Editing Leviathan:Volume 1 Chapter 5 (section)

===Part 5===

"Asya-san, what is with that dragon!?"

"No idea. This is my first time seeing that kind of phenomenon too!"

In order to chase after Soth who had suddenly flown away, Asya and Orihime broke into a run.

Taking off first, Akuro-Ou had attacked the elite dragon next to the Mansion. After that, Raak Al Soth's entire body had started to burn with platinum-colored flames.

Like steel that had turned white-hot inside a furnace, he hovered into the air in that state.

The magic wand in his hand also burned as well.

"O sacred spirit of the radiant Ruruk Soun in the sky, O rune of runes, confer upon me, Raak Al Soth, the blade of dragonslaying!"

Soth recited a mantra&mdash;an incantation. As a result, the magic wand, burning with platinum flames, changed in appearance, turning into ''a giant sword''.

With a straight and broad blade, this greatsword was as thick and sturdy as a woodcutter's hatchet, rather unrefined in craftsmanship.

However, ten-odd runes of Ruruk Soun were carved beautifully on the blade, giving off airs like some kind of foreign cultural artwork.

"D-Dragonslaying...?"

Although shocked by Soth's perplexing magic, Asya and Orihime still managed to arrive in the Mansion's vicinity. Orihime instantly yelled, "Akuro-Ou! Can you still use the same magic as just now!?"

Kuohhhhhhhhhhh! The fox-wolf roared vigorously in response.

Orihime seemed to have gotten used to controlling a "serpent." The nine serpentine tails began to ignite at their tips. The pseudo-divinity of Fire was releasing fireballs from each tail.

These fireballs flew towards Soth again, but&mdash;

"Ehhhh!?"

Orihime was taken aback by surprise. So was Asya despite her veteran experience.

Soth was confronting the nine flying fireballs without guarding even though he always deployed defensive runes to protect himself against pseudo-divinity attacks in the past.

After the nine fireballs struck Soth directly&mdash;Unbelievably, no damage was inflicted on Soth's incandescent body.

Flying leisurely in the air, the bronze dragon's body did not even flinch. From his perspective, Akuro-Ou's magical attack probably felt like a breeze.

"I already said do not interfere."

Raising the ''sword'' in his hand, Soth pointed the blade at Akuro-Ou.

In that instant, Akuro-Ou halted just as she was about to pounce.

"Akuro-Ou!? Hurry and move! It's fine if you don't attack but at least dodge that sword!"

Orihime called out in worry but her "serpent" did not respond.

Soth flapped his wings open and started to fly, making a beeline towards Akuro-Ou.

"Fufufu. Confronted with the majesty of the dragonslayer, their natural predator, a mere ''imitation'' cannot possibly resist at all. Your corpse shall fall here."

The incandescent Soth casually made a thrust with the sword.

Akuro-Ou showed no intent to resist, like a traitor kneeling before the former master after challenging the king and unfortunately meeting defeat. Orihime yelled, "Akuro-Ou!?"

In addition, Asya was also shocked by a new discovery.

Soth's left shoulder that Rushalka had gouged earlier had fully recovered!

Was this thanks to the incandescence as well? Either way, at this rate, Akuro-Ou was facing certain death!

"Rushalka!"

Asya ordered her partner to charge in the air, still in the form of holy water.

Akuro-Ou was the target. The power of water pressure pushed the white fox-wolf away. This was an emergency measure to make her dodge Soth's sword. In return, Rushalka was pierced by the sword. But being a physical attack after all, it should not pose a problem&mdash;

Kyuahhhhhhhhhhhh!

Rushalka's roar sounded like a death cry.

The instant she was pierced by Soth's sword, the blue wyvern easily reverted back from her holy water form to a material body, resulting in a skewered state. At the same time, she screamed with all her might to express the pain.

Could that sword be carrying some kind of divine might, capable of severing even holy water&mdash;?

