sound.

"Glinda, deploy protection too&mdash;"

Impressive as always, Luna issued orders the instant the enemy jumped.

But before she finished her instructions, the Gray Aristocrat had already finished his jumping and landing movement and even attacked.

What followed the sudden jump was a move that did not seem very dragon-like&mdash;A roundhouse kick.

The Gray Aristocrat's kicking leg was wrapped in a chain as well. The Rune of the Chain.

Glinda's imperishable protection made it in the nick of time.

Her whole body enveloped in pearly light, Glinda deflected the dragonslaying kick.

Hal felt a sharp pain in his heart at the same time. The damage taken by imperishable protection would sting the user's heartmetal. Furthermore, the Gray Aristocrat did not stop attacking.

In addition to his legs, the Gray Aristocrat started using both hands, wrapped in chains, by the time Hal noticed.

Hence, the second strike was a mid-level punch from his right fist.

The dragonslaying punch attempted to smash through one of Glinda's three heads&mdash;the black goat's snout. Next came a second roundhouse kick aimed at Glinda's right shoulder.

Due to imperishable protection, the lion leviathan remained unharmed, of course.

However, Hal's heart was continually attacked by waves of pain.

"Glinda, strike back!"

Under Luna Francois' orders, the two cannons on Glinda's flanks fired in triple succession.

However, the Gray Aristocrat landed behind Glinda again with an agile maneuver then raised his right fist high. Releasing the chain wrapped around his fist, he swung it down like a whip.

When the chain struck Glinda's protection, Hal's heart was attacked with pain again.

"O Tyrannos of the Bow, this is my style as the Gray Aristocrat. Indulge me a little longer."

Despite being a dragon, he was using moves like unarmed martial arts with free-flowing motions.

Luna Francois murmured partially in surprise, partially impressed, "I am afraid he is using magic for physical enhancement. I never thought there would be martial artists in the world of dragons..."

"The changes are not limited to the runes..."

Orihime leaned closer to Hal's side and whispers.

The repeated pain was making Hal clutch his chest. As soon as he did that, Orihime came to his side. Hal nodded at Orihime, whose worry was shown on her face, then took a deep breath.

The enemy was apparently trickier to handle than expected. However, the match was only just beginning.