In front of Asya's eyes, the sword was pulled out.

Rushalka's giant body instantly fell to the ground. She no longer had the strength to fly.

Seeing her partner crash down, Asya stared wide-eyed from just one look.

"Asya-sa&mdash;!"

"Orihime-san! Can Akuro-Ou still use divinity!?"

Interrupting Orihime's voice that was panicking from shock and guilt, Asya asked her own question.

"Y-Yes. There should be no problem using it one more time..."

"Just as I thought... But this really doesn't seem like a beginner's power."

As expected, Orihime really did possess Level 3 power. Asya nodded greatly.

"Then don't use the final invocation of pseudo-divinity on a direct attack."

"I-I understand. What about your 'serpent,' Asya-san...?"

"Apparently&mdash;not dead yet. But using a human analogy, she seems delirious... She won't respond even if I call to her."

The spiritual connection between her and Rushalka was not severed. This proved that her partner was still alive.

But no matter how Asya communicated telepathically, Rushalka still had no response at all. The situation was clearly quite urgent.

Hence, Orihime's face went tense and she said slowly, "In that case, Asya-san, I will do my best for a while. I might not last very long but please take this opportunity to confirm her... confirm Rushalka's condition!"

The junior witch's care and consideration was forcing Asya to think rapidly. She originally intended to give Orihime orders to retreat to the back and provide cover fire.

But if she could make her way to Rushalka's side, it might be possible to bring out her last power and invoke pseudo-divinity.

More importantly&mdash;

"Can I... depend on you?"

"Yes. I have Akuro-Ou here so we are the same. Since Rushalka is about to die, you must stay by her side, Asya-san!"

"Thank you!"

Orihime was a resilient girl at heart and would never say anything like being unable to fight alone.

Rating her junior highly on her exceptional maturity, Asya ran as fast as she could at the same time&mdash;

Thanks to using Leaping Power Enhancement earlier to improve her agility, Asya could move as fast as a champion Olympic sprinter. Just earlier, she was running normally to accommodate Orihime who was unable to use this magic, but now, Asya was dashing at full speed with all her strength.

Asya ran towards where her partner, the blue wyvern, had fallen.

"Rushalka! Please, respond to my voice!"

When next to Orihime, Asya needed to act calm and composed as the "senior."

But there was no need for that anymore. She called out desperately to her dying partner.



Platinum flames suddenly surrounded Soth.

A spark drifted down from him in the sky. Falling on the balcony, it started to burn.

Hal and Hazumi hastily rushed out of the Mansion. Thanks to Soth's attention getting diverted towards Akuro-Ou, the two of them reached the first-floor entrance safely.

"Was Rushalka taken out!?"

Arriving outside, Hal instantly yelled out.

Seeing the wyvern fall after getting skewered by Soth's sword, Hal clenched his fist tightly. She was his childhood friend's "serpent" and could be considered the "serpent" closest to him in the entire world. Hal never expected to see her perish in this manner&mdash;

Thinking about Rushalka, Hal instantly felt anger surge in his heart. Then immediately&mdash;

"Eh...?"

Hal suddenly looked up. He seemed to be hearing calls.

It was the sound of an injured beast seeking its partner. But the voice was very feeble, unable to reach the recipient no matter what...

No, wait. Why was Haruga Haruomi able to hear this kind of sound?

However, Hal became even more certain of something.

&mdash;Rushalka was still alive. But at this rate, it was only a matter of time. The childhood friend's "serpent" needed more power. Power to resist impending death, power to annihilate the formidable foe named Soth, power to protect the partner who shared her life&mdash;

"Excuse me, Haruga-san...?"

Perhaps worrying about her cousin's friend who had fallen silent, Hazumi spoke up.

Hal quietly looked up and said slowly:

"I'm sorry but could you walk on your own from here? Anyway, as long as you go in a direction where you can sense the police and the SDF, it'll be fine."

Probably due to being forced to sleep for a very long time, Hazumi's back and legs were a little weak.

Although she was able to walk by herself, her steps were unsteady. Along the way here, Hal had to support her a number of times.

Hal felt irresponsible for abandoning her in this state, but he had no choice.

He committed himself decisively. The one who needed him most right now was somewhere else.

Staring at Hazumi, Hal was thinking it would be bad if he made her cry. The younger girl nodded lightly. After seeing Hal's serious expression, she seemed able to sympathize.

"I-I understand. Then where are you going, Haruga-san...!?"

"I've got somewhere I need to go. I need to give the devil a bit of help."

Leaving behind the wide-eyed Hazumi, Hal ran as fast as he could.

His destination was the clearing where Rushalka had crashed down, collapsed. Meanwhile, Akuro-Ou was invoking pseudo-divinity in the air.

This time, there was a ''mirage'' instead of fireballs.

Mirages were supposed to be illusions occurring in hot deserts.

Like images of cities and oases wavering on the far side of scorching sand and hot wind&mdash;a mirage projecting Akuro-Ou's image had appeared. And not just one or two.

Filling up the night sky, there were at least two or three hundred mirages of Akuro-Ou.

This huge number of mirages were dashing across the sky individually as though every one of them was the real Akuro-Ou, flying nimbly around Soth with wolf-like agility.

'Akuro-Ou! Don't let him figure out which is the real one or else you'll get taken out in two or three hits!'

Hal could sense Orihime giving directions from somewhere in the distance.

Rather than hearing with his ears, he was sensing her words vaguely.

Hal was the one who had brought Akuro-Ou and Orihime together. It seemed like he might have acquired a spiritual connection of fate to the two of them at the time, hence allowing him to hear.

However&mdash;

"O Tyrannos, looks like you are about to unsheathe your weapon at last."

The target that needed to be handled, Soth, ignored the large swarm of mirages and turned his gaze straight towards the ground.

Hal. Right now, whether in dialogue or battle, Soth only directed his attention to Hal, caring for nothing else.

"Then I too shall forge a new weapon. Fufu, my 'dragonslayer' is ultimately just an imitation... But I definitely can't meet my end here!"

Yelling loudly, Soth pointed the "sword" in his hand up high towards the sky.

"O secret ritual of transience, present before me the royal authority of dragonbane once more!"

Then a dramatic change occurred in the ground.

The Raptors that Akuro-Ou had wiped out earlier using pseudo-divinity were completely dead, fallen upon the ground as stone remains. Due to the impact of falling, their bodies were virtually all pulverized.

These remnants of corpses, which could hardly be called remains anymore, suddenly started to burn, enveloped in the same platinum flames as the incandescent Soth!

A large number of corpses, burning with platinum flames, hovered into the sky, flying to Soth's location.

Then the great amount of fine sand, burning with platinum color, instantly transformed.

Seven giant ''dragon skulls'' were formed&mdash;

There was nothing below the heads. Head specimens of giant dragon skeletons, large enough for even Soth to sit on them without problems. Seven of these ''dragon skulls'' had manifested in Soth's surroundings.

They were like knights or royal guards defending a king or a general!

The seven dragon heads breathed out fire at the same time.

Blue-white flames. The sudden blaze turned the entire night sky blue. Burned by these flames, Akuro-Ou's mirages were blown away and destroyed one after another.

The hundreds of mirages filling up the sky were gradually decreasing in number.

(Turning minions into a dragonslaying force then commanding them as the general? This fellow is good. It is unbelievable how he can imitate the grand techniques of dragonbane so convincingly. It seems he has researched the path of unorthodoxy very seriously.)

Hinokagutsuchi remarked lightly, impressed.

On the other hand, there was a girl who showed no signs of fear throughout. Namely, Orihime.

'Don't just stand there taking blows, Akuro-Ou, you have to move! Get those fakes moving too and run around as hard as you can!'

With almost a hundred of them remaining, Akuro-Ou's mirages started to move rapidly.

Dashing through the air, they flew all over the place. To evade the flames breathed out by the ''dragon skulls'' under Soth's command, they moved randomly.

During this time, Hal finally arrived at the clearing where his target was.

The blue wyvern was lying on the ground, powerless.

Asya was there too. She was looking at her partner worriedly, looking up to observe the aerial battle every now and then.

"Haruomi... Why did you come here?"

Seeing Hal arrive by her side, Asya was surprised.

One could hardly blame her. After all, this was a "zone of death" that killed commoners as soon as they entered.

"There's no time so I'm omitting the explanation. How's Rushalka?"

"I-I see. Probably&mdash;This is the end for her."

Asya's sorrow probably exceeded her surprise. Obediently, she answered Hal's question.

Gazing at Rushalka, Asya's eyes were misty. Although she had prepared herself for this a long time ago, the thought of parting with her partner still made her sad.

However, Asya was Asya after all. Immediately, she said, "For now, I've strengthened my bond with Rushalka temporarily. She can still use divinity twice so I'm going to use them together to snipe Soth before she passes away..."

Asya looked into the sky with her slightly moist eyes.

Leading the seven dragon heads, the elite dragon was rampaging without regard for the "serpent" at all. However, Soth was absurdly strong right now and could do whatever he wanted.

Then Hal understood Asya's intent.

She planned to use the two remaining magical attacks of pseudo-divinity simultaneously. Dual invocation of divinity was known as Double Casting. Although extremely difficult to control, it was said to be absurdly powerful.

If Asya was the one doing it, she might very well succeed.

But that required her partner to be in a perfect state of health&mdash;Hal said, "This won't do. Even if you go ahead, it might not be enough to defeat Soth."

"Eh?"

"That guy seems to be stronger than all the dragons that we know. He could very well be a match for the Caesars&mdash;those on the level of dragon kings."

Caesar Draconis, in other words, a dragon king.

These were publicly recognized powerhouses such as Red Hannibal or the Black Lightning Emperor. It was said that just one of these monsters could single-handedly wipe out humanity from the surface of the planet.

After saying this, Hal felt a greater sense of acknowledgement.

In fact, Soth had mentioned the same as well. Dragon king. Perhaps Hal's special constitution was closely related to those super lifeforms and conquerors. But right now&mdash;

"Asya, do you want to beat up that guy together with me... Beat up that bastard Soth? Rushalka needs 'power.' And I need power from the two of you too!"

"H-Haruomi?"

"No matter what, I need Rushalka and you... Asya!"

Although Hal talked about helping out, he had no intention of carrying out a "diabolical" deal.

Hence, Hal admitted his thoughts without reserve as a non sequitur and extended his hand towards Asya&mdash;However, Asya's reaction to his proposal was unexpectedly dramatic.

"Y-You mean you want me... You want to claim everything of mine as your own?"

"Not everything. Rather, I hope you'll give me what's the most important."

"H-Haruomi! Please don't joke around in this kind of emergency. Y-You need to pick the right timing and location for this type of confession. No common sense at all. You're such a big jerk!"

Asya suddenly closed in.

Clenching her tiny fist hard, she looked like she was about to pummel Hal's head viciously. Speaking of which, during fights in their childhood, her fists always moved even faster than her mouth.

However, the childhood friend opened her fist and held Hal's hand tightly.

"I-If we get back safely, I will carefully consider the request you just made. Let's put it on hold for now. I-I will cherish it in the depths of my heart..."

Blushing red, Asya turned her gaze away while speaking softly.

Verbally, she was passively refusing. But Hal was certain that Asya had accepted. Although the reason was unknown, that was her wish.

Just like the time when he had "reached Hazumi's heart"...

Hal was able to connect to the minds of those listed in the lineages of dragons!

'&mdash;Akuro-Ou!?'

Hal heard Orihime yelling somewhere.

Looking up, he saw the sky completely covered by the blue-white flames discharged by Soth's faction.

The great amount of flames was rampaging unchecked, making it almost impossible to see the darkness of the night sky and the light of the stars. The white fox-wolf descended to the ground from this patch of ominous sky.

Rather than crashing down uncontrollably, Akuro-Ou was still flying, albeit slowly.

Reaching the ground, she landed stiffly before collapsing. Hit by the flames just now, she was still heavily injured even though she did not die.

"Just as you can see! I am ready to start any time!"

Leading the seven dragon heads, Soth challenged from the sky.

Having exterminated the interlopers, he intended to press on the attack. Hal nodded.

"Sorry, because there's no time, let me do it directly!"

"Eh, Haruomi!? &mdash;What is this power!?"

Hal embraced Asya in his bosom. This was to get a deeper experience of the bond connecting him with Asya.

Her body, as delicate as a fairy's, felt even softer and warmer than imagined. Held in Hal's arms, Asya changed her expression in alarm.

"Magical power! Haruomi, why are you able to&mdash;"

A massive amount of magical power was surging from Hal's scorching right hand.

Hal did not need to look. That particular rune was probably manifesting in his palm. While Hal and Asya were embracing each other, rays of light traced out a familiar rune underfoot.

The magical symbol of Ruruk Soun, the Rune of the Bow.

Instantly, Asya tensed her expression. The rune underfoot constructed a "magical bond" between itself and her, the same kind of bond as between a witch and a leviathan&mdash;

This spiritual union allowed Asya to understand Hal's intent.

Shoot Soth down. For this purpose, pour this ''power'' into Rushalka and seize victory!

"I'm counting on you, Asya!"

"V-Very well. Let's stand up together again, Rushalka!"

Despite some hesitation, Asya still issued the order.

Immediately, Rushalka's giant body, limp and powerless, began to burn. With platinum flames. The same flames as what Soth controlled and what Hal had used a few days ago.

While becoming white hot like steel that had been thrown into a furnace, Rushalka lifted her body at the same time&mdash;

Slowly, she spread her blue wings and started flying in the sky towards the heights where Soth was waiting with the seven dragon heads under his command.

As soon as Rushalka took flight, the platinum flames instantly vanished from her body.

However, her flying was vigorous and powerful and did not seem affected by her injuries at all.

"Fufufufu. I have grown impatient, Tyrannos. Now is the moment for the decisive battle!"

Soth and Rushalka clashed in midair again.

However, the elite dragon was speaking to Hal who was on the ground. As for the willpower residing in Rushalka, wanting to defeat dragonkind, that came from Hal.

(Indeed. The technique of dragonbane allowing one's followers to become "dragonslayers"... The magic of Soth's ilk is merely an imitation after all. Confirm with your own hands the true power I have entrusted to you!)

Hinokagutsuchi goaded Hal by the side of his ear.

(Now issue orders to your rune, the Bow Stars of the Southern Sky, to fire the dragonslaying bow!)

Bow Stars of the Southern Sky. That seemed to be an unexpectedly majestic name.

Embracing Asya with his left arm, Hal pushed his other hand forward.

Compared to last time, Hal understood more clearly the method of usage. Aiming the Rune of the Bow, carved on his right palm, towards Soth in the sky, he prayed silently for Rushalka who served as the medium.

&mdash;Using this rune, perform the magic of the Bow.

Instantly, the Rune of the Bow also appeared in front of Rushalka as she flew through the air.

The size was almost as large as the leviathan's body. This was proof that the enchanted armament of the "dragonslaying bow" had conferred magical power to the blue wyvern's body and soul.

"Fire!"

"Rushalka! Frost Breath!"

While Hal gave his command, Asya also issued an order at the same time.

The blue wyvern released an attack from her mouth.

Cold breath for freezing everything in its path&mdash;that was the dragonslaying arrow shot by the Bow this time.

"Magic for increasing the shooting ability of dragons obeying the master huh..."

Hal muttered in his mouth.

What Hinokagutsuchi called the Bow was just a concept after all.

Simply stated, its true form was combining a supreme Ruruk Soun rune with either a dragon's overwhelming magical power or a leviathan's pseudo-divinity, thereby launching magic to annihilate dragons&mdash;

While Hal was finally understanding this, the freezing breath flew, tearing through the air.

Intercepting it were the blue-white flames expelled simultaneously by the seven dragon heads.

"O false king, suffer my flames of rebellion!"

The cold air exhaled by Rushalka collided head on with the flames from Soth's faction.

The two attacks not only aimed for their opponents' lives but also expanded to engulf the entire sky in the area.

The blue-white flames exhaled by the seven dragon heads turned into torrential flows, scorching the night sky of spring.

The cold air released by Rushalka was mixed with countless shards of ice, blowing as fiercely as a blizzard, mercilessly freezing the air above Shin-Kiba, recreating the kind of sky situated above permafrost.

Fiery hot air and freezing cold air were irreconcilable.

Vying for supremacy, the hot and cold air clashed with each other. Holding onto Hal for support and leaning tightly against him, Asya gripped hard as though trying to suppress her unease.

At first glance, the two sides seemed equally matched in power.

(This brat named Soth definitely studied the path of unorthodoxy diligently.)

Hinokagutsuchi sneered lightly.

(But ultimately, it is mimicry of limited knowledge without the possession of flint. Although this side is an ''imitation'' as well... Thinking that an attack of this level could destroy the Bow would be truly underestimating the Bow's force of will!)

Almost at the same time as the queen's shout, Rushalka finished exhaling her Frost Breath.

However, the attack did not end there. Instead, it was the opposite. Starting from this instant, the exhaled cold air became even stronger. It was no longer something so gentle as to be called a breath&mdash;

While Hal and Asya watched the sky above, a ''storm'' of absolute zero temperature was blowing violently.

Its cold air and wind strength even surpassed the great blizzards blowing across permafrost.
[[image:Leviathan 01 303.jpg|thumb]]

The dragonslaying storm could even extinguish the heat and flames residing within the body of dragons.

"Hmm&mdash;!?"

Strong as Soth may be, even he felt greatly shocked because the sudden ice storm instantly wiped out the flames that he and the seven dragon heads had breathed out.

Furthermore, Hal's instincts told him that the Rune of the Bow had yet to exhaust its offensive power.

That being said, using a bow and arrow analogy, the remaining power was probably on the level of a single arrow.

In that case, the best option was&mdash;

"Another shot... Aim and fire!"

Responding to orders, Rushalka's "horn counterpart"&mdash;the ''horn'' on her forehead began to release electricity.

Erupting from that point, blue-white lightning streaked across the sky in a straight line, intending to pierce the chest of the incandescent Soth&mdash;in other words, the equivalent location for a human's heart!

It was an arrow shot out as though a sky god had taken aim and fired lightning as a projectile.

"Guh...! The Bow-wielding Tyrannos doesn't even have a wand. This Bow is nothing!"

Soth raised the long and broad sword directly in front of him, intending to strike down the arrow of lightning.

Then he deployed before himself dozens of Shield runes&mdash;the Secret Runes of Ruruk Soun&mdash;with protective functions, establishing a formation of total defense.

However, the arrow of lightning pierced this defense to strike the elite dragon's massive body.

In that very instant, Raak Al Soth was frozen in midair.

Instant death&mdash;just as Hal believed with certainty, the storm of cold air rampaging in the sky also devoured the seven skulls that were Soth's minions. The bodies of the dragon master and servants were shredded by the cold air, raging wind and ice shards, disintegrating and scattering within the blink of an eye.

Currently, the only super lifeform remaining in the air was Rushalka.

In the center of the storm, the blue wyvern roared as though boasting of her victory.

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